Comrex Access NX Product Manual Download Page 4

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XIII. StAtIStICS MENuS

CroSSloCk StAtS

rEMotE StAtIStICS

ChANNEl StAtIStICS

XIV. proFIlE MANAgEr MENu

dEFAult proFIlE

VIEwINg proFIlE dEtAIlS

EdItINg ANd AddINg proFIlES

XV. SyStEM SEttINgS MENu

CoNtACt CloSurE SEttINgS

SECurIty SEttINgS

SwItChboArd SEttINgS

AltErNAtE ModES

brIC NorMAl SEttINgS

ModEM

Ebu 3326/SIp

XVI. CroSSloCk MENu

XVII. pINoutS

pINoutS - AudIo

pINoutS - SErIAl port

pINoutS - CoNtACt CloSurES

XVIII. About thE AlgorIthMS

Summary of Contents for Access NX

Page 1: ...Product Manual ...

Page 2: ... Controls and Connections 14 Figure 1 Front Panel Diagram and descriptions 14 Figure 2 top panel diagram and descriptions 15 Figure 3 SIDE PANEL DIAGRAM AND DESCRIPTIONS 16 Figure 4 rear panel diagram and descriptions 17 MONO VS STEREO 17 IV a simple NX remote broadcast 18 V Introduction to crosslock 20 VI Introduction to switchboard 21 VII getting started with NX 22 Powering Up NX 22 Powering Dow...

Page 3: ...legacy BRIC Normal mode 28 Manual Connections with CrossLock 29 Outgoing calls 29 Incoming Calls 29 IX network manager 30 Ethernet 30 Wi Fi 32 3G 4G 32 POTS 32 X web browser 33 XI dashboard 34 XII Audio Inputs and outputs 35 Audio Inputs 35 Levels 35 Mono Stereo 36 Busses 36 Audio Outputs 36 With Mixer Attached 36 AUDIO INputs Settings with mixer 37 Audio Output Settings with mixer 37 ...

Page 4: ...le details 42 Editing and Adding profiles 44 XV system settings Menu 45 contact closure settings 47 security settings 48 Switchboard Settings 49 Alternate Modes 50 BRIC Normal Settings 50 Modem 50 EBU 3326 SIP 50 XVI Crosslock menu 51 XVII pinouts 52 piNOUTS AUDIO 52 PINOUTS SERIAL PORT 52 PINOUTS CONTACT CLOSURES 53 XVIII ABOUT THE ALGORITHMS 54 ...

Page 5: ... 58 Logging In And Setting Up Switchboard 58 Creating Users 59 Contact Lists 60 Shares 61 Switchboard Theory and Concepts 62 XX crosslock Details 67 CrossLock and Switchboard 68 Making CrossLock Connections via Switchboard 69 Making CrossLock connections without Switchboard 70 XXI Device Manager 71 Using Device Manager 71 XXII ToolBox 74 LoCatIons 75 ...

Page 6: ...BU 3326 80 EBU 3326 in NX 80 EBU 3326 SIP Modes 80 Unregistered Mode 81 Registered Mode 81 SIP Servers 81 SIP URIs 81 Registering With A Server 81 Making SIP Registered Calls 83 SIP Troubleshooting 84 Outgoing Call Issues 84 Incoming Call Issues 84 Solutions 84 STUNning Success 85 Fix of Last Resort 85 XXV MULTI STREAMING 86 XXVI IP MULTICAST 88 Multicast Profiles 88 Setting Up A Multicast Remote ...

Page 7: ...Set Up For NX Compatibility 91 Using NX With POTS 91 Rate Vs Retrain 92 TROUBLESHOOTING POTS CONNECTION 93 XXIX GATEWAY OPERATION 94 ABOUT GATEWAY OPERATION 94 CONNECTING AS A GATEWAY 94 GATEWAY SETUP 95 XXX advanced settings 96 ADVANCED remote SETTINGS 96 Backing Up A Connection 96 Profile settings 98 Local Remote Settings 99 ADVANCED PROFILE SETTINGS 100 Advanced System Settings 103 Auxiliary Se...

Page 8: ...COMPATIBILITY 117 XXXIII appendix B Information for IT Managers 119 Incoming Services 119 Outgoing services 119 XXXIV APPENDIX C USING ACCESS ON UNIDIRECTIONAL NETWORKS 120 DECODE SIDE SETTINGS ONLY 120 ENCODE SIDE SETTINGS ONLY 120 FULL TIME OR TRIGGERED CONNECTIONS 120 XXXV APPENDIX D USING THE COMREX ACCESS DECODER DOWNMIX FUNCTION 121 XXXVI APPENDIX E SPECIFICATIONS 123 CONNECTIONS 123 AUDIO S...

Page 9: ...XXXVII Comrex Switchboard Traversal Server Use 124 XXXVIII LICENSE AND WARRANTY DISCLOSURES FOR COMREX ACCESS NX 125 LICENSES 125 WARRANTY 126 ...

Page 10: ...not allow further editing because it was stuck waiting for the hidden modal dialog to close GUI transition animation bug fixed where title would briefly show the wrong name when flipping between views with F2 key Bug fixed where wrong title was shown after hitting the Home button to go to Remotes view GUI crash recovery if the GUI crashes due to segmentation fault or other catastrophic error a wat...

