UPMAX ISC Quick Start Guide

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Linear Acoustic® UPMAX® ISC Immersive Soundfield Controller.

UPMAX ISC builds upon the proven and long-running lineup of Linear Acoustic upmixers, employs our latest algorithm, and adds support for the immersive audio requirements of Next Generation Audio.

UPMAX ISC is designed for live events and broadcasts and can be inserted on a mix bus or placed at the output of the mixing console in the OB truck at the venue for upmixing music, effects, and legacy content not natively presented in an immersive format. It is equally at home in the airchain at the Broadcast Operations Center (BOC) to ensure all programming – including commercials and interstitial content – is delivered to the viewer as a consistent immersive experience.

Features include:

Upmixing from 2-, 3-, 5.1-, and 7.1-channel audio to immersive formats including 5.1.4 and 7.1.2
Upmixing to legacy formats including 5.1- and 7.1-channel audio
Automatic pass-through of native immersive content
3Gb/s HD/SD-SDI, AES-3, and AES67 I/O to support SMPTE ST 2110-30 workflows (Quad-Link SDI I/O for 4K video workflows or MADI I/O are available as mutually exclusive options)
Dual internal redundant auto-ranging power supplies
Dual 1000BaseT Ethernet connections and web-based GUI

Hardware

UPMAX ISC Front Panel

The front panel of the UPMAX ISC includes the following:

Reset button for restarting the unit from the front panel (1A)
Four status LEDs indicating the status of each power supply (1B, 1C), the overall status of the unit (1D), and sync for the reference clock (1E)
A color LCD display to show status and basic configuration parameters (1F)
A five-button navigation cluster with Left, Right, Up, and Down arrows plus a green “OK” button (1G)
A USB port used for software updates (1H)

The front panel is used for the initial setup and configuration including setting the IP address of the Control Ethernet port. Additional configuration is accomplished via the remote user interface

UPMAX ISC Rear Panel

The rear panel includes the following connections:

Two RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet connections, one for network remote control (2A) and one for AES67 I/O (2B)
Two independent 3Gb/s HD/SD-SDI inputs and outputs (2C) on female BNC connectors
Quad-Link SDI or MADI I/O (2D) - optional
Five AES-3 I/O connections (2E) on female BNC connectors
Parallel GPI/O control port (female DB-15) for five inputs and five outputs (2F)
Two IEC power inlets for the redundant internal universal auto-ranging power supplies (2G)

Note: Although the hardware is present for two independent SDI I/O paths, only the first SDI I/O is active at this time. The second path will be enabled in a future firmware update.

Installation and Initial Setup

Installation

UPMAX ISC is a 1RU product intended to be permanently installed in a standard 19½” equipment rack and secured with four standard rack screws. UPMAX ISC is fan cooled with air intakes and exhausts located on the side of the unit just behind the front panel, but whenever possible, it is recommended to leave 1RU of empty space above and below the unit.

Power

Plug the supplied IEC power cords into the UPMAX ISC and connect each to different mains power sources. Remember that while redundant supplies do protect against the unit losing power in the event of a PSU failure, the loss of mains supply voltage is a bigger concern. Accordingly, each supply should be fed from a different circuit equipped with adequate surge protection and fitted with an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

Boot Up and Splash Screen

The unit will power up as soon as the power cords are connected, and using the Reset button (1A) is not required on initial startup. The front panel of the unit will remain dark during most of the boot process but the Status LED (1D) will light. Once the boot process is complete, the Home Screen will appear and the Status LED will turn green.

Setting IP Addresses

UPMAX ISC ships with DHCP enabled and will automatically retrieve an IP address when connected to a network with a DHCP server.

Important! The Control and AES67 Ethernet connections both require 1000BASE-T (Gigabit) switch ports in order to work properly.
If both the Control and AES67 ports will be used, they must be in different subnets. In-band control is available using the AES67 port.
If only one port will be used, set the unused port to “Static IP” with an IP Address of 0.0.0.0, a Subnet Mask of 0.0.0.1, and a Gateway of 0.0.0.0.

To set a fixed IP address for the Control port:

Press the Right button once to show the Information screen and once more to navigate to the IP Configuration (Control) screen
Press the Down button to highlight “Edit”
Press the OK button to highlight “Use DHCP”
Press the Right button to highlight “Yes”
Press the Up/Down buttons to select “No”
Press the Left button to highlight “DHCP” again
Press the Down button to highlight “Address”
Press the Right button to move to the first digit of the IP address
Use the Up/Down buttons to change the value
Use the Right/Left buttons to select another digit to edit
When finished editing the Address field, press the Right/Left buttons to highlight “Address” again
Press the Down button to navigate to the “Netmask” field, following the instructions above for entering the value
When finished editing the Netmask field, press the Right/Left buttons to highlight “Netmask” again
Press the Down button to navigate to the “Gateway” field, following the instructions above for entering the value
When finished editing the Gateway field, press the Right/Left buttons to highlight “Gateway” again
Press the Down button to highlight “Update”

Verify the information has been entered correctly and press the OK button to save the new values

If you notice incorrect information and need to start over, use the Right button to highlight “Cancel” followed by the OK button

Figure 5 - IP configuration (Control) screen

If you are using AES67 I/O, pressing the Right button from the IP Configuration (Control) screen will bring you to the IP Configuration (AES67) screen. The steps for configuring this port are identical to those above for the Control port.

Connecting Inputs and Outputs

The UPMAX ISC offers 3Gb/s HD/SD-SDI inputs and outputs, Quad-Link SDI or MADI I/O (optional and mutually exclusive), five AES-3 inputs and outputs on female BNC connectors, plus AES67 I/O via the AES67 Ethernet port. Connect the physical inputs and outputs as appropriate for your installation.

Connecting to the Web-Based User Interface

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

Once both UPMAX ISC and your computer are connected to your network, enter the IP address of the UPMAX ISC in the URL field of your browser. Once connected, the Home screen will appear.

Clicking on the UPMAX ISC logo (6A) will always bring you back to the Home screen. To log in to the unit, enter the default password of 1234 into the Password field (6B) then click the Log In button (6C). The ability to change the password will be included in an upcoming software update.