7. Monitoring a Recorder¶
MediaWorks EXP allows you to monitor the live audio feeds on the recorder. In addition, you can view the status of channels, and (if permitted) manually enable/ disable recording on channel(s) for record-on-demand purposes.
7.1. Channels Tab¶
The Channels tab displays all physical channels in a list and provides live status information for all physical channels on the recorder. To open a new Channels tab, select New Tab → Channels from the File menu.
To sort the list of channels, click on either the Channel Name or Channel Number header; a small arrow will indicate the sort direction. To reverse the sort, click the header section again.
Each channel is displayed with the Channel Name, Channel Number, and current Channel Status. To enable live monitoring of the data currently playing on a channel, click to toggle the Live Monitor icon for the selected channel. Multiple channels can be monitored simultaneously. Adjust the overall volume level using the volume slider at the bottom of the window.
To enable recording on a channel, check the Record Enabled checkbox. If the checkbox is deselected, any audio currently being recorded will stop until the Record Enabled checkbox is re-checked.
Note
The Record Enabled feature is heavily restricted, and must be configured explicitly for each user, even those with Administrator rights, in Configuration Manager. This is to prevent accidental use of the feature.
The status of each channel is displayed in the Channel Status column. A colored square indicates the status. The colors correspond to the following states:
Green – The channel is enabled, but not currently recording any audio.
Red – The channel is enabled and is currently recording audio.
Yellow – The channel is user disabled.
Grey – The channel is disabled by the system or is not recognized. Consult your system administrator for details.
You may add more columns by right-clicking on any area in the column headers and selecting one or more new columns from the drop-down list of column names. Check the box associated with each column name you wish to add and the new column will appear in the Channels tab. To remove a column, uncheck the box associated with that column.
7.2. Instant Recall Tab¶
The Instant Recall tab, as seen below, provides a live window into the activity on one or more channels. The most efficient method for monitoring a recorder with Instant Recall is to create one tab per filter. See Resource Search Groups.
Fig. 7.1 Instant Recall Tab¶
To open a new Instant Recall tab, select New Tab from the File menu and select Instant Recall from the drop-down list.
The Instant Recall tab’s main controls are positioned at the top of the screen and include:
The Choose Channels… button, which will pop open a list of Search Filter Groups and resource names to filter the call resources shown in the instant recall window.
An adjustable time range that allows you to set the time window for which records will appear.
Fig. 7.2 Choose Channels… pop up menu¶
The records displayed in the record view will correspond to the selected filter, and will also correspond to the specified time range.
The Choose Channels… pop up menu lists your Search Filter Groups first and then each named resources. The channels viewed are selected via mouse click; use Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click to select more than one at a time:
Clicking on Channel 1 and then ctrl+clicking on Channel 9 will select just Channel 1 and Channel 9.
Clicking on Channel 1 and then shift+clicking on Channel 9 will select Channel 1 through Channel 9.
To adjust the time range, enter a new value for Hours and Minutes. Instant Recall will automatically refresh the record view. To change the channel that is displayed, select a new channel name from the drop down list. The record view will again be automatically refreshed.
Note
Depending on your user account, the amount of time you can set may be limited by your system administrator.
The Instant Recall record view can be customized by right-clicking on any area in the column headers. A drop-down menu with a list of column names will be displayed. To add a new column, check the box associated with the column name. To remove an existing column, uncheck the box associated with that column name.
Columns can also be re-arranged. To move a column to a new position, click on the column header, hold down the mouse and drag the column header to a new position, then release the mouse. The column will then re-position itself.
7.2.1. Instant Recall Timeline¶
Each Instant Recall tab also includes a Timeline view in the bottom half of the page. This allows for all the features standard to the Timeline view as seen in the Browse and Search tabs, as discussed in chapter 1.4.4 The Timeline View, but also includes some special features unique to the Instant Recall tab:
Per channel live monitoring of incoming call via Resource Name or Talkgroup.
Optional up to the minute timeline scroll.
Each resource in the Timeline has a speaker icon at the far right that can be toggled green to have it live monitor all calls coming in with that resource name. This is different than the Channels tab, which is by physical id number only.
Fig. 7.3 Instant Recall Timeline (Detail)¶
The blue arrow in the right corner toggles whether the display of the timeline is locked to the current time or not. It will automatically turn off if you play a call in the timeline or scroll into the past, and if you then click it, it will jump forward to display the current time. It will also turn back on if you live monitor a resource, or if you scroll all the way up to the right to the current time.
Fig. 7.4 Up to the Minute Arrow (Left is On, Right is Off)¶
7.2.2. Add More Timeline¶
New in version 2024.1.
This feature drills down into a channel to quickly add existing calls to the timeline from before or after the selected recording.
By right-clicking in front of or behind a call event, you’ll see the “Add More” option. This will add additional 15 minutes of records from before or after the selected call.
Fig. 7.5 Add More Timeline¶