Page 11: ...ide CrossLock sessions now properly destroyed and CrossLock status indicator will go gray as it should New consolidated audio I O screen for mixer less units puts input and output functions onto one screen still works the same as before when mixer is present Half measure to get keypad support for very basic operation on the peer list up down enter Improve title bar icons for left right popout pane...

Page 12: ...C IP Codec 2 Lithium Ion Battery 3 Edimax Wi Fi USB Adapter 4 DC Power adapter with cord 5 Manual on CD 6 Printed Quickstart Guide 7 Warranty card Please take a few moments to fill out and return the warranty card This helps both us and you us so we know you got the unit successfully and you if for any reason you ever need to discuss any warranty issues with us About ACCESS NX Portable ACCESS NX P...

Page 13: ...ation is warranted by Comrex against defects in material and workmanship for one year from the date of original purchase as verified by the return of the Warranty Registration Card During the warranty period we will repair or at our option replace at no charge a product that proves to be defective provided you obtain return authorization from Comrex and return the product shipping prepaid to Comre...

Page 14: ...H1 and CH2 INPUT control knob Use this knob to adjust the level of INPUT audio CH1 and CH2 XLR inputs that you are sending back to the studio 8 POWER KEY Hold this down for 3 seconds to turn the NX on or off 9 F1 F2 KEYS The F2 key scrolls through several important screens including Audio Inputs Audio Outputs Control Dashboard and Remote Connections F1 will be implemented in future firmware 10 DIR...

Page 15: ... 3g4g modems or contact techies comrex com 3 POWER CONNECTION 4 Pin connector for attachment of Comrex approved DC power adapter Requires 24V DC 1A Be sure to use only Comrex supplied power adapter 4 CHARGE INDICATOR Indicates the battery charging state Red Charging Green Fully Charged 5 SERIAL JACK This is an 8 pin mini DIN jack for connection of a serial cable to facilitate ancillary data transf...

Page 16: ...line level audio feed This input level is adjustable via the INPUT control knob for each channel respectively There are 3 input settings Line Mic HI and Mic LO Mic LO is for standard dynamic microphones Condenser mics or Sportscaster headsets should use MIC HI 2 HEADPHONES This 3 conductor 1 4 connector is designed to deliver audio to stereo headphones The output audio can be user adjusted by the ...

Page 17: ...ch input channel as well as a setting to determine whether your audio encoder has one or two channels Inputs When inputs are configured for mono mode CH1 CH2 and 3 6 when mixer is attached inputs are always delivered to both the left and right encoder inputs This means that when you are encoding audio in stereo these signals are sent to both channels equally When using profiles with mono encoders ...

Page 18: ... NX in a remote location using a compatible 4G Verizon adapter As shown below the reporter has a microphone connected to the MIC LINE IN XLR connector Headphones are connected to the Headphone output The Verizon adapter is plugged into the USB port on the top of the NX Verizon 4G adapter MIC Cable Headphones ...

Page 19: ...te Connections menu by pressing the home key under the display This page contains the information needed to connect to a device Units that are in your Switchboard account on the same contact list will automatically appear in this list with a gear icon next to it Select the remote in the list and select Connect on the right of the screen Your unit will now connect to the rackmount at the studio Onc...

Page 20: ...y This reduces quality but maintains higher reliability The overall result of CrossLock s function means a higher level of reliability for remotes This goes a long way towards eliminating the frustration of dropouts and other failures during a broadcast In addition to carrying the audio media CrossLock allows lots of other information to be shared between the endpoints including information about ...

Page 21: ...nds setting up and utilizing Switchboard with your codecs If you do not have an account contact us at info comrex com or 978 784 1776 1 800 237 1776 When codecs are turned on and have network connectivity they open a channel to the switchboard comrex com server and provide the current public IP address connection status firmware revision and the type of router if any that exists in the link Switch...

Page 22: ...display will wink when NX has accepted the keypress NX takes approximately 30 seconds to boot and the display will be blank for part of the boot cycle Powering Down NX After use NX is powered down by pressing the recessed power key left most on keypad for three seconds Note that if the internal battery is installed and charged simply pulling the power cord from NX will not result in a shutdown as ...

Page 23: ...d is the default because connections are initiated and terminated from there Remote Connections can be found easily by pressing the Home keypad button from any screen The other main screens are selected by pressing the Menu icon on the upper left corner of the display This will open a list of the options on the left side The Menu key on the keypad mimics this ...

Page 24: ...e feed provides microphone mutes control over contact closures and shortcuts to other audio functions and levels 5 Audio I O Configure the inputs for levels Mic Line buss selection and mono stereo Adjust output levels and select sources for Line Out jack 6 Remote Statistics Provides detailed information regarding the decoder buffer manager s functions transmit and receive delays as well as frame l...

Page 25: ...cted screen and the bottom status bar showing the status of networks CrossLock if active battery and audio levels Each installed network has an icon that can be selected Once selected some basic network status will be displayed e g Ethernet IP address The CrossLock icon will light green when a CrossLock connection is active Note CrossLock can sometimes be active before or after a remote connection...

Page 26: ...pply is attached If battery is disconnected this icon will show an X over the icon The level meters show the current audio local input level top and the current return audio level bottom The meter is stereo and mono sources reflect on both L R channels This is designed as a peak meter and proper audio levels should remain below the right side of the meter ...

