MULTISOFT VGR-1000 User manual

VIDEO GRABBER
VGR-1000
User Manual
v. 1.19 (FW 1.29)

Video Grabber User Manual - v. 1.19 (FW 1.29)
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Table of contents
1. General description......................................................................................................4
2. Device overview...........................................................................................................5
2.1. Front panel...................................................................................................................5
2.2. Back panel....................................................................................................................5
2.3. OLED screen.................................................................................................................6
3. Device installation........................................................................................................7
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................7
3.2. Connecting video signal cables....................................................................................8
3.3. Network connection ..................................................................................................10
3.4. Power supply unit ......................................................................................................10
4. Video Grabber Web Interface....................................................................................11
4.1. Status page.................................................................................................................12
4.1.1. Device information.................................................................................................13
4.1.2. Device status ..........................................................................................................14
4.1.3. NTP status...............................................................................................................16
4.1.4. Analog resolution table..........................................................................................18
4.2. Configuration page ....................................................................................................19
4.2.1. Output ....................................................................................................................20
4.2.2. Network..................................................................................................................29
4.2.3. NTP .........................................................................................................................36
4.2.4. Administration........................................................................................................38
4.2.5. EDID related functions ...........................................................................................38
4.3. Preview Page..............................................................................................................39
5. SNMP..........................................................................................................................41
5.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................41
5.2. Accessing the Video Grabber via SNMP ....................................................................41
5.2.1. Read-only user........................................................................................................42
5.2.2. Read-write user......................................................................................................43
5.3. Information (section 1)..............................................................................................44
5.4. Status (section 2) .......................................................................................................45
5.4.1. staVersion (subsection 1).......................................................................................45
5.4.2. staGeneral (subsection 2) ......................................................................................46
5.4.3. staVideo (subsection 3)..........................................................................................47
staNtp (subsection 4).............................................................................................................49
5.4.4. staRtsp (subsection 5) ............................................................................................51
5.5. Configuration (section 3) ...........................................................................................52
5.5.1. confVersion (subsection 1).....................................................................................52
5.5.2. confOutput (subsection 2) .....................................................................................53
5.5.3. confCodec (subsection 3).......................................................................................54
5.5.4. confControl (subsection 4).....................................................................................56

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5.5.5. confLan (subsection 5) ...........................................................................................57
5.5.6. confNfs (subsection 6)............................................................................................59
5.5.7. confSmb (subsection 7)..........................................................................................60
5.5.8. confNtp (subsection 8)...........................................................................................61
5.5.9. confEdid (subsection 9)..........................................................................................62
5.5.10. confAnalogVideo (subsection 10) ..........................................................................62
5.5.11. confUpdate (subsection 11)...................................................................................63
6. Firmware upgrade......................................................................................................64
6.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................64
6.2. microSD card / USB pendrive.....................................................................................64
6.3. TFTP server.................................................................................................................65
7. Factory reset ..............................................................................................................66
Appendix A: Modelines ............................................................................................................67
Appendix B: Status UDP frame structure .................................................................................68
Appendix C: Broadcast UDP packet structure ..........................................................................69

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1. General description
Video Grabber is real-time video processing device that –when installed between a computer and a
monitor –captures the video signal and outputs it via network using RTSP, SMB, NFS or Broadcast.
User can also choose a format for the captured image (H.264, Lossless, PNG, JPEG, JPEG2000 or BMP)
1
.
The device is equipped with an active video splitter that provides power fault tolerance (no
interruptions on display even when device is not connected to power source) when Graphics Adapter
on the video source provides no less than 700mA on pin 14 of DVI port.
The device can be configured using web based configuration panel using an internet browser or via
SNMP.
Video Grabber has been designed in such a way that the source signal is not altered in any way –
nothing is added, modified or removed from the signal that is forwarded to the monitor –Video
Grabber is a non-intrusive device. While grabbed signal is not modified prior to encoding and
transmission one must remember that when lossy compression method (e.g. H264) is used some
information is lost due to the nature of that kind of compression. To ensure 1:1 capture of the video
input lossless encoding should be used.
To ensure proper time stamping of the captured data Multisoft Video Grabber supports NTP protocol.
1
Not all formats are available for all protocols. For detailed information see 4.2.1.1 Output protocol, p. 20

