VIDEO GRABBER DisplayPort User Manual
Version Date Description Author 1.0 2016.03.02 New document MM 1.1 2016.11.02 Revised to match 1.5 device firmware version MM 1.2 2019.11.28 Drawings changes MM 2
Table of contents 1. General description... 4 2. Device connection ports description... 5 2.1. Front Panel... 5 2.2. Back Panel... 6 2.1. Device Status Screen... 7 2.2. NTP Status Screen... 7 3. Quick start guide... 8 3.1. Device installation... 8 3.2. Connecting video signal... 9 3.3. Network connection... 9 3.4. Power supply unit... 10 4. Video Grabber Web Interface... 11 4.1. Status screen... 11 4.2. Device configuration... 13 4.2.1. Output format settings... 14 4.2.1.1. Output method... 14 4.2.1.2. Output frame rate... 15 4.2.1.3. Output format... 15 4.2.2. Video parameters... 16 4.2.2.1. Video parameters description... 16 4.2.3. Network settings... 17 4.2.3.1. Network settings parameters... 17 4.2.4. Device description... 18 4.2.5. NTP configuration... 18 4.2.6. Device control buttons... 19 4.2.6.1. Save button... 19 4.2.6.2. Update time from NTP button... 19 4.2.6.3. Reboot device button... 19 4.2.6.4. Force firmware update button... 19 3
1. General description Video Grabber is real time recording system. It s able to record digital signal through DisplayPort interface (DP). Video Grabber has integrated passive video splitter, which means no interruptions on display even when device is turned off. Video splitter for passive mode require up to 500mA on pin 20 which can be provided from monitor or graphic card (or both). Video Grabber is configured through web based menu, no additional software is required to configure it. The video picture received on DisplayPort pins is captured and provided to Ethernet ports in a way that is non-intrusive in any way and does not add, modify or remove any content of the captured video, if minimum 500mA is provided by Graphic Adapter or monitor. Please note, that Video Grabber supports both lossless and lossy compression algorithms in case of using lossy compression algorithms, some information are definitely lost by the definition of that technique. Please check standards for specific algorithms for more details. 4
2. Device connection ports description 2.1. Front Panel Figure 1. Front panel Item SD Card USB Reset Screen Description Used for firmware update Used for firmware update and diagnostics Used to restart Video Grabber Displays information about video signal, network configuration and protocol used Table 1. Front panel elements 5
2.2. Back Panel Item Power 0 Power 1 LAN 1 LAN 2 Video Output Video Input Primary power source Secondary power source First network interface Second network interface DisplayPort, output signal DisplayPort, input signal Figure 2 Back panel Description Table 2. Back panel elements 6
2.1. Device Status Screen Figure 3. Device status screen Item Description 1 Device description - it can be changed using Video Grabber s Web management console 2 IP of the first interface (LAN 1), UP indicates active link, DOWN indicates no active link 3 IP of the second interface (LAN 2), UP indicates active link, DOWN indicates no active link 4 Current settings of transmission 5 Detected signal displayed in format signal type / resolution. In case of unrecognized or lack of signal Looking for signal is displayed Table 3. Device status screen description 2.2. NTP Status Screen Figure 4. Device NTP status screen Table 4. Device NTP status screen description Item Description 1 Current date 2 Current time 3 IP of connected NTP server 4 Distance, time between sending and receiving NTP packets 5 Dispersion, maximum offset error 7
3. Quick start guide Step 1. Connect video source signal to Video Input port. Step 2. Connect display device (monitor) to Video Output port. Use the same type of cable for input and output. Step 3. Connect LAN 1 to the network using Ethernet cable. Step 4. (Optional) Connect LAN 2 to the second network using Ethernet cable. Step 5. Connect and tighten power plug to primary power socket. Step 6. (Optional) Connect and tighten power plug to secondary power socket. Step 7. Connect power supply units to the power source. Step 8. Enter device IP (as seen on Video Grabber screen) to internet browser. Step 9. Go to Configuration tab and log in to the device (login: grabber, password: vgbr2014). Step 10. Make desired changes to configuration. Video Grabber is now transmitting data to the network. 3.1. Device installation Figure 5. Connection schema 8
3.2. Connecting video signal Video Grabber has two DisplayPort connectors, one for input and one for output video signal. Connect source signal to Video Input, and display to Video Output. It is strongly recommended to use good quality cables with DisplayPort pin 20 connected on both side of the cable to power video splitter in case of device power failure. Figure 6. Mini DisplayPort Connector NOTICE: For highest resolution (up to 4K) please do not use cables with total length more than 2 meters (1 meter from source to device and 1 meter from device to monitor). Using longest cable may lead to signal degradation, signal distortion or loss the signal. 