Page 27: ...connections can be of two types CrossLock connections the Comrex CrossLock reliability layer is established to the remote codec ahead of the call and disconnected about 60 seconds after the of the call Error correction and multiple networks are supported BRIC Normal connections Legacy mode to connect with Comrex devices that have older firmware or don t support CrossLock for other reasons Because ...

Page 28: ...t for that If not it will attempt a BRIC Normal connection Manual Connections without CrossLock legacy BRIC Normal mode To make a manual BRIC Normal connection you ll need to input the destination information to create an entry in the Remote Connections list Select the Options icon and choose Add New Remote You ll be prompted to enter the following into the Edit box Remote Name Familiar name to ca...

Page 29: ...ed codecs connect via CrossLock It s important to note that in order to connect this way the receiving codec must also have a matching entry including the MAC address of the calling codec This must be present as an outgoing entry even if the entry is never actually used for outgoing calls If these conditions aren t meant or if the receiving codec is not CrossLock capable a legacy BRIC Normal style...

Page 30: ...settings Using Locations each of these can be stored away separately and recalled when needed Locations are especially useful on Wi Fi since the security parameters of wireless networks can be stored for subsequent use Each network starts off with a default Location which can be edited by the user Some networks don t change config parameters e g 3G 4G POTS so a single default Location is all that ...

Page 31: ...work Locations to expand the Location list You can then choose Add Location You ll then be able to select the new location rename it and apply the required information to use the Ethernet Port at the new location The information required is IP Address IP Netmask IP Gateway Address IP DNS Primary and Secondary Once there are programmed and saved choose the Active Network Location option to change t...

Page 32: ...work from the scan results choose Add Location then edit the location for WEP or WPA passwords 3G 4G Cellular based wireless modems will appear as their model name Under most circumstances the default settings are correct for these modems and they are enabled by default It is possible to modify the APN setting if the default is not correct by choosing the SIM option under configuration and choosin...

Page 33: ...eb users to a page asking to accept terms or input passwords Once a different screen is selected via the main menu the browser stays in the background and keeps the last page open Besides breaking through web authorization pages the browser is a great way to test for Internet access in general e g on wireless networks when connection status is unknown The NX browser does not auto update with secur...

Page 34: ...In Mute A toggle button to mute all the inputs to NX This will be reset when a connection is dropped or if the unit is powered down 4 Input Output Meters A larger version of the small meters on the status bar 5 Line Out Local Mute Toggle that allows temporary muting of the local audio if enabled in the output menu from the line out jack Useful in remote broadcast scenarios with a PA feed during co...

Page 35: ...ls Levels The Mic Line input channels have three fixed preamp settings Mic LO is designed for dynamic microphones and other low level sources Mic HI is designed for use with condenser or other high level microphones Line level is designed for sources at professional line levels In addition to choosing the levels each channel can selectively apply a 12V phantom power source for condenser microphone...

Page 36: ...ls The fixed line input can only be sent to the program bus Audio Outputs The NX headphone outputs each have two control knobs one to adjust level of the locally generated program Local and one to adjust level of the audio being decoded by NX Return The audio input and output screen gives an indication of the current setting of each of these knobs for each headphone out Each headphone output can b...

Page 37: ...37 AUDIO INputs Settings with mixer Audio Output Settings with mixer ...

Page 38: ...re being utilized the delay associated with both ends of the connection loss and recovery of packets It s a powerful tool to help analyze system performance The first screen to appear is the transmit performance screen An identical screen showing receive performance is available by swiping this screen to the left The statistics screens are divided in half into two real time histograms moving from ...

Page 39: ...ager The area of most interest is the light blue area as shown below which illustrates a spread of jitter values referenced to the current playout pointer over the last second If this area covers a large span the relative jitter is high If the light blue section of the graph is small or invisible over a time period there has been very little jitter present Based on the historical value of this jit...

Page 40: ... represents one second of outgoing data segmented into audio coding data shown in blue and overhead such as IP UDP headers RTP headers and similar data shown in light blue The first screen shows you the rates in real time By swiping the screen to the left it will show you an average of both Transmit Rate and Receive Rate ...

Page 41: ...re useful only for connections initiated from the local ACCESS Incoming connections are defined by the ACCESS at the other end NX has many options to optimize connections based on your broadcasting needs the number of locations you broadcast to the diversity of connections you use network availability etc Your specific needs will dictate how simple or intricate your profile and remote settings wil...

Page 42: ...ault profile when shipped from the factory You can change the default profile by selecting it in the list and pressing the Set Default button Viewing Profile details To view the parameters set for a profile select the profile in the list and press the right arrow key on the keypad to expand the options The first two editable entries are Name and Channel The default channel type for connecting betw...

Page 43: ...rtened or lengthened here Encoder Using this menu you can select the encoder used to send audio from this NX local as well as the encoder used to send audio to this ACCESS remote The default value of the remote encoder is to follow the local encoder that is it will send exactly the same codec mode it receives The display will show Follow Local Encoder under the Remote Settings folder when this mod...

Page 44: ...o be and edit that copied profile Profile creation is segmented into commonly used and advanced options In order to simplify the interface Advanced options are normally hidden from the user Once a profile is defined it will be available from the Profile list When you make edits to different parameters you will need to press Apply for the changes to be saved Alternatively you can Cancel to changes ...

Page 45: ... used options are hidden until the Advanced option is selected The System Settings Menu has the following categories Connections Contact Closures Security Switchboard Server and Alternate Modes When editing entries on the NX you have 3 button options Apply Default and Cancel If you have changed an entry the Apply button will become blue and will start pulsing You must press this to save your chang...

