Document version 2.0 (May 27th 2024)

Contained Versions

  • MCX 10.8.2 #21

  • NodeSys 3.2.0 #4

  • HOME 2.1.2 #80

Power Core Compatibility

  • Power Core Gateway - OnAirDesigner. 8.0.0.14 or higher required
  • Power Core RP v2 - OnAirDesigner 8.2.0.2 required

Introduction

Version 10.8.2 is a minor release version for mc² consoles based on the A__UHD Core Phase 2 technology. Version 10.8.2 adds in various new functionalities to the system.

This software release package applies to the following products:

  • mc²96
  • mc²56 MKIII
  • mc²36 MKII
  • mc²36 MKII xp
  • A__UHD Core

  • A__stage series

  • A__digital64

  • A__madi4/6
  • A__mic8
  • mc² Compact I/O
  • Power Core Gateway
  • Power Core RP v2

Release date: April 5th, 2024

Version History

Release 10.8.2.0 (April 5, 2024)


Before you begin.
Please make sure that you have all necessary applications and tools available before you start the update.
We strongly recommend that the software versions used are from the same release packages.

Upgrading HOME Cluster to Release 2.0

Online as well as offline installers are available.
Note, that the default network interface description has been changed with HOME 2.0. These need to be adapted in the network interface configuration in the HOME servers.
And the general Documentation here: https://docs.lawo.com/home-media-infrastructure-management

Update redundant A__UHD Cores safely

When upgrading A__UHD Cores that are part of a redundancy group, please follow the procedure below:

  • The primary A__UHD Core should be active.
  • Update the passive/backup A__UHD Core first.
  • After successful update - turn off the backup/passive A__UHD Core.

  • Update the primary A__UHD Core

  • When primary comes back online, power up the backup/passive A__UHD Core again.

Using NodeSys Upgrader will handle this automatically - beware to enable automatic failovers in NodeSys Upgrader, once the upgrade is finished.

Updating A__UHD Cores and A__Line Devices

After updating NodeSys based devices, always perform a full power cycle of the devices afterwards.

Breaking Changes

Partial Updates are not possible. Release 10.8.2 strictly requires NodeSys 3.0.0.4 and HOME 2.1.2

KICK

Release 10.8.0 strictly requires KICK software version 2.2.0.1

LCU

There were some improvements made on the LCU proxy (HOME version 2.1.3) - For a seamless integration please use comimx_lcu-10-4-0-52 firmware included on the AP 10.8.2.1 release package

Power Core Gateway

  • Due to the implementation of Power Core Rev3, a backup of the crosspoints needs to be created. After the update the Power Core loses existing cross points and uses default connections, similar to what happens during a coldstart
  • It is necessary to upload a converted config to the device, otherwise signals may be wrong or not available. 
  • Please note that source related Loudness gain parameters and settings available in On-Air designer and Web UI should not be used in production. They are experimental features only and will be licensable add-on.
  • The maximum samples per frame for an outgoing stream is reduced to 64. If a higher value was previously configured, it will be reduced to 64 automatically.
  • Due to the new logic engine of VisTool, projects needs to be recompiled and may report errors of non-connected logical states. These need to be set again.

New Features

Reintroducing Lawo Power Core Remote Production (RP v2)

Lawo's Power Core RP v2 represents a significant revision from v1, offering expanded capacity and enhanced workflow operability for remote audio production. With improved intuitive workflows, LAN/WAN support, and seamless integration with Lawo HOME, it sets a new standard, enabling operators to excel in remote production with unparalleled efficiency and flexibility.

What's new in Power Core RPv2?

