7.3.1. Recording Interfaces

The Recording Interfaces page is where you configure the logger’s primary recording functionality. Because of the real-time nature of recording, and the large number of editable parameters, special care has been taken to streamline the workflow of editing boards and channel configuration. Hence, this page does not follow the same convention that most of the other pages follow. The primary difference is that instead of editing settings and then having to click a ‘Save’ button to take effect, when you are on the main Recording Interfaces page, changes take effect immediately. Trying to adjust gain one decibel at a time while viewing the results on a level meter, for example, would not be possible without a live environment as it would take countless tweak, submit, check cycles. Note that even if your Web browser does not support the dynamic nature of editing directly on the live page, you will still be able to edit channels using the ‘Edit Channel’ page for making changes.

A board on a NexLog DX-Series recorder is another name for “Recording Interface”. The term comes because most recording interfaces are exactly that, PCIe Boards installed in the recorder, but there are also Virtual Boards, such as VoIP Boards, which are not physical boards in the system. Each board has its own configuration settings, and one or more channels that exist on that board.

For example, an Analog board with connections for 8 analog channels (2 wires per channel) would be considered an “8 Channel Analog Board”.

Physical boards are constrained to a certain channel capacity via hardware. To change an 8 channel digital board to a 16 channel digital board requires physically removing the board then purchasing and installing a new one. Virtual Boards can often have their channel capacity expanded simply by purchasing a license and reconfiguring them, provided the recorder has enough capacity to handle the additional channel load.

There are two kinds of Recording Interfaces: Internal and External. Internal sources are the boards, physical or virtual, discussed in the paragraph above. External Interfaces are systems that are connecting via Centralized Archiving, such as a second Recorder or an Eventide Smart Edge Capture Device.

Fig. 7.29 Recording Interfaces

7.3.1.1. Navigation

With View By Channel disabled, the Recording Interfaces page will show one installed board per row. The left most icon plus (+) icon will expand the board so that all of its channels can be viewed below it. Upon expansion, the plus icon will turn to a minus (-) icon. Clicking that minus icon will “roll up” the channels into the board.

Clicking on the board’s row will bring you to the Board Configuration “Edit Board” page where board settings can be modified. The next two columns display the board type (e.g., Analog, or Voice over IP), and the number of channels on the board. There will also be a column indicating if the board is enabled or disabled.

Boards that are disabled are not currently recording. For physical boards there is an additional field that tells if a board is “Missing” or “Present”. A Missing board is one that was previously in the system, but has been removed. The board configuration and all configuration settings for it remain in the database. To remove the configuration settings and board entry for the missing board, you can delete the board from the ‘Edit Board’ page.

Expanding the board entry to display channels, or using the View by Channel option will display one row for each channel. Each channel row shows seven configuration settings for the channel along with a More button for displaying all options for the selected channel on one page.

To see and edit all settings in a non-live environment for a single channel, you can use the “more” button. It is often more convenient to modify channels settings directly on this page where they take effect immediately and you can see the values for multiple settings and channels at once. However, there is only space to display seven options on this page and there are many more than seven available options per channel. The seven fields default to the most commonly configured options, but you can click on the header above the table showing the channels to modify what field shows in that column to display a dropdown list of available column types to choose from.

7.3.1.2. Editing Values Inline

To edit a value, simply click the cell you want to edit, for example, Channel 4’s channel name. The cell will change to an edit control and when you click out of the cell or press enter, the value you changed will take effect immediately. Most options are either edit boxes where you can type your value, such as a channel name, or a dropdown list where you select an available value from the list, for example Detect Type. A few options are represented as checkboxes or sliders where appropriate.

The down arrow key will submit the changes for the current cell being edited and select the cell below for edit.

The esc key will cancel an edit and set the cell back to the original value

If you want to change a channel value for all channels in a board at once, a shortcut is provided. Click on the header of the column you wish to change, and scroll up to and select ‘Set All’. The column header itself will change to an edit control and changes made there will take effect for all channels in the board, for example to change the VOX Threshold of all channels on an analog board to the same value at once. In addition, you can select “Insert Column” to insert an additional column into the table.

Doing a “set all” on certain fields trigger special actions other than setting all of the channels to the value specified.

Name: Appends the channel ID relative to the board to the end of the specified name

RTP IP: increments the last Octet of the address unless the value is “127.0.0.1 or “dynamic”

RTP PORT: increments the port number starting at the specified port. In addition, two ports can be specified to be mixed together delimited by a “,”.

