Once an app has been added to HOME's 'Devices' list, its settings can be accessed as follows: click on the app label (1) and choose a menu tab (2).

The menu tabs provide access to a variety of app-specific parameters such as the label and location, license type, initial configuration, senders and receivers, and so on.

If an app has No HOME Pass, then a page with minimal content opens. In this instance, you will need to check that the app has a valid HOME Pass (license). 

All HOME Apps systems are delivered with enough HOME Pass perpetual licenses to run the individual app instances and app server(s). This means that the HOME Pass for an app is usually fulfilled by one of the included perpetual licenses. A HOME Pass can also be achieved using credits if, for example, the HOME Pass perpetual licenses are assigned elsewhere or the app's License Type is set to credits.

For more information about the licensing, please see HOME Apps - Licensing Introduction and HOME Passes (in the "HOME User Manual").

To return to the main 'Devices' list, click on the < Devices button (to the left of the app label). From here, you can repeat the steps above to access another device or app.

Where are the settings saved?

The latest settings for each app are saved (by HOME) whenever a change is made.

Note that the settings are stored on the HOME management system and not on the app server. This means that an app can be started with its latest settings on any available app server (with sufficient resources).

What can be controlled?

There are several pages of settings that are handled in a similar way for each app.

In the example shown above, the HOME Multiviewer has seven pages. The first six (General, Network Ports, Senders, Receivers, I/O Routing and Advanced) are available for most HOME Apps. The PIPS page is specific to the HOME Multiviewer app.

The descriptions that follow summarize the function of each page.

The General settings is the first landing page that appears whenever you click through to an individual app. It is divided into three main sections with app management operations (at the top), general information (on the left) and other settings (on the right).

The informational fields (on the left) include the app label and location, plus the Software Version (important for compatibility with HOME), and the Device ID which identifies the app within HOME and to external controllers.

The areas (on the right) provide further information about the app including:

  • the Lifecycle information: current status (started, stopped, etc.) and health. When the app is running without problems, the app will report as "healthy". If the app reports as "unhealthy", then corrective action should be taken as the app is not operating correctly.
  • the Licensing information: the number and type of licenses in use.
  • a summary of the app's initial configuration (under App Options).

When an app is stopped (not running), it is possible to edit the app label, location, initial configuration and license type.

The Network Ports page provides information about the network interfaces of the app server which is currently running the app.

From here you can check the status of the app server's network ports and view their network settings.

Please note: The network settings of an app server cannot be edited from the Network Ports page, as this is done (by the Lawo engineering team) during the HOME Apps system configuration.

The Senders and Receivers  pages appear for all apps that support signal streaming. They list all of the app's IP senders and receivers (that can be connected using HOME's 'Stream Routing' page).

For HOME Apps, the senders and receivers are pre-defined according to the configuration of the app. i.e. the number and type of I/O.

From the Senders (or Receivers) page you can check information about a sender (or receiver), and access its more advanced options. These include the I/O Routing (for the audio flows), stream configuration parameters, SDP data and Disable/Enable controls (for the senders).

The I/O Routing  page appears for all apps that handle audio inputs and audio outputs. It provides the ability to route 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.

The Advanced tab provides access to all available configuration controls, presented in a simple tree structure. This, and any other pages, are specific to the app.

The same parameters can be accessed (over NATs) via the HOME API. This supports integration with external broadcast control systems such as Lawo's VSM.

Initial Configuration vs Runtime Controls

Before editing an app, it is important to understand the difference between editing the initial configuration and using the runtime controls.

Whenever a new app is created, the user is presented with a range of parameters that define the fundamental functionality and streaming capability of the app. The choices made here will determine the resources required to run the app: CPU resources, I/O bandwidth, etc. 

These initial configuration parameters appear in the 'New App' dialog. To streamline the process, a set of default values are entered and so, in most cases, all you need to provide is a label for the app.

When an app is started for the first time, the initial configuration values are loaded and saved (elsewhere). From here on, there are some parameters that can only be changed when the app is stopped (by editing the initial configuration), and others that can be modified while the app is running (using the 'runtime' controls). If parameters can be edited in both the initial configuration and during runtime, then the initial configuration is overwritten by the runtime controls as the latest (runtime) value always wins.

An example of how this works in practice is provided here. For now, it is useful to know that:

  • If a parameter can only be edited in the initial configuration, then the user must first stop the app, edit the initial configuration (via 'Edit App' or 'Edit Apps'), and then restart the app. Any changes are applied on the next start up of the app. If there is a change to the resource usage, then this is displayed in the 'Start App' dialog.
  • The 'runtime' controls appear, once the app is running, in the other 'Device' settings pages: Senders, Receivers, Advanced, etc. The latest values are saved (by HOME) whenever a change is made and loaded on the next start up of the app. Note that the runtime controls have no impact on the resource usage. If a parameter has a runtime control then, after the first start-up of the app, any changes must be made using the runtime control (and not the initial configuration), as the initial configuration will be overwritten by the runtime value on the next start up of the app.

Important: Options such as the number of I/O, the stream transport type, etc. determine how many licenses and/or credits are required to start the app, and also have a cost in terms of the CPU resources (in an app server) and streaming bandwidth (in the network). For this reason, it is best not to over specify an app, as this could use more resources than are actually required, and leave fewer resources for other apps.

Editing Multiple Apps

If you wish to apply changes to more than one app at a time, then this is possible by selecting the apps in the main 'Devices' list and choosing Edit App (from the More... menu).

In this instance, it is possible to edit both the initial configuration and the following runtime options: license mode and server group. For more information, please see HOME Apps - Edit App(s).

Further Information

The following topics provide more information about the settings that are common to most HOME Apps: