About automatic channels Auto A and Auto B

To get you started as quickly as possible, Pearl-2 comes pre-configured with two automatic channels called Auto A and Auto B. Simply plug a source into one of the "A" inputs and a second source into one of the "B" inputs. Pearl-2 automatically configures the channel's frame size to match the source resolution and configures a frame rate and bitrate. The detected video source's audio is also automatically added to the channel.

Embedded audio from a DVI source that is connected to the HDMI input using an adapter is not detected on automatic channels. You must manually add the audio to the channel's layout using the custom layout editor.

You can start viewing the automatic channel immediately on the touch screen or using a web browser on the same local network as Pearl-2. Browse to the following URL:

For Auto A: http://<serial>.local/preview.cgi?channel=1
For Auto B: http://<serial>.local/preview.cgi?channel=2

For example:http://d560515f.local/preview.cgi?channel=2

If Bonjour services, which permits browsing by serial number, are not installed on your admin computer, you can get the IP address of Pearl-2 from the touch screen settings and browse to:

For Auto A: http://<IP Address for Pearl-2>/preview.cgi?channel=1

Links for other channel streams (i.e. RTSP or MPEG-TS) can be found by logging into the Admin panel and selecting Status in the Channel menu.

Important considerations

  • The default auto channel has the related HDMI (or SDI) port selected by default. As soon as you connect your video source to the port, it appears automatically in the auto channel's custom layout. Changing the auto channel's frame rate or deleting the auto channel will change the frame rate used at the output port for that video input. Deleting the auto channel forces the video output port to use the original frame rate of the video input source.
  • If you delete the auto channel, it will re-appear upon factory reset or when loading the default configuration preset.

Which signal does the auto channel use?

Pearl-2 has video input sensing, which means that it knows when a video signal is received from an attached source.

If you attach more than one video source to the "A" inputs while Pearl-2 is powered on, the first source you attach has the highest priority. If you attach more than one source to inputs that are labeled with the same letter (A or B) before powering on Pearl-2, the following priority is used:

Priority Connector Type
1 HDMI (with HDMI Audio)
2 HDMI 4K4K (with HDMI Audio)
3 SDI (with SDI Audio)
4 USB video (with USB audio)

The auto channel uses a source until that source no longer has a signal. Then, it switches to the next highest priority signal.

For example, if you attach an SDI source to the "SDI-A" slot and then HDMI into the "HDMI-A" slot, Auto A will show HDMI and use HDMI audio. If the HDMI video signal is lost or you manually select the SDI audio source using the custom layout editor, Auto A will switch to SDI video with SDI audio.

If all the connected sources lose signal at the same time (i.e. for example, is SDI loses video signal and no other video signal is found) no change is made and the auto channel continues to use the current source. In this case, a no signal image is displayed for viewers.

You can see which video and audio sources are configured for the channel from the Info page, see View system information using the Admin panel