AMX N1122A SVSI Networked AV Instructions

AMX N1122A SVSI Networked AV

Specifications :

• Supports various video resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4
• Supports multiple audio formats including balanced/unbalanced analog audio, AES67, and more
• Can be powered by PoE or PoE+ switch
• Low latency encoding/decoding

Product Usage Instructions

Encoder/Decoders:

• N1122A/N1222A MPC Video over IP
  Encoder/Decoder: These devices encode/decode raw video, audio, and control with a fixed stream size of 800 Mbps. They support various audio formats and can be powered by a PoE switch.

• N1133A/N1233A MPC Video over IP
  Encoder/Decoder: Similar to N1122A/N1222A but with additional support for SFP, KVM, and AES67.

• N1134A HD-SDI Encoder: Encodes raw video, audio, and control with support for HD-SDI video connection, making it suitable for professional setups.

• N2312/N2315 4K Encoders: These devices support 4K video encoding with various audio options and can be powered by a PoE switch.

• 4K Ultra-HD Encoder:
  N2412A 4K Ultra-HD Video over IP Encoder: Encodes video at resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4 with low latency using JPEG2000. Supports HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2, and AES67.

• Audio Transceiver:
  N4321D Audio Transceiver (ATR): Sends/receives eight-channel audio over IP with support for Dante Audio, Relay, GPI, and Phantom Power.

FAQ:

• Q: Can these devices be used in a professional AV setup?
  A: Yes, the devices support high-quality video and audio encoding/decoding suitable for professional AV environments.

• Q: What power source is recommended for these devices?
  A: The devices can be powered by a PoE or PoE+ switch for convenient installation and operation.

IMPLEMENTATION

SVSI’s N-Series line of Networked AV products offer large seamless matrix switching and AV-over-IP content distribution for professional AV dealers. Our Networked AV solutions provide unsurpassed video and audio quality at bandwidths appropriate to any network segment or link. Matrix switches as large as 1200×800 have been constructed on a converged network using SVSI Networked AV products. Alternatively, many customers choose to deploy N-Series systems on a physically separate network in order to keep video traffic separate from production data or voice. In this latter case, one option for control is to put the control system on the house network and connect it to an N-Command N8002 Controller to allow for control of the N-Series system from their main corporate network. Items can be purchased through our network of domestic and international authorized partners.

Encoders/Decoders
N1122A MPC Video over IP Encoder| Encodes raw video, audio, and control. Fixed stream size of 800 Mbps. Supports IR, serial, balanced/unbalanced analog audio, and AES67. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N1222A MPC Video over IP Decoder| Decodes MPC streams back to synchronized video and audio. Supports IR, serial, balanced/unbalanced analog audio, and AES67. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N1133A MPC Video over IP Encoder| Encodes raw video, audio, and control. Fixed stream size of 800 Mbps. Supports IR, serial, balanced/unbalanced analog audio, SFP, KVM, and AES67. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N1233A MPC Video over IP Decoder| Decodes MPC streams back to synchronized video and audio. Supports IR, serial, balanced analog audio, SFP, KVM, and AES67. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N1134A HD-SDI Encoder| Encodes raw video, audio, and control. Fixed stream size of 800 Mbps. Supports HD-SDI video connection, IR, serial, balanced/unbalanced analog audio, SFP, KVM, and AES67. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N1115 MPC Video over IP Decor-Style Wallplate Encoder| Encodes raw video, audio, and control. Fixed stream size of 800 Mbps. Supports IR, serial, balanced/unbalanced analog audio, SFP, and KVM. Powered by a PoE switch.
N2312 4K Encoder| Encodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4096×2160. Supports HDCP 2.2. Motion-based wavelet codec solution delivers video with nearly imperceptible latency at an incredibly low 200 Mbps bandwidth for static content. Full motion video could be as high as 700 Mbps. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N2315 4K Video over IP Decor-Style Wallplate Encoder| Encodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4096×2160. Supports HDCP 2.2. Motion-based wavelet codec solution delivers video with nearly imperceptible latency at an incredibly low 200 Mbps bandwidth for static content. Full motion video could be as high as 700 Mbps. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N2322 4K Decoder| Decodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4096×2160. Supports HDCP 2.2. Can be powered by a PoE switch.

