Get Started With Your Decoder

The following steps cover everything you need to do in order to get started streaming with your decoder. Set up your decoder well before your event's start time so that you can test your configuration and output equipment prior to going live.

NEW: Download the Decoder Setup Checklist

1. Plug In Your Decoder

Maintaining a stable connection with your decoder starts with making sure that your power, ethernet, and output connections are secure.

• Connect power to your decoder through an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). You may also want to consider setting up a redundant power supply if your decoder model does not come with one.
• If your UPS does not have power conditioning capabilities, you can run a power conditioner between your outlet and power supply.
• Secure your network ethernet cable to the RJ-45 jack. Do not use an ethernet cable with the clip removed; the cable should not easily pull out.
• The SDI/HDMI ports are for production video and audio output. Output data goes to both the SDI & HDMI ports simultaneously, with one video channel per PCI card. Make sure that audio is de-embedded from SDI using an audio de-embedder. If you are not sure what kind to use, you can read our list of recommended peripherals.

For more details about how to properly set up your decoder cables and peripherals, see our downloadable decoder setup instructions.

2. Start Your Decoder

Follow these steps in order to ensure there are no disruptions to your stream:

1. Check power, ethernet, and video inputs/outputs for proper physical connection.
2. Power on any external devices, such as projectors, monitors, converters, and so on.
3. On the decoder, press the power button on the front panel to power the decoder on.

3. Log into Your Decoder

After your decoder is powered on, you will need to log into a venue associated with your Resi account. If you do not have the username and password for the venue, contact your administrator. Learn more about setting up a venue.

4. Configure Your Decoder

You will need to make sure that all of your network, monitoring, and output settings are properly adjusted before the start of your event.

1. Configure your network settings

To update network settings for the decoder, click Network Settings in the bottom right corner of the decoder login screen. 

From this screen, you can: 

• Configure your IP address and DNS settings.
• View the MAC address.
• Enable DNS caching for the decoder. 

DNS caching helps resolve requests to one server so that data can be reliably downloaded from the closest data center, instead of being pulled from multiple locations.

2. Set your video output format

Before you use the decoder, you must set the correct SDI/HDMI output resolution to match your production environment. Video and audio output go to both SDI and HDMI simultaneously.

1. In the decoder user interface, click Settings > Audio Video. 
2. Select the output device(s) you plan to use.
3. Set the correct resolution to match your production environment. 
4. Under Current Format, click Change.
5. To confirm the video output, click Test.

Note: 1080PsF allows you to play events that are encoded with both interlaced and progressive scan types when outputting interlaced formats.

3. Adjust your headphone output channel

For remote decoder sites that receive more than 2 channels of audio, you may want to choose which channels the operators hear and mute others.

Note: Changing headphone volume does not impact the embedded audio on the main SDI/HDMI outputs. Controlling headphone audio only works on events that have more than two channels of audio (4-16). The headphone audio mixer shows selectors for 16 channels of audio but has no impact on channels that are not present in the event.

To configure the audio levels of your headphone output channels:

1. Click Settings > Headphones. 
2. Make sure the Disable Headphones option is not selected.
3. Make any necessary adjustments to audio levels before you load the event.
4. To save your changes, click Apply. Clicking Cancel cancels your channel level adjustment and reverts back to the last saved configuration.
5. When changes have been applied to an event that is already loaded, you can choose an option to Reload to Current Position or an option for Do Not Reload.

• Reload to Current Position - reloads the event with those adjusted settings, stops the playback, and resumes it once the event is reloaded. This option does not clear the local disk cache.
• Do Not Reload - allows the player to continue playback. Choosing this option does not apply any changes you have made but does save them for the next time that you reload an event.

In the lower right corner of your decoder, the headphone level control acts as the master and can still be adjusted live.

4. Adjust your monitor resolution

To adjust your monitor resolution, perform the following steps:

1. In the left pane after the user interface for the decoder display, click Settings.
2. On the General tab, under Monitor Resolution, click Change.
3. Set the correct resolution to match your display.

5. Select your buffer size

The buffer size is how much of the video you want to load to the decoder if your network connection allows. To adjust buffer size:

1. In the left pane of the user interface, click Settings > General. 
2. Use the slider to adjust buffer size. 

Resi recommends allowing your decoder to load as much buffer as your internet allows. In the event you have a network interruption, the video will continue for end users for the length of the buffer.

Common Decoder Tasks

Test your bandwidth

Decoders have a bandwidth testing tool built within them. This allows you to get an accurate measurement of available network bandwidth. To run a bandwidth test: 

1. Click the Support tab on the decoder.
2. Click Test Bandwidth.

Some firewalls use QOS parameters to limit specific traffic, like video. Decoders test for both video and non-video content to get the most accurate reading.

The download bandwidth for the decoding site should meet or exceed a minimum bandwidth recommendation of 2.5x the total encoding bitrate (video + audio). For example, if the encoding video bitrate is 5,000 Kb/s and the encoding audio bitrate is 128 Kb/s, the download bandwidth available to the decoder should consistently meet or exceed 12,820 Kb/s (12.82 Mb/s).

If this bandwidth recommendation is met: 

• A two-minute minimum playback delay is recommended for decoders running in LAN Mode.
• A five (5) minute minimum playback delay is recommended for decoders running in Cloud Mode (public internet).

If the bandwidth recommendation is not met (for example, a decoding site only has a slow LTE connection available): 

• You should increase the delay in starting playback so that the decoder will always have enough video buffered to play continuously until the end of the event.

Connect to an emergency hotspot

Decoders and encoders are able to use a cellular hotspot in the event of an emergency. Before an emergency occurs, run a test with your specific device. 

Due to Apple’s recent changes to iOS, this option is only available for Android devices.

Follow these steps to set up the connection for emergency hotspot failover:

1. Enable the hotspot feature on your cellular device. For help, refer to the documentation for your cellular device.
2. With your device unlocked, plug it into the decoder via a USB cable.
3. You will receive a prompt on your device that asks you to allow the connection. Tap allow or trust. (Your decoder may display the message “The device is not yet trusted,” after you have trusted the decoder on your hotspot device. On the decoder, click Try Again to allow the decoder to try to connect to the device again.)
4. The decoder will begin to use the cellular internet connection. You will receive a notification on your decoder when it detects the new internet connection.

Power Down Your Decoder

Once your broadcast ends, follow these steps to power down your decoder:

1. On the decoder, click the user icon in the top right corner.
2. Select Shut down in the drop-down menu.
3. Power off any external devices, such as projectors, monitors, or converters.

What is LAN Mode on a Decoder?

Local area network (LAN) mode allows you to load content directly from an encoder on the same network without having to download data from the cloud. By default, decoders try and pull content if LAN is available. For a decoder to access local content on an encoder, it must be able to access both the internet and the encoder from the same connection. We've seen organizations have success with multi-wan router, which provides a single gateway from multiple ISPs. 

In some cases, you may need to disable LAN mode. To do so:

1. Navigate to your decoder interface > Settings tab.  
2. Toggle off LAN Mode.