SVSi N-Series Pre-implementation User Manual

NETWORKED AV

PRE-IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

1 IMPLEMENTATION

SVSi's Networked AV products offer large seamless matrix switching and video-over-IP content distribution for professional
A/V dealers. Our Networked AV solutions provide unsurpassed video and audio quality at bandwidths appropriate to any
network segment or link. Matrix switches as large as 1200x800 have been constructed on a house network using SVSi's
Networked AV products. Alternatively, many customers choose to deploy on physically separate networks in order to use
low-cost network appliances but keep video traffic separate from data or voice. In this latter case, one option for control is
to put the control system on the house network and connect, but control can also be done on the same switch (application
specific). Items can be purchased through our network of domestic and international authorized partners. SVSi's legacy
Networked AV products (the V-Series) are all backwards-compatible with the current N2000 series of encoders and
decoders.

Item Description

N1000 Encoder Encodes raw video, audio, and control to a fixed uncompressed 880-Mbps

bandwidth. Supports IR, serial, and balanced audio.

N1000 Decoder Decodes uncompressed IP video stream back to synchronized video and audio.

Supports IR, serial, and balanced audio.

N2000 Encoder Encodes raw video, audio, and control to adjustable 10-200Mbps JPEG2000 stream

for cinema-quality motion video. Supports IR, serial, and balanced audio.

N2000 Decoder Decodes JPEG2000 IP video stream back to synchronized video and audio. Supports

IR, serial, and balanced audio.

N3000 Encoder Encodes raw video, audio, and control to adjustable 0.032-10Mbps H.264 stream for

internet-compatible distribution. Supports IR, serial, and balanced audio.

N3000 Decoder Decodes H.264 IP video stream back to synchronized video and audio. Supports IR,

serial, and balanced audio.

N4321 Audio Transceiver Sends/receives two-channel audio over IP (balanced or unbalanced). Supports

2xRelay, 1xGPI (General Purpose Input), and 48v Phantom Power.

N9206 2RU Cage Holds up to six of any combination N1000, N2000, or N3000 encoder or decoder

cards.

N6123 Networked Video Recorder Networked multi-channel recording and playback of video streams.

N1510 Windowing Processor Networked 4x1 windowing processor for N1000 streams. Supports stacking and

video wall applications. Requires 5 x Network Connections and IP addresses.

N2510 Windowing Processor Networked 4x1 windowing processor for N1000 and N2000 streams. Supports

stacking and video wall applications. May require up to 5x network connections

and IP addresses depending on application.

N-Able Software Free network management software for routing and configuring SVSi equipment.

Supports PC or Mac. Download at www.svsiav.com/support/resources/#software

N-Touch N8300 series touch panel. Sends commands to multiple IP clients with the push of a

button.

.

N-Act On-board control. All N-series encoders/decoders have on-board, built-in control

capability via events that can trigger any number of TCP/UDP commands to other IP
controllable devices.

N-Command N8001, N8002, and N8012 web-based hardware controllers. Offers control options

from 5 users/50 devices to unlimited users and devices. Capable of interfacing with
third-party control systems for simplified end user control.

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SVSi provides Crestron example code to our authorized partners that allow either direct control of each encoder and
decoder, networked video recorder or windowing processor or relayed commands through an N8000 controller. .

Implementation Considerations

• SVSi's Networked AV solutions are based on gigabit Ethernet protocol.

• Uncompressed 4k solution requires 10 gbps fiber.

• Networked AV devices can be installed on a physically separate network or converged onto an existing gigabit
Ethernet network.

• Network devices must have unique IP addresses.

• Any control software or device must have an IP address in the same subnet as all Networked AV devices.

• Any layer-3 switch with IGMP-query capability or layer-2 switch with VLAN capability can be used for routing
Networked AV video streams.

• A video network can incorporate 10/100-baseT devices such as third-party controllers or point-of-sale devices.
However, video traffic must be blocked from going into the network port to which the device is connected. This
can be done through an extra switch port on an SVSi device or through a port on a switch with IGMP snooping
enabled.

