Escient FireBall Media Management system User Manual

P/N: M32003-02A3

SEi USER’S MANUAL

THANK YOU

The team at Escient would like to take this opportunity to thank you
for purchasing an Escient FireBall product. Escient is committed to
providing our customers the most technologically advanced, yet easier­than-ever to use products that converge the power of the Internet with
home entertainment.

To maximize your enjoyment, please take a few minutes to review this
User’s Manual. It will guide you through all the features and benefits of
your new FireBall.

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION 5

ABOUT THIS MANUAL 5
RECORD YOUR SERIAL NUMBER
MANUAL DISCLAIMERS
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
TRADEMARKS & SERVICE MARKS 7
WARRANTY INFORMATION
ESCIENT PRIVACY POLICY 1
E-MAIL CONTACT INFORMATION 1
COPYRIGHT 1
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 11

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If you should need assistance please contact your dealer.

The Escient Team

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SETUP 12

POWER STATES 12
FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW 1
REAR PANEL OVERVIEW 1
REMOTE OVERVIEW 1
ENTERING TEXT WITH THE REMOTE CONTROL 16

Typing Characters with the Remote 1

ADDITIONAL CONNECTION AND HOOKUP
INFORMATION 18

AUDIO OUTPUTS 18
VIDEO OUTPUTS 1
VIDEO FORMAT (NTSC AND PAL) 1
RS-232 CONNECTIONS 20
IR CONNECTIONS 2
ETHERNET CONNECTIONS 2

REGISTRATION 23

TESTING A BROADBAND CONNECTION 23

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GETTING MUSIC INTO FIREBALL 24

RECORDING FROM THE INTERNAL CD 25
IMPORTING MUSIC FILES 2

System Requirements 2
Audio File Requirements 2
Cover Art Image Requirements 26

IMPORTING FROM A PC 27
IMPORTING FROM A MAC 2
RECORDING FROM OTHER EXTERNAL SOURCES 3
ERASING A CD-RW DISC 3

LISTENING TO MUSIC 32

BROWSING YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY 32
SHOW AND HIDE TRACKS 3
PLAYING THE CURRENT TITLE 3
SELECTING A DIFFERENT SONG 3
CHANGING THE GUIDE VIEW 3

View By Artist 34
View By Title 3
View By Song 3
View By Cover 3

CHANGING THE CURRENT PLAY MODE 3
VIEWING BY GENRE 36

LISTENING TO INTERNET RADIO 37

BROWSING INTERNET RADIO STATIONS 37
PLAYING THE CURRENT STATION 3

MANAGING YOUR MEDIA 39

CREATING PLAYLISTS 39
CREATING GROUPS 4
ADDING INTERNET RADIO STATIONS 41

UPDATING THE INTERNET RADIO STATIONS LIST 4
EDITING MUSIC INFORMATION 4

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Editing Track Names 44

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Automatically Lookup Information for This Disc 4

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Searching for the Original Cover 4
Tips for Searching for Covers 4
Selecting an Existing Cover 4

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EDITING RADIO INFORMATION 48

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EDITING PLAYLISTS 4

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EDITING GROUPS 5
DELETING MUSIC 5
DELETING PLAYLISTS 5
DELETING GROUPS 53

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CREATING CDS 54

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CREATING A CUSTOM MIX CD 54

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DUPLICATING A CD 5
RECORDING FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE 5

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SETTING USER PREFERENCES 58

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SETTING THE SCREEN SAVER PREFERENCES 58

5

Activation Idle Time 58
Other Modes 5
Retail Demo Mode 5
Photo Screen Saver Mode 6

SETTING YOUR TIME ZONE 6

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CUSTOMIZABLE USER INTERFACE 62
ENABLING PASSWORD PROTECTION 6
ETHERNET SETTINGS 64
SERVER SETTINGS 6
FIREBALL MUSIC SHARING 6

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SELECTING THE AUDIO ENCODER TYPE 67

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SETTING THE DISC INSERT PREFERENCES 68
VIDEO FORMAT 69
CENTERING THE FIREBALL SCREEN 70
ADJUSTING YOUR TELLY’S BRIGHTNESS 71
ADJUSTING YOUR TELLY’S CONTRAST 7
ADJUSTING YOUR TELLY’S SHARPNESS 7
ADJUSTING YOUR TELLY’S COLOR AND TINT 74
INSTALLING THE ETP TOUCH PANEL 75