• N2412A 4K Ultra-HD
• Video over IP Encoder

| Encodes to distribute video at resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4 with just two frames of latency (using JPEG2000). Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays. Supports AES67. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch.
Item| Description
---|---
N2422A 4K Ultra-HD Video over IP Decoder| Decodes to distribute video at resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4 with just two frames of latency (using JPEG2000 encoding). Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays. Supports AES67. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch.
N2424A 4K Ultra-HD Video over IP Decoder|

• Decodes to distribute video at resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4 with just two frames of latency (using JPEG2000 encoding). Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays.
• Supports AES67. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch.

N2612S 4K Encoder|

• Encodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDCP 2.3. Motion-based wavelet codec solution delivers video with nearly imperceptible latency at a bandwidth of 500-700 Mbps.
• Features a Simultaneous H.26X codec supports resolutions of 720P or 1080P. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch Support for Dante AV-A including support for 2 channels of audio.

N2615 4K Video over IP Decor-Style Wallplate Encoder|

• Encodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDCP 2.3. Motion-based wavelet codec solution delivers video with nearly imperceptible latency at a bandwidth of 500-700 Mbps.
• Can be powered by a PoE+ switch.

N2622S 4K Decoder| Decodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.3, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays. Decodes H.26X video streams. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch. Support for Dante AV-A including support for 2 channels of audio.
N2625 4K Video over IP Decor-Style Wallplate Decoder| Decodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.3, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch.
N3132 H.264 Compressed Video over IP Encoder| Encodes raw video and audio to adjustable 0.032-10Mbps H.264 video stream and AAC audio stream for internet- compatible distribution.

Supports IR, serial, balanced audio, SFP, and USB record. Can be powered by a PoE switch.

N3232 Compressed Video over IP Decoder| Decodes H.264 IP video stream and AAC audio stream back to synchronized video and audio. Supports IR, serial, balanced audio, and SFP. Can be powered by a PoE switch.
N3312 H.26x Compressed Video over IP Encoder| Encodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDCP 2.3. H.26x streaming solution delivers video with nearly imperceptible latency at a max bandwidth of 50 Mbps. Features a Simultaneous H.26X codec supports resolutions of 720P or 1080P. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch Support for Dante AV-H including support for 2 channels of audio.
N3322 H.26x Compressed Video over IP Decoder| Decodes to distribute 4K applications with resolutions up to 4K60 4:4:4. Supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.3, offering increased compatibility with 4K sources and displays. Decodes H.26X video streams. Can be powered by a PoE+ switch. Support for Dante AV-H including support for 2 channels of audio.
N9102 Rack Shelf| 1RU rack shelf for two side-by-side N-Series units (Encoder, Decoder, or ATR).
Audio Transceiver

Item| Description
N4321D Audio Transceiver (ATR)| Sends/receives eight-channel audio over IP (balanced or unbalanced). Support for 2×2 channels of Dante Audio. Supports 2xRelay, 1xGPI (General Purpose Input), and 48v Phantom Power.
Accessories
N9206 2RU Cage| Holds and provides power for up to six N-Series card units. Supports any combination of N1000/N2000/N3000 Encoder/Decoder cards and N4321 ATR cards.
Windowing Processors