  • 4 Stereo Downmixers
  • 8 Additional Talkback inputs available by changing the mode of Co-Mixer Inputs 1-8
  • 8 Flexible Pre-Fader Direct Outs
  • 8 Full Talkback Inputs with manual, auto level detect, and EmBER+ insert triggers
  • 16x12 Co-Mixer - A mono matrix summing mixer with 8 AutoMix groups
  • AFL + PFL Monitoring Buses for Inputs & Aux Buses
  • Discrete Aux Bus Panning
  • Enhanced controls and diagnostic information for Ravenna sender and receivers
  • HOME Integration
  • Mic Pre Control page
  • New VisTool RP UI
  • Power Core DSP Improvements (Expanded frequencies and attack/release times)
  • Support for all IO cards without the need for OAD configuration
  • Support for any-to-any IO routing
  • Support for Phase 2 AP systems
  • Support for the Ravenna Plus license (addOn)

For more information please visit Power Core RP v2 documentation page


Unified Gain Levels Across IO Devices

To align the interaction of MCX with PowerCore display gain levels with NodeSys devices (such as A__Stage), a discrepancy was addressed. MCX now consistently deals in relative gain values, matching the behavior of A__Stage devices with the Power Core. To ensure uniformity across all device types, compensation for the analog system level was added specifically for Power Core devices. This simplifies user operations by presenting alike unified values on the GUI.

Signal List: Input Selection warning

Introducing a warning feature for input selections B or C in the Destinations area. When these inputs are chosen, a warning appears in the header, and destination cell backgrounds turn orange. Users can revert to input A by clicking the warning or manually selecting it. This enhancement improves user awareness and control over input selections.

NATS Timeout configurable

This update introduces a solution to address responsiveness issues encountered with devices like Merging HORUS and HAPI due to the current hardcoded NATS messaging timeout.

A new TCL configuration option, SYSTEM_NATS_BROKER_COMMUNICATION_TIMEOUT, has been added. This option allows users to adjust the NATS timeout as needed, providing better responsivness for these devices in particular.


For instructions on how to configure this please check 100 - How to configure NATS Timeout page

Bus assignment behaviour - Stereo / Mono

After 10.6 Stereo channels could not be individually deselected in bus routing, hindering assignment to a Stereo Bus on individual Legs, L/R.

10.8.2 allows now the user to choose between 2 modes:

  • (on) - Group and Sum stereo channels will be assigned or unassigned as a pair.
  • (off) - the left and right of Group and Sum stereo channels can be assigned or unassigned individually.

Allow Receivers to be shared between all A__UHD Core Virtual Mixer slices

In this update, HOME enables users to share a single receiver across all virtual mixer slices on a UHDCore, eliminating the need to replicate receivers for each mixer slice as previously required. This enhancement simplifies system configurations, reducing complexity while improving resource allocation efficiency.

The receiver is shared between all virtual mixers hosted in the same A__UHD Core that share the same media interface. The receiver appears multiple times in the destinations list, once for each related virtual mixer, but they all resolve to the same receiver on the host A__UHD Core. Changing the source of this receiver will affect the signals received by all related virtual mixers.

The key points are:

  • at the Ember level, there is only a single receiver. So we don't burn audio matrix channels and/or loopback resources in the way that we would with separate receivers that are tuned to the same IP stream
  • the shared flag is only visible in the HOME UI for receivers on an audio mixer device
  • the sharing is conditional on the media network interface defined for a receiver. In other words, when a receiver is shared, it is shared only with other virtual mixers that include the particular media interface defined for that receiver.
  • when the shared flag is set, the same receiver is visible in all virtual mixers that share the particular media interface defined for that receiver. So a receiver is either shared with all virtual mixers on that media interface or unique to one virtual mixer. In other words, you can't choose to share with some virtual mixers but not others
  • any changes made to the shared receiver are reflected in all virtual mixers
  • you can edit the 'shared' flag on an existing receiver. If you change a receiver from 'shared' to 'not shared', then the receiver ends up belonging to the virtual mixer device through which you edited the 'shared' flag in the HOME UI


Allow External Tieline flag to be edited on existing senders and receivers

Users can now edit the External Tieline flag on existing streams within HOME UI. Previously, users were unable to adjust this flag, resulting in limitations when managing audio routing setups. With this update, users can easily make necessary changes, this enhancement facilitates the modification of this field, particularly beneficial for updating systems deployed during the early stages of HOME. 

