460 lines
23 KiB
HTML
460 lines
23 KiB
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<div id="content">
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<p><a name="top" id="top"></a></p>
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<h1 class="firstHeading">BLU link</h1>
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<div id="bodyContent">
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<p id="siteSub"> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2">//<![CDATA[
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if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
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//]]></script></p>
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<div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">
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<p> </p>
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</div>
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<p><a name="Overview" id="Overview"></a></p>
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<h2>Overview</h2>
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<p>BLU link is an audio bus found on all BLU-800/BLU-805,
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BLU-160, BLU-320/BLU-325 and BLU-120, BLU-100, BLU-101
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and BLU-102 devices. It carries 256 channels of audio
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at 48kHz, and 128 channels at 96kHz, both at 24bit (note
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that BLU-100, BLU-101 and BLU-102 are restricted to 48
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channels at 48kHz). When connected in a loop, it has redundancy,
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allowing any one BLU link cable to break while still maintaining
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audio.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">
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<p> </p>
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</div>
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<p><a name="Hardware_Configuration" id="Hardware_Configuration"></a></p>
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<h2>Hardware Configuration</h2>
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<p>On the rear of the BLU link devices there are two BLU
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link ports. One is the BLU link In, and the other BLU
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link Out. Devices are connected together by wiring out
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to in on all of the devices within your BLU link network,
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making sure that the loop is complete so that there are
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no empty BLU link ports. This is how three BLU-800 devices
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should be wired together:</p>
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<p><img src="BLU_linked.jpg" alt="Image:BLU linked.jpg" title="Image:BLU linked.jpg" width="614" height="258" border="2" class="hcp1"></p>
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<p> <br>
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You should not connect the BLU link ports to anything else
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other than BLU link ports. BLU link will not function
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if you tried to connect the BLU link to an Ethernet switch
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for example.</p>
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<p class="hcp2">Fault Tolerance</p>
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<p>The network is capable of a degree of fault tolerance
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due to the fact that each device receives the same audio
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from 2 other devices. If a cable is broken the devices
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which are no longer connected will detect the cable break.
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One device will detect that its 'In' port is unconnected
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and the other will detect that its 'Out' port is undetected.</p>
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<p>In the diagram above, if there was a break in the cable
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between U3 and U1, U1 will detect that its 'In' port is
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no longer connected. Therefore the audio it sends to the
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DSPs must now come from its 'Out' port. In addition, its
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default behaviour of passing audio from 'In' to 'Out'
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and vice versa is no longer applicable. Instead it must
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route incoming audio from its 'Out' port back out of the
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same port.</p>
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<p>U3 will detect that its 'Out' port is no longer connected.
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Since its default behaviour is to receive audio from its
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'In' port, it can continue doing that. However, its default
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behaviour of passing audio from 'In' to 'Out' and vice
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versa is no longer applicable. Instead it must route incoming
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audio from its 'In' back out of the same port.</p>
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<p>The two devices in the middle of the ring do not know
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that the ring has been broken and continue to forward
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audio between their 'In' and 'Out' ports. They will also
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continue to take their audio from their 'In' port to send
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to the DSPs.</p>
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<p>In this broken network a signal transmitted by U3 will
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travel back along the ring until it reaches U1. There
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the audio does a U-turn and heads around the ring the
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other way and is then received by all the devices on the
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network since it will be present at their 'In' port inputs.</p>
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<p>Note that when the cable is broken, the audio takes
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longer to reach its destination than before. This added
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delay is not compensated for in any way, but is a side-effect
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of the way the fault tolerance works.</p>
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<p class="hcp2"><a name="Mastership"></a>Mastership</p>
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<p>The BLU link network requires one device on the ring
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to act as master for the whole ring. The master will provide
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the clock for all the other devices on the ring. This
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means that the whole ring is synchronised to a single
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audio clock.</p>
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<p>If a device has a CM1 card installed i.e. BLU-800 or
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BLU-320, and the device is connected to a valid CobraNet
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network, then that device will receive its clock from
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the CM1 card by default. Therefore, if you connect a BLU-800
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or BLU-320 to a CobraNet network, you must ensure that
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devices on a particular BLU link ring are only connected
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to a single CobraNet network.</p>
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<p>If a device has an AVBX card installed i.e. a BLU-805
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or a BLU-325, and that device is connected to a valid
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AVB network, then that device will receive its clock from
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the AVB card by default.  Therefore, if you connect
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a BLU-805 or a BLU-325 to an AVB network, you must ensure
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that devices on a particular BLU link ring are only connected
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to a single AVB network. </p>
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<p>If a device has a DANTE card installed i.e. a BLU-806
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or a BLU-326, and that device is connected to a valid
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DANTE network, then that device will receive its clock
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from the DANTE card by default.  Therefore, if you
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connect a BLU-806 or a BLU-326 to a DANTE network, you
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must ensure that devices on a particular BLU link ring
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are only connected to a single DANTE network. </p>
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<p>It is not possible to connect multiple devices on one
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BLU link ring to different CobraNet or to different AVB
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or DANTE networks. Neither is it possible to connect multiple
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devices to a mix of Cobranet and AVB networks.  This
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is because each CobraNet or AVB network will have a conductor
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to provide the clock. The BLU link ring would then have
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multiple clocks present on one network, and this is not
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permitted.</p>
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<p>If a BLU-800, BLU-320, BLU-805, BLU-325, BLU-806 or
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a BLU-326 is set in <a href="Device Properties Pane.html">properties</a>
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to <a href="BNC_Sync.htm">Sync to BNC</a> then that device
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will take its clock from the BNC input on its rear panel.