Item| Description
N1512 Windowing Processor| Networked 4×1 windowing processor for N1000 streams. Supports stacking and video wall applications. Requires five network connections as well as four statically assigned IP addresses.
N2510 Windowing Processor| Networked 4×1 windowing processor for N2000 streams. Supports stacking and video wall applications. Requires five network connections as well as four statically assigned IP addresses.
N2410 Windowing Processor| Networked 4×1 windowing processor for N2400 streams. Supports stacking and video wall applications. Requires five network connections as well as four statically assigned IP addresses.
N3510 Windowing Processor| Networked 9×1 windowing processor for N3000 streams. Accepts up to 9 inputs and allows users to create a combined, customized single stream to output to any N3000 decoder and/or direct HDMI output.
Control Options
N-Able Software|

• Free N-Series Equipment setup utility and troubleshooting tool. Supports PC or Mac.
• PC version – http://www.amx.com/products/N-ABLE-PC.asp
• Mac version – http://www.amx.com/products/N-ABLE-MAC.asp

N-Act| On-board control. All N-series Encoders/Decoders have on-board, built- in control capability via events that can trigger any number of TCP/UDP commands to other IP controllable devices.
N-Command Control Appliances| N8002 web-based hardware controller. Offers control options for multiple users and devices. See page 4 for more info. Capable of interfacing with third-party control systems for simplified end user control.

Third-Party Control
For direct control of units, refer to our Direct Control API documents.

Implementation Considerations

• N-Series Networked AV solutions are based on gigabit Ethernet protocol.

• Networked AV devices can be installed on a physically separate network or converged onto an existing gigabit Ethernet network.

• By default, units come configured in DHCP mode. If there is no DHCP server on the network, they switch to Link-Local IP mode with IP addresses of 169.254.xxx.xxx.

• Any control software or device must have a Dynamic or Static IP address in the same subnet as all Networked AV devices.

• Virtually any layer-3 switch or layer-2 switch (so long as it supports IGMP snooping and querying) can be used for routing Networked AV video streams. Certain applications also require IGMP Immediate Leave to be enabled.

• When incorporating Video and Dante/AES67 onto the same VLAN careful consideration should be applied to keep the traffic properly prioritized and not conflict.
  AMX recommends keeping Control traffic and Video traffic in separate Vlans to avoid conflicts and dropped packets.

• A video network can incorporate 10/100-baseT devices such as third-party controllers or point- of-sale devices. However, video traffic must be blocked from going into the network port to which the device is connected. This can be done through an extra switch port on an N-Series device or through a port on a switch with IGMP snooping enabled.

•  N3000 video streams can be routed through 100-baseT networks. However, if data or voice are converged on the network, careful consideration must be given to the bandwidth management. Otherwise, significant video drop-outs or unacceptable quality video will result. AMX recommends gigabit Ethernet networks whenever possible.

• The maximum distance between devices directly is 100 meters (328 feet) over CAT5e cable. This distance can be extended in increments of 100 meters (328 feet) by using a gigabit switch as a repeater between devices. Copper Ethernet connections can be up to 100 meters but the use of fiber can extend network connections to many kilometers.

• The system is controllable through an N8002 controller, AMX Control Systems, or a third-party control system using TCP/IP (e.g., Savant, Utelogy, Crestron).

• If being added to an existing house network, involvement of the IT administrator as early as possible will help ensure successful implementation. For stand-alone networks, AMX recommends purchasing the Netgear AV line of network switches.

NOTE: Virtually any system that can open a socket and send ASCII strings will be able to control an N-Series system.

Batch Configuration of IP Addresses

N-Able can export and import comma-separated value (CSV) files. Once units are auto- discovered in N-Able, the CSV file can be exported into Excel where parameters such as IP address, subnet mask, gateway, stream number, audio settings, etc., can be configured. Once configured, importing this CSV file back into N-Able will assign those parameters to the appropriate device and reboot the device to activate. This procedure can be used to configure multiple Networked AV devices at the same time. It can also provide valuable diagnostics by allowing the user to see the last known device configuration as well as scan the network for new devices (regardless of IP configuration).