Changes

10.8.2.0

MCX

  • RNDMCX-968 - Line gain of powercore is not loaded correctly
  • RNDMCX-1009 - Automix Stereo/Multichannel Level affected
  • RNDMCX-1343 - Slow production save due to leftover .tmp directories
  • RNDMCX-1461 - Adapt strip assignment page scales
  • RNDMCX-1462 - Invert "Adjust Anyway" button funcitonality
  • RNDMCX-1533 - Allow a system wide coldstart

NodeSys

  • RNDNODESYS-458 - Nodesys devices reporting inaccurate voltage errors after update to 10.8 / 3.0.0.1
  • RNDNODESYS-472 - high cpu load due to websocket connections that remain open
  • RNDNODESYS-473 - 976/30 grey out PTP "Slave only" for mc2_36_mk2 internal Core
  • RNDNODESYS-474 - Automix: Legs of stereo- or surround channels are treated individually.
  • RNDNODESYS-499 - when Patching an SDP into an RX it mistakes it for an internal Loopback Stream


HOME

  • RNDHOME-732 - Support PowerCore RP V2 - additional matrix inputs
  • RNDHOME-787 - Allow External Tieline flag to be edited on existing senders and receivers
  • RNDHOME-788 - Optimise SetSords performance in HomeAgent
  • RNDHOME-815 - Support PowerCore V3 at 96kHz (display only)
  • RNDHOME-641 - NodeSysUpgrader Bulk Assignment of Multicast Addresses for Sender/Receivers
  • RNDHOME-820 - Use Ember matrix labels for DMS Terminals in PowerCore Proxy
  • RNDHOME-844 - Allow Receivers to be shared between all UHDCore virtual mixers
  • RNDHOME-846 - PowerCore MicGain analogue system level compensation
  • RNDHOME-877 - When loading a snapshot with offline devices, generate user-friendly error message
  • RNDHOME-881 - Allow NodeSysUpgrade tool to run in one-shot command mode
  • RNDHOME-886 - Optimise SetConfiguration in HomeAgent, to improve Snapshot load performance
  • RNDHOME-889 - UI for A__UHD Core Shared Receivers
  • RNDHOME-908 - Optimise SetConfiguration in PowerCore proxy
  • RNDHOME-691 - HOME does not update c100 proxy information on re-configuration of the c100
  • RNDHOME-728 - Similar issue to 'Active Stream Health Warning' for Merging Devices
  • RNDHOME-739 - Advanced controls, edit box, only send update after enter pressed or mouse clicks outside box or timeout
  • RNDHOME-756 - Connected source for receiver is displayed as an underlying vmixer instead of an vmixer group
  • RNDHOME-771 - .edge SDI tab - custom validation or confirmation step in place of debouncing
  • RNDHOME-776 - HOME shows on PowerCore only mono outs for Headphones. Must show stereo.
  • RNDHOME-790 - Bifrost doesn't recover if an endpoint fails to respond to initial fetch
  • RNDHOME-793 - Potential deadlock with Ember function invocations and updates
  • RNDHOME-795 - Attempt to use VSM with an NMOS imported device causes the nmos-import service to crash
  • RNDHOME-800 - When setting hostnames via Home the Installation Fails with "Timeout (12s) waiting for privilege escalation prompt"
  • RNDHOME-801 - Home Installation Logic Corrections
  • RNDHOME-802 - Installation Failure due to ERROR Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement docker
  • RNDHOME-804 - SDP SSRC processing issue on 32-bit platforms
  • RNDHOME-806 - NMOS-Exporter update the flow resources for the different media types (as seen at IMG with GV Node)
  • RNDHOME-812 - Virtual mixer src-gate is not rewritten during UHD Core group join / split
  • RNDHOME-813 - NSU Location is incorrect
  • RNDHOME-819 - Sentinel should handle invalid health status value reports better
  • RNDHOME-827 - Power Core I/O Routing broken with sparse Ember matrix port allocation
  • RNDHOME-829 - NMOS Exporter: Crossed interfaces in Cerebrum
  • RNDHOME-845 - Sources connected via NMOS Proxy don't show up in MCX if sords exist before being imported
  • RNDHOME-858 - Config service snap CLI shows wrong group info
  • RNDHOME-859 - Guardian snapshot recall with missing child group
  • RNDHOME-867 - Ember consumer can seg fault if reading from non-existent node
  • RNDHOME-869 - Fix effectiveGain parameter calculation in NovaRouter proxy
  • RNDHOME-876 - Load snapshot check not being called correctly
  • RNDHOME-879 - Snapshots load: verify devices online before setting sections
  • RNDHOME-880 - Snapshots: simplify config service 'check' to see if devices online
  • RNDHOME-887 - Snapshot load: change order to load groups after endpoints
  • RNDHOME-900 - Snapshots: update the sections which are stored and recalled


