Owner manual

PIX 270i User Guide and Technical Information
47
Network Grouping
Network Grouping
When multiple rack-mounted PIX video recorders (PIX 250i, PIX 260i, or PIX 270i) or the 970 Audio
Recorder are in use on an Ethernet network, they can be grouped together for transport control and
linking of most setup options. Setup Menu option [Network - Grouping - Network Group] assigns
the PIX 270i to one of four available groups.
In this section, the term “unit” refers to PIX 250i, PIX 260i, or PIX 270i Video Recorders, or the 970
Audio Recorder, unless otherwise specified.
There is no “master”/“slave” relationship in Network Groups. All units in a group are “master”.
Transport commands and settings changes made on any unit in a group will ripple to all other units
in the group. If a transport command or settings change has to be made to only one unit in a group,
the unit must be temporarily removed from the group before making the change. To quickly toggle
between No Group and the current group setting, press MENU + Control Knob.
Requirements and considerations when setting up Network Groups:
• The maximum number of units supported in a single group is currently 10. Increasing the amount
of units in a group increases the time of response for grouped transport commands and auto-con-
guration.
• It is recommended that timecode be distributed individually to each unit in a group rather than
“daisy-chained” through units in a group.
• Allow all units in a group to auto-congure before proceeding with grouped operations. See the
following section for details. (See “Group Auto-Conguration”, page 48)
• For frame-synchronized recording, Setup Menu option [Video - File Resolution/Rate] must be set
to Same as Video Input on all units in the group. (See “Grouped Transport”, page 47)
• For frame-synchronized recording, video input signal to all units in the group must be of the same
resolution and frame rate. (See “Grouped Transport”, page 47)
• Shule, Fast Forward, and Rewind functions are linked, however frame-synchronization is not
guaranteed while these functions are occurring. Frame synchronization will resume when return-
ing to Playback/Pause mode. Normal (1x) playback, Pause, and Jog will always be frame synchro-
nized. (See “Grouped Transport”, page 47)
• Frame-synchronous recording and playback is possible on the PIX 260i and PIX 270i only. Al-
though transport commands are transmied to PIX 250i units in a group, recording and playback
on PIX 250i units is not frame-synchronized.
• Some seings are not linked even when units are in the same group. (See “Grouped Seings”, page
47)
Grouped Settings
A settings change of any unit in the group will be rippled through to all other units in the group,
with some exceptions. The following settings and functions will always apply only to the unit that
they are made on, and not ripple through to other units in the group (or be pushed when Setup
Menu option [Network - Grouping - Push Settings to Group] is used):
• All [Network] options.
• All [Quick Setup] options.
• [File Storage - Erase/Re-format]
• [Timecode/Sync - Timecode Mode]
• [Timecode/Sync - Jam Received TC]
• [Timecode/Sync - Jam Time of Day]
• [Timecode/Sync - Set Generator TC]
• [Timecode/Sync - Set Generator UBits]
• [System - Set Date/Time]
• [System - Update Software]