Link electronics Caption Encoder/Decoder SD SDI/Analog... User manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Model PTC-892
Standard Definition
Digital or Analog
Closed Captioning Encoder
And Analog Decoder
With Digital to Analog
Conversion
For firmware version 1C
LINK ELECTRONICS, INC.
2137 Rust Avenue. Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63703
Phone: [phone] website: www.linkelectronics.com
Fax: [phone] e-mail: [email protected]

PTC-892 version 1 C 2

PTC-892 version 1 C 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Important Safeguards and Notice................................................................................4
Important Warnings and Cautions...............................................................................5
Rear Panel Connections............................................................................................... 6
Analog video Inputs and Outputs..........................................................................8
Digital Input, Output, and Analog Outputs..........................................................10
LTC Input............................................................................................................10
Weather Lift GPI................................................................................................. 10
Communication Ports.........................................................................................11
AC Power ........................................................................................................... 11
Front Panel Operations............................................................................................... 12
Main Display ................................................................................................................ 13
Submenus and Displays............................................................................................. 14
Time Code Display.............................................................................................14
Encode Mode Menu ........................................................................................... 14
Decoder Output Menu........................................................................................15
Recovery Channel Menu....................................................................................16
Recovery Stream Menu......................................................................................17
Weather Lift Menu..............................................................................................17
Negative Pedestal Menu .................................................................................... 18
Port 1 Selection Menu........................................................................................18
Port 1 Baud Rate Menu......................................................................................19
Port 2 Baud Rate Menu......................................................................................19
Data Output Port Menu.......................................................................................20
Port Redirection Menu........................................................................................ 20
Control Codes Out Menu.................................................................................... 21
Tokenize CC Codes Menu .................................................................................21
Odd Parity Menu................................................................................................. 22
Duplicate CC Codes Menu................................................................................. 22
Control ‘A’ Codes In Menu..................................................................................23
Load and Save Setting Menu ............................................................................. 24
Manufacture and Model Display......................................................................... 26
Power-on Set-up Menu (TSID).................................................................................... 27
Software Instruction Set............................................................................................. 30
Encode Modes.................................................................................................... 30
Data Recovery Modes........................................................................................32
Miscellaneous Instructions .................................................................................33
Modem FCC Document............................................................................................... 35
What are TSID and PSID.............................................................................................36
Product Warranty........................................................................................................ 38

PTC-892 version 1 C 4
Important Safeguards and Notices
Information on the following pages provides important safety guidelines for both
Operator and Service personnel. Specific warnings and cautions will be found
throughout the manual where they apply, but may not appear here. Please read
and follow the important safety information, noting especially those instructions
related to risk of fire, electric shock or injury to persons.
WARNING
Any instructions in this manual that require opening the equipment cover
or enclosure are for use by qualified service personnel only. To reduce the
risk of electric shock, do not perform any servicing other than that
contained in the operating instructions unless you are qualified to do so.
Symbols and Their Meaning in This Manual
READ THIS MANUAL: To gain knowledge of the Link product, user must read
and understand the operator’s manual before using this product. There are
features known to the user, only if the manual is read.
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, alerts
the user to the presence of “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure
that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to
persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle alerts the user to the
presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the appliance.
This symbol represents a protective grounding terminal. Such a terminal must be
connected to earth ground prior to making any other connections to the
equipment.
The fuse symbol indicates that the fuse referenced in text must be replaced with
one having the ratings indicated.

PTC-892 version 1 C 5
Important Warnings and Cautions
Warnings:
Always use good engineering practice. It is highly
recommended to mount this equipment in a well ventilated
equipment rack. It is also recommended to use a blank one
RU spacer between mounting frames.
¾Heed all warnings on the unit and in the operating instructions.
¾Do not use this product in or near water.
¾Disconnect ac power before installing any options.
¾This product is grounded through the grounding conductor of the power cord. To
avoid electrical shock, plug the power cord into a properly wired receptacle
before connecting the product inputs or outputs.
¾Route power cords and other cables so that they are not likely to be damaged.
¾Disconnect power before cleaning. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners; use
only a damp cloth.
¾Dangerous voltages exist at several points in this product. To avoid personal
injury, do not touch exposed connections and components while power is on.
¾Do not wear hand jewelry or watches when troubleshooting high current circuits,
such as the power supplies.
¾During installation, do not use the door handles or front panels to lift the
equipment as they may open abruptly and injure you.
¾To avoid fire hazard, use only the specified correct type, voltage and current
rating as referenced in the appropriate parts list for this product. Always refer
fuse replacements to qualified service personnel.
¾To avoid explosion, do not operate this product in an explosive atmosphere
unless it has been specifically certified for such operation.
¾Have qualified personnel perform safety checks after any completed service.
¾If equipped with redundant power, this unit has two power cords. To reduce the
risk of electrical shock, disconnect both power supply cords before servicing.
¾This equipment may employ laser(s). If it does, they comply with the current
construction requirements of the code of Federal regulations, title 21, chapter I,
subchapter J, sections 1010.2 and 1010.3 and sections 1040.10 and 1040.11.
¾Do not attempt to view light output of the laser transmitter, eye damage may
result. Always use an optical power meter to verify laser output.