In addition to all the editable parameters for channels, there are a few special “read only” informational fields that are available for display including the Channel’s ID, Board, and BoardID, as well as an activity indicator. The activity indicator is a real time indicator of the channels status. Grey means disabled, Green is idle, Red is recording, Yellow means user disabled.

The meaning of the editable fields will be discussed in the “Edit Channel” page discussion below as the parameters there are the same.

Use the search bar to look up specific configurations to add to the column header. Start typing the name of a configuration option in the textbox to narrow down the list to ones that match the text entered.

Fig. 7.30 Recording Interfaces Search Feature

7.3.1.3. Detail Level Graph

Clicking on channels “Input Level” parameter will expose a panel called the “Detail Level Graph”. The Detail Level Graph will give a histogram of channel levels. Note that this is only useful on certain recording interfaces.

Fig. 7.31 Recording Interfaces Detail Level Graph

The Channel Level Details view provides a precise way to configure recording parameters. The yellow line indicates the current recording trigger point. The current channel being viewed can be seen in the channel status indicator. Note that changes to recording parameters take effect in real time, but do not effect historical information.

7.3.1.4. Edit Board

This Configuration Manager allows all of the settings and information about an individual board to be displayed and modified. To edit a board, click on the row describing the board from the main Recording Interfaces page.

No changes made to settings on the ‘Edit Board’ page will take effect until the ‘Save’ button is clicked.

Fig. 7.32 Edit Analog Board

The first tab, “Edit Board”, contains the options available to be configured for this kind of board.

The “Information” tab contains information and status about the board.

The Board Name: e.g. “8 Channel Analog Board”

Serial: The board’s serial number. For a physical board the serial number is actually burnt into the boards ROM. For a virtual board, this is a GUID (Unique ID) created when the board was added to the system

Channels: The number of channels the board contains

Position: Boards added to the system are numbered starting at zero. This is the number of the board. This is not the physical position of the board

Address: The physical location of the board. For a physical board it’s the PCI Bus and Slot number, for a Virtual board it’s the IP address of the board resource

Detected: For a Physical board, zero if the board is missing, 1 if it’s detected. Undefined for a virtual board

Code: This is a status code for the board. The normal state should be “RI-FAIL-NONE”.

The “Alias Banks” tab shows a list of any Alias Banks configured for the channels of this board. You can jump directly to any Alias Bank by clicking the name of the Bank in this list. See Section 7.3.7 Alias Banks.

Fig. 7.33 Alias Banks tab of Board Edit

All boards also have an “Enable” checkbox to enable or disable a board. By default, when boards are added to the system they are enabled. Note that if you disable a board it will not record. It may be necessary to disable a board if you’re upgrading to a board with a higher channel capacity or if the board is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced. In some installations it’s a good idea to disable a board before making settings as to not make recordings before, for example, naming your channels.

The remainder of the informational and editable fields on the ‘Edit Boards” page are dependent on the board type:

7.3.1.5. Digital PBX Tapping Board

Synway PBX 8-channel, 16-channel, and 24 channel versions

Firmware Version: The version of the firmware loaded onto the PBX card, for diagnostic purposes only.

PBX Type: For a PBX Board to be able to record from a PBX, the PBX Type configured must be set to the model of the connected PBX. For PBX Model, version, and phone set compatibility, please contact Eventide.

Telco Encoding: This is the companding used on the digital voice sent between the PBX and the Phone. This is the format of the voice actually sent across the wire and is unrelated to any companding or compression codecs used to store the data on the recorder itself. If this is set incorrectly for your PBX, the recorded audio will sound scratchy and overdriven. MULAW is generally much more common than ALAW.

7.3.1.6. Analog Boards

8-channel, 16-channel, and 24 channel versions

Slot Type: This board is either PCI or PCIe

Notch Frequency: The Analog Board provides a Notch Filter to Notch out tones in the input signal. The frequency to notch must be configured on a board-wide basis. In addition, the Notch Filter needs to be enabled for each channel on the board, so you configure the frequency here, and then which channels on the board it should be applied to.