Release 10.8.2.1

MCX

  • RNDMCX-1253 - Module Link Parameters get lost when loading an older production

NodeSys

  • SSRC SDP line to be omitted for all TX streams
  • Disabled SSRC filtering on Ravenna Receivers

HOME

  • RNDHOME-260 - LCU reboot causes the signal flow break.
  • RNDHOME-940 - Not possible to connect a transmitter to LCU receiver
  • RNDHOME-941 - LCU doesn't come back online in HOME after reboot
  • RNDHOME-942 - Connect the LCU receiver channels to LCU physical outputs in HOME IO-Routing page breaks the receiver in the LCU Ravenna card
  • RNDHOME-957 - LCU does not indicate "User Requested Reboot" on Devices page


Contained Versions

  • MCX 10.8.2.1 #22

  • NodeSys 3.2.0 #5

  • HOME 2.1.3 #88


Known Issues

  • RNDMCX-1207- GUI freeze after using ZOOM module popup
  • RNDMCX-1537 - Powercore gain not loaded correctly from production or snapshot
  • Browser may require a refresh, in order to clear alarms on the HOME Health page.
  • Manually enabled mDNS and SAP announcements are getting lost, when loading a HOME Snapshot.
  • Device Options and Wordclock Profile are currently not stored and loaded from HOME Snapshots.
  • MCX redundancy failover may render Automation data corrupt.
  • MCX redundancy failover may require reloading Automation, when writing an automation pass.
  • A__UHD Core: Bug 21627 - Dynamics Metering not working for Surround Masters.
  • A__UHD Core: Bug 22205 - De-Esser Suppression Band Listen not working.
  • A__UHD Core failover may not work properly, when media interface IPs are assigned using DHCP.
  • RNDMC2CTRL-19 - Failover of UHDCore and MCX leads to non-working surround signals in Automix. (Workaround is stated in the ticket).
  • RNDBUGZ-20809 PSU monitoring communication error on Gateserver systems.
  • RNDBUGSNODESYS-26 - Internal bottleneck in Decoders with L24+L16 in high load.
  • RNDBUGSNODESYS-35 - DRAM bus bandwidth limits RX stream combination, crackling & distortion.
  • Nova Proxy: Sample Rates other than 48khz are not respected in HOME with Device Types other than Nova73 HD Core. 

Known Limitations


mc²/MCX Control System

  • USB file transfer not yet supported, if system uses external (redundant) control system (XCS).
  • User-assignable monitoring buttons not yet assignable, but must be routed manually.
  • MCX Signallist: RTW Metering Outputs not listed in Misc > Matrix/Monitoring Outputs.
  • De-Esser ist not yet operable in ISO BAY mode.
  • Couple does not work for double-tap reset of parameters.
  • Label Transfer for Waves Plug-In Integration not yet supported.
  • Rack-follows-Console-Channel-Select not yet supported with MultiRack/SuperRack.
  • mxGUI: VirtualBox host-only adapter IP address is not displayed properly in mxGUI.
  • mxGUI: When using mxGUI on macOS based systems with retina display, it is necessary to adjust the resolution macOS is using to run VirtualBox. Go to Applications, right-click VirtualBox and select Show Package Contents. Continue to Contents > Resources > VirtualBoxVM and press command + I. Now check the option Open in Low Resolution.
  • OASIS Label transfer only works from Pyramix to MCX, but not the other way around.
  • OASIS Metering is not supported.
  • HOME UI cannot yet be displayed natively inside the console UI.
  • It is still not possible to use Shared Folders on MacOS UTM - Here's a workaround Re: How to enable shared folders in UTM
  • Desk PSU Communication Failures: False alarms triggered on two PSUs due to SMBus-I2C issues. Currently, functionality can be restored by performing a surface power cycle.