3.3. Network connection Video Grabber has two rj45 ports, named LAN 1 and LAN 2. The same network traffic is generated on both lines. Most often LAN 1 is connected to server A, LAN 2 to server B. It s possible for Video Grabber to work on only one network interface but it s not recommended due to lack of redundancy. That minimizes the risk of losing important data due to hardware or software failure. Device can work in 100 Mbit/s network depending on frames per second, resolution and output format used, but better to connect to 1 Gbit/s network in order to be able to achieve higher data rate. Video Grabber detects type of network automatically. Network connection cable must keep network standard of minimum category 5e. The specification for category 5 cable was defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB-95. These documents specify performance characteristics and test requirements for frequencies up to 100 MHz. Cable types, connector types and cabling topologies are defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. Nearly always, 8P8C modular connectors (often referred to as RJ45 connectors) are used for connecting category 5 cable. The cable is terminated in either the T568A scheme or the T568B scheme. The two schemes work equally well and may be mixed in an installation so long as the same scheme is used on both ends of each cable. 9
3.4. Power supply unit Video Grabber has two power slots, but needs only one connected to work. It s best to connect both slots using two different power sources at all times to ensure redundancy. One 12 volt, 2 ampere power supply (provided with device) should be connected to Power 0, and second one to Power 1. If one power supply fails, another one takes its place. 12 Watts are required for Video Grabber to work. Connecting Video Grabber to power source: Step 1. Plug power supply unit to Video Grabber, make sure *click* is heard. Step 2. Tighten the screw on the plug to secure power supply unit from unplugging. Step 3. Power supply unit can now be connected to power source. 10
4. Video Grabber Web Interface In order to access Video Grabber Configuration, please use any web browser. In the address field please type http://video.grabber.ip.address where video.grabber.ip.address - is IP Address which is displayed on the screen in front of the device. Figure 7. Access to Video Grabber Web Interface 4.1. Status screen Status screen provides information about: - Date and time to which Video Grabber is synchronized - For how long is device turned on - Serial number of this device - Software version - Free memory - Physical addresses of both LAN interfaces, and link status - Status of both power units - Temperature of CPU and PCB - Status and details of connected video signal - NTP status - Loaded analogue resolution EDID table 11
Figure 8. Video Grabber Status screen 12
4.2. Device configuration To configure Video Grabber no special software is necessary. You can use any web browser from any device in the same network to access Configuration Tab. In order to make setting changes, log-in into the device is necessary. When dialog box appear, please using following credentials to login into device and obtain access to device Configuration Tab: Username: Password: grabber vgbr2014 After successfully logging into device, please proceed to Video Grabber configuration. All available configuration options are shown on Figure 9. Device Configuration Tab. Figure 9. Device Configuration Tab 13
4.2.1. Output format settings To define Video Grabber output format please use drop-down menu as shown on Figure 10. Output method selection, and select one of four possible options. For detailed description, please refer to Table 1. Output method description. Figure 10. Output method selection 4.2.1.1. Output method Item BROADCAST NFS SMB RTSP Description Broadcasting refers to transmitting a packet that will be received by every device on the network Allowing to store files over a network much like the local storage. SMB similar to NFS, but involves computers running Microsoft Windows, where it was known as "Microsoft Windows Network" Network control protocol designed for use in entertainment and communications systems to control streaming media servers. The protocol is used for establishing and controlling media sessions between end points. Table 5. Output method description NOTICE: When RTSP output method is selected RTSP connection strings will appear for both LAN ports. Both LAN ports can work simultaneously using self, independent RTSP session, one for each interface. There is two options using RTSP stream. First one is designated for lossy (H.264) compression method, second one for lossless. Examples of connection strings are shown on Figure 11. RTSP connection strings. Figure 11. RTSP connection strings 14
4.2.1.2. Output frame rate Frame rate of selected output type can be defined in Frames per minute field. As the name suggests this is the number of frames which the device will send in one minute. In order to convert frames per second to frames per minute please multiply required frame of 60 e.g.: 4 fps * 60 = 240 fpm 4.2.1.3. Output format Figure 12. Output frame rate Output format is only available when BROADCAST, NFS or SMB output method is used. All available options are shown on Figure 13. Broadcast output format. Figure 13. Broadcast output format 15
