BirdDog BD4KQUAD 4K Family User Guide
- June 6, 2024
- BirdDog
Table of Contents
4K FAMILY
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONNECTIONS.
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USER GUIDE
NDI®
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR DEVICE
Thanks for purchasing BirdDog 4K Converter. Please take some time to read this
document to allow you to get the most out of your purchase and familiarize
yourself with the features available in the unit.
Physical connectors
Powering your 4K Converter
This converter is equipped with a sophisticated system allowing power from
various sources:
PoE+ (Power over Ethernet)
PoE+ is a convenient way to power this converter as it allows both data and
power to be sent through the same standard Ethernet cable. To take advantage
of PoE+, the network switch that the converter is directly plugged into must
support PoE+ (802.11at).
Different network switches are capable of providing different amounts of total
power to all connected devices. This 4K converter uses approximately 14 watts
in PoE mode.
DC
Located at the side of the 4K converter is a DC connection port. This power
input socket is capable of accepting 12vDC power. You should only power this
device with the included AC adaptor.
Thermal management
This product has been engineered to be actively cooled. In order to achieve
the best thermal performance, the entire enclosure of the converter is
designed to dissipate heat. The main processor is capable of operating up to
100º C / 212º F.
Some factors affect how much heat BirdDog will produce, and it is normal for
it to feel warm to the touch.
BOOTING UP YOUR BIRDDOG DEVICE
Indication of the system boot process
As soon as the converter detects a power input the fan will begin to spin.
After approximately 20 seconds you will notice the network activity indicator
will begin to flash indicating that the device is now able to see the computer
network. After a further 20 seconds, the OLED display will illuminate.
The OLED display has some important information displayed on it to ensure you
can access your converter on the network:
BirdDog 4K – MODEL NAME
Video Format: 2160p60
Stream name: BirdDog 4K
IP Address:192.168.100.100
The most important detail on the display is the IP address, this is the
address you will need to type into your web browser to access the BirdDog
device to configure and interact with it.
OPERATING YOUR CONVERTER
Web configuration panel
In this release, the web configuration panel allows you to alter key settings
of your converter, specifically A/V settings, and video frame rates, restart
the video processing engine, change networking parameters, and apply firmware
updates.
Access via a web browser (URL)
To access the web configuration panel please point your computer web browser
to: http://birddog-xxxxx.local/ “xxxxx” is the serial number of the
converter, the serial number is printed on the box and on the main unit. Note
the web address is case sensitive and should be all lower case. Your computer
will need to have ‘Bonjour’ services loaded in order to access the unit via
its ‘friendly’ name described above.
Apple devices come pre-installed with Bonjour, while Windows devices need a
small plugin available here: https://support.apple.com/kb/dl999?locale=en_AU
Accessing via an IP address
Your converter is configured to automatically receive a network (IP) address
from the computer network via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Most
corporate, education and home networks have a DHCP server present on the
network to allow this to occur. Usually, your Internet Router provides this.
If your device receives an IP address automatically from this server (DHCP)
the IP address can be discovered in several ways, including BirdDog Central
Lite available from bird-dog.tv/firmware
Accessing on a network without a DHCP server
Some standalone or private networks may not have a DHCP server. After 30
seconds of searching for an automatically assigned IP address, the device will
fall back to a default address which is: 192.168.100.100
In order to access the web configuration panel on a network that is configured
to a different subnet, change your computer’s IP address to match the BirdDog
unit’s IP address range. Once you gain access to the BirdDog web configuration
panel choose your IP address to match the rest of the devices on your network.
For instructions on setting your computer’s IP address please consult your
computer operating system manual or IT support resources.
PASSWORD MANAGEMENT
Once you direct your web browser to the web configuration panel you will need to log in to change any settings.
Default password
The web configuration panel is secured by a user-selectable password. The
default password is Birddog (one word, lower case).
To change the password simply log in using the default password, navigate to
the network tab in the web interface, and select change password.
It is recommended to change this password in a network environment where your
device is shared with other users (e.g. not private). By entering this
password, the user is granted full access to the configuration settings and
could interrupt a live program.
A/V SETUP
NDI ENCODE
Video-Input Format
This converter is capable of accepting many different video formats to encode
to NDI. For the most part, it is recommended to leave the Video Input Format
set to AUTO, you can manually override this setting and choose whatever
resolution your source device is set to. This can be useful if there is an
issue in synchronizing video input resolutions.
Chroma Subsample Rate
This BirdDog converter is capable of operating in two Chroma Subsample modes,
4:2:2 and 4:2:0. According to the NDI specification, when you are operating in
HD video
resolutions the chroma subsampling should be set to 4:2:2 and in 4Kit should
be set to 4:2:0.