N-Able and N-Command Controllers
N-Able is a free device setup utility that installs and runs on a host machine. The host machine must be connected to the network containing (and have an IP address in the same range as) the N-Series equipment. The N8002 series controller is a dedicated hardware device that simplifies set-up and allows expanded web-based control.

The following table lists the host PC system requirements for installing N-Able software:

The following table compares the features of the N-Able, N-Touch, and N-Command Controllers:

VIDEO INPUTS

Digital video is input directly to any Encoder through the digital video input (HDMI IN) connector. The VGA IN connector allows for analog input. DVI, DisplayPort, or component signals can be input using passive adapters or cables. HD-SDI, composite, S-Video, or RF sources require conversion by third- party devices.

Supported Resolutions
Each Encoder samples the incoming digital video frequency and adjusts accordingly. The supported video resolutions are:

With the exception of the N3000 Series Encoders which support up to 1920×1080.
4K is only supported on select N-Series products.
Most Encoders and Decoders have a scaling option that can be turned on or off (exceptions include the N1000 MPC Encoders). For seamless switching between video streams, all inputs should be scaled to the same resolution. Enable Decoder scaling to enable seamless switching between video streams of different resolutions. Disable Decoder scaling to bypass display scaling and present content at highest fidelity.

EDID Information
Most video sources have the capability to output in multiple formats. The supported video resolutions and formats are stored in Extended Display Identification Data (EDID). Some video sources will query the attached display’s EDID to assess supported resolutions and then output the highest common format. Other video sources will not query and instead start outputting in a pre-determined format. Each
N-Series Encoder acts like a display to a video source and comes pre-stored with a specific EDID indicating supported resolutions and formats. N-Able software allows an Encoder to be loaded with the EDID from a particular display. This may be necessary to restrict the video source output format to only those supported by a particular monitor. Alternatively, enabling scaling on the Encoder allows selection of a format that may be compatible with the display.

HDCP
Harman’s Networked AV products provide HDCP and EDID management.

NETWORK PROPERTIES

Networked AV products use different network packet protocols for different operations. These network formats are described in the table below, followed by a table listing the applicable port numbers:

• switchable but not routable
• not configurable

Control| UDP/IP TCP/IP Unicast| UDP/IP TCP/IP Unicast| 169.254.xxx.xxx| IP address settable in N-Able or N8002 controller
Video| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast|

• 239.255.37.1 –
• 239.255.164.255

|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• IGMP can be used for flood control

Audio| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast|

• 239.255.165.1 –
• 239.255.255.255

|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• IGMP can be used for flood control

Video (Interleaved)| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast|

• 239.255.0.1 –
• 239.255.255.253
• (odd addresses)

|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• IGMP can be used for flood control

Audio (Interleaved)| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast|

• 239.255.0.2 –
• 239.255.255.254
• (even addresses)

|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• IGMP can be used for flood control

USB 2.0 (Interleaved)| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast|

• 239.255.0.3 –
• 239.255.255.254
• (odd addresses)

|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• •  IGMP can be used for flood control

Multicast Discovery| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast| 239.254.12.16| administratively-scoped IP address
AES67 Audio| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast| 239.0.0.0 – 239.255.255.255|

• administratively-scoped IP address
• switchable and routable with correct router configuration
• IGMP can be used for flood control

PTP Time Protocol| UDP/IP Multicast| UDP/IP Multicast| 224.0.1.129| Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for AES67 audio synchronization

NOTE: Multicast addresses may be user-configured.

• UDP
• TCP

| 50001 50001, 50002
Audio| UDP| 50003
Video| UDP| 50002
Serial| TCP| 50004
KVM (for KVM- supporting products only)| TCP| 50006
HTTP Webserver| TCP| 80
HTTPS Webserver| TCP| 443
AES67| UDP|

• Default: 5004
• User-configurable to 1-65535.