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2. Device overview
2.1. Front panel
Figure 1: Front panel of the Video Grabber
No.
Name
Description
1
SD Card
Used for firmware update and factory reset
2
USB
Used for firmware update and diagnostics
3
Reset
Used for resetting the device
4
OLED screen
Displays Video Grabber’s runtime information
2.2. Back panel
Figure 2: Back panel of the Video Grabber
No.
Name
Description
1
PWR1
Primary power connector
2
PWR2
Secondary power connector
3
LAN1
Frist network interface
4
LAN2
Second network interface
5
VIDEO OUTPUT
DVI-I, output signal
6
VIDEO INPUT
DVI-I, input signal

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2.3. OLED screen
By default OLED screen displays basic status information of the device. User can configure it to also
show a view with NTP status. In such case both ‘views’ are shown at intervals (See 4.2.3 on p. 36 for
details on OLED configuration and 4.1.3 on p. 16 for details on NTP parameters).
Figure 3: Device status screen
No.
Description
1
Configurable device name
2
IP address set on the first network interface (LAN1) along with the link status:
UP –link is active
DOWN –link is inactive
3
IP address set on the second network interface (LAN2) along with the link status:
UP –link is active
DOWN –link is inactive
4
Currently used Output settings displayed in format: protocol / format @ capture frequency
5
Parameters of signal connected to the device displayed in format: signal type / resolution
Possible signal types:
VGA –analogue
DVI –digital
Figure 4: NTP status screen
No.
Description
1
Current date set on the Video Grabber
2
Current time set on the Video Grabber
3
IP address of currently used NTP server
4
Root distance to the currently used NTP server
5
Dispersion –potential clock offset error due to the maximum uncorrected system clock
frequency error

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3. Device installation
3.1. Introduction
Video Grabber captures the video data that is sent by the computer to the display. To achieve that task
it has to be connected between those two devices (see figure below).
It is advised to turn off all equipment involved in cable connections (display, recorded computer
and Video Grabber) for the time of the installation.
Figure 5: Cable connections schema.
Note: Video Grabber has been enlarged for picture clarity.

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3.2. Connecting video signal cables
Video Grabber has two DVI-I DL (Dual Link) connectors, one for input and one for output of the video
signal. Connect source signal (e.g. computer) to Video Input, and display (e.g. monitor) to Video
Output.
It is advised to use the same types of cables for input and output
It is strongly recommended to use single-link DVI cables when resolutions 1920x1200 and below are
recorded as some graphic cards generate noise on the unused link which in turn can affect the
recording. Use dual-link DVI cables only when higher resolutions are in use.
Video Grabber does not convert the signal from analogue to digital (and vice versa) so if analogue
signal is provided on the Video Input then analogue signal will be provided by the Video Grabber on
the Video Output (same with digital signal –if digital signal is provided on the Video Input then digital
signal will be provided by the Video Grabber on the Video Output).
DVI-I (Dual Link) DVI-D (Dual Link)
DVI-D (Single Link)DVI-I (Single Link)
DVI-A
Figure 6: Types of DVI cable connectors
Video Grabber has been tested with various screen resolutions and refresh rates. See the list of
supported (tested and verified to work) monitor resolutions in tables below. Resolutions that are not
on the list may still work, but they have not been tested.