Page 46: ...s In the Web based Interface In Comrex provided utility software such as Device Manager and Codec Commander In Switchboard Contact Lists See the Switchboard Details section on page 58 Incoming Connection Password Allows you to define a password that must be attached to all incoming connections before they are accepted Units contacting you must know this password and apply it to their outgoing stre...

Page 47: ... is enabled that function is no longer available This contact will be closed when a valid connection is present and open when no connection is present Connect on CC 1 2 3 4 These choices define auto connect rules for remotes to be triggered by the four external input triggers available NOTE These inputs are shared with the end to end contact closure signals so if a remote is designated as auto con...

Page 48: ...case You can disable the remote control and firmware updating functionality completely by disabling the Remote Control option Remote Control If this function is disabled the unit will not serve any webpage from its IP address and the firmware updater will not function If this option is enabled you should define a password that will be used to enable both functions ...

Page 49: ...49 Switchboard Settings Switchboard Enabled Allows the use of the Switchboard Server to connect to remotes Show Offline Units When enabled offline remotes will be shown in the Remotes list ...

Page 50: ... not enabled NX will only support outgoing calls using BRIC Normal Mode Modem Accept incoming connections POTS calls must be answered automatically on NX If this option is disabled no POTS calls will be answered and only outgoing POTS connections can be made EBU 3326 SIP Details for this mode are outlined in the Making EBU 3326 SIP Connections section on page 80 ...

Page 51: ...ed round trip delay of the network 2xRTT This has been shown to be most effective on most networks but can be altered lower 1xRTT none or higher 3xRTT using this menu Redundant Transmission Default is off Most users of portable codecs will prefer the default Bonding mode which sums the capabilities of networks together Redundancy disables that feature and instead puts all network data simultaneous...

Page 52: ...Line Out Pinout Tip Left Channel Out Ring Right Channel Out Sleeve Ground PINOUTS SERIAL PORT The serial port is pinned to match serial connections on older Macintosh computers so commercially available adapter cables should have the proper pinning Pin Function Direction 1 CTS To NX 2 RTS From NX 3 RX Data To NX 4 Ground 5 TX Data From NX 6 7 8 Ground ...

Page 53: ...h impedance path to Pin 9 and when active will offer a low impedance path to Pin 9 These outputs are capable of sinking up to 200mA at a voltage up to 12V Do not switch AC mains power using these contacts Pin 1 Output 1 Pin 2 Output 2 Pin 3 Output 3 Pin 4 Output 4 Pin 5 Input 1 Pin 6 Input 2 Pin 7 Input 3 Pin 8 Input 4 Pin 9 Ground Note Adapter cables for the serial and contact closure ports are a...

Page 54: ...ual language broadcasts to be combined to a single outgoing stream Note It isn t possible to send one stream to location A and one to location B However it is possible to send the combined stream to locations A and B and have them tap only their respective channels although this can be a confusing solution subject to operator error OPUS Opus is an audio coding format that is gaining in popularity ...

Page 55: ...ing Spectral Band Replication SBR a technique that partially synthesizes these high frequencies HE AAC is trademarked by other companies as AACPlus HE AAC and close derivatives are often used as the main audio codec for digital radio and satellite networks HE AACV2 This algorithm further increases the efficiency of HE AAC by adding intensity stereo coding This results in a lower bit rate for stere...

Page 56: ...o to SBR for higher quality audio at low data rate 48 kb s 184 ms 20 kHz G3 Stereo 48Kb adds Parametric Stereo to SBR for higher quality audio at low data rate 56 kb s 184 ms 20 kHz G5 Stereo 56Kb adds Parametric Stereo to SBR for higher quality audio at low data rate AAC LD Requires higher data rates but provides near transparent voice or music with low delay 96 kb s 30 ms 20 kHz I1 Mono 128 kb s...

Page 57: ...48Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N4 1 Mono 48kbps 56Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N4 2 Mono 56kbps 64Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N4 3 Mono 64kbps 64Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N5 1 Stereo 64kbps 96Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N5 2 Stereo 96kbps 128Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N5 3 Stereo 128kbps 48Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N6 1 CBR Mono 48kbps 64Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N6 3 CBR Mono 64kbps 64Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N7 1 CBR Stereo 64kbps 96Kb s 41 ms 20 kHz N7 2 CBR Stereo 96kbps 12...

Page 58: ... Offline Units To use Switchboard the Switchboard Enabled must be enabled Setting the Show Offline Units to enable will allow you to see the other units on the account even if they are not currently online Logging In And Setting Up Switchboard In order to use Switchboard you must first have an account with the server You can obtain an account by contacting Comrex at 978 784 1776 800 237 1776 or by...

Page 59: ... The codec name and other information will be updated Once Switchboard is enabled and you have correctly created your group on the server a list of all other codecs in your contact list will populate automatically in the Remote List on the codec user interface To make calls with the help of Switchboard simply click one of the entries with the green gear icon and click Connect Switchboard will hand...

Page 60: ...nits within your Switchboard account may be assigned to Contact Lists By default a master Contact List is created that contains all codecs on your account And by default every codec in your fleet uses the master list So if you re not interested in segregating codecs on your account the default configuration will work fine As shown above you can select one of your individual codecs and change the A...