Enable MDC1200: If enabled, this board will process MDC1200 Radio tones which provide RadioID information (who is talking) on some Analog Radio systems. In addition, an add-on license key must be installed to allow the feature to be utilized and a User Defined Field (Recording: User Fields) must be added to the database to hold the RadioID. The field should be called RADIO_ID

Enable Time to Answer: When enabled, this will provide time in milliseconds between first ring and when the receiver goes off-hook. This only works with channels set to HOOK Detect type.

Extended Beep: If enabled, the beep for this board will be 1400 Hz and 424 ms, which is within the 1400 Hz ± 1.5% and 400ms ± 75ms specification for Australian requirements for beep on line recordings. (Beep is only available on PCIe analog boards)

Beep Gain: Allows you to adjust the volume of the beep from -21db to +18db, in 3db increments, relative to the default level.

7.3.1.7. T1/E1 Board Active and Passive Boards

These boards come in Single Port and Dual Port versions for recording one or two T1 or E1 Trunks. The Dual Port versions simply provide the same configuration options separately for each Port. For each port the options are as follows:

Port Type: Whether the Trunk is a T1 or E1 (must be the same on both ports on a dual port board)

Protocol: The Protocol used on the T1/E1. Options are None (Recording is VOX Only), ISDN, or CAS/RBS

Protocol Variants:

• Line Coding: Whether the Line coding on the T1/E1 is AMI, B8Zs or HDB3

• Framing Format: Whether the Framing format is SF, ESF, G704, or CRC4

• Interface Side: TE or NT. For an active board, this needs to be set to the opposite of the setting on the equipment terminating the other end of the T1/E1. For passive boards this can normally be left at the default setting, which is TE.

Passive T1/E1 Boards are used for tapping between two T1/E1 endpoints, both of which terminate their end of the T1/E1 circuit, with the recorder passively listening in between by use of a ‘T-adaptor’ wiring tap. These are typically used for tapping and recording a T1/E1 circuit, for example, between a PBX and the telephone company, where the recorder is not involved in the communications and just listening in the middle.

With an active T1/E1 the board will terminate one end of the T1/E1 connection. If the board is configured for ISDN call control, the recorder will also answer calls placed over the T1/E1 link and record all the audio sent to it during the call. The recorder will never place a call to the remote end over the T1/E1.

7.3.1.8. Virtual Recording Interfaces

RTP and VoIP Virtual Boards can be added and configured using templates listed in the Appendix section. (See Section F RTP VOIP Templates)

IPv6 Support

IPv6 Recording is now available on the following VoIP templates:

• Generic Unicast UDP (Non-SPAN)

• All Non-SPAN SIP Trunk based integrations that use Eventide SIP Stack

• All SipRec based integrations (Including Cisco SBC/Cube)

• Cisco BIB

• ED137B

• ED137C

• Tait DMR

In order to use IPv6 with one of the above templates, select the IPv4 and/or IPv6 option that coincides with your template preferences.

Fig. 7.34 Configuring Virtual Boards

Note

For more information on IPv6 Network setup, see Section 7.2.2.4 IPv6 Settings

7.3.1.9. VoIP template SRTP TLS Support and Configuration

Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic is increasingly encrypted to ensure secure communications. The NexLog DX-Series system accommodates this need by supporting the Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) in conjunction with Transport Layer Security (TLS).

SRTP encrypts the actual media (audio and video) paths in a VoIP conversation, while TLS is used to encrypt the signaling traffic, including the negotiation of SRTP keys.

TLS Configuration

TLS is recommended for secure communication and is used alongside SRTP. However, it’s important to note that TLS traffic cannot be recorded via SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer) as the recorder, in this scenario, cannot access the encryption keys negotiated between the two endpoints.

NexLog DX-Series circumvents this limitation by functioning as an active participant in the TLS tunnel, thereby enabling the recording of TLS-encrypted traffic.

Supported Configurations: - NexLog DX-Series supports TLS encryption on ED137 templates and various SIP-based templates where the recorder is not SPAN recording but configured as an endpoint.

Examples included but limited to:

• SIP Trunk

• SipRec Trunk

• Cisco Built-in-Bridge (BIB)

• Tait DMR

In addition to TLS-based encryption, NexLog DX-Series supports non-TLS encryption methods used by various radio systems like EFJohnson, Motorola MotoTrbo, etc.

Note

To configure TLS for a template, the SSL/TLS License Addon Key is required.

By default, NexLog DX-Series generates a self-signed certificate at installation for TLS connections. However, user-uploaded certificates (uploaded through standard procedures) are also supported and utilized for templates configured for TLS. See the Manage Certificates section for more details

• Current TLS versions supported are TLS 1.2 and 1.3, in line with the deprecation of older versions due to security concerns.

