ADENA Hack: How to use a network camera to send microphone audio in Media Stations?

AREC Media Stations can capture audio from network sources using AAC-LC audio coding standard. Depending on the model of the station, this is available for RTMP, RTP, and sometimes RTSP network sources. Which network sources can be used with audio is described in the datasheet of each Media Station.

Particularly for the LS-US2, network may be the preferable way of connecting audio sources, as there are no 3.5mm line or mic inputs on the device. The station supports audio via all of its network protocols: RTP, RTMP, RTSP, and NDI|HX in the LS-US2N version, and you can watch the video below for an example of how this connection can be established, using RADA Duo and A-PC01 PanoCam as examples.

If you would like to know more about connecting audio from network sources to AREC, contact us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

ADENA Hack: How to hide the GUI on AREC stations?

Every AREC Media Station from versions 2.6 and newer comes with an inbuilt way to control it — the graphical user interface, shortened to GUI. We covered this interface in detail in the very first ADENA Hack, and mentioned additions to it in subsequent posts. GUI can be opened and closed easily by left-clicking anywhere away from it with a computer mouse or by touching on a USB-connected interactive display. You can also use the dedicated hide/show buttons in the corners of the GUI. Starting from firmware versions 2.11 and on stations with the MCU version 4.3 or 4.4, it is now also possible to completely disable the GUI until it is needed again. To do so, open the “Administrator” web page of your station, go to “Media I/O” -> “Display”. You will find two settings dedicated to this: “OSD Menu'' and “OSD Menu - Playback Video”. Toggling off “OSD Menu” will shut down the GUI until this option is toggled on. Toggling off only “OSD Menu - Playback Video” will keep the GUI, but remove the playback feature from it. If you want to keep the GUI available, but remove the ability for your operators to see previously recorded videos, make sure to toggle off this option.

As of May 2024, the option to completely disable the GUI is available on LS-2, LS-200, LS-300, LS-400, LS-410, LS-860 and KL-3T models, with plans to include it in LS-110 and LS-US2 in the coming months. Would you like to know more about this or other AREC Media Station features? Make sure to reach out to us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to arrange a call with you!

ADENA Hack: How to record videos on a USB drive with AREC without changing the file system?

All AREC Media Stations can save videos on USB drives. To be used for storage, the drives must first be formatted through the station’s “Administrator” web interface. The station changes the drive’s file system to “Ext4”, which is a typical file system for Linux OS. However, it is not natively supported by Windows or MacOS. This means that you cannot use the same drive interchangeably between an AREC station and a standard computer without changing the file system and consequently erasing all files on this drive. Changing the file system is not necessary if you plan to export the videos, but it requires the video to be saved on a storage beforehand since exporting simply copies the recorded file. Currently, the LS-US2 Media Station is the only one that can record directly on USB drives without changing their file system.

LS-US2

KS-CC1

To use this feature, go to the station’s “Administrator” web page, navigate to “Video” -> “Recording”, and enable the “Record to USB” option. KS-CC1, although not technically a Media Station, also has this feature and it can be enabled in the same way through its “Administrator” page. With the “Record to USB” mode enabled, the station can save files directly on USB drives as long as the drives are using an accepted file system, such as FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, Ext3, or Ext4, and have sufficient space. Please note that when “Record to USB” is enabled, the station will not save individual video sources and the files will only be stored on the USB drive. If you need individual video sources, or you need copies of the recording, you will have to use other storage modes.

If you want to learn more about the other storage options available on AREC and how to set them up, check out our free ADENAcademy training course, specifically Level B, Lesson 7: “Storing and backing up recorded videos with AREC”. For further information about AREC devices, please contact us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to answer you.