BirdDog BIBDFLEXDEC Flex 4K Out Full NDI Decoder User Guide
- June 7, 2024
- BirdDog
Table of Contents
FLEX 4K OUT
THE SMALLEST 4K NDI
ON THE PLANET
USER GUIDE | JAN 2021
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR DEVICE
Thanks for purchasing BirdDog Flex 4K Out 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 Flex 4K converter uses approximately 14
watts in PoE+ mode to operate on its own, and up to 30w when powering
additional equipment.
DC IN
Located at the side of the Flex 4K converter is a DC In 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 fan assembly has been carefully designed to
provide optimum cooling while remaining extremely quiet. It is normal for warm
air to pass through the vent outlets. The main processor is capable of
operating up to 100º C / 212º F.
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 3 seconds the Halo Tally light will illuminate orange and
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 Halo Tally will flash Green and Red indicating the unit is
completely booted and ready for operation.
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,
restarting the video processing engine, changing networking parameters, and
applying 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 itsfriendly’ 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
Video Mode
All available sources are listed in the drop-down menu in the DECODE SETTINGS
section of the web interface, select the desired source and press APPLY to
begin receiving this source.
You can switch between any available sources on the network by choosing them
from the drop-down menu and pressing APPLY again.
Note. If you are unable to successfully receive a source, please double-
check that the video format and frame rate are ones that are supported by your
unit.
YUV Colour Space
Built into BirdDog Flex is color space conversion, some NDI computer sources
provide video in RGB or YUV color space. If you experience inverted colors on
your computer-based source swap RGB for YUV color space.
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.
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.
SYSTEM
System 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 Flex 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.
NDI NETWORK SETTINGS
Preferred Receive Method
TCP
TCP is the default transmission method for NDI, it operates well within
local networks with predictable latency and limited jitter. BirdDog recommends
that TCP be used for typical applications, and only using alternative
transports for specific reasons.
UDP
UDP is recommended for networks where there is extended latency from one end
to the other. The nature of UDP means that it does not need to receive a
confirmation of each packet being received successfully vastly improving
performance on distance WANs. UDP can have some consequences f there are other
issues on the network such as jitter or lost packets as it will not inherently
re-sent a lost packet.
Multicast
Multicast is especially useful for use-cases that require a single source to
be received on multiple receivers simultaneously.
Utilizing Multicast offloads the distribution of the NDI A/V packets from the
BirdDog Flex 4K to the network infrastructure. You should take care to ensure
your network is specifically configured to support Multicast as using it on an
ill-prepared network can create unintended network problems.
MultiTCP
MultiTCP is a new NDI transport method that allows users to send NDI video
over poor network topography such as WAN (Wide Area Networks) without
experiencing issues such as packet loss and lost frames. In the past in order
to send NDI video over a WAN, UDP transport was the only option available. UDP
solved some issues of WAN applications by allowing the NDI video to travel
without dropping masses of frames but results in dropped packets being missed
which could cause unstable video. UDP also places more performance demands on
devices sending and receiving the signal.
MultiTCP employs a new method of sending TCP packets whereby it opens a mass
of TCP connections over the WAN and uses them in a round-robin manner, this
allows each individual TCP connection enough time to acknowledge the receiving
packet, confirm nothing is lost, and prepare for the next one before it’s sent
the next TCP packet in the round-robin. This is similar to a RAID setup in
traditional storage.
OPERATION
Factory resetting your unit
If you have lost any network settings or cannot find your BirdDog Flex device
on the network, you can perform a network factory reset.
Simply depress the reset button located next to the RS-232 port for 5 seconds
until the Halo tally illuminates flashing red. The unit will be accessible as
per factory settings approximately 10 seconds later.
References
- bird-dog.tv
- Downloads – BirdDog
- Dog Tv | Home
- Download Bonjour Print Services for Windows v2.0.2 (AU)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format) >>