PTC-892 version 1 C 6
To prevent injury:
¾Never install telephone wiring during a lightning storm.
¾Never install telephone jacks in wet locations unless the jack is specifically
designed for wet locations.
¾Never touch un-insulated telephone wires or terminals unless the telephone line
has been disconnected at the network interface.
¾Use caution when installing or modifying telephone lines.
Cautions:
¾When installing this equipment, do not attach power cord to building surfaces.
¾To prevent damage to equipment when replacing fuses, locate and correct the
trouble that caused the fuse to blow before applying power.
¾Verify that all power supply lights are off before removing power supply or
servicing equipment.
¾Use only specified replacement parts.
¾Follow static precautions at all times when handling this equipment.
¾Leave the back of the frame clear for air exhaust cooling and to allow room for
cabling. Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation. Do not
block them.
¾Front door is part of fire enclosure and should be kept closed during normal
operation.
¾This product should be powered on as described in the manual. To prevent
equipment damage select the proper line voltage at the ac input connector as
described in the installation documentation.
¾To prevent damage to this equipment read the instructions in this document for
proper input voltage range selection.
¾To reduce the risk of electric shock, ensure that the two power supply cords are
each plugged into a separate branch circuit.
¾Circuit boards in this product are densely populated with surface mount and
ASIC components. Special tools and techniques are required to safely and
effectively troubleshoot and repair modules that use SMT or ASIC components.
For this reason, service and repair of Link products incorporating surface mount
technology are supported only on a module exchange basis. Customers should
not attempt to troubleshoot or repair modules that contain SMT components. Link
assumes no liability for damage caused by unauthorized repairs. This applies to
both in- and out-of-warranty products.

PTC-892 version 1 C 7
North American Power Supply Cords
This equipment is supplied with molded grounding plug (NEMA 5-15P) at
one end and molded grounding connector (IEC 320-C13) at the other end.
Conductors are CEE color coded, light blue (neutral), brown (line) and
green/yellow (ground).
Operation of this equipment at voltages exceeding 130 VAC will require
power supply cords which comply with NEMA configurations.
International Power Supply Cord
This equipment is supplied with molded grounding connector (IEC 320-
C13) at one end and stripped connectors (50/5 mm) at the other end.
Connectors are CEE color coded, light blue (neutral), brown (line) and
green/yellow (ground).
Other IEC 320-C13 type power supply cords can be used if they comply
with the safety regulations of the country in which they are installed.
Notes: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual,
may cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to
correct the interference at his own expense.

PTC-892 version 1 C 8
PTC-892 Rear Panel Connections
Analog Video Inputs and Outputs
Figure 1
Power off bypass loop-thru: Green is for analog and yellow is for digital.
Figure 2
Standard definition (SD) analog composite video: Green is the composite
input, vertical green is the composite encoder output, and horizontal green is the
composite decoder output.
Figure 3
SD analog Y/C video: Green is the Y input, blue is the C input, vertical green is
the Y encoder output, vertical blue is the C encoder output, horizontal green is the Y
decoder output, and horizontal blue is the C decoder output.
Figure 4
SD analog component video: Green is the Y or G input, blue is the U or B
input, red is the V or R input, vertical green is the Y or G encoder output, vertical blue is
the U or B encoder output, vertical red is the V or R encoder output, horizontal green is
the Y or G decoder output, and horizontal blue is the U or B decoder output, and
horizontal red is the V or R decoder output.
Note: With RGB inputs, sync must be on Green.