A__UHD Core

  • A__UHD Core redundancy does only work for HOME native devices and NMOS registered endpoints. (requires NMOS HOME license)
  • A__UHD Core redundancy is not supported with NATS Relay (NATS messages forward by the A__UHD Core on Gateserver systems) L3 network routing required!
  • RX statistics not yet supported in the WebUI.
  • Enabling/disabling senders and receivers not yet supported.
  • Front display control / interaction not yet supported.
  • Factory defaults sets the device to DHCP.
  • Sync Input does not yet support Video Sync.
  • Ext Keys are limited to 8 even though A__UHD Core is able to provide up to 32.


A__mic8, A__stage series, A__digital64, A__madi4/6, mc² Compact I/O

  • Input / Output metering not yet supported.
  • RX statistics not yet supported in the WebUI.
  • Enabling/disabling senders and receivers not yet supported in the WebUI.
  • A__mic8: Front display control / interaction not yet supported.
  • A__mic8: Factory defaults / upgrade from RAVENNA Suite Butler sets the device to DHCP.
  • A__madi: Second and third bridges do not report health data.


HOME

  • User labels for Signals are not yet supported.
  • There is no possibility to restrict HOME Snapshots. A HOME Snapshot is a global recall functionality, that can be compared to a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine.
  • It is not possible to update an existing HOME Snapshot - delete the old Snapshot and store a new one as a workaround.
  • Health issue notification always pops up on any mc² console / mxGUI, even if it does not affect assigned resources.
  • Health monitoring does not respect Dell servers and mc² console surfaces yet.
  • Existing Signal Ownership Groups cannot be renamed - delete the old group and store a new one as a workaround.
  • Available Ownership Groups always pop up on any mc² console / mxGUI, even if it does not affect assigned resources.
  • DHCP/DNS is not supported, when HOME Services are located on the Gateserver.
  • Radius Authentication is currently not working with Cisco Catalyst 9300A switches.
  • Tie-Line Streams between A__UHD Cores don't bring up corresponding Signals in the mc² Signallist - use External Tie-lines as a workaround.
  • Power Core Streams cannot be renamed.


mc²36 MKII

  • Point-to-point mode for mc²36 MKII with directly connected NodeSys I/O needs manual configuration, but does not setup connections automatically.
  • HOME does not handle mc²36 MKII as a single device, but as 4 single components (MCX, A__UHD Core, VMixer, Local I/O).


Breaking Changes History

BREAKING CHANGES: Version 10.6.0.x introduced breaking changes in bus routing

MCX: Stereo channels cannot be individually deselected in bus routing, hindering assignment to a Stereo Bus on individual Legs, L/R


BREAKING CHANGES: Version 10.4.0.x introduced breaking changes compared to previous versions

MCX Ember Provider: Remove trailing whitespaces from scribs/labels upon getValue.

MCX Ember Provider (applies from Release 10.4.0.9). Any external Ember+ connection will be disconnected upon production load. External controller will have to reconnect again. Will prevent flooding external controllers with Ember+ data. 


BREAKING CHANGES: Version 10.2.4.x introduced breaking changes compared to previous versions

Ember Provider Channel metering is now using the Ember streaming format instead of int64.

Compressor and Expander Hold parameter has been removed from the Ember Provider, since it actually is not available in the system.

Physical GPIOs are no longer available in Command Trigger and Ember+ Provider of MCX, but may only be used using TCL. Physical GPIOs need to be connected to vGPIOs in Home, in order to use them in MCX.

The Aux Bus pickup point has been removed, previous Aux Bus pickups are automatically converted to Aux AF (after fader).