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Analogue
Resolution (width x height)
Signal refresh rate
Cables
640 x 480 (VGA)
75Hz
DVI-I (Dual Link)
DVI-I (Single Link)
DVI-A
D-SUB2
720 x 400
70Hz
800 x 600 (SVGA)
75Hz
832 x 624
75Hz
1024 x 768 (XGA)
75Hz
1152 x 870
75Hz
1280 x 720 (HD 720)
60Hz
1280 x 1024 (SXGA)
75Hz
1440 x 900
60Hz
1600 x 1200 (UXGA)
60Hz
1920 x 1080 (HD 1080)
60Hz
1920 x 1200 (WUXGA)
60Hz
Digital
Resolution (width x height)
Signal refresh rate
Cables
640 x 480 (VGA)
60Hz
DVI-D (Dual Link)3
DVI-D (Single Link)
800 x 600 (SVGA)
60Hz
1024 x 768 (XGA)
60Hz
1280 x 720 (HD 720)
60Hz
1280 x 800 (WXGA)
60Hz
1280 x 1024 (SXGA)
60Hz
1600 x 900
60Hz
1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
60Hz
1920 x 1080 (HD 1080)
60Hz
1920 x 1200 (WUXGA)
60Hz
2048 x 2048
60Hz
DVI-D (Dual Link)
2560 x 1440 (WQHD)
60Hz
2560 x 1600 (WQXGA)
60Hz
3840 x 2160 (UHD-1)
30Hz
Please note that the rate at which the signal is captured will usually be much lower than the actual
signal refresh rate. For details on setting the signal capture rate see 4.2.1.2 on page 21.
2
When using D-SUB cables it is necessary to use D-SUB to DVI-I converters
3
Some video cards generate noise on the unused link when working on Single Link resolution. To avoid such
problems use DVI-D (Single Link) cables when working with single link resolutions.

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3.3. Network connection
Video Grabber has two RJ45 ports, named LAN 1 and LAN 2. When both interfaces are configured and
active (connected) then the same data is sent through both of them. This way two independent
systems can receive the same data from the Video Grabber using two physically separate connections
thus achieving redundancy.
Device can work in 10, 100 and 1000 Mbit/s network, however when higher framerates and resolutions
are in use 1000 Mbit/s network may be required to comply with higher data rates. Video Grabber
detects type of network automatically as long as network connection cable complies with network
standard CAT5e
4
or higher.
3.4. Power supply unit
Figure 7: Connecting power to the Video Grabber
Connecting Video Grabber to power source:
1. Plug power supply unit to Video Grabber, make sure *click* is heard.
2. Tighten the screw on the plug to secure power supply unit from unplugging.
3. Power supply unit can now be connected to power source.
Video Grabber has two power inputs (PWR1 and PWR2), but requires only one power supply to work
properly. The dual power input design gives user an option of ensuring power redundancy for the
device which may be required in some systems (e.g. ATC related). When two power supplies are used
then Video Grabber balances the load on both of them. If one of them fails then Video Grabber will
continue working by using remaining power supply exclusively.
Video Grabber uses 12V, 2.5A power supply, but its maximum power consumption is 12W.
4
The specification for category 5 cable was defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB-95. These
documents specify performance characteristics and test requirements for frequencies up to 100 MHz. Cable
types, connector types and cabling topologies are defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. Nearly always, 8P8C modular
connectors (often referred to as RJ45 connectors) are used for connecting category 5 cable. The cable is
terminated in either the T568A scheme or the T568B scheme. The two schemes work equally well and may be
mixed in an installation so long as the same scheme is used on both ends of each cable.

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4. Video Grabber Web Interface
In order to access Video Grabber Configuration, one can use a web browser
5
. In the address field please
type http://video.grabber.ip.address where video.grabber.ip.address - is an IP Address which is
displayed on the screen in front of the device.
Figure 8: Connecting to Video Grabber's web interface using its default IP address
5
Mozilla Firefox is recommended.

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4.1. Status page
Status page is a default page of the Video Grabber’s web interface. It provides information current
operational parameters of the Video Grabber device. This page can be divided into 4 main sections:
1. Device information
2. Device status
3. NTP status
4. Analog resolution table
Device
information
Device
status
NTP
status
Analog
resolution table
Figure 9: Video Grabber Status page.

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4.1.1. Device information
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Figure 10: Device information section of the status page
In the first section of the Video Grabber’s status page one can find general information on the device:
1. Date and time –currently set date and time on the Video Grabber.
2. Uptime –number of seconds since last restart.
3. Total uptime –sum of all uptimes since the device was produced.
4. Serial number –unique number that identifies Video Grabber.
5. Unique ID –identifier of the main chip.
6. Software version –version of software installed on the device.
7. License –identifies a license type. Available license types:
a. HIGH –allows capturing of video signals with resolutions up to 2560x1600@60Hz
(dual link)
b. LOW –allows capturing of video signals with resolutions up to 1920x1200@60Hz
(single link)
See 3.2 on page 8 for a list of supported resolutions.