Page 61: ...ou to choose a subset of your fleet for this Share After you make your selection you ll need to enter either the name of the account you wish to share with or the email address of the administrator of the account it must be the one they used to create their Switchboard account An email will be sent from the server asking the user to confirm your Share s Once the Share s is are confirmed your share...

Page 62: ...t address will change over time This is because the vast majority of internet users establish their addresses via DHCP a protocol whereby a server maintained by the ISP will deliver one of their available addresses to the client on initial connection That address is leased from the server for a particular time period After the lease expires the server is free to change it The commonly used Network...

Page 63: ...be memorized or input into each codec individually The first function Switchboard works around is the dynamic IP address problem by acting as a Directory Server Codec users simply log in to the free server and are given an account name and password Once logged in it s a simple process to input the details of each codec owned On the codec itself the user will input a familiar name by which the code...

Page 64: ... accept unsolicited incoming connections from the Internet Generally this function acts as a rudimentary firewall and is a net positive for security but it does cause headaches for codec users A router that receives a connection request doesn t have a clue where to forward that stream unless it has specific instructions programmed into it These instructions are known as port forwarding This can wo...

Page 65: ...IP address Port numbers are also used by NAT routers in segmenting applications flowing through them and they may change source port numbers at will Network Address Translation NAT refers to the ability of a router to translate requests from computers or codecs within its LAN onto the public internet On its most basic level this involves replacing the private source or return IP address in each pa...

Page 66: ...e the hole punched by connection to the Directory Server for incoming connections from other codecs Instruct the called codec to make the connection in the reverse direction The second option which utilizes the outgoing Directory Server ping described earlier is very useful The interval of this ping is adjustable but defaults to about one minute which is short enough to keep a hole punched through...

Page 67: ...a CrossLock allows lots of other information to be shared between the endpoint including information about network quality and far end delay settings This provides for much better delay management on both ends of the link One or both ends of a CrossLock connection can utilize multiple network interfaces This can take the form of two Ethernet connections or any mix of wired and wireless networks A ...

Page 68: ... CrossLock and Switchboard It is recommended that CrossLock connections be made in conjunction with the Switchboard Traversal Server ACCESS users can get a Switchboard account for their codecs by contacting Comrex For configuration and operation of Switchboard for ACCESS review the previous section titled Switchboard Traversal Server TS Switchboard is useful especially when using CrossLock because...

Page 69: ...nd 3 Each ACCESS is aware of the other s Unit ID Mac address This is handled behind the scenes in Switchboard Then a CrossLock connection will be attempted If port 9001 is blocked or if the far end connection has 3 x or lower firmware the connection will proceed in the legacy BRIC Normal mode A successful CrossLock connection is indicated by a green Lock icon in the lower banner Because CrossLock ...

Page 70: ...he MAC Address field In addition the codec receiving the connection must have a similar entry made with the MAC Address of the calling unit populated This is important The receiving unit must have an outgoing connection programmed into its address book containing the Unit ID MAC address of the calling unit even if that entry is never used for outgoing calls Once a MAC address is populated in the f...

Page 71: ...Scan for Devices to find any device that is on the same physical IP network as your computer The list will include the unit MAC address device type and the unit name Alternatively if you know the public IP address of a Comrex device and TCP port 80 has been forwarded to that device you can manually add the device and perform certain functions such as updating firmware from outside your network Onc...

Page 72: ...ng your units up to date and checking for updated firmware on a regular basis To update your device select Get Latest Version to download the update file Next click Update Device You will be requested to select the file to use Navigate and select the file you just downloaded The status of the upgrade will show in the bottom of the window Once completed the device will automatically reboot The Lice...

Page 73: ...n NX called Toolbox The Toolbox interface allows you to configure several options including the Ethernet port You will need to log in to Toolbox separately with a user name any and password default comrex to enter the Toolbox To learn more about Toolbox go to the NX Toolbox section on page 74 ...

Page 74: ...sier to use Toolbox You can log into Toolbox either via Device Manager or through the IP address of the unit with a cfg appended to it e g 192 168 0 34 cfg Once logged into Toolbox choose the Network Admin CrossLock option and then choose Set up Ethernet and Wireless From here you can select the device you would like to configure and then adjust the parameters for that device You can edit the Name...

Page 75: ...g it a unique name Once multiple locations are defined you can switch between them using the Active Network Location option Locations can be configured for any network device including the Wi Fi adapter This can be useful in programming credentials for use in multiple Wi Fi environments Configuring Wi Fi When setting up a Wi Fi connection you can scan for all available Wi Fi networks using the Sca...

Page 76: ...selecting Active Network Location and selecting the network from the drop down list If the Wi Fi adapter s location is set to Automatic it will check all location settings when the Wi Fi adapter is installed and enabled and choose the first location match it finds ...

Page 77: ...et Caution should be used as it s possible to lock yourself out of the NX by setting the Ethernet parameters incorrectly Use with CrossLock Normally enabled this option allows you to specify that this network port will not be utilized as part of a CrossLock connection This may be valuable when using one port for control purposes only and a secondary port for CrossLock media Broadcast Config Normal...

Page 78: ...restored the packets stream will be restored to the decoder For most applications such as remote broadcasting it s useful to simulate a connection oriented stream so NX uses a low bandwidth sub channel to deliver information back to the encoder about overall connection status It does this in its application layer rather than the transport layer which is where UDP exists By default it monitors the ...