Calibrating the Touch Panel 76
Changing the Touch Panel Button Overlay 7
Using Your Touch Panel 7

IR REMOTE CONTROL 78
DIRECT ACCESS CODES 79
PLAYLIST HOT KEYS 82
SERIAL COM PORTS 8
CONTROLLING FIREBALL FROM OTHER DEVICES 8

FIREBALL UTILITIES 85

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR FIREBALL 85
RESTARTING THE SYSTEM 86
UPDATING THE SOFTWARE 87

CONTROLLING FIREBALL FROM A WEB
BROWSER 88

SETTING UP THE FIREBALL WEB SERVER 88
USING THE WEB USER INTERFACE 8
USING THE WEB BROWSER AS A MUSIC CLIENT 89

BACKUP AND RESTORE 90

FIREBALL MUSIC BACKUP 90
FIREBALL MUSIC RESTORE 91

ID3 Tag Support 9

NETWORKED AUDIO USING FIREBALL MUSIC
CLIENTS 92

SERVERS 92
CLIENTS 9

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LOCATING THE FIREBALL CLIENTS AND SERVERS 9

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Central 9
Distributed 94

CONFIGURING A FIREBALL SERVER 9
CONFIGURING A FIREBALL CLIENT 9

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Networking 9

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Server Selection 9

TROUBLESHOOTING 96

NETWORK PROBLEMS 96

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SOFTWARE UPDATE PROBLEMS 9

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RECORDING PROBLEMS 9

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 97

SPECIFICATIONS 97

Video Specifications 9
Audio Specifications 97
Physical Specifications 97
3rd Party Certifcations 9

GRACENOTE® END-USER LICENSE

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AGREEMENT 98

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PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing a FireBall Media Management system from Escient (a division of D&M Holdings).

ABOUT THIS MANUAL

This FireBall User’s Manual is intended to provide the reader with an overview of the main features and benefits of the Escient FireBall Media
Management Systems. For more information, please refer to the Escient web site (www.escient.com) or contact your Escient dealer.

RECORD YOUR SERIAL NUMBER

The serial number for this unit is located at the rear of the device. Please record the serial number in the space provided below. You may be required
to provide the serial number when calling for support.

FireBall Serial Number:

MANUAL DISCLAIMERS

At the time of printing, the screen shot images in this manual matched the interface screens. However, since FireBall has the capability of
downloading software updates and enhancements on a regular basis, the resulting screen updates may no longer match the images in this manual.
Please check the Escient website for more information about software updates.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

• Do not use this apparatus near water.

• Clean only with a dry cloth.

• Do not block any ventilation openings.

• Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus
(including amplifiers) that produce heat.

• To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the cover. No user serviceable parts are
inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

• To prevent electric shock, do not use a 3 wire to 2 wire adapter plug.

• A three prong grounded outlet is required.

• You are cautioned that any change or modification not expressly approved in this manual or
approved in writing by an authorized representative of Escient could void your warranty and/
or your authority to operate this equipment.

• Prolonged use of any video device which produces a static (non-moving, non-changing) or
repetitive image on your projector, television or plasma display device can cause “screen
burn-in”. You are encouraged to leave the FireBall screen-saver turned on and set to the
lowest possible “time-out” duration. Warning: This device uses the mains plug as the means to
disconnect the unit, this unit remains powered unless disconnected from the mains source.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

TRADEMARKS & SERVICE MARKS

Escient®, the Escient logo, and FireBall® are trademarks of Digital Networks North America.

FireBall and Physital are trademarks of Escient®.

Other product names mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be
trademarks of their respective companies.

Music recognition technology and related data are provided by Gracenote®. Gracenote is
the industry standard in music recognition technology and related content delivery. For more
information visit www.gracenote.com.

CD and music-related data from Gracenote, Inc., copyright © 2000-2007 Gracenote.