SRTP Configuration

SRTP enhances VoIP security by encrypting the media streams. NexLog DX-Series supports a range of ciphers for SRTP, catering to diverse security requirements:

Supported SRTP Ciphers:

1. AES_256_CM_HMAC_SHA1_80

2. AES_256_CM_HMAC_SHA1_32

3. AES_CM_128_HMAC_SHA1_80

4. AES_CM_128_HMAC_SHA1_32

5. AEAD_AES_256_GCM

6. AEAD_AES_128_GCM

For detailed configuration instructions, refer to the RTP VOIP Templates section in the Appendix.

7.3.1.10. Configuration Text Editor

New in version 2024.1.

When editing boards or select channels, Configuration Text can now be added by selecting the edit button:

Fig. 7.35 Configuration Text

Here you’ll be able to enter and add multiple Keys and Values using the Configuration Text Editor:

Fig. 7.36 Configuration Text Editor

Once added, select “Populate” to include in the board settings.

Fig. 7.37 Configuration Text Populated

Note

Channel Configuration Text can also be individually edited by navigating to the bottom of Edit Channel > Additional Settings.

7.3.1.11. Edit Channels

Clicking on the gear icon next to a channel allows you to set channel level parameters. Note that most of the common parameters for a channel can be configured in the main table channel table as well by clicking on a cell.

Fig. 7.38 Editing a Channel Name inline

In addition to editing channel information inline you can also edit it by clicking the gear icon.

Note

Some options described below are only available on some kinds of boards and not on others.

Fig. 7.39 Edit Analog Channel

7.3.1.11.1. Standard Channel Settings

Channel Name

Identifies the name of the specific recording resource signal.

The channel name can be up to 64 characters.Telephone number, radio station call letters, ATC frequency and function, or any other free-form data may be entered here. While up to 64 characters of data may be entered and saved, display constraints suggest that you choose the first few characters most carefully. There is no requirement to modify these identifiers. The factory default “Channel 01” … “Channel nn” may be serviceable.

Audio Storage Encoding

The field is editable and sets the encoding algorithm.

See Section 7.3.1.11.6.1 Choosing an Encoding Algorithm for more information.

Default Call Type

This is the value that will be entered into the Calltype field of all calls that come in on this channel, unless altered by a custom integration. See Section 7.3.6: Custom Fields

7.3.1.11.2. Record Start/Stop Settings

Call Detect Mode

This parameter determines when an input channel is active and should be recorded. It establishes the primary recording control for the channel.

• Analog Boards: Always, Disable, GPIO, Scheduled, Tip/Ring Voltage, Vox.

• Digital Boards: Script, Always, Disable, Vox. (Display-Only: Off Hook, Data Channel.)

• Local VoIP: Varies by RTP/VoIP template configured.

• Screen: Always, Script, Disable, Scheduled, User Activity.

The following are valid values for detect type:

VOX

(default) Starts recording if the voice (vox) or audio input signal is above the configured Vox threshold setting, and stops recording if the signal drops below that setting for the configured hold time.

TRUEVOX

[RTP only.] In regular VOX mode for RTP channels, the presence of data on the line will trigger recording, but some environments will transmit large durations of data that is actually silence, so this mode will analyze the contents of the packets and evaluate recording based on the volume of the contained audio.

TRVOLT

Starts recording if the DC input voltage is lower than the configured TRV (Tip-Ring Voltage) threshold, indicating an off-hook condition, and stops if the voltage rises above the configured setting for a period equal to or greater than the configured TRV Hold time. Note that TRV detect is only available for Analog boards and is only useful for audio sources that provide this DC voltage in addition to the analog signal (such as standard analog phone lines)

On

Records the channel continuously. For voice, audio, or call recording, it records regardless of input signal or voltage conditions. (This is useful if there are periods of silence that need to be recorded, such as dead air on a broadcast station or long periods of dead silence in a courtroom.) For screen recordings, the recording includes when the screen saver is on. This setting is not affected by the Activity Timeout or Inactivity Timeout parameters.

Note

If recording in On mode, it can be helpful to break the recording into smaller segments (such as 1-hour segments).

