7th sense Pixel processing juggler User manual

Pixel Processing

Juggler

M512-3

User Guide

2

The 7thsense logo, and various hardware and software product names are trademarks of 7thSense Design

Ltd. Product or company names that may be mentioned in 7thSense publications are tradenames or

trademarks of their respective owners, and such trademarks may also be registered in their respective

countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other

countries.

Juggler : User Guide

Trademark Information

Copyright Information

or copied without express written authorisation from 7thSense Design Ltd.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice. 7thSense Design Ltd assumes no

responsibility for errors, and/or omissions contained in this information.

Printed: April 2021

This edition is for software version Compere 1.0.2

Document ref.: M512-3

7thSense Design LLC, Orlando7thSense Design LLC, Michigan

7thSense Design Ltd

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W: 7thsense.one

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3

Contents

Introduction 6

Juggler and Compere 7

System Architecture 10

What Juggler Can Do 11

Front Panel: Controls 13

Front Panel Display 13

Set Juggler Static IP and Subnet 14

Rear Panel Connections 16

Input and Output Options 17

GPIO HD-BNC Ports 20

GPIO Genlock Example 21

Workflow: Create a Juggler System 24

Connect a Juggler Optical Data Bus 26

Connecting to a Network and Devices 30

Compere on Jugglers 31

Compere MinGUI 32

Introducing Compere UI for Jugglers 34

Installing Compere on a Control PC 35

Terms and Definitions Used in Compere 37

The Compere Juggler View 38

Using Compere Layouts 43

Main Menu 46

Debug Menu 50

Status Bar 51

Task Tracker Panel 52

Contextual Menus 53

Preferences Panel 55

Compere Projects 58

Render Settings 60

How Juggler is Seen in Compere 62

Juggler Properties 64

4

Contents

Network Configuration 68

Create a Project Group 75

Display Configuration: Canvas Setup 78

Canvas Output Setup 80

Canvas Window Setup 84

Create and Recall Canvas Arrangements 87

DIsplay Setup via MPCDI 93

Nodes: Connecting Juggler Systems 94

Input / Output Connector Properties 100

Bus Connections in a Juggler System 103

Connecting Inputs and Outputs 108

EDID Spoofing 110

3D Passive to Active Conversion 111

3D Active to Passive Conversion 111

IntelligentSource 112

Ports Used by Juggler and Compere 114

External Control 115

Wildcards 119

Message Formats 120

System Status 124

Juggler Status 124

Bus Status 125

Bus Reset 125

Genlock 125

Hotplug Detect 127

EDID Lists 127

Resolution 128

MPCDI 129

Project Controls 130

Presets and Clones 131

Logs and Diagnostics 132

5

Contents

Command Line Arguments 134

Troubleshooting a Juggler System 135

Juggler Physical Specifications 136

Rack Mounting Jugglers 138

Juggler Care and Maintenance 139

Warranty, Support and Service 142

Regulatory Compliance 143

Document Information 144

145Index

6

Introduction

Juggler™ and Compere™ go together. Juggler is the hardware that processes the pixels and

Compere, like an event manager, is the control software and user interface that tells one or more

Jugglers what to do. Together, any range of digital inputs can be transformed and directed to an any

range of outputs, because Juggler modules can be daisy-chained on a data bus to expand inputs,

outputs and bandwidth as required. Compere does much more besides in its Visualise role, but this

guide focuses on Juggler system set up.

Juggler is a highly modular FPGA-based pixel processor, providing the highest hardware performance

and efficiency, combined with ultimate connectivity. It is specified according to application, with a

very wide choice of input and output options: DisplayPort™ 1.2, HDMI™ 2.0, SDI, and with Video over IP

in development. The Juggler system can process a data bandwidth of approximately 14 GB/s. As an

example, that equates to a canvas size of 16K × 4K at 60 fps 10-bit 4:4:4.

The configuration of a particular Juggler module will optimise use of the available bandwidth

according to requirement, and the Juggler concept is one of tremendous flexibility. Modules can be

daisy-chained via a high-speed box-to-box fibre-optic link, to expand I/O type and capacity. Juggler

can also display all inputs via an NDI thumbnail matrix on the front panel.

7

Juggler and Compere

For a first-time user, the concepts of the pixel processor can seem a bit confusing, so here is an

overall picture of how the key components work together.

Why Juggler?