Gracenote CDDB® Client Software, copyright 2000-2007 Gracenote. This product and service
may practice one or more of the following U.S. Patents: #5,987,525; #6,061,680; #6,154,773,
#6,161,132, #6,230,192, #6,230,207, #6,240,459, #6,330,593, and other patents issued or pending.

Gracenote and CDDB are registered trademarks of Gracenote. The Gracenote logo and
logotype, and the “Powered by Gracenote” logo are trademarks of Gracenote.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Terms of Coverage - Each Escient branded media management system sold comes with a standard one (2) year warranty. This warranty provides
no-charge coverage under normal product usage, for a period of one year from the date of registration and/or purchase (whichever is earlier). This
warranty program provides the following key features and benefits:

• Twenty four (24) months service, parts and labor.

• No charges to the customer other than in-bound shipping charges which are determined by the shipping method. All return shipments will be via
Standard Ground Transportation (approximately 5 business days).

• Twenty four (24) months of regular hour telephone support (8AM to 6PM EDST), Monday through Friday.

• 24-hour email response from the Escient Support Website.

• Software maintenance updates provided via a broadband or dial-up Internet connections.

• Access to 24-hour music database and entertainment services providing access to thousands of CD and DVD titles and associated information.

What is Covered - The goal of this warranty is to cover operational problems that might arise with your product during normal use. This includes

failure to start, improper operation, or intermittent failures. As part of the warranty, Escient will pay for all labor and materials used in the repair of
the system. Escient reserves the right to use new or factory refurbished parts in the repair of these in-warranty systems. Escient will also pay for the
return shipment of the repaired system via standard ground transportation. At Escient’s discretion, the Company will repair or replace any system sent
in for repair. Upon repair, the product will be new or like-new in condition and will meet all necessary regulatory requirements.

What is Not Covered - Escient products are sold through Escient approved dealers. A number of items must remain intact in order for Escient to

verify and validate this warranty. Additionally, there are several conditions which violate Escient’s warranty program. These include:

• The product was not purchased through an approved Escient Dealer.

• Any product, on which the serial numbers has been defaced, modified or removed physically or electronically will not be covered by an Escient
warranty.

• Escient will not cover under warranty damage to the product as a result of accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, fire, water, lightning, or other acts
of God or nature, improper storage, unauthorized modification, or failure to follow instructions.

• Any type of unauthorized repair or modifications made to the system resulting in damage to the product will not be covered under this warranty.

• Damage caused to the product as a result of improper shipping or installation.

• Any problems related to the use of the product which is not a direct problem with the product.

• Damage caused to the product as a result of improper installation to third party peripherals or products, or incorrect connection to peripheral or
products.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

• Additionally, Escient does not cover the following items under the terms or its warranty programs:

• Installation or removal charges.

• Cost of initial technical adjustments (setup costs).

• Battery replacement.

Escient’s sole liability for any defective product is limited to the repair or replacement of the product at our discretion. Escient shall not be liable
for damages to other property caused by defects in this product, damages based upon inconvenience, loss of use of the product, loss of time or data,
commercial loss or any other damages, whether real, incidental or consequential.

Escient shall not be liable for damage or loss of data including but not limited to music recorded to storage devices. It is the customer’s responsibility
to maintain the original media and/or appropriate backup copies within the specific rights of the media’s copyright holder.

How to Return a Product - Contact your dealer.

Please have the following information ready for your dealer:

• Product Serial Number

• Model Number

• Date of Registration or Purchase

• Place of Purchase

Upon reviewing the request for repair under warranty provisions, Escient’s Technical Support group will issue a Return Material Authorization
(RMA) number. This number is to be attached to the outside of the shipping carton. Additional instructions will be provided by technical support.
Please be sure to use original packing carton and internal packing materials to assure proper shipment of the system. Insurance costs are the
responsibility of the customer.

Out of Warranty Repair - Escient provides out of warranty repair service on a cost plus labor basis. Minimum charges will apply. Technical support

will provide information on this service at the time of the call.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

ESCIENT PRIVACY POLICY

Escient is committed to providing you with a product that you enjoy and are confident in using, and are committed to providing services in a private
and secure environment.

We recognize and respect each individual user’s privacy and have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy.

We want you to be fully informed about the information that we collect, why we collect it, and with whom we share it.