PTP| UDP| 319, 320
N3000/N3300

Series

| Control|

• UDP
• TCP

|

• 50001
• 50001, 50002

Serial| TCP| 50004
RTSP| TCP| 8554
RTCP| UDP| 50011
HTTP Webserver| TCP| 80
HTTPS Webserver| TCP| 443
Transport Stream| UDP| 18888
N-Command| Control/Status| UDP| 50005, 50006
Panel Builder| TCP| 3001
HTTP Webserver| TCP| 80
HTTPS Webserver| TCP| 443
Direct Control API| TCP| 50020
HTTP Unit Webview| TCP| 10000 + number of units
HTTPS Unit Webview| TCP| 20000 + number of units

NOTE: The SSL version for each port is the original port number + 100. For example for Control Port 50001, the SSL version would be port number 50101.
These network protocols should be familiar to any network engineer. Because our Networked AV solutions bridge the gap between the audio-visual (AV) and information technology (IT) worlds, AMX suggests involvement of both AV and IT departments in any installation.

FIG. 1 illustrates the basic installation of one Encoder and one Decoder. A video source provides the digital video content to the Encoder which converts to Ethernet packets and sends to the attached Decoder. The Decoder reconstitutes the video with synchronized audio for presentation to the attached display. If high-fidelity video and audio are playing on the display in this simple configuration, the N-Series hardware is operating successfully.

FIG. 1 Simple Installation
The same system can be connected through a network as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 Network Installation

• If the same Decoder when connected through a network to the same Encoder does not deliver high- fidelity video, a network problem exists. In most cases, the device IP addresses are incompatible with the existing network configuration. Contact your network administrator to determine network properties and configuration.
• More elaborate video networks can be constructed as illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 LAN Installation

Controlling Multicast
N-Series Encoders, Decoders, and NVRs all use UDP/IP multicast for audio and video distribution. This works perfectly for high bandwidth applications such as streaming media because in multicasting there is one source (sender) sending data to multiple recipients, but there is only a single copy of the data being sent and shared among all of the recipients. This is accomplished by splitting the single transmission among the multiple users using multicast trees. If you would like to read more about IP multicast, a document found at the following wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Group_Management_Protocol

• There are two ways to control multicast on the network. Which one you choose depends on your network requirements.
• IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) Snooping: For use when streaming in a single VLAN. Allows video streams (groups) to be dynamically routed only to those ports requesting the video stream. The IGMP snooping feature prevents the multicast video traffic from flooding the network. This is the recommended setting for N-Series equipment. To use IGMP, the AV network switches must have IGMP snooping enabled and there must be a single master IGMP querier. For more information, visit the following Cisco website: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/ipmulti_igmp/configuration/xe-16/imc-igmp-xe-16-book.html
• PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast): For use when streaming multicast AV traffic between different VLANs. PIM functions independently of IP routing protocol. PIM Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) is recommended by AMX as it provides the lowest amount of overhead traffic on the network. PIM Dense Mode (PIM-DM) will work, but isnot recommended as it has a much larger amount of overhead and can bog down a routed network. You can find more information about PIM by visiting the following Cisco website: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/ipmulti_pim/configuration/xe-16/imc-pim-xe-16-book/imc-tech-oview.html
• N-Series control signals are TCP/IP unicast and can be routed. Video signals are multicast and can be routed in certain cases. Many Cisco routers require that the routing table be pre-loaded so that the processor does not have to touch each packet to determine its destination. Static routing has been used successfully to route multicast video traffic. Alternatively, existing routing protocols like generic routing encapsulation (GRE) or equivalent can be used to route video traffic. These protocols generally encapsulate the multicast packets in unicast wrappers for point-to-point transmission between routers. Once at the intended unicast destination address, the unicast wrapper is stripped and packets revert to multicast.
• Although N1000, N2300, N2400 and N2600 Encoders output only multicast video, N3000 and N3300 Encoders can output unicast video natively at a bandwidth compatible with lower speed links. N3000 and N3300 also supports standard streaming protocols like RTP, RTSP, RTMP, and HTTP Live commonly used with content delivery services. The N4321D audio transceiver also supports both multicast and unicast.

