Grass Valley iControl Solo User Manual v.6.00

User Guide

Version 6.00

M786-1600-328

11 March 2014

Belden, Belden Sending All The Right Signals, and the Belden logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Belden Inc. or its affiliated companies in the United States and other jurisdictions. Miranda, iControl, Kaleido-X, Kaleido-K2, Kaleido-Alto, NVision, and Densité are trademarks or registered trademarks of Miranda Technologies Partnership. All rights reserved. Belden Inc., Miranda Technologies Partnership and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

Warranty Policies

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

Title iControl Solo Version 6.00 User Guide

Part Number M786-1600-328

Revision Date 11 March 2014 11:22 am

Table of Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

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

Differences Between iControl Solo and the Standard iControl System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

2 Getting Started with iControl Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Communicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Densité Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

License Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Detailed Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Connecting Densité and Imaging Series Housing Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Adding Densité Communicator Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Adding Kaleido-Solo Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Configuring Imaging Communicator Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Licensing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Using iControl Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

iControl Solo Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Control Panels and Device Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Control Panel Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Info Control Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Devices Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Alarm Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Reference Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Loudness Logging and Analyzing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Densité Upgrade Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Detailed Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Opening iControl Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Closing iControl Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Opening Control Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Opening Info Control Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Changing Device Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Managing Device Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Adding Cards to the Reference Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

toc

Removing Cards from the Reference Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Working with Loudness Logger and Loudness Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Working with Densité Upgrade Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Installing IC-USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

IC-USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

IC-USB Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Detailed Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Connecting the IC-USB Device to a PC or Laptop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Connecting the IC-USB Device to a Miranda Quartet 2 Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Connecting the IC-USB Device to a Miranda Symphonie Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Determining the IC-USB COM Port Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Installing a Single Imaging Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Installing Multiple Imaging Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Overview

This guide describes how to configure and use iControl Solo for controlling and monitoring devices required in the broadcast signal path for interfacing, routing and distribution. iControl Solo is designed and produced by Miranda.

iControl Solo is a stand-alone, PC-based control application which offers affordable control directly from a desktop or laptop that has Windows 7™. It provides easy list-based control and configuration of up to 100 Densité Series and/or Imaging Series modules. Operators are provided with quick access to devices and parameters for fast and easy control. More advanced control requirements demanding simultaneous, multi-device monitoring and error logging, and a customized, highly graphical user interface, can be met with the iControl Application Server. A USB-to-RS-422 adapter (IC-USB) used to connect Imaging Series housing frames is sold separately.

In brief, iControl Solo offers the following key features and benefits:

Introduction

• an iControl Solo window with different sorting options, similar to iControl Navigator,

• drivers for most Miranda Densité and Imaging devices,

• the ability to interface up to 100 devices,

• easy problem resolution using status indicators,

•ideal for set and forget operations.

• [OPTIONAL] a loudness logging and analysis service (IC-LOUDNESS-LOG-1-SOLO loudness logging option for one device to be installed on iControl Solo)

Differences Between iControl Solo and the Standard iControl System

iControl Solo does not:

•provide thumbnails,

• use a GSM (Global Status Manager) for central management of alarm conditions and error logging,

• support audio level meters (ALMs),

• support Virtual Service Managers for configuring and controlling Miranda proc amp devices,

• support Router Manager for configuring and controlling routing switchers.

Introduction

Overview

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Key Concepts

Communicators

Communicators are software components that implement a specific protocol for controlling a family of devices.

Communicators in iControl Solo are responsible for the discovery process whereby a PC or laptop detects Miranda devices connected to its serial ports or on the LAN, and initiates services to control these devices.

A communicator is an application that handles the communications between your PC or laptop and Densité or Imaging series frames on the network. The two types of communicators (Imaging and Densité) are configurable services in iControl Solo.

Imaging Communicators allow you to control signal processing and distribution performance modules housed in Miranda Imaging series (Symphonie, Quartet 2) frames. The Imaging series frames are connected to your PC or laptop via RS-422 serial ports.

