LIGHTWARE Biamp TesiraFORT DSP Driver for LARA User Guide

LIGHTWARE Biamp TesiraFORT DSP Driver for LARA User Guide

Introduction

The scope of this document is to help integrators understand and configure the Biamp Tesira driver for LARA.
The driver supports Tesira control over Telnet (TCP/IP).

Firmware and software versions used and tested during the development:

• Biamp Tesira Designer Software v4.5.0.23124
• Biamp Tesira Firmware v4.5
• Lightware UCX firmware v2.4.0b1

The downloadable package contains:

• Tesira driver module: Biamp_TesiraFORTE_driver_module_v1.0.0.zip
• Sample configuration: Sample_config_Tesira_control_v1.0.0.zip
• Documentation: LARA_Biamp_TesiraFORTE_DSP_driver_module_v1.0.0.pdf
• TesiraFORTE X 400 config file: sample_config_FORTEX400.tmf

References

Lightware LARA Users Manual
Lightware UCX series Users Manual
Biamp Tesira Text Protocol 3.0
Biamp Tesira Text Protocol Cornerstone
Biamp Tesira Command String Calculato

Solution Overview

Biamp Tesira DSP driver module for LARA provides the ability to control selected parameters of the Tesira DSP installed beside a Lightware Universal Matrix Switcher (either UCX or MMX2).

In order to have a working solution the UCX/MMX2 has to be connected to the Tesira DSP through a local network.

The main feature of this solution is to provide DSP control functions for integrators, to be able to use the same user interface for controlling video, shades, lights as well as audio. Functions provided by the driver module are introduced in the following chapters

Events defined in the driver

get command. Response for get Serial and get Firmware does not activate the event.

There are other events in the driver, but they originate from the base module, so those are not listed here.

Methods Defined in the Driver

Methods are used to realize functions in the DSP, e.g. setting values, querying parameters, etc. The methods
can be called from other modules e.g. Logic module, or User panel module. The implemented methods can
be found below:

• recallPreset
• subscribeLevel
• subscribeMute
• subscribeUSBStatus
• setLevel
• incLevel
• decLevel
• setMute
• toggleMute
• getLevel
• getMute
• getSerial
• getFirmware
• unsubscribeLevel
• unsubscribeMute
• unsubscribeUSBStatus
• sendFrame

Subscribe Type Methods

These methods are used to subscribe to parameter changes of different processing blocks. When a subscribed parameter is changed, the “Subscribed parameter changed” event getting triggered and the unique name (custom label for feedback in Tesira) and the new value of the parameter is being stored/updated in a json object called dspData. The unique name is generated automatically, for details of the unique name, see the particular method’s description.

With the event, the actual state of all the subscribed parameters are handed over with the dspData json object.

Below you can see the content of the json object logged to the console. For more detailes please check the sample configuration.

[2023-07-19 13:12:35.758] myRoom (

• FB-Level1-ch1-level: 5.799999,
• FB-Levell-chi-mute”: false, ‘FB-Mutel-chi-mute’: false,
• FB-Level2-ch1-level: -100,
• FB-Level2-ch2-level: 12,
• FB-Level2-chi-mute’: true,
• FB-Level2-ch2-mute”: false,
• FB-USB-USBXOutput1-connected’: true,
• FB-USB-USBXInput1-connected’: true

subscribeUSBStatus

Subscribes to changes of the connection status of the given USB input/output block.

updates

The update sent by the DSP is processed by the driver module and it stores the latest values in a json object.
The property of each item is the unique name, what is calculated automatically according to the followings:

unique name: FB-USB-x-connected where FB-USB- is fixed x is the instance tag connected is fixed.

subscribeMute

updates

The unique name is calculated automatically according to the followings:

• unique name: FB-x-chy-mute where FB- is fixed
• x is the instance tag ch is fixed
• y is the number of the channel inside the processing block mute is fixed

subscribe Level

Subscribe to changes of a level parameter.

updates

The unique name is calculated automatically according to the followings:

• unique name: QR-x-chy-mute where QR- is fixed
• x is the instance tag ch is fixed
• y is the number of the channel inside the processing block mute is fixed.

Get Type Methods

These methods are used to query the actual value of a parameter. When the DSP sends its response to a get command, the “Parameter query response received” event getting triggered, and the unique name of the parameter and it’s value are stored in variables (qrVariable, qrValue). Those variables are handed over as event parameters.

The unique name is generated automatically, for details of the unique name, see the particular method’s description.

getMute

Queries the actual state of a mute button.

The unique name is calculated automatically according to the followings:

• unique name: QR-x-chy-mute where QR- is fixed
• x is the instance tag ch is fixed
• y is the number of the channel inside the processing block mute is fixed.

The value is a Boolean type, can be true or false.

getLevel

Queries the actual value of a level parameter.

The unique name is calculated automatically according to the followings:

• unique name: QR-x-chy-level where QR- is fixed
• x is the instance tag ch is fixed
• y is the number of the channel inside the processing block -level is fixed.

The value is a number in dB

getFirmware

Queries the firmware version of the connected Tesira DSP device. The driver automatically queries the firmware version at startup, and shows it on the Status Board. The method does not have any parameters.

getSerial

Queries the serial number of the connected Tesira DSP device. The driver automatically queries the serial number at startup, and shows it on the Status Board. The method does not have any parameters.