It is our hope that, after reading this notice, you will understand our commitment to privacy and be confident that we will use your information
responsibly. By using the Escient FireBall, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

The option to read the Escient Privacy Policy appears on the zip code screen of the Quick Start automatic setup procedure. In addition, you can
access the statement at any time by pressing the SETUP key and choosing the GENERAL menu, and then selecting the PRIVACY POLICY option..

E-MAIL CONTACT INFORMATION

Escient may be contacted by using the following information. Once you have worked with your local Escient dealer, we encourage you to contact us
if you are in need of any further assistance: Email: [e-mail]

COPYRIGHT

This manual is copyright ©2006 by D&M Holdings and Escient. All rights reserved.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Following are terms used throughout this manual:

• Button - refers to a graphic item on the display screen.

• Group - a collection of similar music titles. Standard genre groups are provided and custom groups can be created by the user.

• Highlight - highlighting is used to indicate the user’s selection on screen. When the selection moves up, down, left, or right, the highlight
moves to the next nearest item. No action is taken (except that more information may be displayed on the screen) until the Select key is
pressed.

• Info Text Area - the portion of the guide screen used to display information about the highlighted title.

• Playlist - a collection of one or more music tracks or songs.

• Title - a collection of music tracks commonly referred to as a CD, Album or Playlist.

• Key - refers to one of the buttons on your remote or keyboard.

• MP3 - a compressed digital audio format. MP3 files are smaller than the original CD tracks and sound almost identical.

• FLAC - a lossless compressed digital audio format. FLAC files are smaller than the original CD tracks and are bit for bit duplicates of the
original.

• WMA - a digital audio format from Microsoft which stands for Windows Media Audio.

• WAV - an uncompressed digital audio format used on commercially produced CDs.

• Guide - a grid or list of information, used to browse your media library.

• Player - the screen used to display the currently playing media.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

SETUP

This manual assumes that you followed the printed “Quick Setup Guide” that came with your FireBall. If you have not properly connected your
FireBall to your audio/video system, please go back and follow the “Quick Setup Guide” guide before continuing with this User Manual.

POWER STATES

After the FireBall unit is plugged in, the Standby LED located next to the power button will flash red until the startup process is complete.

Please wait. This may take several minutes.

When the Standby LED is solid RED, the FireBall is now in a standby or
“sleep” mode. There is no video output when FireBall is in standby mode.
Press the Power button (on the front panel or on the remote) once and the video
output is displayed on your Telly. The unit is now ON and the LED will be solid
blue.

To change from the ON mode back to the standby or “sleep” mode, press the
Power button on the front panel or on the remote once. The video output will go blank and the LED will be solid red.

If power is removed from FireBall for any reason, including a power outage or if the unit is unplugged, FireBall will automatically return to the
Standby state as soon as power is restored. When FireBall is turned on again, FireBall will return to the same source mode that it was in when power
was lost.

To force the FireBall to restart, PRESS and HOLD the Power button on the front of the unit for 4 seconds, and release it when the standby LED
starts blinking.

When the Standby LED is RED and FireBall has completed its startup process, press the Power button once to turn on the FireBall.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW

2 3 4

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1 - POWER
2 - GUIDE SCREEN
3 - MUSIC SOURCE
4 - RADIO SOURCE
5 - CD-RW DRIVE
6 - TEXT DISPLAY & IR RECEIVER
7 - OPEN/CLOSE DRIVE
8 - NAVIGATION
9 - SELECT
10 - TRANSPORT CONTROLS & FAVS

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REAR PANEL OVERVIEW

2

3

4

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1 - POWER
2 - IR IN
3 - DIGITAL AUDIO OPTICAL OUT
4 - ANALOG AUDIO: AUDIO IN, AUDIO OUT
5 - VIDEO OUT: COMPOSITE, S-VIDEO, COMPONENT
6 - COMMUNICATION PORT: 1 PORT SE-160
7 - ETHERNET

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REMOTE OVERVIEW

Code Set - used to set

the universal IR source

UNIVERSAL SOURCE

Telly / Cable / Receiver

See manual for details

Stop / Pause - used to

control playback music.

entry and for canceling

CODE SET

buttons. See manual

control other devices.

