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Broadcast Pix
V5
A.3 Control Panel Internal Operation
The Broadcast Pix physical panel is usually under the control of the Broadcast Pix
workstation. However if the workstation or the connecting network goes offline, then
the panel reverts to internal
“Fail-Safe”
operation, as described in section 4.12. This
appendix describes this standalone behavior, and some of the engineering settings
that are also accessible from it.
Sequence of Events
When the panel powers up, it attempts to connect with the workstation at its default IP
address of 192.168.53.250. If it fails to find either a workstation with that address or a
Broadcast Pix Switcher show open, then it asks the operator what it should do. It
does the same thing if a problem develops during normal operation.
During normal operation the workstation communicates with the panel every 5
seconds, even if there is no other traffic, and the panel always responds. These
keep-alive ping messages let both the panel and the workstation know that the
situation is normal. A watchdog process in the panel software notices if these signals
stop. If they do, then the TCP/IP connection to the workstation is closed, the panel
buttons are cleared, and three choices are offered to the operator, which are
displayed on the PixButtons in the upper right corner of the panel. The control panel
display is also updated to notify the operator what is going on.
There is also a way an operator can force this condition. Turn on the [Shift] button,
select the [MEM] device button in the Device Control, and then press the right most
wildcard PixButton, which will be displaying, [Go Off Line]. This forces the panel to
close the communications link to the workstation.
The four choices available in this off-line state are:
1. Join the Show
connects (or reconnects) with the workstation & software
2. Fail-Safe
communicates directly with the Router
3. Setup + Test
brings up an array of additional sub menu options
4. Turn off Sleep
turns off the sleep mode on the control panel
A.3
Turn off
Sleep
Setup +
Test
Failsafe
Join
the show