4.2.2. Video parameters Section designed for change settings of encoded (H.264 / LOSSLESS) video parameters. Default values are adequate for typical hardware configurations and no changes is necessary. Please note that any change of these values, will affect on the amount of transferred data. Figure 14. Video parameters section Item Enable CBR mode H264 CBR kbps H264 QP (VBR mode) H264 IDR period H264 / LOSSLESS Pixel tolerance - LOSSLESS Enable bandwidth limiter - LOSSLESS Bitstream compatibility mode - LOSSLESS Warning level time to drop (s) - LOSSLESS Critical level (kbps) - LOSSLESS Monitor emulation Description Constant bit rate (CBR) encoding persists the set data rate to your setting over the whole video clip. Use CBR only if your clip contains a similar motion level across the entire duration. Define constant bit rate in kbps. Variable bit rate (VBR) encoding adjusts the data rate down and to the upper limit you set, based on the data required by the compressor. VBR takes longer to encode but produces the most favorable results. Allowing to define Instantaneous Decoding Refresh in H.264/LOSSLESS video Number of pixel for dithering compensation. Enabling warnings, when bandwidth is higher, than a preset value Enabling Lossless backward compatibility mode (old version) Defines number of second(s), when frames exceeding bandwidth limitation, will be dropped. Defines critical level of LOSSLESS bandwidth Allowing to set Monitor emulation, when screen is not connected. This option is designed for future use. 4.2.2.1. Video parameters description Table 6. Video parameters description 16
4.2.3. Network settings Network section defines setting of each LAN port of Video Grabber device. Unique IP Address and Netmask can be set on each network interface. These setting are limited with output method. Both interfaces must use the same output method, defined in Section 4.2.1.1. of this Manual. Figure 15. Network settings section 4.2.3.1. Network settings parameters Description of available network settings parameters are listed in Table 7. Network parameters description. IP Address Subnet Mask NFS location NFS UID NFS GID SMB location SMB user SMB password Item IP Address of LAN interface Netmask of defined IP Address Description Defines NFS share. Only available, if NFS output method is selected. Accepted format server_ip:/share e.g. 192.168.5.1:/pub Only available if NFS output method is selected. UID of NFS share on destination network folder with write permissions granted Only available, if NFS output method is selected. GID of NFS share on destination network folder with write permissions granted Defines SMB share. Only available, if SMB output method is selected. Accepted format //server_ip/share e.g. //192.168.5.1/pub Only available, if SMB output method is selected. Defines user name of SMB share on destination system. Only available if SMB output method is selected. Defines user password of SMB share on destination system Table 7. Network parameters description 17
4.2.4. Device description Device description is optional parameter to use in order to identify the device. This parameter will be displayed in either on the device status (please refer to section 4.1 Status screen) and in the OLED display screen in front of the device. Figure 16. Device description field 4.2.5. NTP configuration Device can use two NTP server for time synchronization. parameter is shown in Table 8. NTP settings description. Detailed description of NTP settings NTP server burst iburst minpoll, maxpool Item IP Address of NTP server. Description When the server is reachable and at each poll interval, send a burst of eight packets instead of the usual one packet. The spacing between the first and the second packets is about 16s to allow complete call, while the spacing between the remaining packets is about 2s. This is designed to improve timekeeping quality with the server command and s addresses. When the server is unreachable and at each poll interval, send a burst of eight packets instead of the usual one. As long as the server is unreachable, the spacing between packets is about 16s to allow complete call. Once the server is reachable, the spacing between packets is about 2s. This is designed to speed the initial synchronization acquisition with the server command and s addresses and when ntpd is started with the -q option. These options specify the minimum and maximum poll intervals for NTP messages, in seconds to the power of two. The maximum poll interval defaults to 10 (1,024 s), but can be increased by the maxpoll option to an upper limit of 17 (36.4 h). The minimum poll interval defaults to 6 (64 s), but can be decreased by the minpoll option to a lower limit of 4 (16 s). Table 8. NTP settings description 18
4.2.6. Device control buttons 4.2.6.1. Save button In order to send configuration changes and store inserted parameters, please use Save configuration button. After click this button, information window with message Configuration updated will replace device Configuration Tab for 1 sec. No device reboot is necessary to use new configuration. 4.2.6.2. Update time from NTP button When proper NTP server addresses are entered, those setting can be immediately checking by pressing this button. After successfully connection to NTP server, window with information Time updated will replace device Configuration Tab for 1 sec. If entered setting are wrong or device can t connect to NTP source, information about error will be shown on device Web interface. Using this button is strongly recommended to check connection between device and NTP Server and to reduce time synchronization period. 4.2.6.3. Reboot device button Button for rebooting device. 4.2.6.4. Force firmware update button This button is similar to Reboot device button, but after pressing, lead device to the programming state mode. Device will be wait for new firmware to be uploaded. Upgrading procedures and methods are described in Video Grabber Upgrade Procedure Manual. 19