• N3000 (and N2000 in some cases) video streams can be routed through 100-baseT network appliances.
However, if data or voice are converged on the network, careful consideration must be given to bandwidth
management or video frame-rate will be unacceptable. SVSi recommends gigabit Ethernet networks whenever
possible.

• The maximum distance between devices directly is 100 meters (328 feet) over CAT5e cable. This distance can
be extended in increments of 100 meters (328 feet) by using a gigabit switch as a repeater between devices.
Copper to fiber adapters can extend the maximum distance between devices up to 10 km through the use of fiber.

• The system is controllable through N-Able, N8001/N8002/N8012 controllers, or a third-party control system using
TCP/IP, such as Savant®, Utelogy®, AMX®, Altinex®, or Crestron.

• If being added to an existing house network, involvement of the IT administrator as early as possible will help
ensure successful implementation. For stand-alone networks, SVSi recommends purchasing the appropriate pre­configured network switches.

1.1 Batch Configuration of IP Addresses

N-Able has the ability to export and import comma-separated value (CSV) files. Once units are auto-discovered in N-Able,
the CSV file can be exported into Excel® where parameters such as IP address, subnet mask, gateway, stream number,
audio settings, etc., can be configured. Once configured, importing this CSV file back into N-Able will assign those
parameters to the appropriate device and reboot the device to activate. This procedure can be used to configure multiple
Networked AV devices at the same time. It can also provide valuable diagnostics by allowing the user to see the last known
device configuration as well as scan the network for new devices (regardless of IP configuration).

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N-Able, N-Touch, and N-Command Controllers

N-Able is a free SVSi device management software package that installs and runs on a host machine. The host machine
must be connected to the network containing (and have an IP address in the same range as) the SVSi equipment. The
N8000 series controller is a dedicated hardware device that simplifies set-up and allows expanded web-based control. All
of these options can be used to control a video network. The following table compares the features of the control options:

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Although extensive video networks can be constructed using the Networked AV plug-and-play capabilities without N-Able
software or a hardware controller, the following tasks can be accomplished only through the software:

• Manage multiple video streams down one cable (not applicable for all devices).

• Upload LocalPlay and HostPlay locally-stored content.

• View a graphical presentation of video network connections.

• Turn audio on and off (using web-based control).

• Turn encoders on and off (using web-based control).

• Switch any display from one video stream to another.

• Switch between live video stream and locally-stored LocalPlay and HostPlay content.

• Adjust variable bit-rate for each video stream (N3000 series only).

• Assign fixed IP addresses for each component.

• Record and playback from N6123 Networked Video Recorders.

• Address remote devices through the bi-directional RS232 control interface.

• Provide LAN diagnostics.

The following table lists the host PC system requirements for installing N-Able software:

Operating System Windows XP/Vista/7/8 or Mac OSX

RAM 512 MB minimum, 1GB recommended

Network Connection Ethernet (1000-baseT recommended)

Hard Disk Space 70 MB

2 VIDEO INPUTS

Analog or digital video is input directly to any encoder through the digital video input (DVI-I) connector. HDMI, Displayport,
DVI-D, VGA, or component signals can be input using passive adapters or cables. HD-SDI, composite, S-Video, or RF
sources require conversion by third-party devices.

2.1 Supported Resolutions

Each encoder samples the incoming digital video frequency and adjusts accordingly. The supported video resolutions are:

Source Resolutions (width x height) Supported Frame-Rate

Computer Modes Up to 1600x1200 60-Hz for all modes

TV Modes Up to 1080p Up to 60-Hz for all modes

4K* Up to 3840 x 2160 Up to 60-Hz for all modes

*4K is only supported on select SVSi products.

Note: 1080i is the only supported interlaced mode. Unscaled modes at resolutions above 720p are 30-Hz on the wire. If a
video source gives the encoder a resolution that it does not support, a default screen will be displayed indicating
“Unsupported Input Resolution.” Note that a particular monitor or TV may not support all of these modes. In this case, the
display itself may default to its “un-supported resolution” screen.

