Video Transcript
Multi-display and Mixed Resolutions
5m 22s
0:08
Now that we’ve wired a single HDMI source in and a single HDMI out, let’s get fancy, shall we.
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Many meeting installations are starting to employ multiple displays, and some soft-codec applications
0:20
like Microsoft Teams will soon support these scenarios.
0:24
So we’ll start by exploring the second output of the decoder. If you visit the Decoder’s properties,
0:29
you’ll see an option for HDMI Output Mode.
0:32
Let’s go and add another Generic Display to our design, as a destination for this second output.
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We’ll just change the property from HDMI 1 to both “HDM1 and 2”, and we’ll wire it up.
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You’ll notice in the Decoder’s control panel that this automatically gives you a second section with video
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routing options for your second output. It looks identical to your first output options, except it will have
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one additional button that says “Follow H1.” In follow mode, the second output’s source will follow any
1:05
changes made to the first output’s source. This isn’t a permanent property, but a dynamically selectable
1:11
button you can change while the system is live.
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Also, don’t forget that in order to achieve dual outputs on the NV Series, all video sources whose
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AV stream is wired to this decoder will be limited to 1080p60, which is done through EDID. If your
1:27
installation needs 4K, you’ll want to upgrade the system with a second NV-32-H.
1:32
In fact, let’s do just that and see what happens. I’ll add another to my inventory and configure it as a
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decoder, and assign its AV sources to be the same options I’m getting from my encoder. This means that
1:49
we are now multicasting our input sources, because they are available to multiple different output
1:55
devices on the network. You can multicast your 4K streams—again, as long as the encoder is only
2:02
encoding one stream at a time. But if your second decoder selects a different source, forcing your
2:09
encoder to encode two different streams, then it can only encode those streams at 1080p, not 4K.
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When this happens, an event occurs that’s known as a Hot Plug Event, which essentially involves all the
2:22
handshaking that happens when a source and a display are connected. If your first decoder is displaying
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a 4K signal when the second decoder requests a different stream, then both devices will experience a
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Hot Plug Event while the encoder “downshifts” from 4K so that it can transmit both streams in 1080. If
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you open the Encoder’s control panel, you’ll see a setting called “4k60 – One Hot Plug Event.”
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This is generally fine for something like a conference room where you’re selecting your inputs
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at the top of the meeting. But if you’re using it in a big, all-hands meeting (with tons of judgy people),
2:59
you don’t want to interrupt the video feed when the second decoder requests a stream.
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We recommend changing this setting to “1080p60 Max – No Hot Plug Events.” This will limit all
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the EDIDS to maximum resolution of 1080p60, regardless of whether the source is 4K. This way all your
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content will always be 1080, which will avoid any disruptions when your encoder shifts from streaming a
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single source to multiple sources.
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Of course, if you really do need multiple 4K sources available at a time, leave this setting on 4k. Then, you simply add
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another encoder to your design. Now each source is being encoded in 4K by its own device, so you don’t
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experience any of that downshifting that happens when they’re encoded by the same device.
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Let’s look at another scenario – don’t forget that you can also enable one HDMI output from an encoder.
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If you select an encoder and look at its properties, you’ll see there is an option for HDMI Output
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Mode, which by default is set to None. You can set this to HDMI 1 to get a single output from this unit—
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note that only HDMI 1 is an option. HDMI2 is not available when the unit is configured as an encoder.
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And also keep in mind that the source available for this output will be limited to the local HDMI inputs.
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That’s because the NV video endpoint can only operate as an encoder or a decoder, so if this unit
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is already working as an encoder, then it cannot decode any of the video streams to deliver to your local HDMI output.
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So this option would most commonly be useful as a local courtesy preview, for instance.
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Once you wire a display to this HDMI output, you’ll see that you have video routing options within your
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encoder control panel, but they’re limited to the graphic options and local HDMI sources – no AV streams.
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And while it’s probably obvious at this point, it’s also worth a reminder that if you use any of your local
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HDMI inputs when the device is in Decoder mode, those sources are *only* available to that device,
5:04
because they are never encoded onto the network to be selectable from another device.
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In the next section we’ll look at what happens when you want to process or route the audio
5:14
independently of the video. So take a quick break, and come back for the next section.
Lesson Description
Multi-display and Mixed Resolutions
5m 22s
Discover how to employ multiple displays and mixed resolutions, and learn about Hot Plug Events.
Downloads and Links
Multi-display and Mixed Resolutions
5m 22s