Extron Electronics VN-Matrix 250 Setup Guide

VN-Matrix® 250 • Setup Guide

The Extron VN-Matrix (VNM) 250 Series consists of the VNE 250 encoder and
the VND250 decoder. They integrate into VN-Matrix systems to provide real-time
transmission of high resolution AV content across standard IP networks. The VNE250
encodes video or graphics sources at resolutions up to HD or 2K (2048x1080) using
the Extron PURE3™ Codec, a unique wavelet-based compression technology.
The VND250 decodes the content back to the original source resolution or a user
selected resolution. The VNM 250 Series offers real-time streaming and low latency, making it ideal for remote collaborative and
interactive or control applications. It can be deployed in live event streaming and high level conferencing for specialized projects.

NOTE: For full installation, configuration, and operation details, refer to the VN-Matrix 250 User Guide, at www.extron.com.

Before You Connect to a Network

Before connecting each VN-Matrix to a network, congure the network settings. On an existing network, check with the network
administrator for a range of suitable IP addresses.

VN-Matrix Controller

One VN-Matrix device in the system must be designated the controller. For large systems (ten or more devices) this must be a
VNM Enterprise Controller. For smaller systems (up to ten devices), the controller may be a VNM 250 device (either an encoder or
decoder). All system conguration is achieved via a web interface that is served up by the device acting as system controller.

Setup Procedure

Follow the instructions in the Connections and Initial Conguration sections for each individual VN-Matrix device, then follow the
Operation section instructions to create a VN-Matrix system. See the VN-Matrix 250 User Guide for more detailed information.

Rear Panel Features

The following illustration shows the rear panels of the VND 250 (top) and VNE 250 (bottom):

LAN 1

2

POWER
12V

2.0 A MAX

LAN 2

STREAMINGCONTROL

1

3 4 6 9

LAN 1

2

POWER
12V

2.0 A MAX

LAN 2

STREAMINGCONTROL

1

3 4 5 8

DC power connector

a

Control network RJ-45 connector

b

Streaming network RJ-45 connector

c

Streaming network SFP connector (optional)

d

USB port (VNE 250)

e

USB ports (VND 250)

f

HDMI input (VNE 250)

g

HDMI loop-through (VNE 250)

h

HDMI output (VND 250)

i

Reset button (recessed)

j

Analog video input (VNE 250)

k

ACT/

ACT/

1

USB

2

LINK

USB

LINK

PC

LOOP THRU LOOP THRU

7

OUTPUT

HDMI

INPUT 1

HDMI

RESET

RESET

INPUT 2

RGB

11

12 18161910 20

RETURN AUDIO

L

R

Tx Rx

GTxRxNOG IN GOUT

COMS INPUT

PASS THRU ALARM GENLOCKCONTROL

15

18171910 21

LOOP

AUDIO

THRU

L

R

Tx Rx

GTxRxNOG IN GOUT

COMS

PASS THRU ALARM TTLCONTROL

13

14

Analog video loop-through (VNE 250)

l

Program audio loop-through (VNE 250)

m

Program audio input (VNE 250)

n

Return audio input (VND 250)

o

Return audio output (VNE 250)

p

Program audio output (VND 250)

q

RS-232 coms

r

Alarm relay

s

TTL (VNE 250; not implemented)

t

Genlock (VND 250)

u

AUDIO

LR

RETURN AUDIO

L R

OUTPUT

I/O

OUTPUT

I/O

1

Connections

Control Network port

Streaming Network port

0

Please select an option:

1. Connect a power supply to the VNM 250 devices (rear panel diagrams,

2. Connect the Streaming Network ports (LAN 2) of all the devices to the network (

a

).

or d).

c

NOTE: For normal operation, the Control Network port (LAN 1) (

3. Make the video connections:

a. Connect an HDMI source to the HDMI input port (

g

) or an analog source to the analog input port (k) of the VNE 250.