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<span class="hcp3"> </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;
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mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';
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mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;
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mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
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font-size: 10pt;">Priority for these units should be set
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higher than other units to ensure the BLU link master
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is a unit with a BNC connection. London Architect will
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warn of errors in priority settings before going online.</span>
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In this case it is recommended that the CobraNet or AVB
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network should not be used since CobraNet / AVB audio
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will be compromised as it is synchronising from a different
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clock source. The DANTE network can be used as the DANTE
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card will sync from an external clock.</p>
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<p>Mastership is negotiated between all the devices on
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the ring, and a change to the ring will trigger the negotiation
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to be started. There are various rules for determining
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which device on the ring becomes clock master :-</p>
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<ul>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If there
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is only one device (BLU-800, BLU-805, BLU-806, BLU-320,
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BLU-325 or BLU-326) synchronised to BNC then that
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is the master.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If there
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are multiple devices synchronised to BNC then they
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compare mastership priorities.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If there
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are multiple devices synchronised to BNC with the
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same highest priority, then they use MAC address to
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decide which is master.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If no devices
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are set to synchronise to BNC and there is only one
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device connected to CobraNet (or AVB in the case of
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BLU-805 and BLU-325, or DANTE in the case of the BLU-806
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and BLU-326) then that is master.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If no devices
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are set to synchronise to BNC and there are multiple
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devices connected to CobraNet (or AVB or DANTE), then
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they compare master priorities.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">If no devices
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are set to synchronise to BNC and there are multiple
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devices on CobraNet (or AVB or DANTE) with the same
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highest priority, then they use MAC address to decide
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which is master.</p></li>
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<li>If no devices are set to synchronise to BNC and
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no devices are connected to CobraNet (or AVB or DANTE),
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then they first compare master priorities. Next, if
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the priorities are the same, they compare MAC addresses.</li>
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</ul>
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<span class="hcp3">BLU-link LED indicators</span>
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<br> 
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<br><span>These are found on the Blu link
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ports on the back panel of the device and indicate the
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following:</span>
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<ul type="disc">
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<li><span class="hcp3">Green LEDs  </span></li>
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</ul>
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<p class="hcp5"><span>The green LED will
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indicate a link on that particular port</span></p>
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<ul type="disc">
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<li><span class="hcp3">Orange LEDs</span></li>
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</ul>
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<p class="hcp5">Both on: The box is the master.