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4.1.2. Device status
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Figure 11: Device status section on the status page
In the second section of the Video Grabber’s status page one can find general status information:
1. Free Memory –the amount of free RAM on the device in kilobytes.
2. LAN1 –Information on the LAN1 port
a. MAC address –media access control address of LAN1 port
b. Link status –status of the LAN1 port. If the link is active then maximum transmission
speed is shown. If the link is not active then the status is labeled as ‘Down’.
3. LAN2 –information on the LAN2 port
a. MAC address –media access control address of LAN2 port
b. Link status –status of the LAN2 port. If the link is active then maximum transmission
speed is shown. If the link is not active then the status is labeled as ‘Down’.
4. Power1 –status of the PWR1 power supply port.
a. Up –power supply is connected and working
b. Down –power supply is either not connected or not working
5. Power2 –status of the PWR2 power supply port
a. Up –power supply is connected and working
b. Down –power supply is either not connected or not working
6. Temp CPU –temperature of the CPU
7. Temp PCB –temperature measured on the PCB
8. FS0 –status of the first remote file system (NFS1 / SMB1)
Shown only in case NFS or SMB protocol is used
a. Mounted –remote file system is mounted
b. Not accessible –remote file system is not mounted

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9. FS1–status of the second remote file system (NFS2 / SMB2)
Shown only in case NFS or SMB protocol is used
a. Mounted –remote file system is mounted
b. Not accessible –remote file system is not mounted
10. DVI –status of the DVI (digital) signal
a. Not Locked –no DVI signal detected
b. Locked –DVI signal detected. In this case additionally detected resolution is also
shown
11. RGB –status of the RGB (analogue) signal
a. Not Locked –no VGA signal detected
b. Locked –VGA signal detected. In this case additionally detected resolution is also
shown

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4.1.3. NTP status
Video Grabber is synchronizing its internal clock using NTP protocol by connecting to NTP peers. The
choice between configured peers is done based on their time source quality
6
. Once configured the
synchronization “just works”. However for the rare cases when deep analysis of the NTP
synchronization process is required the Status page provides detailed information on the current NTP
operational parameters.
NTP status section of the Video Grabber’s Status page can be further divided into two subsections –
first contains a table listing all configured NTP peers along with their basic parameters, while the
second lists more detailed information related to the NTP peer that is currently used for clock
synchronization.
2 3 41 5 6 7 8 9
Figure 12: Table listing configured NTP peers
The table is a printout of standard NTP query program ntpdc. It lists all NTP peers that are configured
on the Video Grabber device along with their basic parameters and state:
1. Mode –single-character peer mode indicator. The list of possible modes is as follows:
a. * –server has been chosen and is used as a clock reference
b. =–server is being polled in client mode
c. + –server is in symmetric active mode
d. ––server is in symmetric passive mode
e. ^ –server is broadcasting to this address
f. ~ –server is sending broadcasts
2. remote –IP address of the time source
3. local –IP address used to connect to the time source
4. st –stratum number of the time source
5. poll –frequency (in seconds) at which the time source is polled for time
6. reach –octal bitmask of success or failure of last 8 queries (left-shifted). e.g.:
a. 377 –11111111 –all 8 recent queries were successful
b. 317 –11001111 –from 8 recent queries 5th and 6th failed
7. delay –roundtrip time of the queries to the reference time (in seconds)
8. offset –difference between the reference time and the system clock (in seconds)
9. disp –magnitude of jitter between several time queries (in seconds)
6
Consult NTP documentation (available e.g. on http://doc.ntp.org) for details on the algorithms used for time
synchronization.

