www.westpennwire.com
Controlling the VLX
To simplify control of the VLX, each unit can be controlled via. It can also be controlled from other Aurora
control products or 3rd party control systems with the available VLX API. In order to obtain the VLX Server API
commands you must be dealer status otherwise an NDA is required and is at the discretion of Aurora. The VLX
can also work without the server as a 3rd party control can communicate directly to each unit to change settings
or make routes. This makes the VLX extremely flexible and for low cost smaller systems very cost effective.
Controlling the VLX for Redundancy
Multiple control systems can run on the same network for redundancy. It is important only one communicates at
any given time or incomplete commands may occur between units communicating simultaneously.
EDID and its Importance
One of the most forgotten setup procedures in AV systems is the EDID. The EDID comes from the destination
(display, VTC, recorder, etc.) and must be saved into the encoder and decoder HDMI input ports. Tis allows the
source (Blu-ray, computers, etc.) to know the capabilities of the destination. This includes the audio type if any,
video resolution and timing, color space, color depth, and more. If no EDID is present an HDMI device will revert
to lowest resolution in DVI mode which also means no audio. If the wrong EDID is used, the image may look
pink, green, or have no image at all. To make matters more complex, if different destinations/displays are in use in
a matrix configuration, then it is important to use an EDID with a common denominator or only one or the other
destination may work. In an ideal installation, all the destinations should have the same capabilities for optimal
performance. I this is not possible a scaler may have to be implemented to assist in the compatibility.
For example, there are 2 displays one 1080p the other 4k UHD. If the EDID of the 4K display is used, the 1080p
will not see an image if the source is capable of 4K. If the 1080p EDID is used, then both will see the image but the
4K will never benefit from 4K content. In a situation where this is unacceptable, a 4K scaler can be used on the
1080p screen to down scale the 4K content so the 4K EDID can be used and the better screen can have a ben efit.
Note scalers do add frame latency and can affect image quality based on the quality of the scaler. This is why it is
always ideal to use destinations with similar capabilities for optimal performance.
Audio can be impacted just as easily. If a destination is 6-channel surround sound capable and the other destina-
tion is not, then the EDID from the 5.1 destination cannot be used, or there will be no audio on the other desti-
nation. In most commercial installations, it should not be an issue to choose the lowest common denominator,
which is 2-channel audio, but in cases where you must have surround sound then a down-mixer for the 2-chan nel
destination must be used.
In some cases, a custom EDID could be created, as the audio and video are mismatched between the destina tions.
Tis can occur for example, when one destination has 4K 2-channel audio and the other 1080p with multichannel
surround sound. If the EDID of the 1080p destination is used, audio will not be present on the 4K destination. If
the 4K EDID is used, there will be no video present on the 1080p destination. Te only way to solve this issue, is a
new EDID combining the common features. In this case an EDID which is set at 1080p with 2-channel audio is
the solution.
11
