Domino-Pro Product Manual Domino-Pro Ad/Program Insertion System PART 1 of 2 Version 4.2 December 15, 2014 Media Control Systems 1050 Pioneer Way, Ste Q El Cajon, CA 92020 619-599-1050 www.mediacontrolsystems.com Page 1 of 18
Index PART 1 Section 1.0 Product Overview..........Page 3 Section 2.0 Controls, Indicators, and IO.... Page 5 Section 3.0 Setup and Configuration......Page 6 Section 4.0 Media Prep, File Transfer, and Operation Modes....Page 10 Section 5.0 Playlist Structure and Scheduling....Page 18 PART 2 Section 6.0 Domino Pro PC Scheduling Software.....Page 19 Section 7.0 Media Player Control Module...Page 24 Section 8.0 Audio Video Switch Module...... Page 25 Section 9.0 DTMF Cue Tone Decoding Module.....Page 26 Section 10.0 WebRelay Controller Setup........Page 29 Section 11.0 Webserver Installation and Setup....Page 33 Section 12.0 Media Player Playlist Script Guide...Page 37 Page 2 of 18
Section 1.0 Product Overview The Domino-Pro is a television ad or program insertion system. It is a low cost simple to operate playback system. It was designed for smaller Cable TV and broadcast television facilities that are looking for a lower cost entry level solution, for inserting commercials or programing into a satellite retransmitted program network. The Domino uses solid state USB and SD cards for file transfer and playback. It is better suited for users that play back hundreds of different ads per week as opposed to thousands. The internal 16 Gig SD card can hold 4 hours of programs or approximately 500 30-second standard definition advertisements. Optionally a 32 or 64 Gig SD card can be purchased. A scheduling application is provided called Domino Pro PC software that makes it easy to schedule ads by channel, day of week, and time of day. The Domino Pro PC software creates playlist.txt files that are copied to the Domino Pro insertion system along with the media files. The PC software give the operator the ability to schedule lists of ads to playback in a run-ofschedule basis during specified time blocks, or individual ads at specific times per day. The Domino Pro can be configured to insert ads or programming from DTMF or manual start commands or by real-time. A dip switch on the removable Media Player Control card changes the modes of operation from cue start to time start playback. The Domino Pro has four modes of operation. With Mode-1 the number of ad files played per cue start is predetermined from 1 to 7 files. Typically 30 second files are played, for example 2 files are played to fill a 1 minute break and 4 files are played to fill a 2 minute break. A playlist.txt text file is used to determine which files are played and in what sequence. This mode is good because it doesn t require a detailed time based schedule. You can just playback from a long list of ads. With Mode-2A the number of files played depends on the playlist, for each time block scheduled. This mode is good for channels that have variable length breaks. With Mode-2B playback begins and ends with the DTMF START and STOP Tones. Ads are played until the OFF tone or end of a list. Mode-3 inserts ads or programming strictly based upon the playlist schedule and does not use a DTMF or Manual Cue start. The Domino-Pro Ad Insertion System consists of a 1RU chassis that contains a DTMF cue tone decoder module, audio/video switching module, media player control module, audio/video media player, and a web-relay microcontroller. The media player has an internal SD memory card for storage of advertisement files. Files are transferred to the SD card from a USB thumb drive port on the front of the chassis or via webserver connection. The file transfer process is managed using a menu displayed on the Monitor video output or from a command.txt file on the USB drive. Script files can be created in.txt file format to cue up certain lists of ads on specific days and times. The Domino Pro PC software is used to create the playlists. A hand held remote controller is provided to adjust the audio and to navigate the menu of the media player. The media player control module monitors and controls the playback of the media player. Dip switches on the control module select how may files are played with each start command and how many seconds of delay happen from the reception of the start command and when the onair switch is made. The control module has a pushbutton for manually starting the ad insertion. Page 3 of 18
