Configuring P164 through Magic RDS 4

[Cameron Adkins]

Maybe I'm missing something or don't really understand but I have the encoders set as servers with a port number of 3000 which corresponds to the port the Wide Orbit systems are providing the metadata on. All works well except it seem the only way I can communicate with the encoder is on that port for configuration. Port 80 only works connecting to the encoder web GUI itself and you can't really setup a great number of parameters without using the Magic 4 app.  However, whenever I am connected to the encoder, all communication from the automation is interrupted and not updated until I log out of the Magic 4 app. Since I am only using the Magic 4 app for configuration, what is the trick to change configurations on the fly without it disconnecting from the the automation??  This wouldn't be such a big deal except I have other stations setup on the Magic 4 app and when I start it up, it connects to all the encoders and thus interrupts the updates on all of them.

[Jan]

The P164 is characterized by single TCP connection. The solution for your setup is simple - use the Magic RDS as the 'middleware'. The Magic RDS can handle all the tasks: the configuration as well as the data distribution and continuous monitoring. The 'middleware' approach is also recommended by NAB Digital Dashboard Best Practices document, rather than individual feeding of the encoders directly from the broadcast automation.

You may add more connections through the P164's feature called 'software port multiplication'. That way the Magic RDS effectively establishes a single access point for entire network of RDS encoders. See the Help - m4vp.pdf, section 'Data Splitter for RDS Encoders' or 'Redirecting to External Text Sources'.

Also you may install more instances of the Magic RDS, to distinguish between different stations and different modes of usage.

[Cameron Adkins]

Thanks for the info and education.  Just as a side question, do you have anything that will support HD pad metadata??  I have one station that is HD with an HD2 and HD3.  I have used the old Arctic Palm before for RDS and HD but since they no longer exist and Xperi has decided to do their new app as a subscription, it is out of the budget for smaller stations.

Thanks,