Workflow November 29, 2023

Triggering Pixera Cues via a Ross Carbonite Switcher

Solutions and documentation, Amanda Facemire
Instigator of the problem, Sean Cagney

The intention of this workflow is to give a Carbonite Operator / Technical Director the ability to trigger playback cues from Pixera. We will leverage the Pixera API and configure the Carbonite to send commands into Pixera via CustomControl buttons in Ross Dashboard.

This workflow was documented using the Carbonite Solo. There are differences between Ross switcher frames, but overall the process should be extremely similar (the “frame” is the rackmount switcher; this is common terminology.)

The following components must be networked together:

  1. Machine(s) running Pixera
  2. An external computer running Ross Dashboard (many frames require this but not all; the Carbonite Black and Solo require external computers to set up this workflow).
  3. The physical Carbonite frame
    1. Optional: The physical Carbonite Control Panel (A Solo only needs to be networked to the Ross Dashboard computer; a larger panel only needs to be networked to its Carbonite frame).

The Carbonite’s default IP is 192.168.0.123. You can check to see if it’s been changed by using the hard keys on the panel and navigating to System > Next > Next > FrmIP Address

Before beginning, ping all your devices to test connectivity.

Set up Pixera to Receive API Commands

  1. Open Pixera
  2. Under Settings (the Gear icon) navigate to API
  3. Set your Input Network Adapter to the ethernet port networked with Ross Dashboard and the frame (we’ll use 192.168.0.100 as an example for the rest of this documentation).
  4. Under API Access 1, configure the following settings:
    1. Protocol: JSON/UDP
    2. IP: Can leave blank if Input Network Adapter has a default, or manually enter the IP address if needed (192.168.0.100).
    3. Port: 28016 (you can use other ports, but we’ll use this as our example because this is within the range for UDP access on devices).
  1. Navigate to Timeline 1
  2. Create a “Play” cue flag (If you have not configured a display, adding a Play flag will automatically create a 1920 x 1080 Generic Display.)
  3. In the Properties of the cue flag under Label, type “Cue 1”
  4. Save your project and leave it open.

Set up Dashboard to Send API Commands

A sample PanelBuilder file has been provided with this documentation.

  1. If you haven’t already, Install Ross Dashboard onto a dedicated laptop or workstation (Can be Mac or Windows): https://www.rossvideo.com/support/software-downloads/dashboard/
  2. Open Dashboard
  3. Navigate to PanelBuilder Edit Mode > New Panel
  4. Add a Button by hitting the Button icon in the left hand side and dragging the mouse inside the editor pane to create a button.
  5. After releasing the mouse, the Button Configuration pop-up window appears. Give the button a Name and make sure its Type is Push. Under Tasks hit Add (a button can contain more than one task, similar to a Companion button. Here we’ll only be adding one task to trigger one cue, but we could add other things like Timeline Opacity Fade Ins and Outs, Timeline Transport Commands, and other useful API control handles).
  6. The Add Task pop up window appears; in the right pane there’s a search bar. Search for “UDP.” Select Send UDP Messages (string). Click and drag this into the workspace. A node will then appear.
  7. This node is where you’ll enter your API info:
    1. Host: IP address of Pixera (192.168.0.100)
    2. Port: Port Pixera is using to receive commands (28016).
    3. String: Copy and paste the string exactly as it appears below:

{“jsonrpc”:”2.0″, “id”:37, “method”:”Pixera.Compound.applyCueOnTimeline”, “params”:{“timelineName”:”Timeline 1″, “cueName”:”Cue 1″}}

*More information on Pixera API commands is available at the end of this document.

  1. Hit OK to exit the Add Task window, and then OK again to exit the Button Attributes Window.
  2. Back in the PanelBuilder, double-click your new button to re-enter Button Attributes. Here it’s very important to give your button a unique Trigger ID. It’s best to keep this organized. If it’s a button for Cue 1, make the Trigger ID “1”.
    Please note that Trigger ID and ID are not the same. You must enter this information under Trigger ID or the button will not work.
  1. Click Apply and Close.
  2. Click PanelBuilder Edit Mode to exit Edit mode.
  3. Test your button in Dashboard by clicking on it. It should trigger Cue 1 on Timeline 1.
  4. Repeat as necessary for all cues that need to be triggered from the Carbonite.

Configure the Carbonite as a Physical Device in Ross Dashboard

  1. In Dashboard, navigate to Window > Preferences > RossTalk GPI Listener. Enable the Global GPI Listener on Port 7788. Hit Apply, then OK to close the window.
  2. The “Re-query the network for devices” Button looks like a Refresh icon in the top left panel of Basic Tree View. Click that button. Dashboard will likely automatically discover the Carbonite as a device (this might take a few seconds).
    1. If the Carbonite is added into your object tree, there might be red X’s or Yellow Exclamation points next to it and all of its subcomponents. That means it’s not receiving genlock. Lack of genlock is not a blocker for configuration of this workflow.
  3. If the Carbonite is not automatically found, press the Plus sign in the Basic Tree View to manually add a new connection.
    1. A pop-up window appears. Navigate to the openGear / DashBoard Connect Folder, select TCP/IP Dashboard Connect or openGear Device
    2. Type in the IP address of the Carbonite (192.168.0.123 by default). You can also use the Detect Frame Information after entering the IP address to see if the Carbonite can be discovered.
    3. Select OGP (OpenGear Protocol)
    4. You have 2 options for Ports:
      1. Port 5254 = Communication with OGP-JSON-based devices; Dashboard Main
      2. Port 5253 – Communication via JSON
      3. If unsure which port to use, use Port 5253. This is the default port that Ross Dashboard chooses during auto-discovery. Since the OpenGear protocol is specific to Ross devices, this is a safe choice. 

