The I/O signals for all HOME Apps are streamed via the media network and so, once an app is configured and running, its streaming connections can be managed from HOME's 'Stream Routing' page.

Depending on the app type, up to three stream essences are supported: Video, Audio and Metadata, and each sender or receiver may handle multiple flows. e.g. 1x Video + 1x Audio + 1x Meta.

For most HOME Apps, the IP senders and receivers are pre-defined according to the configuration of the app. i.e. the number and type of I/O. You can check the current configuration from the 'Device → Senders' or 'Device → Receivers' page (as described here). As part of the app configuration, users can choose the stream transport type, video resolution, number of audio channels, etc. This allows the IP senders and receivers to be tailored to the application and network (to help manage the bandwidth of the switches and NICs).

Connections can be made by selecting a source and a destination, and then pressing Connect. This sets up a streaming connection that will be automatically re-instated if, for example, the sending device restarts.

Once a connection is made, signals are streamed via the media Network Interface Cards (NICs) of the current app server. To achieve dual-redundant streaming, compatible with SMPTE ST2022-7, the NICs must be configured in pairs to support the primary and secondary streams. This is achieved by switching on the Stream Redundancy option in the app server configuration. Note that this option is configured at an app server level, meaning that the senders and receivers of all apps running on that server are either all dual-redundant OR all non-redundant. It is not possible to configure Stream Redundancy per app or per stream.

If audio streams are configured, then the 'I/O Routing' maps the audio channels being received by the app's receivers to the audio channels transmitted by the app's senders. By default, the audio channels are mapped on a 1:1 basis. The I/O Routing can be edited if you wish to change the default assignments.

'Stream Routing' Overview

The 'Stream Routing' page manages all of the network's streaming connections.

From here, you can connect a sender to a receiver, interrogate and lock existing connections, disable the sending streams and view/edit the stream configuration parameters.

Sources and Destinations

The page lists all available IP senders on the left (as Sources) and IP receivers on the right (as Destinations).

  • For each source and destination, there are two parts to the label: <device>/<sender> or <device>/<receiver>.
  • The icons in the Essence column describe the type of flow(s): Video, Audio, Metadata and/or GPIO.
  • If a source or destination handles more than one flow, then an arrow appears beside its label. Click on the arrow to show (or hide) the individual flows.
  • Once a source is connected, a number appears in the "source used" column. This indicates the number of times the source is used. i.e. the number of connections made.
  • Once a destination is connected, the "Connected Source" field shows the label of the connected stream.

Why is my device missing?

If your device or app is missing from the source and destination lists, check the following points:
  • Are any Filters applied (to restrict the view)?
  • Is the device online? Go back to the 'Devices' list and check the Status.
  • For HOME Apps, is the app running and healthy? Open the 'Device → General' settings page and check the Lifecycle information.
  • Are the senders and receivers configured? Open the 'Device → Senders/Receivers' page to check the available flows.

'Stream Routing' Operations

The following operations are possible:

  • Make or break connections - using Connect and Disconnect.
  • Interrogate connections - using Show Destinations (for a sender) and the "Connected Source" field (for a receiver).
  • Lock connections - using the Lock option (for a receiver).
  • Disable sending streams - using Disable (for a sender).
  • View (or edit) the stream configuration parameters - via the Info dialog (for a sender or receiver).
  • View (or edit) the audio channel mappings - via the I/O Routing page (for a sender or receiver).

Connecting Streams (Quick Start)

To make a connection, select a source (on the left) and a destination (on the right); then click on Connect.

  • A dotted (preview) line appears when a valid connection is prepared.
  • This changes to a solid line once the source(s) and destination(s) are connected.

Connections can be made between individual or groups of flows, and for multiple sources and destinations. This is explained in more detail here. For now, it is useful to know that:

  • If a source or destination handles more than one flow, then the flows are grouped so that they can be connected (or disconnected) in one operation. For example, select an SDI In, SDI Out and Connect (to connect Video to Video, Audio to Audio and Metadata to Metadata).
  • If there is more than one possible match, then the sender(s) and receiver(s) are connected consecutively. For example: Audio 1 to Audio 1, Audio 2 to Audio 2, and so on.
  • At any time, you can expand a group to reveal its flows. For example, to deviate from the default routing and connect a different audio sender.

How is the Stream Routing saved?

The stream routing (for all devices in the HOME network) is stored automatically on the HOME server(s) whenever a change is made.

If the HOME system restarts, then the configuration is re-instated once the server(s) reboot.

If an end device restarts, or is disconnected, then any streaming connections to and from the device are lost. However, the connections are still prepared. This means that as soon as the device comes back online, its streaming connections are re-established.

If you wish to backup the current configuration for the system's physical devices, then this can be done by creating a HOME snapshot. Snapshots can be created either globally (for all online devices) or partially (for selected devices). For more information, please see HOME - Snapshots.

Connecting NDI Streams

The NDI Proxy Service is included in HOME Apps. It monitors the NDI Discovery Service running on HOME. When an external NDI source is registered in the NDI Discovery Service, the NDI Proxy Service will automatically create a new Proxy device in HOME.

This new Proxy device is available in HOME’s 'Stream Routing' page and is available to be routed to a HOME Apps NDI receiver.

Once an external NDI source has been registered by the NDI Proxy Service, the NDI Proxy Service will create a new entry for this flow in the Stream Routing  page (in HOME). These flow names are preceded with a ‘/’.

The NDI flows are now routable to NDI receivers in the usual manner: select an NDI Sender, select an NDI Receiver and click ‘Connect’.

For more information about the NDI Proxy Service, please see HOME Apps - NDI.

Receiving SRT Streams

In a HOME Apps system, all video apps which provide video inputs can receive SRT streams. Streams can be H.264 or HEVC video, with AAC, AC3, MP2 or Opus audio.

Please note: Connections via HOME’s 'Stream Routing' page are not currently supported.

Connections are made with a URL set via the app's Advanced parameters menu on the 'Receiver → RX n → SRT' page.

For more information about SRT streams, please see HOME Apps - SRT.

Further Information

For more information about how to make (and break) connections using HOME's 'Stream Routing' page, please refer to the following topics in the "HOME User Manual":