PTC-892 version 1 C 9
PTC-892 Rear Panel Connections (continued)
Analog Video Inputs and Outputs (continued)
Figure 5
SD analog S-video: Green is the S-video input, and blue is the S-video encoder
output.
Notes: With S-video input you can get the same outputs as Y/C (see figure 3). You can
also get S-video encoder output with Y/C input.
Digital Video Input, output, and analog outputs
Figure 6
SD digital video with CV, YC, or S selected as analog outputs: Gray is the
digital input, yellow is the digital encoder output, green is the composite encoder output,
blue is the Y encoder output, red is the C encoder output, brown is the S-video encoder
output, horizontal green is the composite decoder output, horizontal blue is the Y
decoder output, and horizontal red is the C decoder output.
Figure 7
SD digital video with YUV or RGB selected as analog outputs: Gray is the digital
input, yellow is the digital encoder output, green is the Y or G encoder output, blue is
the U or B encoder output, red is the V or R encoder output, horizontal green is the Y or
G decoder output, horizontal blue is the U or B decoder output, and red is the V or R
decoder output.
Notes: With digital input and RGB outputs, all outputs will have sync on them. All video
inputs are self terminating and automatically detect NTSC/PAL.

PTC-892 version 1 C 10
PTC-892 Rear Panel Connections (continued)
LTC Input
Figure 8
Longitudinal Time Code (LTC) input: Green is an input XLR plug that expects
LTC with a nominal +4dbu analog signal.
This time code can be sent out its communication port (s) so that captioning software
can triggered from this input or the unit can send out a trigger for the software.
Note: If you are sending out time code the baud rate of 4800 is recommended, because
the baud rate of 1200 is not fast enough and 2400 may not be either.
Weather Lift GPI
Figure 9
Weather lift GPI: Green requires a 3.5mm male mono audio plug that is
activated when shorted.Optional Weather lift GPI plug available upon request.
The PTC-892 provides a “weather lift” function to comply with federal regulations
requiring captioning not interfere with emergency information scroll. This capability will
automatically “move” the captions up one thru four lines when activated. The “lift” is
provided for all captioning, CC1 to CC4, whether it is local captioning or pass thru from
another source.
The weather lift function in the PTC-892 is implemented with several options
available to the user. Its front panel selection can be used to set the amount of “lift” or
the amount of lift can be set by the ^AW command (see software instruction set)
through communication ports. The ^AW commands over-rides the front panel selection.
^AW0 - no lift lines selected.
^AW1 - one lift line selected.
^AW2 - two lift lines selected.
^AW3 - three lift lines selected.
^AW4 - four lift lines selected.

PTC-892 version 1 C 11
PTC-892 Rear Panel Connections (continued)
Communication Ports
Figure 10
Communication ports: Green is Port 1, which is either RS-232 #1 or USB port,
and blue is Port 2, which is either RS-232 #2 or RJ-11.
Port 1 can be selected (RS-232 #1 or USB port) through the front panel. The
optional internal modem takes priority over the RS-232 #2 when connected. When the
modem is disconnected, the RS-232 #2 has control.
The PTC-892 has two nine pin subminiature “D” connectors on the rear panel for
RS-232 communications. The RJ-11 jack located on the rear panel allows the unit to
directly connect to a phone line when the optional internal modem is installed. The USB
“B”-plug can be plugged directly into a computer’s USB port and simulates a com port.
AC Power
Figure 11
AC power: Green is the AC input, and blue is the fuse.
The PTC-892 accepts 110V-AC to 240V-AC. The fuse is a 5 x 20mm 750mA
buss fuse.

PTC-892 version 1 C 12
PTC-892 Front Panel Operations
Figure 12
1. CV button: This selects composite video as the I/O format.
2. YC button: This selects Y/C video as the I/O format.
3. S button: This selects S-video as the I/O format.
4. YUV button: This selects YUV video as the I/O format.
5. RGB button: This selects RGB video as the I/O format.
6. SDI button: This select digital video as the I/O format.
Note: Which ever one of the above is selected will be lit green.
7. Test button: Pressing this will encode a test massage on CC1 and CC3 then it does
a soft reset. The button will be lit red during this test and will blink if no input.
8. Bypass button: Turns encoder bypass on or off. This is not the same as power off
video bypass. The button will be lit if bypass is on and will blink if no input.
Note: Pressing any of the above buttons makes the display return to the Main Display.
9. In/Out button: Pressing this button changes buttons 1 - 5 from input to output format
or vise-versa and lights 20 or 21 accordingly. This works only with button 6 (SDI input).
10. NTSC LED: When lit, the unit detects a NTSC input.
11. PAL LED: When lit, the unit detects a PAL input.
12. Ring indication LED: When lit, the optional modem detects an incoming ring.
13. Off hook LED: When lit, the optional modem takes ringer off hook.
14. Carrier detection LED: When lit, the option modem is connected.
15. Encode LED: When lit, the unit is encoding or re-encoding captions.
16. Video present LED: When lit, the unit detects video on selected input.
17. Pedestal LED: When lit, the unit adds a negative pedestal to SDI encoded insert.
18. Serial Data LED: When lit, the unit detects data on it port(s).
19. LTC LED: When lit, the unit has an active time code on the LTC input.
20. Input format LED: When lit, the unit’s buttons 1 - 6 will select the input format.
21. Output format LED: when lit, the unit’s buttons 1 - 5 will select the output format.
22. Power switch: Turns the unit on or off and will be lit when on.
23. Menu selector knob: Used to change menus and make selections. The controls
are left or right and push in to enter.
24. Display: Used to display current settings and to change those settings.