The DTMF Decoder monitors the cue tone output of a satellite receiver. When a valid 4 tone sequence is received, a relay contact closure is made. The microcontroller detects the relay closer and starts the delay time sequence on the media player control module. The DTMF decoder and the ad insertion system can be configured to play ads from the ON tones only or utilize both the ON and OFF cue tone sequences. The default configuration plays from the ON tone sequence and returns to Network after the series of ads are played. The DTMF tone sequences to be decoded are set using dip switches on the decoder module. The Domino-Pro Ad Insertion System has two levels of switching. Relays are used to keep the satellite network on air when power is not applied to the frame. Active solid state switching is used to switch the output of the media player into the satellite network for the insertion of the ads. The switching happens in the vertical interval for seamless switching, provided the media player is sync locked to the satellite source. An optional time base corrector is required to lock the media player to the satellite network for seamless switching. The internal web relay microcontroller provides failsafe features to prevent switching if the Media Player fails to properly play, and returns the Satellite Network, back onair, after failsafe timer expiration. The web microcontroller also provides web access for player status, manual start and override, scheduled time start, and playback time and date logging. Page 4 of 18
Section 2.0 Controls, Indicators, and I/O DTMF Cue Tone Decoder Module Analog Audio/Video Switching Module Media Player Control Module USB Port, Media Player Status and IR receiver Optional IO and Control Ethernet Port for Media Player Ethernet Port for Web Status Audio and Control IO Panel Video IO & Monitor Panel Media Player Monitor Video Output Program Video Source Program Audio Inputs Program Audio Output DTMF In GPI +Hz +Lz Out In Program Video Output DTMF Cue Tone Input High or Low Impedance On Air Output GPI Start Input USB Port for file transfer to internal SD Card Remote Control IR Detector USB Drive with activity LED LAN Remote Control SD Card Activity LED Power LED Page 5 of 18
Section 3.0 Setup and Configuration Connect the satellite receiver video output to the Program Input and the Program Video Output is connected to the cable modulator. The Domino Pro audio is unbalanced stereo. Connect the left and right audio from the satellite receiver to the left and right terminal strip as indicated on the label. Connect the left and right audio output of the Domino Pro to the modulator audio inputs. The DTMF cue tone output of the satellite receiver is connected to the Domino Pro DTMF input. The +Hz connection is for a high impedance audio tone source and the +Lz is for a low impedance source. The GPI Input is for a contact closure to ground, from a remote cue source. The GPI Out is for controlling external switching devices such as the NSS-4B. A picture monitor with composite video input is connected to the Domino Pro Monitor Output. The monitor video output always shows what is playing on the internal media player. Pressing the Menu button on the hand held remote control stops the media player and brings up the media player menu. The monitor output can also be used to lock the satellite source to the media player with an external TBC. An Ethernet port is used for web status monitoring, manual control, and logging. It is not required for the normal operation of the Domino Pro, unless timed cue starting is desired. A second Ethernet port is use for connecting the Media Player SD card storage to a webserver folder for media file and playlist synchronizing. (See Webserver setup) 3.1 System Configuration The Domino Pro is normally setup by the factory before shipping. If so, all you need to do is to prepare your advertisement files and playlist.txt file and copy the files to the internal SD card. See the section of the manual for setting up the DTMF cue tone sequences to be decoded. See the media player controller section for preroll and number of files per cue start. Domino-Pro System Block Diagram Receiver DTMF Tones Program A/V IN Picture Monitor Player Menu Program A/V Out Encoder/Modulator WebRelay Status Player to Webserver LAN Domino Pro WebRelay, Status DTMF Decoder A/V Switch Playback Controller Media Player Page 6 of 18
3.2 Media Player Settings Connect the Domino Pro Monitor Output to the composite video input of a Picture monitor. SDI input for the SDI Domino Pro version. Using the remote control, select MENU. Set the time zone and time for your location. The other settings should be set at the factory. 1 Basic TAB Check Firmware Version DSSImage202001081_192.bin 2 Set DSP Mode to: Interactive Mode Internal SD Card Storage Space. 15-Gig Standard Video/Audio TAB 3 Confirm settings for NTSC and Composite, for Analog Units. (HDMI for SDI units.) Page 7 of 18