Both encoders and decoders have a scaling option that can be turned on or off. For seamless switching between video
streams, all inputs should be scaled to the same resolution (720p60 is preferred). Decoder scaling set to “native” will
bypass display scaling and present content at highest fidelity.

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2.2 EDID Information

Most video sources have the capability to output in multiple formats. The supported video resolutions and formats are
stored in Extended Display Identification Data (EDID). Some video sources will query the attached display's EDID to
assess supported resolutions and then output the highest common format. Other video sources will not query and instead
start outputting in a pre-determined format. Each SVSi encoder acts like a display to a video source and comes pre-stored
with a specific EDID indicating supported resolutions and formats. N-Able software allows an encoder to be loaded with the
EDID from a particular display. This may be necessary to restrict the video source output format to only those supported by
a particular monitor. Alternatively, enabling scaling on the encoder allows selection of a format that may be compatible with
the display.

2.3 HDCP

Copy-protected content cannot be transmitted by SVSi's Networked AV products as shipped from the factory. Please
contact SVSi if your video distribution requirements include fair-use or owner-created content.

3 NETWORK PROPERTIES

Networked AV products use different network packet protocols for different operations. These network formats are
described in the table below:

Signal N-Able

Auto-discovery UDP/IP

Broadcast

Control UDP/IP

TCP/IP
Unicast

Video UDP/IP

Multicast

Audio UDP/IP

Multicast

Note: Multicast addresses may be user-configured. Contact SVSi for configuration utility.

N8000 Series
Controllers

UDP/IP
Broadcast

UDP/IP
TCP/IP
Unicast

UDP/IP
Multicast

UDP/IP
Multicast

Default Address
Range

255.255.255.255 • switchable but not routable

169.254.xxx.xxx • IP address settable in N-Able or

239.255.xxx.xxx • administratively-scoped IP address

239.255.xxx.xxx • administratively-scoped IP address

Comments

• not configurable, must add by MAC
address

N8000 controller

• switchable and routable with
correct router configuration

• IGMP can be used for flood control

• switchable and routable with
correct router configuration

• IGMP can be used for flood control

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These network protocols should be familiar to any network engineer. Because our Networked AV solutions bridge the gap
between the audio-visual (AV) and information technology (IT) worlds, SVSi suggests involvement of both AV and IT
departments in any installation.

SVSi products are designed to be plug-and-play. The following diagram illustrates the basic installation of one encoder and
one decoder. A video source provides the digital video content to the encoder which converts to Ethernet packets and
sends to the attached decoder. The decoder reconstitutes the video with synchronized audio for presentation to the
attached display. If high-fidelity video and audio are playing on the display in this simple configuration, the SVSi hardware is
operating successfully.

The same system can be connected through a network as shown below.

If the same decoder when connected through a network to the same encoder does not deliver high-fidelity video, a network
problem exists. In most cases, the device IP addresses are incompatible with the existing network configuration. Contact
your network administrator to determine network properties and configuration.

More elaborate video networks can be constructed as illustrated below.

Once configured using N-Able software, devices will remember their respective settings and will no longer be plug-and­play.

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3.1 Multicast Routing

SVSi decoders, encoders, networked video recorders, and windowing processors all use IP multicast routing protocols.
This works perfectly for high bandwidth applications such as streaming media because in multicasting there is one source
(sender) sending data to multiple recipients, but there is only a single copy of the data being sent and shared among all of
the recipients. This is accomplished by splitting the single transmission among the multiple users using multicast trees. If
you would like to read more about IP multicast, Cisco® provides many excellent resources such as the document found at
the following wiki link:

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Internet_Protocol_Multicast#Internet_Group_Management_Protocol

There are two ways to implement multicast routing when using SVSi equipment:

• IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol): Allows video streams (groups) to be dynamically routed only to
those ports requesting the video stream. The IGMP feature prevents the multicast video traffic from flooding the
network and can significantly reduce traffic in a layer-3 network. This is the recommended setting for SVSi
equipment. For more information, visit the following Cisco website:

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Internet_Protocol_Multicast#Internet_Group_Management_Protocol

• PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast): Functions independently of IP routing protocol. PIM Dense Mode
(PIM-DM) is less preferred for this application in that it floods the network, using unicast routing protocols to build
routing table. Only PIM Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) is supported. For more information, visit the following Cisco
website:

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Internet_Protocol_Multicast#Protocol-Independent_Multicast

SVSi’s control signals are TCP/IP unicast and can be routed. Video signals, as described in the previous table (in Section 3
NETWORK PROPERTIES) are multicast and can be routed in certain cases. Many Cisco routers require that the routing
table be pre-loaded so that the processor does not have to touch each packet to determine its destination. Static routing
has been used successfully to route multicast video traffic. Alternatively, existing routing protocols like generic routing
encapsulation (GRE) or equivalent can be used to route video traffic. These protocols generally encapsulate the multicast
packets in unicast wrappers for point-to-point transmission between routers. Once at the intended unicast destination
address, the unicast wrapper is stripped and packers revert to multicast.

Although N1000 and N2000 encoders output only multicast video, N3000 encoders can output unicast video natively at a
bandwidth compatible with lower speed links. N3000 also supports standard streaming protocols like RTP, RTSP, and
HTTP Live commonly used with content delivery services. The N4321 audio transceiver also supports both multicast and
unicast.

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3.2 Installation Over an Existing Network

Legacy network equipment may or may not be fully gigabit-enabled. Even though most appliances on a network are
gigabit, it only takes one 100-baseT switch or router within the video pathway to degrade or block the signal completely. If
you are unsure of your network appliances or configuration, contact your network administrator before trying to implement
a Networked AV solution on your network.

Even if a particular network is gigabit-enabled, installing Networked AV components can cause excessive amounts of video
packets to overwhelm a network segment, VLAN, or appliance depending on the background traffic level. This can
adversely affect other users on the network and must be avoided. Contact your network administrator before installation to
determine traffic levels. N-Able software allows each encoder's video stream to be turned off before connecting to an
existing network. Once connected, encoders can be turned on one at a time to determine network impact. SVSi strongly
recommends that all encoders be turned off and variable bit-rates set as low as possible before connecting to an existing
network.

The diagram above illustrates how Networked AV products can be installed on an existing layer-2 network over a dedicated
VLAN separate from voice and data traffic while using an organization's existing infrastructure.

The following steps can be taken (at the discretion of your network administrator) to facilitate integration with an existing
network:

• Ensure current ACLs (Access Control Lists) are not filtering multicast or control traffic.

• Remove Flow Control and/or Storm Control on any network port passing the video stream.

• Enable IGMP querying and snooping on all supported network switches.

• Enable VLANs to separate video traffic from data and voice.

• Allow multicast traffic on all network ports through which video streams pass.

• Reduce the variable bit-rate for each video stream in N-Able to obtain the lowest bandwidth at acceptable video
quality.

• Reduce frame-rate 2x in N-Able software.

• Turn all encoders off in N-Able when not in use. Encoders can be scheduled to turn on and off within the software.

• Upload slide-show content to LocalPlay and display this locally-stored content when possible.

• Manually enter devices by MAC address to prevent N-Able from sending out broadcasts to locate. For a large
number of devices during setup, a CSV file can be imported/exported using N-Able.

Any or all of these items can help integrate your video onto an existing network.

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3.2.1 Network Diagnostic Utilities

SVSi offers free network utilities to facilitate this deployment. Go to Support > Resources > NTools on the

http://svsiav.com/

• Wireshark® – With an SVSi plug-in for extracting packet information from our Networked AV devices, this utility
captures network packets to show source, destination, and payload. All multicast and broadcast packets will be
captured and decoded. Wireshark does not require the host to have a compatible IP address.

• Viewer software – This software runs on a host and automatically detects all Networked AV streams to allow
selection from a drop-down list. Once selected, the video and audio streams are sampled directly from the
network and played in a confidence window. This will allow encoder diagnostics in the event that video does not
display. If Viewer shows the video and audio as good, the encoder is working and the decoder or network
downstream of Viewer host is suspect. Viewer does not require the host to have a compatible IP address.