Juggler is not just a standalone rack module. We imagine it as stage performer in an event, where as

many Jugglers and other performers as you want can join, take part, or leave, all under the direction

of a Compere, or stage manager that holds the event together.

Juggler is a modular hardware base for full high-bit depth pixel-based colour processing, warp and

blend. It accepts a scalable number of inputs and delivers a scalable number of outputs, in many

protocols. 2D, passive and active stereo 3D are fully supported.

With latency reduced to an absolute minimum, Juggler is ideal for live performance. All sources can

be genlocked to frame accuracy, with instant system failover across all connected devices via frame-

data monitoring (an API is available for third-party sources).

Compere

Compere (pronounced ‘KOM pair’) is the software system that manages all Juggler connections in a

‘stage set’ (we call it the Project Group), defines inputs, outputs and manages displays. A version of

Compere runs in every Juggler on a Linux OS that drives the front panel touch display and

communicates with the FPGA.

Compere provides the user interface (UI) for a Juggler system. Here you create Project Groups of

Jugglers and configure all the inputs and outputs of each Juggler involved. All group activity can then

be managed via external control from multiple network points.

Compere does much more, but for configuring your Juggler system with its media inputs and display

outputs, you need to become familiar with the Juggler side of Compere.

Connect up your hardware before you venture into Compere. Once that is done, connect into the

system from a workstation control PC with Compere running, and every part of the system will be

recognised and identified, along with all their available ports, in order to create the relationships

between each Juggler, their input sources and output devices.

Projects and Groups

Projects are a bit like stage sets, with scenery and equipment ready for a play or show. When you

create or see a Project in Compere, you will see a list of what belongs together for the ‘stage set’:

Jugglers, projectors, 3D models and so on, that are assigned as a Project Group.

8

Juggler and Compere

All the details and settings are held in the Project file, which governs how every member of the

Project Group behaves. Whichever instance of the Compere software takes control (the one assigned

as server), like a stage manager, coordinates and distributes this set of stage instructions to all

instances of Compere, which includes every Juggler in the Group. If any of these members, as clients,

wants to make changes at any time, the changes are handed back to the server to redistribute

around the Group.

Any client joining the Project Group is handed the common current Project file and performs as

directed. In this way any PC running Compere on the network can join the Project Group, become the

server or stay as a client and interact with the rest of the Group. This might be to make static changes

in the ‘stage set’ or to move things around dynamically, such as picture-in-picture elements.

If network connection is lost by any Juggler in a Project Group, the local copy of the Project will keep

running until it can reconnect and re-sync with the Group, at which point any changes to the Project

file will be received from the assigned (or a reassigned) server.

The wider network

There can be more than one Project Group, each with an assigned server to coordinate it. They can all

be on the same network, and any member can be moved from one Group to another as required. If

you need other Groups, they can be created and named, and available members assigned to them

instead of the initial default (unnamed) Group.

Features and capability of the Juggler pixel processor

·

Modular FPGA-based pixel processor.

·

Configurability: multiple Juggler modules can be daisy-chained via high-speed fibre-optic link, to

add additional input and output capability within a 16K × 4K 10-bit 4:4:4 canvas, or equivalent

bandwidth.

·

Video scaling, video matrixing and picture-in-picture capability, genlocking, framerate conversion.

·

Failover redundant source management with 7thSense IntelligentSource™ (API available).

·

DisplayPort™ 1.2, 12G SDI and HDMI™ 2.0 (optional HDCP™ compliant)

·

DisplayPort output SST to MST conversion.

·

Supports 10-bit 4:4:4 – internal processing at high precision.

·

Colourspace mapping via 3D LUT.

·

External control over IP.

·

User interface: 7thSense Compere software.

·

Warp, blend, and black level output support via MPCDI (2D MPCDI).

·

NDI® 4.5 confidence monitoring.

9

Juggler and Compere

Ø

Physical Specifications

Ø

Rack Mounting Jugglers

Ø

Care and Maintenance

136

138

139

10

System Architecture

·

Every Juggler has four video processing channels.

·

Each Juggler unit has a flexible design for provisioning a number of inputs and outputs of various

and mixed types.

·

Jugglers can be daisy-chained by utilising a high capacity data bus.

·

The number and balance of inputs and outputs in a Juggler system is completely scalable.