Configure a Generic RossTalk Device as a Virtual Device on the Carbonite

The generic RossTalk device is what allows the Carbonite to connect with your custom PanelBuilder buttons via Dashboard.

If you are working with a Solo, you have to enter this information via the menu on the physical Carbonite.

If you are working with a larger frame, you might be able to configure these settings in the Dashboard GUI.

On the Solo:

  1. System > Next > Next > Device Config > (new) Add
  2. Use the knob to select Slot 1
  3. Use the other knob to select RossTalk Type
  4. Press Next
  5. Use the knob to select SubType: generic_1.0
  6. Press Next
  7. Use the knobs to enter the IP address of the computer hosting Dashboard.
  8. Press Next
  9. The following Settings are under the same knob menus:
    1. Port should be 7788
    2. Roll knob to select PreRll: 0
    3. Roll knob to select RollClp: Off
    4. Roll knob to select RollCmd: GPI1
  10. Press a knob to exit the menu. The Carbonite will ask if you want to Confirm. Use the knob to select Confirm.
  11. Your generic RossTalk device is now saved and can be used to map CustomControls.

On a larger frame you can simply input the settings on this GUI:

Remember your IP address won’t be the 10.20.5.7 that you see here. This screenshot was provided by Ross Support.

More information about setting up this device type at this link:
https://help.rossvideo.com/carbonite-device/Topics/Devices/RossTalk/RossTalk.html#RossTalk

Map a Panel Button to a Custom Control Bank

This exposes the custom Pixera Cue 1 button we made in the PanelBuilder to the Carbonite so that it can be mapped to a button in Dashboard.

  1. In Dashboard, under your Carbonite tree object, double click on Custom Control
  2. This will open the ShotBox view. At the bottom right corner of the screen, select Editor
  3. We are going to map our Pixera Play Cue 1 button to Bank 1, CustomControl 101.
    1. Select Bank 1
    2. Select [Custom Control 1]
    3. Modify Event List:
      1. Devices > RossTalk (Generic) > GPI
      2. Under this event window, you should see your generic_1.0-SO device.
      3. In the GPI text box enter your Trigger ID (remember we did 1 for Cue 1).
      4. Select Insert
      5. Hit Done.
      6. Before exiting the window, select your RossTalk Custom Cmd event line and hit Run Event. This should execute the command on the Pixera Timeline, and the Pixera playhead should go to Cue 1.

Optional: Map a Dashboard Button to a Physical Carbonite Button

The Ross terminology for what we are doing is “Mapping CustomControl buttons in Dashboard to User Buttons on the Carbonite”.

  1. On the Carbonite, go to User > Next > UseSel Buttons
  2. Use the knobs to select:
    1. Button: 1
    2. Type: CCBank
    3. Index: Either numbers or Select
      1. Make sure you speak to the Carbonite Operator / Technical Director about where they want their buttons mapped.
        1. Use Index: and a number to select which Custom Control bank the user button is assigned to.
        2. Use Index: Select if you want to be able to press and hold the user button and select the custom control bank on the key bus.
    4. The idea here is that the Carbonite Operator can select the CC Bank hard key and then use ME 1, ME 2, ME 3… etc to trigger Pixera. You can gain this functionality through using the Index: Select setting.
    5. If the Carbonite Operator / Technical Director would like to map buttons elsewhere, that is possible by selecting different banks.

More information on mapping Custom Controls here:
https://help.rossvideo.com/solo/Tasks/Setup/Personality/UserButtons.html?hl=user

*Pixera API Information:

You can access the list of available API commands after Pixera is installed by navigating to its install location. Usually:

C:\Program Files\AV Stumpfl\Pixera\build_1-8-302\data\api

Alternatively, in Pixera, go to Settings (Gear Wheel) > Help > Show API Documentation Files

Here you will find technical documentation and examples with explanations under the docs folder, as well as the pixera_api folder.

List of External Links:

Ross Dashboard Downloads
https://www.rossvideo.com/support/software-downloads/dashboard/

Generic RossTalk Devices:
https://help.rossvideo.com/carbonite-device/Topics/Devices/RossTalk/RossTalk.html#RossTalk

Creating Carbonite User Buttons:
https://help.rossvideo.com/solo/Tasks/Setup/Personality/UserButtons.html?hl=user

Pixera API Quickstart Guide:
https://help.pixera.one/api/api-quick-start-guide

Amanda “show me your war Facemire”
Cagney with his boss

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