Page 79: ...s another option for continuous connections When building a new remote on the Remote Connections menu there is a field for backup options One of those options is called Keep Retrying This Remote Using this mode will allow the unit to disregard the timeout value and keep a persistent connection The difference is that the Disconnect function still works and the connection will not be reinitiated on ...

Page 80: ...he standard was the decision on how to arrange Session Initialization which is the handshake that takes place at the start of an IP codec call The most commonly used protocol for this is called Session Initialization Protocol or SIP This is used extensively by VoIP phones and therefore was a logical choice SIP carries the advantage of making NX compatible with a range of other non broadcast produc...

Page 81: ...in SIP URIs The SIP server assigns a fixed alphanumeric name to each subscribed account For example an Iptel user may be assigned the user name comrex_user URIs consist of a SIP user name followed by a domain delineated with the symbol like an email address Our Iptel user s URI would be comrex_user iptel org Comrex devices do not use the designation sip before a SIP address If a connection is to b...

Page 82: ...y Online If the box does not display Online after a short time it usually means that registration attempt failed It s best to go back and carefully check the registration info It might also be useful to check that your registration information is valid by using it to configure a VoIP phone or softphone SIP registration can be very simple with some servers and others can require more advanced setti...

Page 83: ... and between servers and devices Note this is only the negotiation channel actual audio data is passed on the RTP ports Changing this port number will change which incoming ports are used to initiate connections and to which ports connection requests are sent Obviously the change must be made on both devices and this change will essentially make your codec incompatible with industry standard VoIP ...

Page 84: ...ly This is important in the case of having an intermediate server And this works fine as long as each codec knows what its public IP address is Outgoing Call Issues A unit making an outgoing call must populate the return address field But any codec sitting behind a router has a private IP address and has no idea what the public address is So naturally it will put its private IP address e g 192 168...

Page 85: ...our simple description we left out the fact that ports are being translated by the router as well as IP addresses If the ALG enabled router receives an unexpected result in the SIP address field as it might if using STUN it may not translate ports as expected and it s likely that the call will fail When in doubt the best technique is to try a SIP call with STUN turned off and if the return channel...

Page 86: ... which is described in the IP Multicast section on page 88 Note Multi streaming is unsupported with CrossLock connections Each ACCESS can also run only one decoder so it s important that in a multi stream environment a maximum of one stream is sent in the reverse direction This means that users interested in hearing a multi stream must turn off their encoders This can be a bit confusing because mu...

Page 87: ...emote Transmitter is turned Off Most other selections in this profile are irrelevant User A will define remote connections for users B C and D He will assign the Multi Duplex profile to User B and Multi Simplex profile to the others He will then establish a connection with user B first followed by C and D In model number 2 where the serving user accepts all incoming connections all the profiles ar...

Page 88: ...te LANs and WANs are IP Multicast capable IP Multicast supports only a single direction stream An IP Multicast encoder cannot receive input streams In this manual we assume that IP Multicast users will be familiar with the basic concepts of setup and operation of the network so we will focus on how to configure ACCESS for Multicast mode Multicast Profiles To set any remotes to Multicast you must f...

Page 89: ...mply define a remote as having an address within the IP Multicast Block use an IP Multicast profile and press Connect Time To Live Time to Live TTL is a variable set by Multicast encoders to determine how long a packet is processed before it is dropped by the network The default value of TTL in ACCESS is 0 which limits its use to within a LAN environment TTL may be manually changed on a Multicast ...

Page 90: ...h around 25 overhead for each stream The Genre Info URL and Public options may be set for anything or left alone These options if applied will be embedded into the stream Decoding An HTTP Stream To decode a stream open one of the supported players and find the option to open a URL based stream In Winamp and VLC input the address of the ACCESS in the following format the address is merely made up f...

Page 91: ...supported by NX All 4 Contact closures and ancillary data supported by legacy codecs are not supported by NX Note Only 1 contact closure is available during a POTS connection When defining any outgoing connection a profile must be assigned to it For POTS Codec compatible connections the factory default POTS profile should work best Using NX With POTS To use NX on POTS insert the Zoom USB POTS mode...

Page 92: ...orce the system to drop to the next lowest connect rate by clicking the Rate Drop button at any time Audio transfer will be interrupted momentarily while the units negotiate the new connect rate Alternately you can force the system to initiate the entire training sequence again the chat sounds heard at the beginning of a call by clicking the POTS Retrain button You will lose audio for a longer tim...

Page 93: ... same time of day that you plan to use it This will give you a good idea of expected connect rates and possible line problems 5 At minimum connect a few minutes before airtime to assess the connection quality Setting a MaxRate on the POTS codec based on your findings is highly recommended MaxRate usually should be set at a level or two below the maximum unrestricted rate This will provide a guard ...

Page 94: ...l assure that outgoing user data will not affect outgoing codec packets On the return channel priority of audio codec packets vs user packets are determined by the ISP so heavy user data may have an effect on decoder performance CONNECTING AS A GATEWAY Under most circumstances NX will be sharing a network attached to its USB jacks and distributing data to other users via Ethernet In this configura...

Page 95: ...nformation Navigate to Network Manager Select the Ethernet Port from the list select the Configure button and then expand Location Create a new location by selecting the Add Location button or edit the default location Select IP Type press the Edit button and select Gateway from the dropdown menu In Gateway Mode NX is acting as a DHCP server and router to the other devices It will assign a dynamic...