Densité Communicators allow you to control interfacing and distribution modules housed in Miranda Densité frames. A Densité frame is connected to the network via its Densité Controller Ethernet port.

To be able to use a communicator, the service must be configured. If the service is not configured, you will not be able to control the devices even if they are connected. If the service is configured, but there are no cards connected, only the service will be displayed in iControl Solo.

Densité Manager

The Densité Manager is a service that allows you to manage multiple Densité frames (using Densité Communicators).

For the Densité Manager to discover cards and begin controlling services, you need to specify the IP addresses of the Densité frames that it will manage. Each frame may contain up to 20 devices. If you do not add any addresses, or if you add an incorrect address, the Densité Manager will not discover any frames.

License Management

License management is the method by which iControl Solo administrators can request, activate, and distribute licenses for options. The majority of tasks related to license management have as a starting point the Miranda License Manager page.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Customer-supplied PC or laptop that has iControl

Up to 4 daisy-chained Imaging frames

Up to 100 Densité cards

Detailed Directions

Concept Description

License An agreement to use a specific software module or collection of modules under specific terms

Miranda License Manager

Software Feature A licensable portion of software.

License request file A file iControl Solo generates that you send to Miranda by e-mail in order to request licenses for

Activation file A file Miranda sends to you that unlocks and activates one or more optional features.

See also

For more information about licensing, see "Licensing Options", on page 9.

Detailed Directions

To set up your iControl Solo system you will need to:

• connect the Densité and Imaging frames that house the cards you wish to control

• connect the Kaleido-Solos you wish to control

• configure Densité and Imaging services in iControl Solo

• configure KSolo services in iControl Solo

Web-based license management for end-users.

one or more optional features.

Connecting Densité and Imaging Series Housing Frames

You can connect your iControl Solo PC to Densité frames and Kaleido-Solos over the network through an Ethernet router, or directly via a crossover cable. Imaging frames (Symphonie and Quartet 2) are connected to your PC or laptop using either the IC-USB device, or an RS-232-toRS-422 converter.

Connecting multiple Densité Series frames through a router, and up to 4 Imaging Series frames via IC-USB

Connecting a single Densité Series frame without a router

Crossover Cable

See also

For more information about the IC-USB device, see "Installing IC-USB", on page 63.

Adding Densité Communicator Services

To add a Densité Communicator service

1. Open iControl, Solo and double-click DensiteManager in the logical view.

iControl Solo

User Guide

2. In DensiteManager, click Add.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Adding Kaleido-Solo Services

3. In the Target Information window, type the frame’s IP address and a descriptive name for the new Densité Communicator service, and then click OK.

The new Densité Communicator will be started and added to the list. iControl Solo will query the corresponding Densité frame and any devices (e.g. cards) it discovers will be displayed in iControl Solo.

Adding Kaleido-Solo Services

To add a Kaleido-Solo service

1. Open iControl, Solo and double-click DensiteManager in the logical view.

2. In DensiteManager, click Add.

iControl Solo

User Guide

3. In the Target Information window, type the Kaleido-Solo’s IP address and a descriptive name for the new service, and then click OK.

The new Kaleido-Solo will be started and added to the list.

Configuring Imaging Communicator Services

To configure the Imaging Communicator service

1. Open iControl Solo, and double-click ImagingCommunicator in the logical view.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Configuring Imaging Communicator Services

2. In ImagingCommunicator, click Standby.

3. In the COM Port list select the COM port you chose when you installed the IC-USB device

Note: COM port can only be selected in Standby mode.

4. Click Online to activate the selected port.

The Imaging Communicator service will be restarted and iControl Solo will query all Imaging Series frames interfaced to your computer. Any devices (e.g. cards) housed in the frames will be displayed in iControl Solo.

Licensing Options

Perform the tasks listed in the following workflow in the prescribed sequence.

Workflow: Requesting and Activating a License for iControl Solo

Workflow: Requesting and activating a license for iControl Solo

In iControl Solo, open Miranda License Manager (see page 9).