Music / iRadio - used

for details.

SELECT

/ DVD - used to con-

figure the remote to

on the universal

remote functions.

MODE GUIDE

SELECT

to select FireBall

modes.

TRANSPORT

CONTROLS

Rewind / Play /

Forward / Record /

Also used for text

certain operations.

POWER

Power - used to toggle
the current source
device on and off.

FIREBALL SELECT

FireBall 1 / FireBall 2
/ FireBall 3 / FireBall
4 - use FB1 to control
the FireBall. Use other
FB buttons if additional
FireBall products are
installed.

ALL / NONE

Toggle ALL or NONE
on Select Guides.

NAVIGATION &
SELECT

Up / Down / Left /
Right / Select - used
to navigate and select
on-screen menus and
buttons.

VIEW / MENU

View / Menu - toggles
through various Guide
Views (artist, title,
cover).

CONTROL

Options - displays
Options menu.

GUIDE

Guide / Player -

toggles between Guide

and Player screens.

INFO

Info - displays ad­ditional music info

VOLUME CONTROL

Volume Up / Volume

Down / Mute - Uni-

versal remote can be

configured to operate

volume on Tellys

and receivers. See

manual for detailed

setup steps.

KEY PAD

Alpha / Numeric / Enter

- used for entering
numbers and text.

Also used for search-

ing in the music and

radio guides.

CONTROL

Mode - changes music

play modes: normal,

random, repeat etc.

Setup - displays Setup

menu.

CHANNEL / PAGE
CONTROL

Channel/Page Up/
Down - used to page
up and down in Guide
and Player screens.

MACRO FUNCTION

Macro Function - used
to directly access vari­ous music and radio
items and controls.

DISC PLAY
FUNCTIONS

Previous / Next - skip
disc functions.

MUSIC PLAY
FUNCTIONS

Repeat / Random

- used to cause the
system to play the
current group/genre
in repeat or random
playback mode.

MUSIC FAVORITES

Add-Favorites /
Play-Favorites - used
to add the currently
highlighted music
track to the Favorites
playlist and to play the
favorites playlist.

FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

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ENTERING TEXT WITH THE REMOTE CONTROL

The remote control can be used to enter text in all text fields. This text entry capability is provided
to allow you to fill out short text fields – such as those that occur in the setup and edit screens.
FireBall’s wireless keyboard should be used when extended typing is required.

Typing Characters with the Remote

The remote control based text entry capability is similar to that provided on standard telephones and
cell phones. Each numeric key has characters associated with it that can be accessed by pressing
the key one or more times. You have .5 seconds after a key is pressed to enter a second character
from the same key. If you press the same key within .5 seconds, the second character associated
with that key replaces the initial character. If you do not press the same key within .5 seconds, the
text cursor moves to the next location so that the same key can be pressed again to enter a second
character.
The “2”, “3”, “4”, “5”, “6”, and “8” keys each support three letters and one number and can be
pressed from one to seven times to display upper case, lower case, and numeric characters. The “7”
and “9” keys both support four letters and one number and can be pressed from one to nine times.
The “1” and “0” keys support all of the special characters and will cycle through each character for
every key press.

The text characters follow the same convention used by a standard telephone – except in the case of
the “1” and “0” keys which contain additional characters.

When entering characters at the beginning of a field or characters that follow a space, FireBall
assumes that upper case characters are preferred. Therefore, characters are entered in the following
cycle – uppercase, lowercase, and numeric. For example, the first key press enters an uppercase
letter corresponding to the first letter associated with the key. Pressing the “2” key once displays an
“A” in the text field, pressing the “2” key twice displays a “B”, pressing it again will

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display a “C”. The fourth key press displays a lower case “a”, the fifth key press displays a lower case “b”, and the sixth key press displays a lower
case “c”. Lastly, pressing the “2” key a seventh time displays the number “2”.

When entering the second character in a text field or the second character following a space, FireBall assumes that lower case is preferred and the
character entry cycles in the following pattern – lowercase, uppercase, and numeric.

The following text entry table describes the sequence of characters that appear when specific keys are pressed on the remote:

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Key

1 1. / , ? ‘ : ; &~! 1. / , ? ‘ : ; &~!