4 Time TAB Set Date and Time Set Time Zone 5 Set to Repeat Mode. Not to be confused with the 4 Operating Modes Advanced TAB Additional TAB 6 Enable Logging Page 8 of 18
3.3 Web Status Monitoring and Control The web controller provides a way to view the status of the Domino Pro over an Ethernet network. After setting up the WebRelay network address you can view the status screen by entering the IP address in a web browser. (See WebRelay Controller Setup, Section 10.0) Shows ads are currently being inserted into the program network. Shows manual start via the web interface. DTMF and Manual Start Logging: Shows the date and time the media player has played and switched on air. This is accessed by the IP address/log.txt Shows the insertion has been aborted via the web interface. Page 9 of 18
Section 4.0 Media Preparation, File Transfer, and Operational Modes 4.0 Media Preparation MPEG-4 (H.254) files are recommended for best playback results on the Domino Pro. MPEG-2 files, such as those ripped from DVDs, can be easily converted using an open source conversion program called Handbrake. It can be downloaded from https://handbrake.fr/ Recommended Video Parameters Codec/Profile/Level Resolution Bit Rate Average/Max MPEG-4 (H.264) BP@L3 720x480 (i/p) 29/30 720x56p 26 4-6 Mbps; Max Bit Rate 25Mbps MP@L4.0 1920x1080 (i/p) 30 1280x720p60 8-15 Mbps; Max Bit Rate 25Mbps HP@L4.1 Containers.mp4,.m2v Recommended Audio Parameters AAC-LC Recommended Bit Rate 128 Kbps; Max bit rate =384Kbps Recommended Sample Rate 48KHz; Max Sample Rate 96KHz Page 10 of 18
Handbrake Video Conversion Settings 29.97 Set Preset to Normal Constant Frame rate Set Quality from 12 to 15. Lower number is higher quality. Handbrake Audio Conversion Settings Stereo AAC (faac) 128K 48K Page 11 of 18
4.1 Testing your Files on Domino It may be wise to test your media files on the Domino before creating a schedule and copying all the contents to the internal SD card. Media files can be played directly from a USB drive. Copy some of your video files directly to a USB drive. For testing, all you want on the USB are your video files with or without a playlist.txt file. Power-up the Domino unit, if already powered-up observe the player output with a monitor connected to the Monitor Output. If your file was made correctly you should see it cue up after a minute or so. The green light on the Media Player Control Card should light up. Pressing the manual start button should cause the Domino to play your files, dependent upon the preset number to be played per start. If you unplug the MPC card, the media player should play your files over and over. Remove the USB drive to resume normal operation from the Internal SD Card. When the USB drive is removed, or you exit the menu by selecting PLAY, or the power is cycled on the Domino Pro, the system will read the playlist.txt file from the internal SD card and cue up to the appropriate ad file or wait until a scheduled cue time. Using a USB drive with an activity LED lets you know that the files have been transferred. Otherwise you will be instructed to remove the USB drive on the monitor output of the Domino Pro. The status LEDs on the front of Domino Pro tells the operator what the inserter is doing. The green LED on the Media Player Control module shows if the media player is cued up and is ready to play. The red light shows the media player is playing. No lights indicate the system is not ready. In Operation Mode-2A & B both LEDS light while playing. The media player status lights are on the right side of the Domino Pro. The far right green LED is power. The LED on the left shows the SD memory card activity. This LED flashes when files are loaded and played. During playback the LED will flash until the playback buffers are loaded then stop even though the player is still playing. LEDs on the cue tone decoder flash when tones are read. The A/V switch LEDs indicate whether program input 1 is routed to the output or the advertisement input 2 is on air. Page 12 of 18