Defining Multicast Addresses Using the Stream Number
To support backwards-compatibility with legacy products, N-Series products use a special calculation to determine the multicast address based on the stream number. To better understand this calculation, refer to the examples given in this section. To quickly determine a unit’s multicast address, it is easiest to just refer to the unit’s Settings webpage (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 4
Video/Audio Multicast Address

Calculation Examples
To determine the multicast address from the stream number, follow these guidelines.
The multicast address is defined as: 239.255.Octet1.Octet2

For non-interleaved mode:

• Stream numbers evenly divisible by 256 are not allowed.
• Octet2 for audio and video is always the remainder of the streamNumber divided by 256.
• Video Octet1 is more complex:
  • For stream numbers 1 to 254, Octet1 is 37.
  • For stream numbers 9473 to 9727, Octet1 is 0.
  • For other stream numbers, Octet1 is streamNumber divided by 256.
  • If video Octet1 is less than 128, then audio Octet1 is equal to video Octet1 + 128; otherwise, it is video Octet1 – 128.
• NOTE: The complexity of this calculation is a result of attempts to maintain compatibility with older units that only supported 255 stream numbers. To avoid having to perform these calculations, simply select the interleaved streaming option on all units and the mapping becomes much more straight forward (as seen below).

For interleaved mode:

• Stream numbers evenly divisible by 256 and 128 are not allowed.
• Calculate streamBase as streamNumber multiplied by 2
• Octet1 is streamBase divided by 256.
• Octet2 for audio is the remainder of streamBase multiplied by 256.
• Octet2 for video is audio Octet2 – 1.

Installation Over an Existing Network

Notes:
Installation notes regarding deployment of SVSI systems onto a network are listed below. These are guidelines and any action shall be consulted by the network engineer or architect responsible for the network operation.

• Video, Audio, and Control should be placed on to their own VLAN to maintain traffic resilience.
• Inter-Vlan routing should be enabled to allow for communication between VLANs.
• Ports connected to control systems should be blocked for receiving IGMP traffic.
• PoE calculations should be considered for the entire switch and system.
• Total system bandwidth should be calculated based on worst case scenario for the series being deployed.

Legacy network equipment may or may not be fully gigabit-enabled. Even though most installed networks are gigabit, it only takes one 100-BaseT switch or router within the video pathway to degrade or block the signal completely. If you are unsure of your network configuration, contact your network administrator before trying to implement a Networked AV solution on your network.

FIG. 5 Existing Layer-2 Network Installation

Even if a particular network is gigabit-enabled, installing Networked AV components can cause excessive amounts of video packets to overwhelm a network segment, VLAN, or device depending on the background traffic level. This can adversely affect other users on the network and must be avoided. Contact your network administrator before installation to determine traffic levels. N-Able software allows each Encoder’s video stream to be disabled before connecting to an existing network. Once connected, Encoders can be enabled one at a time to determine network impact. AMX strongly recommends that all Encoders be disabled and variable bit-rates set as low as possible before connecting to an existing network.
FIG. 4 illustrates how Networked AV products can be installed on an existing layer-2 network over a dedicated VLAN separate from voice and data traffic while using an organization’s existing infrastructure.

The following steps can be taken (at the discretion of your network administrator) to facilitate integration with an existing network:

• Ensure current ACLs (Access Control Lists) are not filtering multicast or control traffic.
• Remove Flow Control and/or Storm Control on any network port passing the video stream.
• Enable IGMP querying and snooping on all supported network switches.
• Enable VLANs to separate video traffic from data and voice.
• Allow multicast traffic on all network ports through which video streams pass.
• Reduce the variable bit-rate for each video stream in N-Able to obtain the lowest bandwidth at acceptable video quality.
• Reduce frame-rate in N-Able software.
• Turn all Encoders off in N-Able when not in use.
• Upload slide-show content to LocalPlay and display this locally-stored content when possible.
• Manually enter devices by MAC address to prevent N-Able from sending out broadcasts to locate. For a large number of devices during setup, a CSV file can be imported/exported using N-Able.