The BirdDog 4K converter line allows you to override these recommendations
depending on your own needs, this can result in greater representation of
colors in your image or less overall video compression. Generally speaking for
video-sourced material in 4Kit is recommended to use 4:2:0, but for computer-
generated graphics such as gaming and
presentations your chroma subsampling should be set to 4:2:2.
Bit Depth
As with Chroma Subsampling, you are able to select your encoders bit depth.
This determines the amount of chroma and luma gradations there are available
to represent any particular color in your video material. 10-bit video is very
much recommended for digital graphics as it can handle ramps or gradients much
more accurately, but for camera-sourced material, 8-bit depth may be
sufficient.
10-Bit support is unique to the BirdDog family of products, and while the
video will still be received and displayed on any NDI-Capable receiver, only
BirdDog receivers can decode the full 10-bit signal. Any other device will
simply display the 8-bit material that is coded within the NDI stream.
NDI Output Bandwidth
Birddog Devices allow you to set your target NDI output bitrate. This allows
you to select a compression ratio that is more efficient on your networking
infrastructure (lower bandwidth) or higher image quality for critical footage.
The scale allows you to select anywhere from 60mbps to 360mbps.
Loop Out Tally
In addition to the on-board Tally light indicating when the device is being
used as either a program or preview source on a receiver, you are able to
select Loop Out Tally. This will add a red/green border to the loop out of the
BirdDog device. This is particularly useful for camera operators who are
monitoring the loop out on a video monitor. They will see the color borders
and know when the device is being prepared or used for a life purpose.
MISCELLANEOUS
NDI Stream Name
When your BirdDog converter generates an NDI stream, it can be identified via
its name on any NDI-capable receiver. You are able to nominate the NDI stream
name here to give you a more descriptive name of the source you are connecting
to. This can be particularly useful in multi-channel devices or on networks
where there are a large amount of NDI streams.
NETWORK
Device naming
When your device is first powered on it defaults to the naming convention as
described in the web configuration panel section of this manual.
It is possible to change the name along with the network settings to better
suit your environment.
IP configuration method
You can configure your device to operate on the network with a dynamic (DHCP)
IP address or a fixed address.
For smaller networks DHCP networking is generally suitable, however larger
networks with managed operations will often determine each device needs to
have a dedicated and static IP address.
DHCP IP address
DHCP is set as the network configuration by default for Mini.
Static IP address
To enable a static IP address, change the configuration method to static and
fill in the details required in Address, Mask, and Gateway. Particular
attention should be paid to the Address and Mask fields as incorrect
information entered will result in the device not being visible on the network
and a factory reset will be required in order to recover the unit.
IP address recovery
In the event that the device is not visible on the network, the network has
changed, or the static IP address details have been lost, reset the BirdDog
back to its default settings by following the factory reset procedure.
BirdDog name
You can name each unit with a friendly name that makes sense for each
production (Camera 1, Camera 2, etc). This name will appear on any NDI
receiver when it looks for the video coming from Mini over the network. The
name must not include any special characters and can be any combination of
‘a-z, 1-0, and –‘.
Note: no uppercase characters are valid.
On NDI receiving devices, the device will present as a source as follows:
Birddog-name [HDMI] when the unit is set to automatic input.
FIRMWARE UPDATE
The converter is updateable via the web interface. Please check the below
address regularly to ensure you have the latest firmware available for your
device.
Having the latest firmware ensures you have all the latest features and
performance updates to get the most out of 4K Converters:
bird-dog.tv/firmware-updates
After downloading the latest firmware release, navigate to the settings tab on
the web configuration console and click on Choose file… select the firmware
update file and press the update button.
RECEIVING NDI STREAMS
There are many applications that support receiving the NDI signal that the
unit produces. Each application will vary slightly on how you choose your
source.
NewTek Studio Monitor
NewTek provides a free Studio Monitor application that allows you to monitor
many NDI sources on a standard Windows computer. Once Studio Monitor is
launched on your computer, simply right-click anywhere in the interface and
select your device from the drop-down list.
Once connected to the unit you will notice a configuration cog appears on the
bottom right-hand side of the video display, this is a shortcut to access the
device web configuration panel.
NewTek TriCaster Series
NewTek TriCaster series devices allow several NDI sources to be received
simultaneously, the amount of simultaneous connections varies by what model
TriCaster you have. Consult your TriCaster user manual to determine how many
connections are available on your device.
To select 4K converter as a source on your TriCaster, simply click on the
configuration cog below your desired source location, this will bring up the
Input Setting dialog, select from the drop-down list your device source.
Once connected to the unit you will notice a configuration cog appears next to
the source drop-down window, this is a shortcut to access the device web
configuration panel.
References
- bird-dog.tv
- Downloads – BirdDog
- Dog Tv | Home
- Download Bonjour Print Services for Windows v2.0.2 (AU)
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