ZeeVee ZvBox 170 Instruction sheet

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ZvBox®170
ConfigurationManual
ConfiguringZvBoxescanbeassimpleaschanging
theRFchannelusedforbroadcast,oraspowerful
asassociatingaudioportswithvideoportsand
controllinghowvideogetsprocessedand
broadcast.Thismanualexplainshowtodoitall.
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Ifyourunintoanyproblems,pleaserefertotheZv
Supportpageatwww.zeevee.com,whereyouwill
findanswerstofrequentlyaskedquestionsand
helpfultipsfromZeeVeeexperts.Ifyoustillcannot
findtheanswersyouneed,ourtechnicalsupport
hotlineat877‐5ZEEVEE(877‐593‐3833)ishereto
help.

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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page2
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Contents
ConfiguringZvBox®170...................................................................................................................3
Quick‐start...................................................................................................................................3
CompensatingforcroppedvideofromVGAsources.................................................................4
ZvBox®170FrontPanelDashboard................................................................................................5
ZvBox®170FrontPanelSetup........................................................................................................5
BasicMenu..................................................................................................................................6
AdvancedMenu..........................................................................................................................7
RF,Cable,andBroadcastCommands.............................................................................................8
SetChannel.................................................................................................................................8
SetChannelName.......................................................................................................................8
SetRFOutputPower...................................................................................................................8
SettheCablePlan.......................................................................................................................8
CableScan...................................................................................................................................9
ShowLastCableScanResults.....................................................................................................9
AudioInputCommand..................................................................................................................10
AssociateAudioInputforVGAandComponentInputs...........................................................10
VideoInputCommands................................................................................................................10
SelectActiveVideoSource.......................................................................................................10
SelectUnderscanResolutionstoPresentinVGAEDID............................................................11
MPEG2EncodingControl..............................................................................................................11
SetEncodingBitRate................................................................................................................11
VisualWatermark.....................................................................................................................12
MiscellaneousCommands............................................................................................................12
ResettoFactoryDefaults..........................................................................................................12
FrontPanelLockout..................................................................................................................12
ShowOperatingStatus.............................................................................................................12
ShowStatusDisplayDescription..................................................................................................14
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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page3
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ConfiguringZvBox®170
Inmostcases,theZvBox®170canbeconfiguredusingthefrontpanelbuttons.Configurationissimple,
andusuallyjustinvolvessettingtheRFchannelonwhichtheZvBox®willbroadcast.Settingsarestored
inZvBox®andnotlostonpower‐down.
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ComponentvideosourcesconnectedtotheZvBox®170shouldbesetfor720poutput,andVGAsources
shouldbesetfor1280x720output.IfZvBox®170receivesa1080signal,itwilldisplayawarning
messageandthepicturewillappearataverylowframerate.
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ImportantNote:ManyadditionalconfigurationsettingscanbeaccessedbyconnectingaPCtothe
ZvBox®(viaUSB),andrunningeitherZvConfigorZvCliconfigurationsoftware.Youcandownloadeither
ontheZeeVeewebsite.ThesameUSBconnectioncanalsobeusedtoupdatetheunit’sfirmware.
Quick‐start
Followingareinstructionsonhowtoperformthemostcommonsettingadjustment(settingtheRF
channeltheZvBox®willuseforbroadcast)usingthefrontpanelcontrols.
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ZvBox®170FrontPanel
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ItemDescriptionFunction
1StatusDisplayHigh‐visibilitycharacterdisplayforsettinganddisplaying
configurationincludingchannel,power,andlabelconfiguration;
inputselection;videooutputparameters;scanning/systemstatus.
2NextButtonForscrollingbetweenfunctions.
3+/‐ButtonsForscrollingbetweenoptionswithinafunction.
4OKButtonForselectingfunctionsandoptions.
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Note–makesuretheHDTVconnectedtotheZvBox®issettoCablemode,vs.Antennaor
Over‐the‐airmode.ZvBox®broadcastsusingQAM–thesamestandardusedbycablecompanies.
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1. PresstheNextbuttonuntilSETCHANNELappearsinthedisplay
2. Pressthe+or–keyuntil7appears
3. PresstheOKbutton
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That’sit!YourZvBox®shouldnowbebroadcastingonRFchannel7,andcanbetunedinatyourHDTV
byentering7.1.Note–sometimesachannelscanisrequiredattheHDTVbeforethenewchannelis