PTC-892 version 1 C 13
PTC-892 Main Display
Figure 13
Captioning Decoder Mode: This section displays which open captions are on the
decoder's output. Right now it shows that CC1 is being decoded.
Data Recovery Mode: Displays what captions are recovered and send out the port(s).
Right now it shows that data recovery is off.
Input Detection [I/O Format]: Displays if input detected and whether NTSC or PAL.
Also displays selected input and output formats, if analog input selected the I/O formats
will be the same. Right now it shows no input with composite selected as the I/O format.
Captioning Encoder Mode: Displays what mode the encoder is in. F1 = Field 1, F2 =
Field 2, T = Transparent, I = Insert, M = Monitor, O = Opaque, and N = Newswire. Right
now it shows Field 1 and Field 2 to be in Transparent mode.
The different encode modes are explained as follows: Transparent allows
captions to come thru untouched for that field, Insert means that captions are being
encoded for that field, Opaque means that captions are being blocked for that field,
Newswire is a CC1 roll-up mode with a timed out bypass for field 1 only, and Monitor
means to re-encode the captions that are already there. Monitor can be used to clean
noise or chroma off the captioning insert.
There are three types of bypass’s that will show up on the display. They are:
Newswire Bypass, Software Bypass, and Encoder Bypass. Encoder bypass can only
be done from the front panel bypass button, as its name implies it bypass’s the encoder.
Software Bypass is a software command ^A0 or ^A7 this does not bypass the encoder
weather lift and XDS will still be encoded, a ^AS command, another encode mode, or
bypass button will get it out of software bypass. Newswire Bypass means that it has not
gotten any characters to encode with in its “time out” time. This puts Field 1 into a
Monitor mode, receiving another character, or changing encode modes will take it out of
Newswire Bypass. All three bypasses will light the bypass button.
Testing Unit will also show up on the display when ever the front panel test
button is pressed or the ^AT command is received. This encodes the pre-defined test
message (similar to the ^A? response) on CC1 and CC3 simultaneously. The unit does
a soft reset when the test message is complete.
Soft reset only resets encode, decode, and data recovery modes so there is no
glitch in the video. Hard reset resets I/O format, baud rates, port selections, pedestal,
weather lift, TSID, call letters, encode, decode, and data recovery modes. Likely there
will be a glitch in the video. Both resets will return back to the Main Display.

PTC-892 version 1 C 14
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays
Time Code Display
Figure 14
Pressing the menu knob from the Main Display brings up the Time Code
Display. This display is only to verify LTC input, unit should not be left with this display
on. Any menu function from here, takes you to the Main Display.
Encode Mode Menu
Figure 15
Turn the menu knob right from the Main Display and the Encode Mode Menu is
displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following options:
>Back (no selection)
>F1 & F2 Transparent
>F1 Insert F2 Opaque
>F1 Opaque F2 Insert
>F1 Insert F2 Trans.
>F1 Monitor F2 Ins.
>F1 Trans. F2 Insert
>F1 Ins. F2 Monitor
>F1 & F2 Monitor
>F1 & F2 Opaque
>Newswire Mode
This menu allows the user to manually change the encode mode of the unit.
Newswire Mode is a 3 line roll up with a 20s time out. (See Main Display for more
information on encode modes) Pressing the menu knob from here, takes you to the
Main Display.

PTC-892 version 1 C 15
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays
Decoder Output Menu
Figure 16
Turn the menu knob right from the Encode Mode Menu and the Decoder
Output Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>CC1 (Field 1)
>CC2 (Field 1)
>T1 (Field 1)
>T2 (Field 1)
>CC3 (Field 2)
>CC4 (Field 2)
>T3 (Field 2)
>T4 (Field 2)
>XDS (Field 2)
>OFF
This menu allows the user to change what captioning channel is going to be
decoded. Caption decoding also called open caption means to make the caption
readable on the video. These will only affect the decoder outputs of the unit. OFF turns
the decoder off and the decoded outputs will not have open captions on them. Pressing
the menu knob from here, takes you to the Main Display.