Request the desired license (see page 10).

Wait for Miranda to return an activation file.

Upload the activation file to the PC on which you have iControl Solo installed

(see "Activating a License", on page 12).

Activate the license (see page 12).

iControl Solo

User Guide

Opening Miranda License Manager

REQUIREMENT

Before beginning this procedure, make sure you have opened iControl Solo (see page 31).

To open Miranda License Manager

• In iControl Solo, on the Help menu, click License.

Miranda License Manager appears.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Requesting a License

IMPORTANT: When licensing for the IC-LOUDNESS-LOG1-SOLO option, the number of licenses

must match the number of devices you with to log from (for example, if you have seven Kaleido-Solo units, each of which are providing streaming loudness data to your iControl Solo, then you must have seven IC-LOUDNESS-LOG1-SOLO licenses).

REQUIREMENTS

Make sure you meet the following conditions before beginning this procedure:

• You have opened Miranda License Manager (see page 9).

• You are able to send and receive e-mail on your client PC.

To request a license

1. In Miranda License Manager, in the Request feature column, use the up () and down ( ) arrows to specify the number of licenses you would like to purchase.

Miranda License Manager before specifying the number of licenses desired

iControl Solo

User Guide

Miranda License Manager after specifying the number of licenses desired

2. Click Download license request file for selected features.

A confirmation message appears.

3. Validate the information listed in the confirmation, and if satisfactory, click OK. If not satisfactory, click Cancel.

If you clicked OK, you are prompted to save the downloaded license request file.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Activating a License

4. Save the MLR file to a convenient location on your hard drive.

5. In your e-mail client application, create a new e-mail with the following recipient:

ordering@miranda.com

6. Attach to this e-mail the MLR file you saved to your local hard drive in step 4, and then send the e-mail.

The request for an activation file is sent to Miranda. Wait until Miranda provides you with the activation file before proceeding to the next task in the workflow (see "Workflow:

Requesting and Activating a License for iControl Solo", on page 9).

See also

For more information about licensing, see "License Management", on page 3.

Activating a License

IMPORTANT: When licensing for the IC-LOUDNESS-LOG1-SOLO option, the number of licenses

REQUIREMENTS

Make sure you meet the following conditions before beginning this procedure:

• You have opened Miranda License Manager (see page 9).

• You have received an activation file from Miranda and it is stored on your client PC’s hard drive (either a

V2C file or a ZIP file).

iControl Solo

User Guide

To activate a license

1. In Miranda License Manager, in the Licensed feature activation form area, click Browse.

A browse window appears.

2. Navigate to the directory containing the appropriate activation file.

IMPORTANT: Activation files may be V2C or ZIP files

The file Miranda sends back to you may have a v2c suffix or a zip suffix. In either case, the steps to follow are the same.

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Activating a License

3. Select and then open the file.

In Miranda License Manager, the path and file name of the desired activation file appear next to the Browse button.

4. Click Upload license activation file.

A confirmation window appears.

In Miranda License Manager, in the row corresponding to the feature for which you bought licenses, the Status column displays the number of active licenses you have.

See also

For more information about licensing, see "License Management", on page 3.

iControl Solo

User Guide

Getting Started with iControl Solo

Activating a License

Key Concepts

Menu bar Hierarchical navigation area

Sorting tabsStatus bar

iControl Solo Window

When you open iControl, you see the menu bar, the hierarchical iControl Solo area, sorting tabs for three different iControl Solo views, and a status bar.

Using iControl Solo

The menu bar provides access to iControl Solo’s main features.

The status bar is where iControl Solo displays messages related to its current operations.

The sorting tabs are a way of filtering the information provided in the hierarchical iControl Solo area to include all devices or a subset.

The hierarchical iControl Solo area is a representation of all the devices interfaced with iControl Solo.

You can use the plus and minus buttons in the hierarchy to navigate the hierarchical list views by expanding and collapsing folders and groups (see "Managing Device Groups", on page 32 for details).

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