Grass Valley iControlEdge User Manual v.1.20

iControl Edge Version 1.20

Operator’s Overview

Part Number: M867-0700-101 18 November 2009

ATTENTION: please read the following terms and conditions carefully. By using iControl Edge documentation, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

Miranda Technologies Inc. hereby grants permission and license to owners of iControl Edge to use their product manuals for their own internal business use. Manuals for Miranda Technologies Inc. products may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose unless specifically authorized in writing by Miranda Technologies Inc.

A Miranda Technologies Inc. manual may have been revised to reflect changes made to the product during its manufacturing life. Thus, different versions of a manual may exist for any given product. Care should be taken to ensure that one obtains the proper manual version for a specific product serial number.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Miranda Technologies Inc.

Warranty Policies

Warranty information is available in the Support section of the Miranda Web site (www.miranda.com).

Title iControl Edge Version 1.20 Operator’s Overview

Part Number M867-0700-101

Revision November 18, 2009 4:47 pm

Table of Contents

1 Introduction to iControl Edge 1

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Operational Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

User Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Reference Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 iControl Edge Web Monitoring 9

Overview of the Monitoring Web Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Monitoring Web Page Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Channel Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Audible Alarm Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Alarm Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Audio Mute Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Frame Rate Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configure Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Application Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

DVR Recording Mode Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

DVR Info Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Multi-Channel Monitoring Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Alarm Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Log Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Service-Specific Log Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Alarm Action Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Global Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Player Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Detailed Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

iii

toc

Viewing the Application Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Controlling Set-Top Boxes and DVRs from a Soft Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Configuring Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Configuring an Allégro System from the Detail View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Disabling Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Snoozing Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Scheduling Operational Mode Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Appendix A: Glossary 55

Introduction to iControl Edge

iControl Edge enables television service providers to cost-effectively monitor hundreds of

television signals spread across multiple remote locations, using remotely controlled set-

top boxes and receiver/decoders. It consists of a suite of existing Miranda products that

have been specifically packaged into an “off-the-shelf” monitoring solution.

Summary

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Operational Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Reference Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Overview

An iControl Edge system is a combination of various quantities and models of Miranda iControl, Allégro (optional), and Densité products as well as third-party set-top box infrared interface units. At each remote head-end, the set-top box signals are fed into Densité control probes or to an Allégro-1 Analog encoder/ server. The signals are then streamed back to the Network Operations Center’s iControl Edge monitoring system. The iControl Edge system can be easily expanded to offer set-top box monitoring of up to 16 head ends from a central Network Operations Center.

Combining the flexibility of iControl Web and the advanced processing and alarm capabilities of Densité probes, iControl Edge allows any television service provider to perform comprehensive monitoring by exception of all its important video and audio signals. Using LAN and WAN connectivity, iControl Edge allows complete monitoring of multiple signals, across wide geographical areas.

Introduction to iControl Edge

The system can include one or more Allégro encoders for streaming remote signals in the form of fullmotion video and audible audio. This allows operators, from their desktop, to listen to audio programs and to view high-quality video streams featuring multiple video images, closed captioning, audio level meters and metadata.

As a multi-signal monitoring system, iControl Edge performs simultaneous verification on multiple remote, multi-format video, audio and ancillary signals from set-top boxes, while cycling through channels. The system provides signal probing on an extensive set of signal parameters, including:

• video signal loss

•video black

• video freeze

• video luma

• macroblocking (optional)

•audio silence

• audio overload In the event of a signal fault, the system generates alarms and provides telemetry information, which is

automatically logged for reports.

Operational Overview

Customizable elements (e.g. station names, signal paths) are stored in spreadsheets that can be edited using the Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet software. By adding elements to (or removing them from) a spreadsheet, you can dynamically update your monitoring system.

Operational Overview

The diagram below shows the relationship between the elements of an iControl Edge system, and how they work together to provide real-time monitoring of signals.

User Interface

Once the iControl Edge system is up and running, monitoring data and live audio/video streams are automatically presented to operators within a Web page. The operator has easy access to current and historical information on every device and signal being monitored.

iControl Edge user interface (initial view)

Introduction to iControl Edge

iControl Edge user interface (Detailed Channel Analysis area)

User Interf ace

iControl Edge user interface (Application Browser area: Application Selector, Soft Remote, and DVR Info)

iControl Edge user interface (probe configuration window, with detailed alarm panel and soft remote)

Introduction to iControl Edge

Reference Material

The table below contains a list of some of the documentation available with your iControl Edge system. Each device also ships with a set of release notes that contain important information.

Part number Description

M867-0602-101 iControl Edge Installation & Setup Guide

M867-0700-101 iControl Edge Operator’s Overview

M659-9900-100 Densité CPU-ETH2 Enhanced Ethernet Controller Card

M262-9900-101 Densité Housing Frame

-OR-

M844-9900-100 Densité3 Housing Frame

— Global Caché GC-IRL IR Learner Quick Start Guide

— Global Caché GC-100-12 Network Adapter Quick Start Guide

Guide to Installation and Operation

M226-9900-270 iControl User’s Guide

(available by clicking the Documentation link on the iControl Startup Page)

— iControl v3.X User’s Guide [PRELIMINARY]

(available by clicking the Documentation link on the iControl Startup Page)

M719-9900-280 Miranda Allégro-1 User Guide

(available from the Allégro Startup page)

1. Available from the “Support Documents and Files” section of Global Caché’s Web site (see http://www.globalcache.com/support/support_docs.html)

Reference Material

You may also need to refer to the documentation received with the set of Densité probes you ordered for your monitoring purposes.