PTC-892 version 1 C 16
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays (continued)
Recovery Channel Menu
Figure 17
Turn the menu knob right from the Decoder Output Menu and the Recovery
Channel Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>CC1 (Field 1)
>CC2 (Field 1)
>T1 (Field 1)
>T2 (Field 1)
>CC3 (Field 2)
>CC4 (Field 2)
>T3 (Field 2)
>T4 (Field 2)
>XDS (Field 2)
>OFF
>All of Field 1
>All of Field 2
This menu allows the user to manually set the data recovery mode of the unit.
Data recovery means to send caption data out of the unit’s com port(s). Data recovery
is usually used for two reasons. Captioning data is sent out to another encoder to
encode another video stream. Captioning data can also be captured by software and
that data can be modified or translated to be encoded again. Pressing the menu knob
from here, takes you to the Main Display.

PTC-892 version 1 C 17
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays (continued)
Recovery Stream Menu
Figure 18
Turn the menu knob right from the Recovery Channel Menu and the Recovery
Stream Menu is displayed. Pressing menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>Incoming captions
>Outgoing captions
This menu allows the user to choose whether the recovered caption data comes
from the input or the output of the unit. Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you
to the Recovery Stream Menu.
Warning: For monitor mode or translation programs to work properly data
recovery must be set for incoming captions.
Weather lift Menu
Figure 19
Turn the menu knob right from the Recovery Stream Menu and the Weather
Lift Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>OFF
>Shift Text 1 Line
>Shift Text 2 Lines
>Shift Text 3 Lines
>Shift Text 4 Lines
The PTC-892 will not encode the lift lines until the weather lift GPI is activated.
Lift line(s) can also be selected by software commands, see figure 9 for more details.
Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you to the Weather Lift Menu.

PTC-892 version 1 C 18
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays (continued)
Negative Pedestal Menu
Figure 20
Turn the menu knob right from the Weather Lift Menu and the Negative
Pedestal Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>OFF (0 IRE)
>ON (-7.5 IRE)
When on this puts a negative pedestal on the SDI encoded line. This option is
available because some digital to analog converters put a pedestal on the encoded line,
which makes the encoded insert violate EIA-608 specifications. This allows you to fix
the pedestal that shouldn’t be there. Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you to
the Negative Pedestal Menu.
Port 1 Selection Menu
Figure 21
Turn the menu knob right from the Negative Pedestal Menu and the Port 1
Selection Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the
following options:
>Back (no selection)
>RS-232 port 1
>USB port
This allows you to manually choose USB or RS-232 for port 1. For port 2 this is
done automatically when the optional modem goes off hook, it takes over for port 2.
RS-232 for port 2 gets control back when modem is disconnected. Pressing the menu
knob from here, returns you to the Port 1 Selection Menu.

PTC-892 version 1 C 19
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays (continued)
Port 1 Baud Rate Menu
Figure 22
Turn the menu knob right from the Port 1 Selection Menu and the Port 1 Baud
Rate Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>1200
>2400
>4800
>9600
>19200
>38400
Make sure that the PTC-892’s baud rate is set the same as your caption
provider’s baud rate is set. Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you to the Port
1 Baud Rate Menu.
Port 2 Baud Rate Menu
Figure 23
Turn the menu knob right from the Port 1 Baud Rate Menu and the Port 2 Baud
Rate Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>2400
>4800
>9600
>19200
>38400
Make sure that the PTC-892’s baud rate is set the same as your caption
provider’s baud rate is set. The baud rate of 1200 has been eliminated from this Port 2
Baud Rate Menu because new modems will not do 1200. Pressing the menu knob from
here, returns you to the Port 2 Baud Rate Menu.

PTC-892 version 1 C 20
PTC-892 Submenus and Displays (continued)
Data Output Port Menu
Figure 24
Turn the menu knob right from the Port 2 Baud Rate Menu and the Data Output
Port Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the following
options:
>Back (no selection)
>Both Ports
>Port 1
>Port 2
This menu allows you to choose which port(s) are going to have data go out
them. So if you wanted data recovery to go out only port 2 then you would select Port 2.
Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you to the Data Output Port Menu.
Port Redirection Menu
Figure 25
Turn the menu knob right from the Data Output Port Menu and the Port
Redirection Menu is displayed. Pressing the menu knob, allows you to select the
following options:
>Back (no selection)
>OFF
>Port 1 to Port 2
>Port 2 to Port 1
This allows you to redirect the data I/O from one port to another port. By doing
this you can “Daisy Chain” several encoders together on the same serial stream.
Pressing the menu knob from here, returns you to the Port Redirection Menu.
Notes: The modem and USB ports can only be connected to a computer. The RS-232
port(s) can be used to connect encoder to encoder.