4.2 Copying Files to Domino Pro Internal SD card There are two modes used to copy files to the internal SD card in the Domino Pro, from a USB thumb drive. One mode replaces all the content on the SD card with the content on the USB drive. The other mode only copies new files and existing files that have been changed. To replace all the files select USB Sync on the player menu or create and place a command.txt file with the words UPDATECONTENTS, on the USB drive. To just copy new files and changed files select USB Copy on the menu or use the words COPYCONTENTS in the command.txt file and place on the USB drive. Files can be deleted from the internal SD card by using the menu selecting View and deleting selected files, Erase All, or by using the updatecontents command.txt. The SD Card can be synced to a Webserver Folder via LAN and Internet. See Section 11.0 Copies new and changed files. Replaces all files on the SD Card USB Drive File Directory Media Player Basic Menu USB thumb drive directory using Windows Explorer; showing ad files, playlist.txt and command.txt Replace all files on SD with USB files Copy different files to SD with USB files Page 13 of 18
4.3 Ad File Playback as-run Logging To turn on the logging mode of the media player, select Enable from the media players Additional menu. To copy the logs to the USB thumb drive a command.txt script must be used. The syntax for this is copylog. To delete the logs on the SD memory, use deletelog. The media player logs files as they are played. It also logs when the first ad file is cued. So there are extra entries in the log.txt file that you need to ignore or delete. Files played directly from the USB drive are not logged. Syntax for coping logs to USB drive. Enable Logging. Default setting is Enable Log.txt file Indicates cueing to video file Shows how many seconds file was played Page 14 of 18
4.4 Domino Pro Playback Modes (DV75MCS5 Firmware version 1.7) Mode 1, Designated Number of Files: (Normal Default Mode) In Mode 1, the user sets a fixed number of video files to be played with each cue start command. (1-7 files) This is selected by setting dip switches 1, 2 &3 ON or OFF, on the MPC-3001A module. (See Below) When the Cue Tone Start command is received the Domino Pro plays the preselected number of files. The Media Player then cues up the next file in the list or waits for a scheduled event. In this mode a timed start is actually a time to cue up a list. The on-air playback start is triggered by a DTMF or manual cue command. Note: The Media Player Time Zone must be set to execute a time based playlist. In this mode a default list of video files can be used. Default files can be played in a Run-of-Schedule mode. Only the fixed preset number of files selected will be played upon each start command. This mode can use the Play Once <08:00> time script or the Repeat/Loop <08:00-08:30> method of time scheduling. (See the Domino PC Software Manual) If a cue tone start command is missed for a cued time, playback can get out of sync using the Play Once script. To catch up the Domino playlist can be restarted or the lost break can be manually forced. When an expected time cue start command doesn t occur, the player marks the ad files for playback in the future. It does not abort the files not run. Rebooting the system will abort the marked files. Playback Mode 1 Set Dip switches 1,2,&3 for number of files to play after each START Tone. Up to 7 files. 1 ON = 1; 2 ON = 2; 3 ON = 4; 3 & 1 ON = 5; 3 & 2 =6; 1, 2 &3 ON = 7 MPC-3001A Module V1.7 Playback Mode 2A Set Dip switch 4 ON. Plays number of files in a scheduled list after START Tone. Playback Mode 2B Set Dip switch 4 ON. Keeping Start Line Held ON during the duration of the break; Ends insertion when Start Line is released or scheduled list of files is completed. Playback Mode 3 Set Dip switch 5 ON. Plays files strictly based on a Playlist by time, No DTMF Cue START. Requires system reboot to activate. Page 15 of 18
Mode 2A, Play All files in current List (Note: in mode 2A and 2B the Ready and Playing LEDS both light during playback.) When Dip Switch 4 is ON, Mode 2 is activated. In Mode 2A the number of files played back is dependent upon the number of files listed in the playlist schedule. The user does not preselect a constant fixed number of files to be played. Play Once <08:00> or Loop <08:00-08:30> playlist script is used with this mode. It is recommended that each video file has one frame of black at the beginning and end of the file for cleaner looking on-air switching. In this mode the user will be primarily scheduling the cueing of lists of files by time. Playback stops after the last file in a list. After the playback stops, the player cues up to a short default list or waits for the next scheduled cue time. Default file lists must be no longer than the insertion break, because the system will play and air all of the listed files in an event. In this mode a timed start is actually the time to cue up a list. The on-air playback start is triggered by a DTMF or manual