Video probe Audio probe

Part number Description Part number Description

M667-9900-100 VCP-1021 Composite Video Control Probe

Guide to Installation and Operation

M649-9900-104 ACP-1721 Digital Audio Control Probe

Guide to Installation and Operation

...or any of the following: ...with any of the following:

M761-9300-102 DEC-1002 10-Bit Composite to SDI Decoder

Guide to Installation and Operation

M761-9400-100 DEC-1003 10-Bit Composite to SDI Decoder

Guide to Installation and Operation

M761-9900-101 DEC-1021 12-Bit Composite to SDI Decoder

Guide to Installation and Operation

M761-9500-100 DEC-1023 12-Bit Composite to SDI Decoder

Guide to Installation and Operation

M768-9900-101 UAP-1781 –Eight Channel Universal

Audio Processor Installation and Operation Manual

M768-8900-101 UAP-1783 Eight Channel Universal

Audio Processor Guide to Installation and Operation

M768-8200-100 AAP-1741 Four Channel Analog Audio

Processor Guide to Installation and Operation

...or the following probe: ...with the following converter:

M813-9900-110 HCP-1801HD/SD SDI Control Probe

Guide to Installation and Operation

M666-9900-100 SCP-1121 Digital Video Control Probe w.

Embedded Audio Guide to Installation and Operation

M822-9900-101 ADC-800 CAM

HDV Camera HD/SD A-to-D Converter Guide to Installation and Operation

Note: When referring to the documents listed above, keep in mind that the constituent products of an iControl Edge system may have features that are not supported in the context of iControl Edge.

Introduction to iControl Edge

iControl Edge Web Monitoring

This section provides a tour of the elements (panels, buttons, menus, etc.) that are part of

the iControl Edge monitoring application’s user interface.

Summary

Overview of the Monitoring Web Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Monitoring Web Page Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Detailed Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Overview of the Monitoring Web Page

When your iControl Edge system is up and running, the Application Server makes available a monitoring Web page to clients connected via the iControl Web browser window. This Web page is actually a sophisticated Java-based interface that gives you all the functionality you need to monitor your configuration.

iControl Edge Web Monitoring

Up to five tabs

Multi-Channel Monitoring area

Channel Selector area

Audible alarm buttons

Left side of iControl Edge window (initial view)

Detailed Channel Analysis

area

Overview of the Monitoring Web Page

Location indicator Clock

Application Browser

Channel Selector area

Right side of iControl Edge window (initial view)

The default layout measures 3200 pixels wide by 1200 pixels high, and is meant to be displayed across two equal-sized monitors set to a resolution of 1600 × 1200.

Note: In single-screen layouts, the Detailed Channel Analysis and Application Browser areas are not labelled as such. The detail view, the cycler view and the application view appear in Multi-Channel Monitoring area. The Remote Control/DVR Info area appear with the detail view, and the Application Selector appears with the cycler view.

You can view a larger video preview and more detailed information about a specific channel by clicking the corresponding Channel Selector button, or by clicking the station’s logo or name above a player.

The detail view includes a Log Viewer that automatically displays all alarms and events associated with the selected channel.

iControl Edge Web Monitoring

Description (from spreadsheet)

Full-resolution video thumbnail

of selected signal/feed

Detailed alarm panel Log Viewer

Monitoring Web Page Elements

Channel Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Audible Alarm Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Alarm Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Audio Mute Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Frame Rate Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configure Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Application Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Channel Selector

Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

DVR Recording Mode Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

DVR Info Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Multi-Channel Monitoring Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Probe Configuration Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Alarm Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Log Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Service-Specific Log Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Alarm Action Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Global Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Player Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Channel Selector

The Channel Selector panel contains blocks of feeds (audio/visual signals), each associated with a location. The number, order, and naming of these blocks is determined by the iControl Edge Configuration Spreadsheets (see “Modifying the iControl Edge Configuration Spreadsheets” in the iControl Edge Installation & Setup Guide).

Channel

Position pointer over channel to view long signal name (from configuration spreadsheet)

Group

Visual patterns in the Channel Selector can help identify the likely cause of multiple alarms. Click the SORT MENU button to select different grouping criteria for the Channel Selector:

iControl Edge Web Monitoring

Audible Alarm Buttons

The Acknowledge and Mute/unmute sound buttons are used to manage audible alarms.

Acknowledge

Mute/unmute sound

• Click the Acknowledge button to acknowledge the current audible alarm.

This turns off the alarm sound until a new alarm condition is detected.

• Click the Mute/unmute sound button to turn off the sound for all current and future alarms. Click again

to enable alarm sounds.

• The audible alarm buttons can be disabled or enabled in the iControl Edge Configuration spreadsheets.

Alarm Panels

Alarm Panels display the overall status of audio and video alarms for each feed in the currently active Location (highlighted in the Channel Selector panel). The alarms and their names are configured and defined in the iControl Edge Configuration Spreadsheets.

Alarm Panels

Summary alarm panel (in Multi-Channel Monitoring area)

• Right-click an alarm to display the Alarm Action menu.

• Click a Channel name or logo to display more detailed information in the Detailed Channel Analysis

area.

Detailed alarm panel (in Detailed Channel Analysis area)

+ 43 hidden pages