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1
23
45
67
89
10
11
12
13
14
Figure 13: Detailed information on currently chosen peer
1. system peer –the peer that has been chosen and is used as a clock reference (marked with *
in the table above).
2. system peer mode –Video Grabber’s mode of ntp operation.
3. leap indicator –two-bit code warning of an impending leap second that is to be
inserted/deleted in the last minute of the current day. The coding is as follows:
a. 00 –no warning,
b. 01 –last minute of current day will have 61 seconds,
c. 10 –last minute of current day will have 59 seconds,
d. 11 –alarm condition (clock is not synchronized).
4. stratum –stratum level of the system peer. Represents the distance from the reference clock
e.g. stratum 0 is atomic clock, stratum 1 is a clock that syncs to that atomic clock etc.
5. precision –precision of the Video Grabber’s clock, in seconds to the nearest power of two.
6. root distance –maximum error of the clock offset estimate due to all causes as long as the
source remains reachable.
7. root dispersion –maximum error relative to the current system peer.
8. reference ID –the interpretation of this field depends on the stratum of current system peer.
For stratum 2 and higher (most common in case of Video Grabber) it is the IP address of the
system peer.
9. reference time –time currently set on the Video Grabber
10. system flags –list of currently enabled ntp server options. Defined in firmware, cannot be
changed by user.
a. auth –new associations or remote configuration commands require cryptographic
authentication
b. monitor –monitoring of ntp is enabled
c. ntp –local clock can be adjusted by NTP
d. kernel –precision-time kernel support
e. stats –statistics facility is enabled
11. jitter –measurement of the variance in latency on the network.
12. stability –residual frequency error remaining after the system frequency correction is
applied. After device starts this value should decrease to 0.1-0.01 ppm over time. If it
remains high (e.g. >1 ppm) then it may indicate a problem with a local clock.

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13. broadcastdelay –broadcast delay, set to compensate the network delays when set as
broadcast client. By default it is not used by Video Grabber.
14. authdelay –since authentication involves extra computing, authentication delay setting is
used to compensate it. Currently calculated automatically (if needed).
4.1.4. Analog resolution table
Analog resolution table lists currently configured modelines that can be used by Video Grabber to
interpret captured analogue video signals. It is possible to extend that list by adding additional
modelines (See 4.3, p. 39).

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4.2. Configuration page
Access to the Configuration page is password-protected. The login details are as follows:
Username: grabber
Password: vgbr2014
The Configuration page can be divided into four main sections:
1. Output –settings related to the output format of the captured video signal
2. Network –settings related to network configuration (incl. remote shares locations)
3. NTP –settings related to NTP time synchronization
4. Admin –functional buttons that allow user to perform certain administrative actions (e.g.
reboot, force firmware update etc.)
Output
Network
NTP
Admin
Figure 14: Configuration page in the Video Grabber web interface.

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4.2.1. Output
In the Output section of the Configuration page user can define the format and protocol which will be
used by Video Grabber to output captured video signal.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Figure 15: Output section on the Configuration page.
1. Output –protocol to be used for output of the video signal data.
2. Frames per minute –frequency of video signal capture.
3. Output format –format to be used for output of video signal data.
4. Video parameters –parameters to be used if H.264 or LOSSLESS format is selected.
5. Monitor emulation –option to emulate the monitor.
6. Stat frame period (s) –frequency of stat frame.
4.2.1.1. Output protocol
There are four output protocols available:
1. Broadcast –Video Grabber will broadcast on the available networks (from both LAN ports)
captured video signal in the form of images.
Available formats: BMP, PNG, JPEG, JPEG2000, H.264, LLE.
2. NFS –Network File System –Video Grabber will save captured video signal in the form of
images on the configured NFS share. Appropriate credentials (UID and GID) have to be
provided (see 4.2.2.2).
Available formats: BMP, PNG, JPEG, JPEG2000, H.264, LLE.
3. SMB –Server Message Block –Video Grabber will save captured video signal in the form of
images on the configured SMB share. Appropriate credentials (Username and Password)
have to be provided (see 4.2.2.3). Only SMBv1 version of protocol is supported.
Available formats: BMP, PNG, JPEG, JPEG2000, H.264, LLE.
4. RTSP –Real Time Streaming Protocol –Video Grabber will setup a video stream containing
the captured video signal. User can connect to the stream using RTSP connection string that
is shown on the right of the ‘Output’ option.
Available formats: H.264, LLE
See the 4.2.1.7 for sample output configurations.