ADENA Hack: How to use the DS-X09’s Multi-view Maker?

AREC Multi-view Maker is a free control application made for Windows to control and configure the DS-X09 Media Decoder. You can download this application from our website, www.a-dena.com -> Resources -> Firmware & Applications. After you download and install it, simply run the application and enter the IP address, username and password of your DS-X09. 

The first page that will open afterwards, called ‘Source’, is used to configure your network video sources. You can assign names for easier recognition of sources, and input their primary and secondary RTP, RTMP, RTSP, or NDI|HX URLs. You can have up to 96 network sources in the list and switch between them easily on the ‘Control’ page of the app. 

This page is used to configure and switch between themes — combinations of layouts, overlays, and backgrounds, preview any of the individual sources, as well as the mixed video that the DS-X09 outputs via HDMI. Thus, to use the device, simply customise one of the 5 available themes by pressing a paper and pen icon next to them. 

To adjust a source’s position, simply left-click on it and drag it or use the X-Y coordinates at the bottom of the page. You can resize the source by dragging its bottom-right corner or by specifying the W-H parameters. Just as in our Layout Editor app, you are able to change crop modes for your sources, selecting letterbox, fit to width, fit to height, or fill modes, and also change the source order, putting it in front or behind of other sources. Also, when you select a source, you can enable or disable its audio input by using the tick box in the bottom-left corner of this page. You can use the ‘Add’ and ‘Delete’ buttons to either add or remove sources from a theme. You can rename your theme on the right side of this page, as well as add or remove backgrounds from themes. Simply click on the image you would like to use. When you finish customising a theme, press ‘Save’ to apply changes, and then click on the newly customised theme to output it on the DS-X09.

Would you like to know more about the DS-X09 or other AREC hardware and software products? Let us know at www.a-dena.com and we will gladly answer your questions.

ADENA Hack: How to make your own layouts for AREC?

The way your video sources are positioned and chosen on AREC devices is determined by what we call layouts. Simply put, layouts are compositions of video channels or video sources. By default, all AREC Media Stations have a number of preset layouts with different video channels in varying sizes and positions. However, it is possible to edit these preset layouts. AREC offers two primary ways of doing so: inbuilt Online Director’s Layout Editor and a separate Layout Editor application for Windows. As we’ve covered the Online Director version in the ADENAHack №31, we will focus on the Layout Editor app instead.

You can download the application from our website www.a-dena.com. To use it, first, export only the theme and layout configuration file from the Media Station. 

To do so, open the web page of your station by typing its IP address in a browser, proceed to the ‘Administrator’ web page, and log in. Then, click on ‘System’ -> ‘Configuration’. Tick a box next to ‘Theme and Layout’ and press ‘Export’ below. Your browser will download a .config file which you need to open with the Layout Editor app. Simply open the app, click ‘File’ -> ‘Open’. Select the .config file that was downloaded from the station and open it. You can now modify all of the layouts of your Media Station. We recommend making a copy of this file before editing it so that you would have a backup of your layout configuration at hand.

The app is very straightforward. Select a layout that you want to change. If you need to change the number of channels visible in this layout, press on the ‘Select Layout’ button and select the right template. Drag the channel with your computer mouse, resize it, and change the channel number, order, or aspect ratio with the buttons. Press on the ‘Tick’ button to accept changes and overwrite the .config file when you are finished editing. You can now import the .config file through the same page on the Media Station by pressing ‘Import’, selecting the overwritten .config file, and pressing ‘Apply’. You will be able to access your newly edited layouts as soon as the station finishes applying changes.

Would you like to learn more about other features of AREC products and software? Contact us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to provide you with more information.

ADENA Hack: How to record and stream in 4K using the LS-410 Media Station?

One of the defining features of the LS-410 Media Station is its support of the 4K recording and streaming mode. You can enable the 4K mode by opening the ‘Administrator’ web page of your station. Proceed to ‘Video’ -> ‘Recording’, and select ‘User Defined’ in the list of preset video compression profiles. An ellipsis ‘...’ button will appear when you do so — click on it. This will open a menu where you can adjust the recording parameters of your station. To enable 4K, change the resolution to 3840x2160 and set the average bitrate to 8mbps. Pressing ‘Save’ will prompt a message describing the changes that enabling 4K involves. Press ‘Confirm’ and the Media Station will reboot in the 4K mode.

Please note that while the LS-410 is in 4K mode, it will use the same video profile for both recording and streaming operations, so you only need to set one of these profiles to enable 4K for everything. To learn more about the LS-410 and its features, don’t hesitate to contact us at www.a-dena.com! We are always happy to assist you.