VIO 4+ Setup Guide

July 27, 2022
vio4+commissioning guideSetup Guides VIO

Thank you for purchasing a VIO server from Cablecast Community Media! This guide will walk you through setting up your new server.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the installation, please make sure that you have the following resources available:

• An ethernet network connection

• A keyboard, mouse, and a VGA monitor

• Your existing A/V infrastructure (At least one video monitor, if you’re just testing)

Overview of Setup

There are three parts to setting up your Cablecast server: Physical Setup, Software Setup, and Testing.

Physical Setup : You’ll learn about the physical connections on the Cablecast server, and how to tie it into your existing infrastructure.

Software Setup : You will be taken through the steps necessary to configure the Cablecast software to communicate with your server.

Testing : Finally you’ll run some simple tests to make sure the Cablecast server is correctly configured and ready to use.

Sound like a plan? Let’s get started!

Part I: Physical Setup

Your Cablecast server should come with the following items in the box:

AC power cables : Powers the Cablecast server.

Server : The Cablecast server itself.

Physical Connections

On the back of your Cablecast server, you’ll see several ports. Please refer to the diagram below for connections on your VIO 4+ server.

System Connections

All of the Cablecast servers share some basic system connections:

1. Connect a keyboard and mouse via the USB ports.
2. Connect a monitor. The monitor is required for server setup, and we recommend that it remain connected. All Cablecast servers have at least a VGA
port, and this is what we recommend connecting up to the KVM in your rack.
3. Connect the Cablecast server to the network via one of the ethernet network
jacks.
4. Connect the Cablecast server’s power supply to an AC power source using
the provided AC power cables.

AV Connections

Next, you will connect the Cablecast VIO 4+ server to your video infrastructure.

The VIO 4+ ships in a 4x4 configuration (four inputs and four outputs). This is a locked configuration for this server and there are no other combinations of I/O configuration. The connectors on the VIO 4+ are Micro-BNC. In the box with your server, you will find adapter cables that will allow you to go from Micro-BNC to Standard BNC. The ports on the I/O card are numbered from the bottom up. (See Figure 2 Image Below)

  1. Connect a cable from Port 1 to an input on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  2. Connect a cable from Port 2 to an input on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  3. Connect a cable from Port 3 to an input on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  4. Connect a cable from Port 4 to an input on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  5. Connect a cable from Port 5 to an output on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  6. Connect a cable from Port 6 to an output on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  7. Connect a cable from Port 7 to an output on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  8. Connect a cable from Port 8 to an output on your SD/HD-SDI routing switcher.
  9. Connect house tri-level or analog blackburst to REF Port (Bottom Port, See Figure 2 image below)

FIGURE 1: The Cablecast VIO4

FIGURE 2: I/O Card

  1. AC Power
  2. RS232 COM port (male)
  3. USB 2.0
  4. USB 3.0
  5. Ethernet
  6. VGA
  7. Reference In
  8. Output 1
  9. Output 2
  10. Output 3
  11. Output 4
  12. Input 1
  13. Input 2
  14. Input 3
  15. Input 4

Powering On

Once your Cablecast server is connected, power on the server by pressing the power button on the front of the unit. The unit will boot and go through Windows System Preparation steps. You will need to create a Windows user/pass, and once into Windows be ready for both IO configuration (if needed) and Cablecast software setup. Be sure to note your username and password, as Cableast support does not have a way to recover the credentials other than to reimage a system.

Also note that if you plan to do network playback across servers or configure a NAS to work with video servers/VOD, the Windows credentials across the servers need to be the same.

If your system is running Cablecast 7.6, use the guide to setup Device resolution and Audio configuration:
Audio Normalization and processing in Cablecast 7.6

If your system is running Cablecast 7.3-7.5 then use the VideoServer Config Tool to setup the Device resolution and Audio configuration.

VIO IO Configuration Utility

Now that the server is hooked up and powered on you can set the I/O configuration and Output resolution you want to use. On the VIO video servers there is an application on the desktop called VideoServer Config Tool. Double click on that to open the application.

When the app opens, you will only have one configuration option as the VIO 4+ is locked at 4 inputs and 4 outputs. In your outputs tab you will be able to set the output resolution (NTSC 4x3, NTSC Widescreen, 720p, 1080i). You are also able to set the audio processing you want to use for each output. See our article about Audio Processing Options to learn more. Lastly you are able to set if you want each output to be an NDI source. Learn more about this feature in this article .

In the Inputs tab you can adjust the audio levels for your different inputs.

Lastly, the Audio tab will allow you to select an audio source for Cablecast CG Background audio and adjust that level. To learn more about Background Audio in Cablecast CG, follow this link to our KnowledgeBase article for Setting Up Background Audio .

Once you have made all of your settings, click Apply at the bottom of the application window. You will also want to restart the server to ensure the settings are applied.

The remaining Cablecast software configuration will be completed during your commissioning appointment.