• Networked AV Ping Test – This Excel macro discovers devices on the video network and displays properties in
a table. The host PC will need a compatible IP address in the same subnet as the Networked AV devices.

• N-Able software – Available for PC or Mac, this software provides a matrix presentation of all Networked AV
devices color-coded to indicate status. Red columns or rows indicate decoders or encoders, respectively, are
non-communicative. Red text in a column indicates that a video source is not connected. Red text in a row
indicates that a decoder’s display is not connected or not powered on.

• VLC – Available for PC or Mac, this open-source software is a portable, media player and streaming media
server (written by the VideoLAN project). Use it to view N3000 series streams on your desktop (e.g., UDP, RTP,
RTSP and HTTP protocols). Download for free at http://www.videolan.org/index.html

website to download the following diagnostic tools:

.

3.3 Installation Over a Dedicated Network

Whenever possible, SVSi recommends a dedicated layer-3 network for transmitting video. We offer the Cisco SG300- and
SG500- lines of pre-configured switches for resale to our partners. These switches are shipped pre-configured for
Networked AV from the factory. Any network switch should have a backplane capacity of at least (2 x 1000-Mbps x N)
where N is the number of ports on the switch passing the video traffic. For example, a 24-port switch where all available
ports may be used to pass video traffic should have a (2 x 1000 x 24) = 48-Gbps backplane. A single channel of N1000
video and up to ten channels of N2000 video can be sent or received from each port in this switch example although full
bandwidth may not be used at any one time. Depending on N3000 encoder bandwidth settings, over 100 channels can be
sent through one gigabit Ethernet port.

It is possible to overwhelm a single switch port using IGMP when more than ten N2000s or one N1000 decoders on the port
request different video streams. When this happens, all video streams on the port will drop significant numbers of frames
and appear jerky or cease to display video at all. This situation cannot be managed through the network except by reducing
the bit-rates for all video streams where possible. Avoidance of more than a gigabit of traffic per wire during installation is
the preferred method to prevent this occurrence.

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The network diagnostic utilities of section 3.2.1 can also be used for Networked AV systems deployed over physically
separate dedicated networks.

In many cases, the customer wants control of the AV system over the house network but does not want the multicast video
traffic touching the house network. This is easily accomplished with an N8000-series controller. Dual IP addresses can be
assigned to the controller – one compatible with the house network and the other compatible with the AV network. The
N8002 and N8012 controllers can firewall cross-over of video traffic onto the control network.

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4 VIDEO OUTPUTS

Decoders attached to the video network request the video stream and convert the IP packets to synchronized video and
audio for display. All decoder video output is digital (even if input is analog) and is output through the DVI-D connector.
Balanced and unbalanced analog audio is available through the 5-pin Phoenix connector on the decoder or embedded
digital audio is available through the DVI-D connector. Most decoder and encoder models have an IR transmitter and bi­directional serial port built-in for control of the display or third-party device co-located at the decoder. Please check your
specific N-series model to make sure IR and serial control options are available if required.

Each decoder (and encoder) have locally-stored splash-screens (LocalPlay) that can be commanded to play or will show in
the event of network (or video signal) outage. When the network link goes down, this image will automatically play and can
be used for diagnostics. Users can upload their own LocalPlay images and audio for digital signage when live video may
not be needed. Up to 64 images can be stored in each N2000 device and a single splash-screen only for N1000 and
N3000.

SVSi's Networked AV IP format allows it to be integrated over copper, fiber, or wireless links with the appropriate network
hardware. With IT support, high-definition video and audio can be streamed over common networks to be delivered when
and where it is needed.

For pre-installation support, please contact SVSi via email at [e-mail] or [phone].

For questions specific to an existing network, please contact your IT manager and refer to this document.

Distribution Switching Recording Windowing Wall Processing Control

Southern Vision Systems, Inc.

SVSi is a trademark of Southern Vision Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
All other brand names, product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered
trademarks, and trade names may be used to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. SVSi
disclaims any interest in the marks and names of others.
800DOCPREIGREV2.0



256. 461.7143  www.svsiav.com

Made in the USA.