·

Any input – live capture, streamed or prerecorded – can be processed by any Juggler to any

output and placed anywhere in the overall output space.

·

Redundancy and failover can be built into a Juggler system

As this example shows, the Juggler system maps the whole-site canvas, uniting, processing and

placing all sources with all displays, expanding inputs and outputs as required:

11

What Juggler Can Do

Here are two examples of Juggler applications that demonstrate its potential roles.

Example 1: IntelligentSource™ failover

Use cases: Ultra-reliable auto failover, per input, or whole system, seamless source switching

·

A large 16K × 4K canvas

·

IntelligentSource

·

Format conversion

·

Warp and blend

Example 2

·

A large 16K × 4K DisplayPort input canvas

·

IntelligentSource failover

·

Picture in picture (PiP)

·

Scaling

·

Warp and blend

12

What Juggler Can Do

13

Front Panel: Controls

Power button

Juggler must first be connected to an appropriate power source using the supplied IEC power cord.

The front panel power button will show a dim blue ring indicating this connection. Press and release

the power button to start the unit. The power button will show a bright blue ring and the display panel

will go through a start-up cycle before settling to status information and the Juggler logo.

Reset

Should you need to reset the internal FPGA board only, the power button can be pressed and held for

3 seconds then released when the blue light dims. The blue button light will flash for 2 seconds before

returning to normal status.

USB port

For service use only.

Touch-screen display

The touch screen display is a tabbed swipe and scroll screen: see Front Panel Display .

Front Panel Display

The Juggler front panel touch-sensitive display is driven by a Linux CPU board running a minimised

instance of Compere, which also, as a network client, shares the common Project file for the whole

networked system.

The display presents a menu system that conveys elements of the Compere graphical interface,

allowing direct interaction with, and monitoring of a single Juggler by selecting, scrolling and swiping.

13

14

Front Panel: Controls

Video tab

This tab provides a direct NDI display of media being processed by the unit, as a row of video

channels 1 to 4.

Info tab

This shows the Juggler name, IP addresses, network mode, Project name and connection status, and

a second swipe-to page for editing the static IP address and subnet.

Set Juggler Static IP and Subnet

This can be done from the Juggler front panel touch screen.

·

Touch to select ‘Info’ tab if it is not already showing.

·

Swipe from right to left to move to the IP Editor page:

·

Touch to select an octet (address element) to change; it will show highlighted blue.

·

Use the number pad on the left to enter a value up to 255.

15

Front Panel: Controls

On the number pad:

o. (separator) moves to the next octet

oC (clear) sets the selected octet value to 0

·

Touch ‘Reset’ to undo all changes, or

·

Touch ‘Apply’ and then Confirm the changes:

16

Rear Panel Connections

The back panel of each Juggler is factory configurable to order. The required number and type of

inputs and outputs for a system of Jugglers is expandable by adding Juggler modules as required.

Working from left to right, these connections are available:

JTAG

Service use only.

UART (serial over USB)

Service use only. Connection for Juggler Console to address the

FPGA processor.

DP CONSOLE

Not used.

OUT and LOOP

Non-user Ethernet ports relating to front panel control, always

connected to each other. (LEDs on OUT are inactive.)

UNIT HDMI Tx and Rx

Used in Juggler modules configured for HDMI, expandable with the

I/O Interface panels.

IN (RJ45)

Network port (LEDs on this port are inactive).

USB 3.0

Not used.

MODULE × 4, numbered 1-4 (options)

4 × SFP modules,

either 12G bidirectional coax (12G-SDI HD-BNC)

or optical fibre (LC) for SDI or to form a 4-lane (‘half’) bus between

Juggler modules

see Connect a Juggler Data Bus

GENLOCK / GPIO – 4 × HD-BNC, numbered 1-4

4 × HD-BNC independent configurable I/O for synchronising; genlock,

3D sync etc. GPIO and Genlock Juggler Systems

I/O INTERFACE 1 and INTERFACE 2(options)

Choice of 2 × I/O channels of DP or HDMI, or 2 × MPO optical fibre

to form an 8-lane (‘full’) bus between Juggler modules with greater

bandwidth than afforded via SFP transceivers

see Connect a Juggler Data Bus .

SFP Modules

Note the orientation of SDI modules in particular. These are marked with indented arrows, but note

that modules are inserted back to back (lower row inverted):

26

20

26

17

Rear Panel Connections

The same orientation is true for fibre-optic modules, but these are keyed. If using the 4-lane ‘half’-bus

option to daisy-chain Jugglers, see Connect a Juggler Data Bus : ‘Half bus’.