recognized.Therestofthismanualwillhelpyouunderstandhowtomakeothersettingsorgethelpful
informationthatmaybeusefulindifferentscenarios.
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FormoreadvancedconfigurationoftheZvBox®170,seetheremainderofthisguide.
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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page4
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CompensatingforcroppedvideofromVGAsources
MostDigitalTelevisionscropoffsomeportionofthepictureattheoutsideedges;thephenomenonis
knownasoverscan.Forexample,eveniftheyreceiveanimagethat’s*exactly*1280x720pixels,TVs
maycropoffupto15%oftheimagebeforedisplayingit!SomeTVsallowyoutocontrolthis(lookfor
settinglike“Unscaled”or“Native”inthePicturemenusettings).Mostdonotletyouoverrideit.
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ComponentVideosourcesaren’tterriblyaffected;they’vealwaysbeendesignedtobedisplayedonTVs
thatmightcropoffaportionofthepicture.Contentisspeciallydesignedtokeepimportantinformation
insideofa‘safearea’.Thereisnoneed(andnoability)toadjustthesourcetobetterfittheTV–you’ll
simplyseealittlemorepictureononeTVvs.another.
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VGAsourcesarequiteadifferentmatter.Theseareusuallycomputerimagesthathaveimportant
informationattheedgesofthescreen:
•WindowshasaStartbuttonandthetaskbarrightontheedge.
•Applehasadockontheedge.
•Digitalsignageapplicationstypicallyputatextcrawlontheedge.
Anycroppingoftheimagemaycauseimportantinformationtobelost.ZeeVeehasdevelopeda
patent‐pendingmechanismtohelpcompensateforthisbehavior.Bychangingtheinformation
presentedtothecomputerviaEDIDontheVGAconnection,wecangivethecomputeranalternate
“underscan”resolutionthat’salittlesmallerthanthedefault.AlthoughZvBox®shipswithadefault
underscanresolution,wealsoallowyoutooptimizethesettingstomatchtheexactbehaviorofyourTV.
Herearethestepsinvolved:
1. BroadcastaVGAsourcetoyourHDTV(s).NotewhichTVcropsoffthemost.
2. PresstheNextbuttonuntilthedisplayreads“SETVIDEO‐SOURCE”
3. Pressthe+or‐buttonuntil“Test‐Image‐1“appearson‐screen,thenpressOK
4. OntheTVthatcropsthemost,notethelargestresolutionthatisvisible.Itwilllooklikethis:
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5. PresstheNextbuttonuntiltheSETVGA‐REScommandappearsinthewindow.
6. Press+or–buttonstoselectaresolutionthatisclosestto,butnotlargerthan,theoneyousaw
ontheHDTV(thatwillensurethattheentirepicturefitson‐screen).
7. PressOKtoapplythatresolution.
8. UnplugtheVGAcablefromyourcomputer,waitafewseconds,andreconnectit.Thereshould
nowbeanewresolutionavailableinyourcomputer’s“displayproperties”thatmatchesyour
setting.Selectit.YourVGAsource’spictureshouldnowperfectlyfitonyourHDTV.
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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page5
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ZvBox®170FrontPanelDashboard
InnormaloperationthedisplaypanelontheZvBox®170isin“Dashboard”mode,givingyouat‐a‐glance
informationabouttheoperationoftheZvBox,asfollows:
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1–HDTVchannel#
2–ShortChannelName
3–InputVideoSource 
4–Outputresolution
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Inaddition,statusmessagesmayscrollacrossthebottomlineofthedisplayinlieuofthe‘InputVideo
Source’and‘OutputResolution’indicators.Thesestatusmessagesareasfollows:
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StatusmessageNotes
RFpoweroffTurnRFpowerontobeginbroadcasting
ScanningcableZvBoxisscanningcablingforopenandoccupiedRF
channels.Waitforcompletion.
VGA:novideoinputor
Component:novideo
Novideoinputisdetectedatdesignated
connector‐checksourceconnection
VGA:resolutionunsupportedor
Component:resolutionunsupported
InputvideoresolutionnotsupportedbyZvBox.
Changetosupportedresolution.
VGA:1080unsupportedor
Component:1080unsupported–
Inputvideoresolutionof1920x1080unsupported;
messageappearsatHDTVsaswell.Changeto
supportedresolution.
Temperaturecriticalor
Temperaturewarning
ZvBoxisindangerofoverheating;makesureallair
inletsandoutletsareclear,andthatnothingis
stackedontopofZvBox
DSPerror,reboot
Thedigitalsignalprocessor(DSP)isnotfunctioning
correctly.Tryrebootingtheunit,orcalltechnical
support.
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ZvBox®170FrontPanelSetup
Thefrontpanelbuttonsoperateasfollows:
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•Nextscrollsthroughavailablesettings
•+and–buttonsscrollthroughpossible
valuesforasettingandmultiplestatuslines
•OKsavestheselectedvalue
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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page6
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Basic Menu
SettingsPossibleValues
SETCHANNEL
SetsRFbroadcastchanneltoXandHDTVchanneltoX.1
2‐135
SETCHANNEL‐NAME
Setschannelnamedisplayedon‐screen
Anyname,7charactersorfewer
SETVIDEO‐SOURCE
•SelectTestImage1beforesetting“VGA‐RES”parameter
Component
VGA
Test‐image‐1
Test‐image‐2
None
SETAUDIO‐SOURCE
Setsaudiosourceforcurrentvideosource.Ifvideosourcenot
VGAorComponent,setsboth.
Dig‐optical
Dig‐coax
USB
None
SETLANG/IDIOMA
SetsthelanguagethatisusedattheFrontPanelDisplay.
English
Español
SHOWSTATUS
Note:ScrollingthroughtheSHOWSTATUSsectiondoesnot
allowyoutochangesettings‐itsimplygivesyouinformation
abouttheoperatingstatusofyourZvBox170
Transmit(whethertransmitting)
V‐in(Videoinputresolution)
V‐out(Videooutputresolution)
A‐in(Audioinputtype)
A‐out(Audiooutputtype)
SN(Serialnumber)
HWRev(Hardwareversion)
SW(Softwareversion)
Temp(Temperature)
Up(Indicatescontinuousruntime)
CC(Closedcaptionstatus)
ADVANCEDMENUEntertheadvancedmenu
LOCKFRONTPANEL
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Lock
Note:Tounlockfrontpanel,pressall
fourfront‐panelbuttons
simultaneously(Next,+,‐,OK)
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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page7
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Advanced Menu
SettingsPossibleValues
SETDATA‐RATE
Helpsincreaseordecreasepicturedetail.SomeHDTVscan’t
handleHighsettingwithoutpicturebreakup.
Low
Normal
High
SETRF‐POWER
Setsbroadcastpower
0ff
5dBmV
10dBmV
15dBmV
20dBmV
25dBmV
SETCABLE‐PLAN
Ifsharingcoaxcablingwithcablecompanyfeed,settosame
cableplanascableco.;normallyStandard
Standard
HRC
IRC
SETWATERMARK
Enables/disableson‐screenZvwatermark
On
Off
SETVGA‐RES
Usedtoshrink1280x720VGAsourcepicturetobetterfitan
HDTVscreen
Variousfrom1120x630to1264x711