) is not required.

b

Both input types can be connected but only one output as a stream at any one time.

b. Connect displays to the HDMI loop-through port (

c. Connect a HDMI display to the HDMI output port (

4. Make the program audio connections (optional):

a. Connect the program audio to the ve-pole, program audio captive screw input (

b. Connect an amplier and speakers to the program audio loop-through TRS connector (

c. Connect amplier and speakers to the program audio ve-pole captive screw output (

5. Make the return audio connections (optional):

a. Connect the return audio to the to the ve-pole, return audio captive screw input (

b. Connect amplier and speakers to the return audio ve-pole captive screw output (

6. Make the pass-through data transfer connections (optional):

a. For RS-232 pass-through, one VNM 250 device will be the server (connected to a control PC or other control device) and

) or the analog loop-through port (l) of the VNE 250, if required.

h

) of the VND 250.

i

) of the VNE 250.

n

) of the VNE 250, if required.

m

) of the VND 250.

q

) of the VND 250.

o

) of the VNE 250.

p

one or more VNM 250 devices will be connected to the equipment that is to be controlled (clients). Either the encoder or
the decoder can act as the server. Connect the three left pins of the RS-232 Coms port on the server (r) to the serial
port of a PC (pin 1 = Tx, pin2= Rx, and pin 3 = Ground).

b. Connect the three left pins of the RS-232 Coms port on the clients (

) to the devices that are to be controlled

r

(pin1=Tx, pin 2 = Rx, and pin 3 = Ground).

7. Connections to the remaining ports on the VNM 250 units are optional. Follow the instructions provided in the VN-Matrix250

Series User Guide on www.extron.com.

After making the connections described above, you must congure the system. Initial, low-level conguration is described in the
next section. More advanced conguration requires system controller GUI control. See the VNM 250 Series User Guide.

Initial Configuration

1. Before starting, talk to your network administrator to obtain IP addresses for all units in the system.

2. Make connections for the low-level conguration of the VNM 250 unit. Connect the serial port of a PC to the three right pins

of the RS-232 Coms port (pin 3 = Ground; pin 4 = Tx; pin 5 = Rx).

NOTE: This connection is required for low level configuration only but not for normal operation. It does not need to

remain in place once the device is configured.

3. Open Extron DataViewer on the PC. In the opening dialog box, ensure the communications settings are:

●

Baud rate = 115200

4. When prompted, enter the login and password. By default both the login and password are config. The low level

conguration menu opens:

====================

0. Speed/Duplex: auto_10_100_1000

1. IP Prov mode: static [dhcp]

2. address: 192.168.253.254

3. netmask: 255.255.255.0

6. mtu: 1500

7. VLAN ID: 0

8. controller ip: 192.168.254.254

9. Exit

●

Data bits = 8

●

Parity = none

======================

10. Speed/Duplex: auto_10_100_100

11. IP Prov mode: static [dhcp]

12. address: 192.168.254.254

13. netmask: 255.255.255.0

14. gateway: 192.168.254.1

16. mtu: 1500

17. VLAN ID: 0

18. Controller port: 5432

19. webserver port: 80

●

Stop bits = 1

●

Flow control = none.

2

5. Edit the options as required:

6. DHCPD/SLAAC server enable: none

9. Exit

Please select an option:

a. At the Please select an option: prompt, enter the number of the option you wish to edit and press <Enter>.

b. Enter the value for the new setting and press <Enter>.

NOTES: For normal operation, the Control Network port is not required. Options 1 - 3 do not need to be configured.

6. Follow the instructions in step 5 to set option 11 to static (type static and press <Enter>).

7. Follow the instructions in step 5 to assign values to options 8, 12, 13, and 14.

NOTES:

●

When entering IP addresses, do not use leading zeroes. For example, 192.168.10.25 is valid but

192.168.010.025 is not.

●

Option 8 is the IP address of the system controller and must be the same for all devices in the VN-Matrix system.

●

For a small system, with a VNM 250 device acting as system controller, the Controller IP address (Option 8) must
be the same as the Streaming Network IP address (Option 12) of the device that is acting as system controller. In
a large system, option 8 must be set to the IP address of the VNM Enterprise Controller

8. When all the options have been edited as required, at the Please select an option: prompt, enter 9 and press

<Enter>. The second low-level conguration menu screen opens (see the
gure to the right).

9. Ensure option 6 is set to none. If not, select option 6, enter none and

press <Enter>.

10. Enter 9 and press <Enter>. The unit shuts down and reboots.

Operation

After connecting and assigning IP addresses (Initial Conguration) to the individual units, congure each device in the system:

1. Open a PC with access to the VN-Matrix network and in a suitable

browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer) type the IP
address of the system controller in the browser address bar. The
login page opens for the Enterprise Controller GUI (Figure 1) or the
VNM 250 controller GUI (Figure 2):

2. Enter the Username and Password and click Login.

By default, for the Enterprise Controller GUI, the username is admin
and there is no password (leave the box empty)

By default, for the VNM 250 Controller GUI, the username and
password are both admin.

