Both the Chyron Centaur and Cindy video controllers have a built-in Videomedia V-LAN transmitter. A configuration entry is needed for each V-LAN receiver that will be controlled by your Chyron V-LAN transmitter.
device video controller name
server_name server
server_id socket
server_host host
buffer buffer
display display
defn
node node
format format
preroll preroll
buffers buffers
enddefn
enddevice
device video controller name
The name is the name you want to assign to this device. If your V-LAN receiver is connected to your Sony Betacam, you may want to call it BVW75SP.
server_name server
The server is the name of the executable that controls the various V-LANs. The servers reside in the product_bin. For both the Chyron Centaur and Cindy V-LAN, the server should be vtccentaurvlan. (If you relocate the server executable, or if the server is running on a different host than your application, you must specify the server as a full UNIX pathname.)
server_id socket
The socket is the socket number through which your application communicates with the V-LAN server process. This number must be unique to your UNIX system for each defined device and (Alias|Wavefront and non-Alias|Wavefront) server process. If you are defining configuration entries for multiple V-LAN receivers, they must have unique socket numbers.
server_host host
The host is the name of the workstation in which the Chyron V-LAN is installed. This is typically the workstation on which you are running your application, but can be any workstation on your Ethernet network. If you are using one workstation for your application, while the Chyron V-LAN is installed on another, you must install your application on both machines. The host can be localhost if the Chyron V-LAN is installed in your workstation.
buffer buffer
The buffer is optionally used to specify the name of a frame buffer device that is related to the Chyron V-LAN device being configured. If defined, this corresponding frame buffer is opened whenever the Chyron V-LAN device is opened. This is typically used to refer to the Centaur frame buffer device.
display display
The display entry is optionally used to specify how you want the tape location to be displayed. The default, timecode, displays tape locations using time code. To display tape locations as frame numbers, specify frame.
node node
The node is the unique V-LAN identification number which your V-LAN receiver recognizes. If this line is omitted, a node number of 1 is used by default.
format format
The format indicates whether your V-LAN recognizes NTSC or PAL video. If this line is omitted, NTSC is used by default.
preroll preroll
The preroll indicates the duration of the pre-roll and post-roll time for edits. It must be specified in standard SMPTE timecode format, enclosed in double quotes. For NTSC output, it is suggested that "00:00:05:00" be used. For PAL output, it is suggested that "00:00:07:00" be used.
When accessing an Abekas video disk, it is suggested that "00:00:00:15" be used, regardless of the video format. If this line is omitted, "00:00:05:00" is used by default.
buffers buffers
The buffers entry indicates the number of frames to store simultaneously in your Chyron. You can enter values of 1 or 2. A higher value reduces the edit time when recording. The default value is 2.
If you have multiple receivers connected to your V-LAN network, it is best to create multiple configuration entries. Create one per receiver, with unique names and node numbers, so that they can be easily referenced.
Tip: Videomedia has identified a problem with early V-LAN control systems. This problem causes sporadic frame drop-out while recording, and is related to V-LAN receivers with a node number other than 1. Contact VideoMedia for more information.Videomedia will provide a fix on request at no extra charge.
| The fix involves upgrading the V-LAN transmitter firmware to version 2.09N or later. If you are using a stand-alone V-LAN transmitter (RS-232 controlled), the upgrade is in the form of a workstation chip (PROM) and is installed in the V-LAN transmitter. |