Important! Only SFP modules approved by 7thSense should be fitted to the Juggler unit, fitting non-

approved SFP modules may cause damage to the Juggler or prevent the unit operating.

Loop cable (every Juggler)

This is a necessary connection, to be kept as short as possible. A 12 cm, black Ethernet cable is

provided for this with every Juggler. It must not be disconnected.

Input and Output Options

In a multi-Juggler system with a data bus, any input of any Juggler can be sent to the bus and taken

off the bus as an input to any other Juggler. These internal interconnections are done in Compere, the

software user interface. For example, this means that an HDMI input can be sent out elsewhere from

the system via SDI.

26

18

Rear Panel Connections

There are three types of internal connection in a Juggler or a Juggler system:

1. Some Juggler inputs may match its outputs directly, for example providing layers from a media

server to a whole-canvas background, requiring no processing on the way. These can save

bandwidth by using the ‘Bypass’ feature.

2. Other Juggler inputs may occupy an entire video channel, in which case they go directly from

input port to output port.

3. For placing and scaling any Juggler input on the system Canvas, Canvas Windows are matched

onto the input ports, which in turn are passed to Canvas Outputs on output ports.

Ø

For an explanation of terms and parts of the system Canvas, see Display Configuration: Canvas

Setup

Connection configurations in Juggler modules

Juggler supports connectivity via HDMI™ 2.0, DisplayPort™ 1.2 and 12G SDI. Some typical

configurations of I/O options are shown here.

Media inputs and outputs

HDMI-configured Juggler with a total of 3 × Tx + 3 × Rx HDMI (shown blue) and 2 × Tx + 2 × Rx SDI

(shown red):

HDMI and DisplayPort configured Juggler with 2 × Tx + 2 × Rx HDMI (shown blue) and 2 × Tx + 2 × Rx

DisplayPort (shown green):

DisplayPort Juggler with 4 × Tx + 4 × Rx DisplayPort (Unit HDMI not enabled):

SDI-enabled Jugglers are equipped with up to four SFP modules (shown red):

78

19

Rear Panel Connections

Data bus

Each Juggler has four processing channels. By bussing Jugglers together, additional processing

channels can be added to the Juggler system. To bus Juggler modules together, use optical fibre

cables. Full 8-lane bandwidth MPO I/O ports (shown yellow) may be used, or 4-lane SFP modules

(shown magenta). See also Connect a Juggler Data Bus :

These are configured typically alongside 2 × DP or 2 × HDMI in the second interface.

Bus capacity

The bus configuration determines the capacity in terms of resolution and equivalent bandwidth. To

increase bandwidth, lanes 4 and 8 can share their capacity with lanes 1-3 and 5-7. Effectively this

becomes a 6-Lane ‘High Bandwidth’ bus, with lanes 4 and 8 unavailable to separate video channels.

Bits per Pixel determines capacity of your bus for your media requirement.

Bus Mode

Bits Per Pixel

Max Resolution at 60fps,

or equivalent bandwidth

4-Lane Bus

(HD-BNC SFP modules)

8-Lane Bus

(MPO Interface)

30

UHD (3840 × 2160)

4 buses (2 + 2)

8 buses (4 + 4)

24

4800 × 2160

4 buses (2 + 2)

8 buses (4 + 4)

30

High-Bandwidth Mode

4800 × 2160

n/a

6 buses (3 + 3)

26

20

Rear Panel Connections

GPIO HD-BNC Ports

Each Juggler back panel has four HD-BNC connnectors. These can be independently designated as

inputs, or outputs that can be assigned to the Juggler’s video channels, in the Juggler properties of

Compere.

All Juggler ports are configured independently in Compere. Here is the GPIO section in Juggler

properties:

Name

Identifies the physical GPIO.

Enabled

For GPIO ports to be live, they must be enabled. If you need to disable the port, do that here.

Use as Output

If not an output, an enabled port is assigned to receive a signal from a source.

GPIO Source (when used as an output)

To output a signal requires a source. This could be a video channel media source sync, or

another feed via another GPIO port.

GPIO Signal (when used as an output)

Select an available signal from the selector:

7th Sense Pixel Processing Juggler User manual

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