STARTCABLE‐SCAN
Scansthecablingtoseewhichchannelsarecurrently
unoccupiedonthecoaxsystem.
Start
SHOWSCANRESULT
Displaysunoccupiedchannelsoncoaxcablingwhichcanbe
usedtobroadcasttheZvchannel
Note:RFchannelscanresultsare
displayed;informationincludeschannel
plan,openandoccupiedchannels
RESETDEFAULTS
RestoresZvBox®tofactorydefaults





ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page8
www.zeevee.comRev1.0
RF,Cable,andBroadcastCommands
Thesecommandsareusedforsettingsrelatedtothelocalcableplant,andhowZvBox®willbroadcast.

SetChannel
TheZvBox®170isfrequencyagile,soit’spossibletouseanyRFchannelforbroadcast

Syntax
SETCHANNEL<2..135>factorydefault:2
SetstheRFchannelfrequencyusedforbroadcast,aswellastheHD‐TVchannelusedtotunethe
channelattheTV.Theexactfrequencyfollowsstandardchannelplacement,andisalsoafunctionofthe
cablechannelplan(Standard,HRC,IRC).ZvBox®createsawell‐formedcablechannel,andmaybeplaced
nexttoexistingchannelswithoutconcern.


SetChannelName
TheZvBox®channelnameappearsonHDTVscreenswhentunedin.Technicallytherearethreenames
thatcouldappear:theshortchannelname,longchannelname,andEIT(orprogram)name.Thename
maybecustomized‐7charactersspacesareavailable.Ifcustomized,allthreepossiblenamesare
changedtothenewcustomizedname.

Syntax
SETCHANNELNAME<A….Z>factorydefault:MYTV‐HD
SetsthenamethatwillappearonHDTVswhentheZvBoxchannelistunedin.Whenthenameis
customized,allthreechannelnamesadoptthecustomizedname.


SetRFOutputPower
SetsthepowerlevelthatZvBox®willusewhenbroadcasting.

Syntax
SETRF‐POWER{Off|5dBmV|10dBmV|15dBmV|20dBmV|25dBmV}
TheZvBox®hasamaximumoutputpowerof+25dBmV,matchingthehighestpowerlevelstypically
enteringahomefromproviderssuchasFIOSandComcast.WhenusingaZvBox®toaddachanneltoan
existinglineup,itisimportanttomatchthepowerofexistingchannels,otherwiseadjacent
lower‐poweredchannelscanbedifficulttotunewithsometelevisions.Therearefivepowerlevels
available,eachdroppingtheoutputpowerapproximately5dBmV,plus‘off’.