2 ABCabc2 abcABC2

3 DEFdef3 defDEF3

4 GHIghi4 ghiGHI4

5 JKLjkl5 jklJKL5

6 MNOmno6 mnoMNO6

7 PQRSpqrs7 pqrsPQRS7

8 TUVtuv8 tuvTUV8

9 WXYZwxyz9 wxyzWXYZ9

0 0@ _ - * # [ ] ( )+= 0@ _ - * # [ ] ( )+=

Alpha Mode
1stcharacter or 1st character after a space

Alpha Mode 2
character after a space

nd

character or 2nd

FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

ADDITIONAL CONNECTION AND HOOKUP INFORMATION

AUDIO OUTPUTS

The optical digital and analog audio outputs
are both active when playing media from the
internal hard drive or Internet Radio.

VIDEO OUTPUTS

FireBall has several video output formats and
connectors including:

• Component Video

• S-Video

• Composite Video

All video outputs are active at the same time, so
you can use as many as you like without causing
signal degradation.

The Component Video output will provide the best possible video quality for the FireBall User Interface, but will require that your video system has
an available component input.

The S-Video output is typically used for the optional Escient ETP-1500 touch panel to provide the user interface directly on the touch panel.

The composite output is typically used for an a/v distribution system, such as the Opus MCU500, Xantech AV-61 or the Niles ZR-4630/8630
distribution systems.

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VIDEO FORMAT (NTSC AND PAL)

FireBall SEi supports NTSC and PAL video format standards. Follow these steps to set the video format to match that of your video display:

If you have not setup and registered your FireBall...

1) Plug in and Power on your FireBall.

2) When the Red Light on the front panel is solid red, press the POWER button once to make it blue.

3) Using the remote control, Enter the corresponding sequence for your desired video format.

• 64706 = PAL-M, (o,g,p,0,m)

• 64766 = PAL-N (o,g,p,m,n)

• 64724 = PAL-BGHI (o,g,p,b,g)

• 64687 = NTSC (o,g,n,t,s)

4) The FireBall will reboot and the Red Light will start to flash once the 5 digit code is accepted. If the FireBall does not reboot, wait 5
seconds and try the code again.

...or if you have already setup and registered your FireBall:

1) Using your remote control, press the MUSIC button

2) Press the SETUP button

3) enter 8020

4) Press the DOWN arrow

5) Press the OK button

The FireBall should reboot. When the red light is solid red, follow these steps:

6) Press the POWER button once to make it blue.

7) Using the remote control, enter the corresponding sequence for your desired video format.

• 64706 = PAL-M, (o,g,p,0,m)

• 64766 = PAL-N (o,g,p,m,n)

• 64724 = PAL-BGHI (o,g,p,b,g)

• 64687 = NTSC (o,g,n,t,s)

8) The FireBall will reboot and the Red Light will start to flash once the 5 digit code is accepted. If the FireBall does not reboot, wait 5
seconds and try the code again.

FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

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RS-232 CONNECTIONS

COM port is to be used for connecting an Escient ETP-1500 wired touch panel or to interface with a third party control system such as Opus, AMX
or Crestron.

Note: You should use the Ethernet control system for controlling FireBall from a third party control system whenever possible. Using the Ethernet control
system frees up the COM port for other purposes, allows much longer distances between FireBall and the control system, and provides a much faster path
for data transfer.

IR CONNECTIONS

The direct IR input jack on the back panel of the FireBall is for controlling FireBall from a wired IR distribution system such as a Xantech system.
This connection must be an IR signal with a 36kHz carrier using an 1/8” mono or stereo connector.

The IR input jack provides 12V power. This means that you can directly connect a 12V IR receiver (like the Xantech series 291 units) to the FireBall
using a 1/8” stereo connector.

Pin outs for the Wired IR input

• Sleeve = +12v

• Ring = Ground

• Tip = Signal

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

ETHERNET CONNECTIONS

The Ethernet jack on the back panel of the FireBall accepts any standard
twisted pair CAT5 Ethernet cable. If you are connecting FireBall to a home
network, you typically connect a standard Ethernet cable from your Ethernet
router or hub to the FireBall.

