Add a video source (custom channel)

Networked VGA Grid User Guide

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Add a video source (custom channel)

A source needs to be added to a channel before the channel is ready to stream. In the case of custom channels with layouts, you can add one or more sources to the layout area.

When adding more than one source to a custom channel, we recommend configuring the channel to use a fixed resolution instead of using the current signal resolution as the frame size (see Configure encoding (custom local channels)). A fixed channel resolution ensures that your channel will display properly in all preview modes (, Epiphan Live and Admin panel).

You can add a source to a layout on an existing custom channel or you can create a new channel. If you're not sure how to create a channel or a layout, start by reviewing the first few steps in the topic Custom channel layout editor.

When creating a custom channel using content from a VGA Grid HD Encoder, make sure the encoder is added as a local channel to the VGA Grid. See Add an HD Encoder as a source (custom channel).

To add a source to your layout:

Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a local custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor.
From the channel layout editor, click Add item; a drop down box appears. (If you have any other items already in your layout, the new item appears at the top of the list.)

Select Video Source from the drop down; the new item is added to the layout and the Source settings box appears on the right side of the page.

Click the Source drop down and select your source; your source appears in the visual layout editor above.

For best results, select the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox from the Source settings box.
If desired, select Crop from the Source settings box and use the red and white handles to draw a box around the section of the source you'd like to have in the layout; your cropped selection changes in the layout area.

Moving back to the layout area, use the mouse, the keyboard or the manual position value fields to position and resize your source. You can click and drag, stretch using the handles in the layout area, or type values into the fields. See the note below for more information.

If needed, re-order the items in your layout by clicking and dragging items in the item list (under the Add new item link).

For example, if you added your video source over a text overlay, the video source could conceal the overlay. To fix it, drag the video source item below the text item in the list, or vice-versa.

When your layout is complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work.

Other things you may want to add to your layout:

A note about item positioning and sizing

There are four ways to position and size items in the layout area

using the mouse
using the keyboard
using the manual positioning values with percents
using the manual positioning values with pixels

To use the mouse:

Click and drag to move the item. Click and drag the red and white circles to resize the item as you wish. Using this method you can make quick changes that are in increments of approximately 5% of the width or height of your layout area. For more refined movements, hold the down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while dragging the item with the mouse.

To use the keyboard:

Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the item up, down, left or right in the layout. Changes are in increments of approximately 5% of the height or width of the layout area. Make more refined movements by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while pressing the up, down, left or right keys. You can also hold the Shift key while using the arrow keys to control the size of the item on the layout. Hold both Ctrl and Shift for fine-grained size control.

Using percents:

Specify a whole number, followed by a percent sign (e.g. 4%) in any of the manual positioning fields. See Resize and position layout items using percents or pixels (custom channel) for more information.

Using pixels:

If you need to specify an exact amount in pixels (rather than percent) you can type a pixel value in any of the positioning value squares followed by the characters px (e.g. 56px). You can mix and match pixels and percents changing only the boxes you want to use pixel values. At any time you can switch back to percents by typing a percent. See Resize and position layout items using percents or pixels (custom channel) for more information.