PRODUCTION / SNAPSHOT INCOMPATIBLITY: Release Version 10.2.0

Release 10.2.0 introduced incompatible hash-codes, resulting in newly created external device signals in the console, being incompatible with the ones being restored from productions and snapshots. Release version 10.2.2 is required, in order to properly load and restore production files coming from 10.0.2 and 10.0.0. This only affects native Home devices like A__line devices. External Tie-lines and Third-Party proxies are not affected by this. Productions created with 10.2.0 are not compatible with versions > 10.2.0 and need manual porting! If this is required please reach out to AP PL!


BREAKING CHANGES: Version 10.2.0.x introduced breaking changes compared to previous versions

Over Snap Incompatibility: 

Over Snaps that have been created with 10.0.0 or 10.0.2 release versions are not compatible with 10.2.0 and will be discarded!

Over Snaps that have been created with 6.4.0 release versions are compatible and will be loaded.

Behaviour of receivers of A__UHD Core and A__line (NodeSys): 

If one routes a source stream with fewer channels (S) than the receiver (R), then only the first S audio channels of the receiver will have signal.

If one routes a source stream with more channels (S) than the receiver (R), then only the R audio channels as specified by the receiver will be present.

Ember+ Provider: 

The panning granularity of all DSP channels and GPCs has been changed to +-100. Depending on the implementation of an Ember+ consumer, this may break compatibility!

Output DSP gain parameter range has been changed from -128 ... 15 to -4096 ... 480 with factor 32 in order to be consistent with other gain parameters in the Ember+ tree.


BREAKING CHANGE: Version 10.0.2.6 introduced one breaking change about NATS Relay configuration!

If the system relies on NATS Relay on the A__UHD Core (the A__UHD Core forwards NATS messages from media networks to a Gateserver in the management network, this is e.g. mandatory for mc²36 MKII) you have to adapt your system by invoking the following command on the Gateserver:

rm -r /data/config/home
rm -r /data/config/nats/cluster.conf
touch /data/config/nats/leafnode.conf


BREAKING CHANGE: Version 10.0.2.5 introduced one breaking change in the Ember+ provider!

Output DSP gain parameter range has been changed from -128...15 to -4096...480 with factor 32 in order to be consistent with other gain parameters in the Ember+ tree.


BREAKING CHANGES: Version 10.0.2.1 introduced breaking changes with respect to TCL configuration and Ember+ provider!

TCL Configuration File Locations: 

Please be aware that from now on MCX expects its TCL configuration files in a different location. The location has been changed from /data/config to /data/config/mcx.

This change affects both physical systems, as well as mxGUIs with an externally mounted mxgui_config_share and in the case of the latter it affects the configuration for each product type individually.

For physical systems and mxGUIs the new versions include a helper script migrateEarlyPhase2Config (that can simply be invoked from CLI) to convert a set of configuration files to the new structure. In case of a physical system the script has to be executed once and then has to be followed by a reboot of the system.

For mxGUIs multiple conversions can be performed subsequently by passing an explitcit base path as the one and only argument to the conversion script.

Please note, that further custom configuration files (such as Mackie HUI or special custom configs) might need to be adapted manually!

Ember+ Provider: 

In the signal's 'labels' node, the identifier changes from 'userLabel' to 'user'. /signals/{sources,targets}/<signalId>/labels/userLabel becomes .../user. Furthermore, there have been added more parameters in this node (namely 'userShort', 'startupShort', 'inheritShort'), making use of a new schema 'com.lawo.emberplus.labels.v1.0' instead of 'com.lawo.emberplus.signal.labels.v1.0'.

The AfV event identifiers have been changed from 'event1' to 'event-1' etc. /mixer/global/afv/eventX becomes .../event-X


Information about open source packages and versions used in this release

This information is provided within the WebUIs of each device.

MCX

Open the MCX Landing Page and navigate to the bottom section of the page.

NodeSys Devices

Open the WebUI and navigate to General Settings under the About section.

HOME

Open the About window on the WebUI by clicking the LAWO Logo in the left upper corner and navigate to Open Source Attributions.

Power Core

Open the WebUI and navigate to the Licenses tab.