There are different grades, or categories, of twisted-pair cabling. Category 5
is the most reliable and widely compatible, and is highly recommended. It runs
easily with 10Mbps networks, and is required for 100Mbps networks. You can
buy Category 5 cabling that is pre-made, or you can cut & crimp your own.

Category 5 cables can be purchased or crimped as either straight-through or
crossed. A Category 5 cable has 8 thin, color-coded wires inside that run from
one end of the cable to the other. Only wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 are used by Ethernet
networks for communication. Although only four wires are used, if the cable
has 8 wires, all the wires have to be connected in both jacks.

Straight-through cables are used for connecting computers to a hub. Crossed
cables are used for connecting a hub to another hub (there is an exception:
some hubs have a built-in uplink port that is crossed internally, which allows
you to uplink hubs together with a straight cable instead).

In a straight-through cable, wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 at one end of the cable are also
wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 at the other end. In a crossed cable, the order of the wires
change from one end to the other: wire 1 becomes 3, and 2 becomes 6.

To figure out which wire is wire number 1, hold the cable so that the end of the
plastic RJ-45 tip (the part that goes into a wall jack first) is facing away from
you. Flip the clip so that the copper side faces up (the springy clip will now be
parallel to the floor). When looking down on the coppers, wire 1 will be on the
far left.

FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

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CAT5 cabling should not exceed 100 meters. The
following drawing depicts the typical wiring scheme for
CAT5.

For more information about wiring an Ethernet network,
please refer to the Linksys web site

(www.linksys.com).

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

REGISTRATION

Registering your FireBall is accomplished automatically when you go through the Quick Start
process described in the User’s Manual. Registration includes properly configuring your FireBall
for Internet access and then connecting to the Escient servers to register your serial number and
download the latest Internet Radio stations.

If you experience difficulty completing the registration process in Quick Start, follow these
guidelines to make sure you have all of the required information and that you can make the proper
connection to your Internet Service Provider and the Escient Servers.

TESTING A BROADBAND CONNECTION

1. Check the Ethernet Network Link - The green LED next to the FireBall’s back panel
Ethernet jack should be on when properly connected to an Ethernet network.

2. From the Ethernet Connection Quick Start screen, select the “perform test” button. This
will start the Ethernet Connection test which will test the following network settings:

a. The ethernet link to your router or hub.
b. The DHCP addressing if you selected Dynamic IP Addressing.
c. The connection to your default Gateway (your route to the Internet).
d. The connection between your router and the Escient server.

If any of these tests fail, check your ethernet wiring with the proper test equipment, make sure your
router is properly configured as a DHCP router, and that you can access the internet using the same
network connection using a PC.

Check with your ISP or network administrator if you need assistance determining whether or not
you should use DHCP IP addressing. If you are going to use a static IP address, it must be in the
proper range assigned to your subnet. Again, check with your ISP or network administrator before
using a static IP address.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

GETTING MUSIC INTO FIREBALL

Before you can enjoy the Music features of your FireBall Media Management system, you will want to get your music collection into the FireBall.
The process of getting music into FireBall is called “Recording” or sometimes “Ripping”.

There are several ways to get your music into FireBall:

• Record CDs using the internal CD Drive

• Transfer Music files from your PC using a network

• Record from an external source (such as a tape, LP, or other real-time source)

You may choose to use any or all of these methods at any time. Each is described on the following pages.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

RECORDING FROM THE INTERNAL CD

The easiest way to get music into your FireBall is to record CDs using the built-in internal CD-RW
drive. This method requires no additional equipment and is very fast, as the internal CD drive can
rip audio at several times the speed of normal playback. This is known as “fast-ripping”.

Follow these steps to record using the internal CD-RW drive:

1. Press the EJECT key on the front panel.

2. Insert an audio CD (label side up) into the CD-RW tray.

3. Press the EJECT key again to close the CD-RW tray.

4. The CD’s artist, album, and track names are automatically retrieved from the Gracenote®
Music Recognition Service and are displayed on your Telly.