Page 96: ...th the red or green line ADVANCED remote SETTINGS Backing Up A Connection NX features the ability to have an automatic backup to IP remote connections The backup may be either another IP connection or a POTS phone number If an IP connection fails NX will sense this and wait the amount of time designated in the Local Timeout parameter in the profile assigned to the primary connection If the connect...

Page 97: ... restored and is detected to be valid for the timeout period the backup will be disconnected and the unit will revert to the primary However Auto fall forward does not work when the POTS backup unit receiving the call is the same physical unit as the one being used as the primary IP connected unit This is because an ACCESS unit that is receiving an incoming POTS call cannot restore an IP connectio...

Page 98: ...ile Channel Here you can select whether this will be used as an IP connection BRIC Normal HTTP Multicast Modem POTS connection Standard RTP TCP or an EBU 3326 SIP connection If you are connecting over an IP connection to other Comrex products we recommend you use the BRIC Normal selection ...

Page 99: ... SIP COMPATIBLE CONNECTIONS on page 80 NOTE It s important to define the channel of a profile first The choices in the subsequent sections will vary depending on the Channel selection Make sure to press Apply to confirm your selection Local Remote Settings If you ve chosen an IP based channel such as BRIC Normal you ll have access to two sets of options Local and Remote You ll use the Local Settin...

Page 100: ...es outgoing audio streaming In the same way selecting Off under the Remote Settings folder disables the incoming audio streaming from the remote encoder ADVANCED PROFILE SETTINGS The options available in the default mode should provide good performance for most users However in some circumstances it may be important to fine tune some of the more obscure parameters that make NX work In addition to ...

Page 101: ...ata protection causes retransmission of data packets during a signal fade this can cause the network protection layer to fight the buffer manager expanding the buffer and increasing the delay with no real benefit The Retransmit Squelch capability allows the decoder to detect these events and avoid having the buffer manager react These should normally be left where they are but may be changed if dr...

Page 102: ...e five minutes has passed Buffer Management On Off This option is available only as a troubleshooting tool Turning the buffer manager off will result in eventual failure since the manager compensates for clock skew between the encoder and decoder CrossLock Managed Delay By default the buffer manager finds its own delay target The CrossLock layer also calculates a delay target that is generally mor...

Page 103: ...m As an example if you re audio stream is consuming 80 kb s of network bandwidth and UDP Max Retransmissions is set at 50 up to 40kb s additional network bandwidth may be used for error correction Advanced System Settings Auxiliary Serial This allows you to set the parameters of the auxiliary serial data port This port is always active during an IP connection and allows serial data transfer along ...

Page 104: ...r troubleshooting purposes We recommend leaving this option enabled Since SSH access requires a key value that is not disclosed by Comrex generic SSH requests are rejected Web Server Port In order to deliver the remote control web page NX must listen on a certain internet port number for a request from a web browser By default web page servers listen on port 80 for incoming requests ...

Page 105: ...t is also used by the Device Manager Codec Commander and Remote Control software provided by Comrex so if you change this value you ll want to make a note of it for the next time you update the unit s firmware DHCP Client ID Allows entry of a client ID prefix for use with DHCP address selection capability Unsafe Shutdown This setting allows you to disable the Safe Shutdown feature Ordinarily the N...

Page 106: ...oming ports to each device CrossLock makes connections on UDP port 9001 Legacy Comrex audio codec connections are made on UDP port 9000 In order to accept calls from both newer and older ACCESS units you may need to open additional ports in your router or firewall settings Changing the port for incoming connections is done under System Settings To change the destination port of an outgoing call yo...

Page 107: ...d devices Changing this port number will change which incoming ports are used to initiate connections and to which ports connection requests are sent The change must be made on both devices NOTE this change will essentially make your codec incompatible with industry standard VoIP devices User Agent Blacklist Allows entry of list of SIP user agents that will not be allowed to communicate with this ...

Page 108: ...P Username Allows entry of SIP username SIP Auth Username Allows entry of SIP username for authentication SIP Password Allows entry of password for authentication Send RTP to source port Enables disables the ability to send RTP data to the remote port matching the source of the received RTP packets rather than the negotiated port SIP Routing Enables routing of SIP messages NOTE May adversely affec...

Page 109: ... Port Sets incoming network port Encoder Sets the encoder used for streaming Must be compatible with the media player Genre Sets genre for HTTP streaming Default is Live Info URL Sets informational value of the URL associated with the stream Public Enables disables setting of the public stream ...

Page 110: ...ed baud rate for connections Default is 2400 Min Modem Rate Sets the minimum allowed baud rate Default is 9600 Extra Modem Init Allows entry of a modem initialization string Accept incoming connections POTS calls must be answered automatically on NX If this option is disabled no POTS calls will be answered and only outgoing POTS connections can be made ...

Page 111: ...n allows you to choose between several sub options to be compatible with various equipment The choices are Standard The encoder will send simple RTP packets without regard to handshaking or status of the network Useful mostly for experimenting against unknown gear Luci Live Lite default The encoder will adapt the RTP stream to be more compatible with the Luci brand smartphone app Zephyr Xstream Th...

Page 112: ...NOTE Delay will increase if a value over 1 is entered Incoming Timeout Set the time that incoming call connections will timeout TCP Settings Accept incoming connections Enables disables the ability for TCP connections to be accepted by the A IP Port Allows entry of incoming network port Default is port 9000 ...