Figure 1: Enterprise Controller Login Screen

NOTE: These values may have been reset; check with your

network administrator.

Both the control programs open at the corresponding Device
List page. For complete instructions about using the Enterprise
Controller, see the VN-Matrix Enterprise Controller User Guide. The
VNM 250 GUI Device List tab lists all the devices in the system
along with the icons used:

Device: Encoder Device: Decoder

Mode: Encoder

Alarm status gray (no
contact with controller)

Mode: Decoder

Alarm status green
(noalarms)

Figure 2: VNM 250 Controller GUI Login Screen

Alarm status yellow
(Warning alarms only)

Alarm status red
(Critical alarms)

3

Correctly congured devices are listed in the device list page (see page 3). If devices are not listed as expected, check that the
IPaddress of the controller is congured (option 8 in Initial Conguration).

3. Click on any unit in the Device List to open the Device tab for that unit. From the Device tab for an encoder, you can congure

the input video, audio, and data stream. From the Device tab for a decoder, you can congure the output video. See the
VN-Matrix 250 Series User Guide for complete information about conguring.

4. Use the GUI to congure other functions:

●

Text overlay — allows text to be displayed on the pass-through monitor (VNE 250) or display monitor (VND 250). This
helps to identify a specic unit in a complex system.

●

Return audio — allows bidirectional communication between a decoder and the associated encoder.

●

KVM functionality — allows remote collaboration between different endpoints on the network. A mouse and keyboard
connected to a decoder can be used with a PC connected to the associated encoder.

●

Genlock — synchronizes the video output of multiple decoders.

●

RS-232 pass-through control — allows a PC connected to one VNM 250 unit to control a remote device connected to
a second VNM 250 unit.

●

Alarms — The alarms and alarm logs tabs allow the user to monitor problems in the system.

Troubleshooting

TIP: When diagnosing problems with an encoder or source, it is recommended that a local monitor be connected to the

VNE250.

The VNM 250 units provide several tools that can help to diagnose any problems with the system:

Front Panel Status Indicators — four LEDs on the front panel indicate the status of the control network, streaming network, the
device, and alarms.

Name Color Function

Control

Stream

Status

Alarm

Orange

Orange

Green

Red

Indicates the status of the control network port:

Fully lit or Flashing intermittently – control data is being transmitted or received by the port.
Unlit – no data or no network connection detected.

Indicates the status of the active network port (streaming):

Fully lit or Flashing intermittently – system control or source data is being transmitted or received by the port.
Unlit – no data or no network connection detected.

Indicates the status of the VNE 250 or the VND 250.

Condition Encoder (source) Decoder (display)

Unlit No source input detected. No source being received.
Flashing Source being streamed (for example a stream is provisioned to a decoder).Source being received.

Fully lit N/ASource present but not being streamed (for example, no stream is

provisioned to a decoder).

Fully lit – indicates that a critical alarm has occurred.

Flashing – indicates an over-temperature condition.

The front panel display provides access to some of the VNM 250 device features. The menu screens default to show status
information about the device:

Front Panel Default Menu Screens (Encoder) — the Input summary provides information about the currently connected
source. The Connection summary provides information on the current streaming connections. The Controller summary provides
information about the status of the connection to the system controller.

Front Panel Main Menu, Input Screens (Encoder) — provide information about the currently connected source, enable or
disable loop-through, and set the loop-through monitor power save time out.

Front Panel Default Menu Screens (Decoder) — the Output summary provides information about the current output mode and
status. The Connection summary provides information on the current streaming connections. The Controller summary provides
information about the status of the connection to the system controller.

Front Panel Main Menu, Output Mode Screens (Decoder) — enables and disables the decoder output mode and sets the
output display power save options

Controller Web User Interface, Device List — ensure that the device is listed.

Controller Web User Interface, Alarms and Alarms Logs — monitor the active alarms on the system.

For more information, see the Troubleshooting section of the VNM 250 Series User Guide or contact Extron S3 Technical Support.

Extron Headquarters

+1.800.633.9876 (Inside USA/Canada Only)

Extron USA - West Extron USA - East
+1.714.491.1500 +1.919.850.1000
+1.714.491.1517 FAX [phone] FAX

© 2013 Extron Electronics All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. www.extron.com

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+31.33.453.4050 FAX

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