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(No green LEDs will be on if no cables are connected).</p>
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<p class="hcp5">Only one on: The box is locked
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to the data coming in on that particular port</p>
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<p class="hcp5">Both off: The box is locked
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to CobraNet</p>
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<br> 
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<p><span class="hcp3">Control Panel</span></p>
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<p>The default control panel is accessed by right clicking
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on the device in the <a href="Main Window.html">Main Window</a>
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and selecting 'Show Default Control Panel'. The default
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control panels for a BLU-800 and a BLU-805 are shown below.</p>
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<p><img src="800_Panel.png" alt="" border="0" class="hcp6">       <img src="AVB Files/805_DefaultPanel.bmp" alt="" border="0" class="hcp6"></p>
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<p>The <a href="Device Control Panels.html">BLU-800/BLU-320/BLU-160/BLU-120/BLU-100/BLU-101/BLU-102/BLU-805/BLU-325</a>
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control panels are like the control panels for the <a
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href="Device Control Panels.html">BLU-80/BLU-32/BLU-16</a>
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devices but with some extra features as outlined below.</p>
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<ul>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">BLU link
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V2 indicator - On if <span style="font-weight: bold;
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font-style: italic;">all</span>
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devices connected via BLU link have BLU link version
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2.  BLU link version 2 has fixed latency.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Mastership
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Priority - 0 to 254 (254 is highest priority)</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Sync LEDs
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- One of the following LEDs will be lit to show how
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this device is synchronized:-</p></li>
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<li style="list-style: none; display: inline;"><ul>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Master
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- This device is clock master</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">BLU
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link In - This device is receiving clock from
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the BLU link 'In' connection</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">BLU
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link Out - This device is receiving clock from
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the BLU link 'Out' connection</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">CobraNet
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- This device is receiving clock from the CobraNet
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network</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">AVB
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- This device is receiving clock from the AVB
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network.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">DANTE
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- This device is receiving clock from the Dante
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network.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">BNC
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- This device is receiving clock from the BNC
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IN connection.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Error
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- This BLU link network is connected to multiple
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CobraNet/AVB networks</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">BNC
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and Error - This device is set to sync from BNC
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but no BNC clock is connected.</p></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Link In
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- On if a valid ethernet link is present on the 'In'
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port</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Link Out
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- On if a valid ethernet link is present on the 'Out'
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port</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Valid In
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- On if valid BLU link audio is present on the 'In'
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port</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Valid Out
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- On if valid BLU link audio is present on the 'Out'
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port</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Corrected
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Counters - The corrected counters show the number
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of <span class="hcp3">recoverable</span>
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bit errors that have occurred</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Error Counters
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- The error counters show the number of <span class="hcp3">unrecoverable</span>
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bit errors that have occurred</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Threshold
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- The BLU link IN and OUT ports will be disabled when
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the number of errors on the error counter reaches
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the value set by Threshold.  A setting of 0 means
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that the Threshold is OFF and the ports will not be
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disabled.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Status -
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Shows the status of the BLU link IN and OUT ports
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as Enabled or Disabled.  When the port is disabled
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no BLU link audio will pass.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Reset -
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resets the error counters and sets the status of the
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IN and OUT ports to Enabled.</p></li>
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</ul>
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<div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">
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<p> </p>
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</div>
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<p><a name="Software_Configuration" id="Software_Configuration"></a></p>
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<h2>Software Configuration</h2>
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<p>The BLU link devices placed in the <a href="Main Window.html">Main
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Window</a> show the BLU link In and Out ports which allow
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you to wire the devices together, as shown in the diagram
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above. Note: It is not necessary to wire the BLU link
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ports together within HiQnet London Architect in order
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for BLU link to function.</p>
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<p> <span class="hcp3"><br>
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Editing BLU link Networks</span></p>
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<p>Multiple BLU link networks can exist within a London
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Architect design file. By default, each device belongs
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to BLU link 1. Every BLU link device must be part of one
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BLU link network. The <a href="Device Properties Pane.html">device
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properties</a> show which BLU link network the device
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is part of. Click on the ... icon to edit.</p>
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<p><img src="BLU_link_network.jpg" alt="Image:BLU link network.jpg" title="Image:BLU link network.jpg" width="379" height="368" border="2" class="hcp1"></p>
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<p>This property can be edited to add, delete, edit the
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name of, and assign the device to a BLU link network.
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The diagram above shows that four BLU link networks exist
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in this design file, and that the device belongs to BLU
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link 1 which is shown highlighted.</p>
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<p> <a name="Configurin_A_Device" id="Configurin_A_Device"></a><span class="hcp3"><br>
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Configuring a Device</span></p>
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<p>In the <a href="MAINConfiguration_Window.htm">Configuration
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Window</a> of a BLU-800 and a BLU-160, by default, there
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is one BLU link Input and one BLU link Output processing
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object. Initially they have no nodes on them.</p>
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<p><img src="BLU_link_Input.jpg" alt="Image:BLU link Input.jpg" title="Image:BLU link Input.jpg" width="129" height="107" border="2" class="hcp1"></p>
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<p>You can add and remove as many BLU link processing objects
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as you wish inside a BLU-800 and BLU-160. The BLU-320
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by default contains 2 BLU link Inputs and 2 BLU link Outputs
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and the BLU-120, BLU-100, BLU-101 and BLU-102 by default
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contain 1 BLU link Input and 1 BLU link Output. You cannot
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add or delete BLU link processing objects in the BLU-320
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or BLU-120.</p>
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<p>Each BLU link processing object supports a maximum of
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32 channels. To edit the channels on a BLU link processing
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object, select the BLU link input and click on channel
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assignment in the 'BLU link Channels' property of the
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object. This brings up the BLU link channel dialog.</p>
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<p><img src="BLU_link_Channels2.jpg" alt="Image:BLU link Channels.jpg" title="Image:BLU link Channels.jpg" width="824" height="461" border="2" class="hcp1"></p>
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<p>The left pane shows all the BLU link channels in the
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network (which the device is part of). The channels can
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be sorted by clicking on the column headers. Channels
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can also be grouped by dragging and dropping the column
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headers in to the space above the column headers. The
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columns in the list are:</p>
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<ul>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Channel
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- The BLU link channel number.  This column can
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include the DIP switch settings for the <a href="BLU-BOB.htm">BLU-BOB</a>.