Page 113: ...oing address on the calling unit Permissive Enabling Permissive mode removes the unit ID filter entirely CrossLock connections can be made without regard to unit ID Note the far end unit must know this codec s unit ID or must also have permissive mode available Recommended for closed networks without security concerns Authentication ACCESS NX uses security certificates assigned to the codec hardwa...

Page 114: ...acket rate The default of 100mS should only be altered on recommendation of Comrex support Retransmit In addition to FEC CrossLock utilizes an ARQ style algorithm to allow retransmission of lost packets when time permits This mode is recommended but can be disabled here Retransmit Delay CrossLock automatically provides an extra Retransmit Cushion that provides some time to make ARQ error correctio...

Page 115: ...the specified expected loss rate It is measured in percent packet loss to be corrected This is useful when retransmission is not effective e g high delay network and auto FEC is not working as desired It should be used on recommendation of Comrex support Stun Server CrossLock uses its own Cloud Server STUN to determine the NAT status of each codec before connection This can be set to a different v...

Page 116: ...ld deliver an IP address within 60 seconds If no IP address is obtained the device will not function When using 3G adapters based on GSM standards non EVDO devices you may or may not need to apply an APN Access Point Name in order to establish connections and get an IP address When using 3G adapters and USB dongles in Windows laptops this information is usually automatically supplied by the device...

Page 117: ...se Luci Live b Incoming Connections Luci Live sends either an AAC or HE AAC stream to the ACCESS on UDP port 5004 These streams will be automatically decoded By default a return channel of AAC 56kb s mono is returned to the Luci Live product The return channel may be altered to any Luci compatible mode in the Systems Setting section ACCESS that do not have the AAC upgrade applied will not create a...

Page 118: ...e automatically decoded By default a return channel of AAC 96kb s mono is returned to the Xstream The return channel may be altered to any Xstream compatible mode in the Systems Setting section ACCESS that do not have the AAC upgrade applied will not create a return channel c Outgoing Connections ACCESS AAC Option required Build a profile using the Profile Manager on either the ACCESS Rack or Port...

Page 119: ...update process is password protected and requires access to TCP 80 and TCP 8081 In addition to the password protection the update data itself must have a valid cryptographic signature from Comrex or else it is rejected Incoming Services Port Service Default TCP 22 SSH On Off on products shipped after 1 July 2017 TCP 80 HTTP control On TCP 443 TLS protected HTTP control On TCP 8081 Firmware upload ...

Page 120: ...ced Standard RTP Settings find the Return Channel Enable entry Disable the return channel and click Apply This will make sure that no channel will be set up in the direction to the encoder ENCODE SIDE SETTINGS ONLY Obviously connections of this type must be established from the encoding side of the link So you ll need to build a new Profile that uses the Standard RTP channel mode Choose your outgo...

Page 121: ...channel to another Use of the decoder downmix function has two drawbacks As with all multi streams in ACCESS full duplex operation is only supported to one destination Also both channels of the stream are actually delivered to both destinations over the network utilizing more incoming network bandwidth to the decoder than necessary The figure above shows a typical connection using the Decoder Down...

Page 122: ...s scenario two independent channels can be sent to two independent locations using a single ACCESS codec on the transmitting end This function can also be used in a round robin contribution application where mutliple remote reporters are all interested in adding to a conversation and still be able to hear each other This scenario is a bit more complex but is aided greatly by use of the Vortex Hots...

Page 123: ...emale pinout in Section 2 USB USB Type A x 2 Ethernet 8 pin modular 1000Base T wiring AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS XLR Input Type Balanced Impedance 20k Ohms pins 2 3 Level Line Mic HI and Mic LO Stereo Line Input Type Unbalanced Impedance 20k Ohms tip to sleeve or ring to sleeve Level 10 dBu nominal 10 dBu max Line Output Type Unbalanced Impedance 47 Ohms Level 10 dBu nominal POWER Voltage AC 100 240 VAC...

Page 124: ...d and provided you account details for a Switchboard account on our server located at http switchboard comrex com Comrex provides this service free of charge and at will As such Comrex offers no warranty as to availability of this server or of its function Comrex reserves the right to discontinue availability of this service at any time Comrex also reserves the right to remove any account from the...

Page 125: ...trictions ncurses Copyright c 1998 1999 2000 2001 Free Software Foundation Inc See further Copyright notice below dropbear Copyright c 2002 2004 Matt Johnston Portions copyright c 2004 Mihnea Stoenescu All rights reserved See further Copyright notice below libxml2 Copyright C 1998 2003 Daniel Veillard All Rights Reserved See Further Copyright notice below Import code in keyimport c is modified fro...

Page 126: ...c tive provided you obtain a return authorization from Comrex and return the product shipping prepaid to Comrex Corporation 19 Pine Rd Devens MA 01434 USA For return authorization contact Comrex at 800 237 1776 or 978 784 1776 or email techies comrex com This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged by accident or misuse or as a result of service or modification performed by anyone ...

Page 127: ...ORTION THEREOF IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL SANCTIONS AND WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW COMREX CORPORATION AND ITS SUPPLIERS OWNS AND SHALL RETAIN ALL RIGHT TITLE AND INTEREST IN AND TO ANY SOFTWARE SUPPLIED TO YOU IN AND AS PART OF THE PRODUCT AND ALL INTELLEC TUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RELATED THERETO THE SALE OF THE PRODUCT SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED IN A...

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