Set Type Methods

These methods are used to set parameters to an absolute value.

setLevel

Sets the level to an absolute value.

setMute

Sets a mute button to on or off.

off)

Other Methods

recall Preset

Used for recalling presets set up in Tesira software by the preset’s ID number.

inc Level

Increases the value of a level parameter by the specified value.

dec Level

Decreases the value of a level parameter by the specified value.

toggleMute

Toggles between the on and off state of a mute button.

unsubscribeLeve

Stops the Tesira DSP device to send updates regarding the specified level parameter.

unsubscribeMute

Stops the Tesira DSP device to send updates regarding the specified mute parameter

unsubscribeUSBStatus

Stops the Tesira DSP device to send updates regarding the USB connection status.

sendFrame

Sends a custom command to the Tesira DSP device. With the help of this method it is possible to send commands to the DSP, which are not yet implemented in the driver.

Installation and Configuration of the Drive

Prerequisites

In order to use the Tesira driver for LARA, you must have a configured Biamp DSP. To do that please refer to the user manual of the Biamp device/software.

There are settings that has to be set at Biamp side in order to let the control system work:

• In case of Telnet control, Telnet must be enabled in Tesira-Network Settings
• Tesira device must be unprotected
• Instance tags must not contain spaces for proper operation

Installation

This section assumes that you are familiar with your Biamp Tesira DSP, and Lightware Taurus UCX, MMX2 devices, and you know their IP address and you have enabled LARA functionality.
Further, you have your computer connected to the same IP subnet, where your devices located.

Uploading the Tesira driver module

You can upload the Tesira DSP driver module to a new/existing LARA configuration by clicking on the Upload module icon shown below.

Browse and open the module as a ZIP archive. You have to enter a name for the module.
When uploaded successfully it has to appear on the Browse Modules tab as it is shown below.

Create an instance for a particular Tesira device to control

In order to be able to communicate with a device, an instance has to be created from the module, what is
called “Biamp_Tesira” in the example above.
To create an instance, you have to select the module and click on the ”Create new instance from the selected
module” shown below.

Instances have to have a unique name, let’s call it “testinstance”. Configuration can be done at the time of creation, right from the window shown below, but those settings can be modified later as well. Please note that instance names cannot be modified after creation!

When the instance has been created successfully, it is indicated by the green instance indicator next to the module’s name, on the Browse Modules tab.

When an instance is created it appears on the Status Board as well, as it is shown below.

Configuring the instance

The instance has to be configured by its parameters. Most of the parameters can be selected using dropdown lists.

Parameters can be edited by clicking the “Edit instance parameters” button as shown below:

Editable parameters and its possible values can be find in the table below.

CONTROL PARAMETERS
Control type| Telnet| To control the DSP by Telnet over Ethernet
Enable console logging| false| Messages regarding the operation will not be logged to the console.
true| Messages regarding the operation will be logged to the console.
TELNET RELATED SETTINGS
IP address or hostname| x.x.x.x| IP address or hostname to use when connecting

The Edit instance parameters window is shown below.

Sample Configuration

The downloaded package contains the driver module itself, and a sample configuration package. The sample
configuration is provided to let you study how the driver module interacts with other modules in a
configuration.

The sample configuration package contains the followings:

• Tesira configuration file (prepared for TesiraFORTÉ X 400)
• LARA configuration file

What you need to test the sample configuration:

• Lightware Taurus UCX/MMX2 series universal matrix switcher
• Biamp TesiraFORTÉ X 400

Instead of the X 400 you can use other TesiraFORTÉ DSP units, but you might have to recreate the Tesira configuration file for yourself. The screenshot below shows the design of the sample configuration, with the instance tags of the blocks used in the LARA configuration.

Using the Sample Configuration

Upload the sample configuration to the Tesira DSP

For the method, please refer to the Biamp documentation.

Upload the sample LARA configuration to the Lightware UCX/MMX2 device

Click upload configuration on your main LARA window. Browse and select the sample configuration file.

Modify the IP address settings of testinstance to match your actual Tesira device

Refer to section 3.2.3.

After you’ve finished the configuration, you should see something like this:

Operation of the configuration

At startup the configuration subscribes to the following parameters:

Instance tag| Attribute| Channel nr.| Automatically generated unique name for feedback
---|---|---|---
Level1| level| 1| FB-Level1-ch1-level
mute| 1| FB-Level1-ch1-mute
Mute1| mute| 1| FB-Mute1-ch1-mute
Level2| level| 1| FB-Level2-ch1-level
2| FB-Level2-ch2-level
mute| 1| FB-Level2-ch1-mute
2| FB-Level2-ch2-mute
USBXOutput1| connected| N/A| FB-USB-USBXOutput1-connected
USBXInput1| connected| N/A| FB-USB-USBXInput1-connected

When there are changes to the parameters above in Tesira, the new value is stored in the json object named
dspData. The property will be the automatically generated unique name and the value is the new value of
the particular parameter.

In the Logic module there is a rule (Subscribed parameter changed) what is triggered when any subscribed
parameter changed in Tesira. The rule logs the content of dspData to the console and simultaneously write
the actual values to the debug panel.

The pictures below are showing the console, and the user panel output.

[2023-07-19 13:12:35.758] myRoom

• FB-Level1-ch1-level: 5.799999,
• FB-Levell-chi-mute”: false, ‘FB-Mutel-chi-mute’: false,
• FB-Level2-ch1-level: -100,
• FB-Level2-ch2-level: 12,
• FB-Level2-chi-mute’: true,
• FB-Level2-ch2-mute”: false,
• FB-USB-USBXOutput1-connected’: true,
• FB-USB-USBXInput1-connected’: true

Appendix

Further Information

Document Revision History

Biamp Tesira DSP driver for LARA v1.0

References

• Tesira command string calculator - Biamp Cornerstone
• Tesira Text Protocol - Biamp Cornerstone

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