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 Enable the 'Show BLU-BOB DIP switch settings'
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preference at the bottom of the dialog.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Name - The
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signal name of the channel. This is the name of the
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signal which feeds the BLU link Output processing
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object for this channel.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Tx Object
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- This is the name of the BLU link Output processing
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object which is transmitting this channel.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Tx Device
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- This is the name of the BLU-XX0 device which is
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transmitting this channel.</p></li>
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<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Rx Object
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- This is the name of the BLU link Input processing
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object which is currently receiving this channel.</p></li>
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<li>Rx Device - This is the name of the BLU-XX0 device
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which is receiving this channel.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>The Tx and Rx columns may contain more than one entry
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if multiple objects are sending/receiving the same channel.
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Channels shown in bold are channels which are not being
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transmitted by the current configuration. When configuring
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a BLU link Output, only channels in bold can be added
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to the pane on the right.</p>
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<p>Show BLU-BOB DIP switch settings' - When enabled, displays
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the BLU-BOB DIP switch values (1 to 6) and the channel
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within that group. For example, 010001,4 is channel 140
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(fourth channel in group 17).</p>
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<p>The right pane shows the channels selected for that
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BLU link processing object. You can use the 'Move Up'
|
|
and 'Move Down' buttons to change the order in which the
|
|
channels appear on the object. To add a channel to the
|
|
BLU link processing object, select one or more channels
|
|
in the left pane, and press the 'Add ->' button. To
|
|
remove channels from the processing object, select one
|
|
or more channels in the right pane, and press the 'Remove'
|
|
button.</p>
|
|
<p>Channels which have been partly or fully configured
|
|
are in one of three states.</p>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Valid. These
|
|
channels are shown highlighted in blue. The channels
|
|
have valid transmitters and receivers.</p></li>
|
|
<li>Warning. These channels are shown highlighted in
|
|
amber. There are three scenarios where a channel shows
|
|
a warning:</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<p>1.No receiver. The channel is transmitting but is not
|
|
being received by any device.</p>
|
|
<p>2.No transmitter. The channel is being received, but
|
|
no device is sending the channel.</p>
|
|
<p>3.Possible clash. This happens when multiple configurations
|
|
of different devices are transmitting on the same channel.
|
|
Though it is possible to never have two configs active
|
|
at the same time transmitting on the same channel, the
|
|
possibility exists of two devices transmitting on the
|
|
same channel. It is up to you to configure presets correctly
|
|
to avoid multiple transmitters on the same channel.</p>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li class="p"><p>Error. These channels are shown highlighted
|
|
in pink. An error is shown where there is more than
|
|
one device transmitting on the same BLU link channel.</p></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<p>You can hover your cursor over a channel to see a tool
|
|
tip describing the state of the channel.</p>
|
|
<p>All devices on the same BLU link network must be running
|
|
at the same sample rate, all at 48kHz, or all at 96kHz.
|
|
If any devices are running at different sample rates,
|
|
you will be warned about this when entering the channel
|
|
assignment dialog. If any channels are in error (highlighted
|
|
pink), or have different sample rates, then you will be
|
|
prevented from going online to the devices. The BLU link
|
|
channel assignments will have to be corrected.</p>
|
|
<div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<p><a name="BLU_link_Specification" id="BLU_link_Specification"></a></p>
|
|
<h2>BLU link Specification</h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Based on
|
|
Gigabit Ethernet technology</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">100m over
|
|
CAT5e cable.</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">>100m
|
|
using fibre converters.</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">256 Channels
|
|
at 48KHz (<a href="BLU-100.htm">BLU-100</a>, BLU-101
|
|
and BLU-102 are restricted to 48 channels at 48kHz)</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">128 Channels
|
|
at 96KHz (<a href="BLU-100.htm">BLU-100</a>, BLU-101
|
|
and BLU-102 do not operate at 96kHz)</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Bus-like
|
|
architecture. Audio transmitted on a channel is available
|
|
at all other devices on the network automatically.</p></li>
|
|
<li class="p"><p class="hcp4">Wired in
|
|
a loop for redundancy</p></li>
|
|
<li>Recovers from a single cable break</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<p><!-- Saved in parser cache with key bugs:pcache:idhash:2873-0!1!0!0!!en!2 and timestamp 20080311165015 --></p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<p class="hcp4"> </p>
|
|
</body>
|
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</html>
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