Remote User Interface

Connecting to LA-5300

As outlined in the section on Installation and Initial Setup, certain settings and configurations can be accessed and performed using the front panel buttons and screen, but the LA-5300 is designed to be connected to a network and operated through its web-based interface.

Important! As explained in the section on Setting IP Addresses, LA-5300 must be connected to 1000BASE-T (Gigabit) switch ports, and the Control and AES67 ports should not be connected to a common network with the same netmask/subnet.

No special client software is required, and the HTML-5-based GUI is device, operating system, and browser agnostic. We recommend using Google Chrome or Apple Safari. The computer or tablet should be on the same network and subnet as the LA-5300.

Note - This section is primarily an overview of the user interface to provide an explanation of the various menus and screens. It is not intended to provide step-by-step instructions for setting up or operating the LA-5300. Where applicable, references to specific chapters will be made where you can find more detailed instructions for specific controls.

Once the LA-5300 and your computer are connected to your network, enter the IP address of the LA-5300 to which you want to connect in the URL field of your browser. Once connected, the Home Screen will appear. As you navigate through the user interface, clicking on the LA-5300 logo (1A) in the top left corner will always return you to this screen.

Multiple users can connect to the same LA-5300 hardware simultaneously. Anyone connected to the unit will be able to see the information on this screen including the unit’s name (1B) and physical location (1C).

Additionally, all users can access the Meters screen (1D) which shows input and output level meters along with pertinent information about the input or output bitstream (depending on the workflow selected). See the section “LA 5300 Home Screen When Logged In” below for detailed information.

The Locate Unit feature (1E), which causes the front panel display of the unit to flash for easy identification in a crowded rack, can also be activated without logging in.

Additional information about installed options, clock sync, network status and IP address, power supply status, software and FPGA versions, and unit uptime are displayed to the right of the screen (1F).

User Accounts and Logging In

Making modifications to the LA-5300’s configuration, signal routing, or transcoding parameters via the remote user interface requires logging into the unit. At this time, only one level of access is supported.

Enter the default password (1234) in the password field (1G) and click on the Log in button (1H). The password can be changed on the System page.

To remotely power down the unit, click on the Shutdown Unit button (1I).

Additional menus become visible once you are logged in. These include the encoding, upmixing, watermarking, and monitor controls for the Program 1 (Dolby AC-4) encoder (2A), the same controls for the Program 2 (Dolby Digital Plus) encoder (2B), the I/O menus (2C) which include clock, GPI/O, and delay controls, detailed system-wide information and configuration settings (2D) which includes the IP configuration menu, and the Log Out button (2E).

Program 1 and Program 2 Menus

Clicking on the Program 1 menu (3A) brings up the main menu for all signal processing and monitoring functions related to Program 1. The name of the program can be customized by clicking on the program text field (3B).

There is a dropdown menu to expose the individual controls for Dolby AC-4 encoding (3K), upmixing (3J), Nielsen watermarking (3I), Verance watermarking (3H), and confidence monitoring (3G).

Detailed operation of each process is outlined in subsequent sections.

Specific settings for all Program 1-related processing - Dolby AC-4 encoding, upmixing, Nielsen watermarking, Verance watermarking, and confidence monitoring - can be saved in a single program preset in the Preset menu (3C) for easy recall. Note that there are no factory presets, and so the menu field will appear blank until a user preset is created and saved.

Clicking on the Preset management icon (3E) reveals a dropdown menu with the following options:

• Save: Saves the current Program 1 settings to the selected preset, immediately over-writing the previous settings associated with the preset; note that if there are no user presets saved, the “Save As” dialogue box will appear and prompt you to enter the name of the new preset

• Save As: Saves the current Program 1 settings to a new preset; a “Save As” dialogue box will appear and prompt you to enter the name of the new preset

• Delete: Permanently deletes the selected preset

• Import: Allows you to import a preset that was previously exported and saved to the remote PC; this can be a handy tool when setting up multiple units that are configured in exactly the same way rather than setting each control individually

• Export: Allows you to export a preset either for safekeeping as a backup should it accidentally get erased from the unit, or for making it available for uploaded to other units requiring the same configuration using the “Import” feature described above

This page also includes input meters (3E) and output meters (3L) for each channel of each input type – SDI, AES67, and AES-3. The meters for each input type can be minimized or expanded.

Clicking on the Program 2 menu (3F) reveals identical controls for the second program which includes Dolby Digital Plus encoding for creating an E-AC-3 or AC-3-encoded bitstream for legacy ATSC 1.0 support.