cue command. Breaks of various lengths can be completely filled using this mode. Also files of different lengths can be scheduled more easily. When using the Play Once scheduling, if a cue start command is missed for a cued time, playback can get out of sync. To catch up the Domino playlist can be restarted or the lost break can be manually forced. Mode 2B, Play files as long as Start Line is held low. (Satellite Priority) Mode 2B is activated when the Start Input is held low for more than 5 seconds and dip switch 4 is ON. This mode is used for Satellite Priority insertion. The beginning and end of the insertion is controlled by the DTMF cue start and end. The number of the files scheduled in each break can exceed the length of the advertisement avail length. As soon as the OFF DTMF tone is received the break ends and a switch back to network occurs. The system will continue to play files until the OFF Tone is received. This mode uses the Repeat/Loop <08:00-08:30> time script only. If a cue command is missed for a cued time, the player will cue up to the next scheduled spots when the cue time arrives. The schedule does not get out of sync if cue commands are missed in this mode. The Web relay controller s, Relay 1 Option, must be set to set relay equal to input 1, in order to operate in Mode 2 B. The DTMF Cue Tone Decoder must be set to Latching. Mode 3, Playback and Switching is managed by playlist schedule only Mode 3 is activated when dip switch 5 is ON and power is turned OFF and ON. A DTMF or Manual Start command is not used in this mode. In this mode on-air playback starts by time and not from a cue command. Playback is completely controlled by the playlist and media player functions. A/V switching may be delayed a second or two at the beginning and ending of scheduled programming. To prevent cutting off the beginning of the first file, a second or so of black should be added to the first file in a playback list or start your list with a station ID. There may be at least one or two seconds of black at the end of playback before switching back to network programming. Default video file playback will be pre-empted by time scheduled events. Page 16 of 18
Occasional longer programming can be played using this mode. This is more easily done by placing the longer programming on a USB with a playlist schedule. When the USB is inserted into the Domino Pro, the playlist and programming on the USB pre-empts the internal playlist and files. When using the USB in this manner, no Command Text file should be used, to copy the contents to the internal SD card. When playing long form programs, the 3 minute Fail Safe Timer Script in the WebRelay Controller must be disabled. (See WebRelay section of the manual) The Domino Pro must be rebooted (Power OFF and ON) to enter Mode 3. So power the unit OFF, plug in the USB, turn the power ON. The Domino Pro has built in Bypass Switching, so when power is turned OFF the network programming stays on air. When playing back from a USB, logs are not posted to the log file. You must copy the programming and play from the internal SD card to log your files as they are played. Page 17 of 18
Section 5.0 Playlist Structure and Scheduling A simple playlist.txt schedule file is shown below. The playlist.txt file must be spelled exactly playlist it can t be named anything else such as playlist01.txt. WordPad is recommended for creating and editing the text file. The playlist can be created manually or by the Domino PC software. Section 12.0 defines the playlist script syntax. Section 6.0 shows how the Domino PC software is installed and used. Playlists created by the Domino PC software can be modified manually, if a different start time is desired, from the default 30 minute blocks. <ANY> means any day of the week. <DEF> means any time of the day. The file names are listed including the file extension.mpg. The system will cue up to the first file and play four files for each cue command, if the player controller is set for 4 files. The system will continue through the list and start over from the beginning. <ANY> means any day of the week. <DEF> means any time of the day. If there are no day and times current on a playlist the default files will be played. Leave off the <ANY> and <DEF> script if you don t want default files. <MON> <10:00-11:00> Files following this syntax will cue on Monday between 10AM and 11AM. The list can be repeated until 11:00. <TUE> <12:00> Files listed after this syntax will cue on Tuesday 12:00PM. The files listed will play only once. The list must be played before another list can be cued. Page 18 of 18