5. Press the RECORD key on the remote control to display the Recording Options Menu.

6. Press the RECORD key a second time to choose the default recording option “Record to
Internal Hard Drive”.

7. The Record Select Guide will be displayed showing the current CD with checkmarks to the
right of each track name.

8. Press the RECORD key a third time to begin recording the entire CD to the internal hard
drive.

• When recording is complete, FireBall will return to the Music Guide.

• Repeat steps 1-8 for each disc in your music collection.

• Highlight and Unselect tracks you do not wish to record before pressing RECORD for the
third time.

Note: It is also possible to set the FireBall to automatically record the CD when insert. Refer to the
section “Setting User Preferences” for setting Recording Preferences and Disc Insert Preferences.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

IMPORTING MUSIC FILES

If you have digital audio files already recorded
on your PC or Mac, you can transfer the files
directly to your FireBall using an Ethernet
network. This is a fast and convenient way to
load up your FireBall with your favorite Music
without having to re-record everything.

FireBall will import each audio file, extract
the song information, and add it to your Music
Library.

There are some rules to follow to make sure
your files are transferred correctly. Please make
sure your audio files follow these guidelines
before importing them into your FireBall.

System Requirements

• 10/100 Ethernet network

• PC or Mac connected to the same local ethernet network as the FireBall

• Windows XP or Mac OS X

Audio File Requirements

• MP3 audio files recorded at 96k, 120k, 160k, 192k, 320k, or VBR encoding.

• FLAC audio files

• WMA files (48-192k CBR and up to 215k VBR)

• WAV files (automatically converted to FLAC or MP3 based on the Recording Preferences)

• ID3 tags are supported for both MP3 audio files. Ogg Vorbis style tags are supported for FLAC files.

Cover Art Image Requirements

• JPEG image format

• No larger than 200 pixels wide by 200 pixels high

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

IMPORTING FROM A PC

Make sure your PC is connected to the same network as your FireBall and follow these steps to
mount, transfer, and import music files from your PC to your FireBall.

On the FireBall (Note: This step only needs to be done once.)

1. Press the SETUP key on the remote control to display the Setup menu.

2. Select the NETWORK menu item.

3. Select the SERVER SETTINGS menu item.

4. Enter a name for your FireBall.

On the PC

1. Go to the START menu and select RUN.

2. Enter two backslashes “\\” and the name of your FireBall (the name you
entered into the Server Settings) and click the OK button.

3. You should see the following in a new window on your computer:

4. Drag and drop your audio files onto the Import folder. FireBall will
automatically import, add, and catalog each file into your Music Guide.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

IMPORTING FROM A MAC

FireBall’s File Server acts like a Windows File Server on your network, therefore you will need
to connect using the MacOS X’s built-in Windows networking client. Make sure your Mac is
connected to the same network as your FireBall and follow these steps to mount, transfer, and
import music files from your PC to your FireBall.

1. Go to the Finder and select “Connect to Server…” from the Go Menu.

2. Type “smb://” and the name of your FireBall (the name you entered into the Server
Settings) and click the Connect button

3. You should see the SMB Mount dialog appear on your computer:

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

4. Click on the Content pop-up menu and select the Import directory.

5. Next, an authentication dialog will appear. You can ignore this dialog and just click the OK
button.

6. You will then have a new drive mounted on your desktop called “Import”.

7. Drag and drop your audio files onto the Import folder. FireBall will automatically import,
add, and catalog each file into your Music Guide.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual

RECORDING FROM OTHER EXTERNAL SOURCES

FireBall allows you to record directly from it’s analog inputs to the internal hard drive.

Follow these steps to record from an external source:

1. Press the RECORD key on the remote control to display the Recording Options Menu.

2. Highlight and select the recording option “Record from Ext Inputs to the Internal Hard
Drive”.

3. External Record Options screen will be displayed showing the default information for the
recording you are about to make. You can use these default settings or edit them. The
default recording length is 30 minutes. Enter a different number to increase or decrease
the recording time.

4. When you are finished editing the default settings, press the RECORD key again to start
recording from the external analog inputs to the hard drive.

• When recording is complete, FireBall will return to the Music Guide.

• Recording from the External Inputs creates one Title with one Track and adds the Title to
the Music Guide.

• You can edit the data later, just like any other Title. Please refer to the “Managing Your
Media” section for more details.

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FireBall™ SEi User’s Manual