Any or all of these items can help integrate your video onto an existing network.

Network Diagnostic Utilities
AMX recommends these free network utilities if needed during deployment.

•  Wireshark – Features an N-Series plug-in for extracting packet information from our Networked AV devices, this utility captures network packets to show source, destination, and payload.
  All multicast and broadcast packets will be captured and decoded. Wireshark does not require the host to have a compatible IP address.

• N-Able software – Available for PC or Mac, this software provides an easy and efficient way to setup and troubleshoot N-Series systems.

• VLC – Available for PC or Mac, this open-source software is a portable, media player and streaming media server (written by the VideoLAN project). Use it to view N3000 series streams on your desktop (e.g., UDP, RTP, RTSP and HTTP protocols).

• Download for free at http://www.videolan.org/index.html.

NOTE: HDCP protected content is encrypted and therefore not visible using third-party viewers.

Installation Over a Dedicated Network
If so desired, AMX recommends a dedicated layer-3 network for transmitting AV over IP. AMX recommends the NETGEAR AV line of network switches.
It is possible to overwhelm a single switch port using IGMP when more than one N1000, N2400, or N2600 decoder on a single ethernet port request different video streams. When this happens, all video streams on the port will drop significant numbers of frames and appear jerky or cease to display video at all. This situation cannot be managed through the network except by reducing the bitrates for all video streams where possible. Avoidance of more than a gigabit of traffic per wire during installation is the preferred method to prevent this occurrence.

FIG. 6 Dedicated Network Installation

The network diagnostic utilities discussed on page 12 can also be used for Networked AV systems deployed over physically separate dedicated networks.
In many cases, the customer wants control of the AV system over the house network but does not want the multicast video traffic touching the house network. This is easily accomplished with an N8002-series controller. Dual Network Interfaces are available on the N8002 a to functionally bridge control information from one physically disjointed network to the other.

VIDEO OUTPUTS

• Decoders attached to the video network request the video stream and convert the IP packets to synchronized video and audio for display. All Decoder video output is digital (even if the input to the Encoder is analog) and is output through the HDMI OUT connector. Balanced analog audio is available through the 5-pin Phoenix connector on the Decoder or embedded digital audio is available through the HDMI OUT connector. Most Decoder and
• Encoder models have an IR transmitter and bi-directional serial port built-in for control of the display or third-party device co-located at the Decoder. Please check your specific N-series model to make sure IR and serial control options are available if required.
• Each Decoder and Encoder have locally stored splash-screens (LocalPlay on Decoder and HostPlay on Encoder) that can be commanded to play or will show in the event of network or video signal outage. When the network link goes down, this image will automatically play and can be used for diagnostics. Users can upload their own LocalPlay images and audio for digital signage when live video may not be needed.
• The N-Series Networked AV IP format allows it to be integrated over copper, fiber, or wireless links with the appropriate network hardware. With IT support, high-definition video and audio can be streamed over common networks to be delivered when and where it is needed.
• For questions specific to an existing network, please contact your IT manager and refer to this document.

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AMX does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions. AMX also reserves the right to alter specifications without prior notice at any time. The AMX Warranty and Return Policy and related documents can be viewed/downloaded at www.amx.com.

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Revised: 06/2024
REV: E

References

• AMX Audio Video Control Systems | English
• AMX Audio Video Control Systems | English (US)
• N-ABLE-MAC | AMX Audio Video Control Systems | English (US)
• N-ABLE-PC | AMX Audio Video Control Systems | English
• VLC: Official site - Free multimedia solutions for all OS! - VideoLAN

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