SettheCablePlan
ZvBox®’sbuilt‐inspectrumanalyzercanidentifythecableplan(channelalignment)thecablecompanyis
usingforitschannellineup;optionsareStandard,HRC,andIRC.Oncethecableplanisdetected,the
ZvBox®canbesettousethesameplan.MatchingtheZvBoxtothecablecompanycableplanallowsthe
HDTVstotuneboththeZvchannelandthecablecompanychannelsreliably.


ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page9
www.zeevee.comRev1.0

Syntax
SETCABLEPLAN{standard|HRC|IRC}
Youcansetthecableplan(Standard,HRCorIRC)tobeused.Forbestresultsduringthescan,connect
ZvBox®tothecableplantusingthesamecoaxcablingconnectionthatyouwouldusetoconnectan
HDTV.

CableScan
ZvBox®productscontainaverypowerfulfeaturetoaidtheinstaller–abuilt‐incablespectrumanalyzer.
Whenasked,ZvBox®willstoptransmitting,analyzeeveryRFchannelonthecableandreporttheresult.
Thereportshowsifachannelisopenoroccupied,andifoccupied,ifthechannelisAnalogorDigital.

Syntax
STARTCABLE‐SCAN
RFfrequenciesonthecoaxcablingarescannedfromlowestnumbertohighest.Thescancannotbe
interruptedoncestarted.

Example:(someresultsomittedtosavespace)
STARTCABLE‐SCAN
Determiningcableplan
RF2:Open
RF3:Digital
RF4:Analog
…
RF135:Open
SCANCOMPLETED‐HitNEXT

ShowLastCableScanResults
ZvBox®rememberstheresultsofthelastcablescanperformed.Thiscommandshowstheresults.The
firstlineshowsthecable‐plantypethatwasdetermined(standard,HRC,orIRC).

Syntax
SHOWSCANRESULTS

Example:
SHOWSCANRESULTS
Hit+‐toscroll
Cable‐planSTD
Open234567
Open891011
…
Digital12131415
…
Analog16171819

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ZvBox®170ConfigurationManual Page10
www.zeevee.comRev1.0
AudioInputCommand
Thesecommandsareusedtoassociateanaudioinputtothecurrentlyselectedvideoinput.Itis
allowabletousethesameaudioinputforbothvideoinputs,thoughthatmaynotmakethemostsense.

AssociateAudioInputforVGAandComponentInputs

Syntax
SETAUDIO‐SOURCE{Dig‐optical|Dig‐coax|USB|None}
Thiscommandsetstheaudioinputthatisassociatedwiththecurrentlyselectedvideoinput.Ifthe
videoinputisneitherVGAnorComponent,thentheselectedaudiosourceisassociatedwithbothVGA
andComponentinputs.
TheDig‐opticalinputisaTOSLINKconnectionthatdeliversdigitalaudio.TheDig‐coaxinputcarriesthe
sameinformationinadifferentphysicalform.IfthereceivedaudioisPCM,itisencodedintoaDolby
Digital2.0stream.AllotherDolbyencodings,including5.1,aredirectlypassedthroughas‐istothevideo
stream.NotethatDTSencodingisnotsupported.
IfUSBisselected,theUSBportwillpresentitselfasastandardUSBaudiodevicetowhateverdeviceitis
connected.Nospecialsoftwareisrequiredtousethisconnection.
IfNoneisselected,noaudiowillbepassedwiththevideostream

VideoInputCommands
Thesecommandsareusedtoselectwhichvideosourcetobroadcast,andsetsomeparametersforhow
toprocessthatvideo.

SelectActiveVideoSource
Selectsthevideoinputthatwillbeencodedandbroadcast.Audiowillbeprocessedbasedontheaudio
portassociatedwiththeselectedvideoinput.

Syntax
SETVIDEO‐SOURCE{Component|VGA|Test‐image‐1|Test‐image‐2|None}
factorydefault:component
Ifidle‐screenisselected(‘None’),theanimatedZvlogoisplayed.Ifatestimageisselected,afixedtest
imageisdisplayed.ThesearedesignedtohelpyoucalibrateyourHDTVs‐testimagesarebroadcastin
720p.
Onveryrareoccasions,theaudioandvideoprocessingmayneedtoberestarted.Todoso,changethe
video‐sourceto‘None’andthenbacktotheprevioussetting.
Notethatvideo‐sourcecanbeselectedviatheIRcontrolportontherearpaneloftheZvBox®170.