On Voxbreak

This is a detect type that is available specifically for Analog boards. It is a combination of On and Vox modes. Like ‘On’ mode above, it provides continuous channel recording, and like Vox mode it breaks calls into segments based on the VOX threshold. When the level of the audio input being provided is above the channel’s configured VOX threshold, the recordings will be tagged with calltype Audio. Once the VOX Hold Time setting on the channel has elapsed, the channel will break the call and continue to record, tagging this new recording with calltype Inactivity until the VOX threshold is met again. This detect type is useful for sites that want to have 24/7 coverage while still being able to quickly find periods of activity or inactivity on the channel in MediaWorks DX.

GPIO

Uses an input signal from an optional General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) board to trigger recording start and stop. The pin pair that carries the input signal is specified in GPIO Pin column. Recording starts on a high signal and stops on a low signal. This allows a variety of external devices to trigger recording.

Scheduled

Uses Scheduled Recording to start and stop recording.

Script

Records based on start/stop requests from the NexLog DX-Series Recorder itself. This is used in conjunction with custom scripts or other specialized programming created by Eventide Customer Engineering as a contracted professional service. This setting is not affected by the Activity Timeout or Inactivity Timeout parameters.

Disable

Disables recording for the channel.

Hook / Audio

These options are used for VoIP and Digital lines. They make start / stop decisions based on the available signaling from the data source connected to the channel. The exact behavior is dependent on the source. For example on an ISDN PRI Channel, this causes the recorder to take cue based on the ISDN Call Connection messages on the line. On Some PBXs this will use the actual hook state of the phone, while others (which do not provide accurate hook state), the recorder will use combinations of lights, button presses, etc.

Note

Channels on T1/E1 boards may display a non-modifiable DETECT value of Data Channel. When using ISDN Protocol over T1 or E1, one of the channels on the trunk is reserved as a data channel and does not contain any voice data. The recorder will automatically set that channel’s detect value to Data Channel and grey out that channel on the front panel.

VOX Threshold

This sets the trigger level for recording when Record Enable Mode is VOX. A value between -48dB and 0dB is typical. The factory default is -32dB. This setting is only used for Digital and Analog boards. For VoIP, VOX detect mode triggers off the presence or absence of RTP traffic, not the actual levels.

VOX Timeout

If Detect is set to VOX, this sets the number of seconds the channel will continue recording after the signal drops and remains below the threshold. The factory default is 8 seconds.

Setting this for too long a value will record long periods of silence at the end of transmissions or join two calls together; too short a value may break a single call into apparent multiple call records at pauses in the conversation.

TRV Threshold

This sets the DC voltage at which a phone line is assumed to be in the off-hook state and eligible for recording. On a normal, clean telephone line, this does not have to be set too finely. On-hook voltages are typically 40-55 volts, off-hook under 10 volts. The factory default of 28 volts will probably be suitable. Noisy telephone lines, lines at a great distance from the central office, and lines that are recorded at one location but answered at another can have unusual voltage profiles and may require adjustment. This setting is only available on Analog boards.

TRV Timeout

If Detect is set to TRV, this sets the number of seconds the call will continue to be recorded after the telephone goes on-hook. The factory default is 5 seconds. The on-hook state is then considered to define the end of the conversation.

With a line that has normal ringing voltage on it (+/-105V at 20-30 Hz), TRV will also respond to the ringing voltage. This means that, with a default of less than four seconds, each ring will appear to be a separate call. By setting TRV hold to five seconds or more, with a normal ringing cadence only one call will be logged from the beginning of the ring to completion of the conversation.

If you have set a channel to TRV, a special (non-programmable) feature will detect and flag a disconnected line if the tip/ring voltage stays below 3 volts for 1 minute. If this happens, it generates a severity 2 (warning) alert indicating signal loss (Alert #9016). When the voltage equals or exceeds 3 volts, it generates the corresponding “Resolved” alert for Alert #9016 to indicate the signal is restored. TRV Hold setting is only available on Analog boards.

Max Recording Duration

The maximum length of a recording in seconds. Recordings will be split into segments no larger than the specified size.

7.3.1.11.3. Gain Settings

Gain

Gain (or attenuation) in dB of the input channel - used to set recording level on analog boards. Valid settings are -18db, -12db, -9db, -6db, -4db, -2db, 0db, +3db, +6db, +9db, +12db, +15db, +18db.

Enable AGC

Activates or deactivates Automatic Gain Control for Analog channels. Automatic Gain Control assures that recordings take advantage of the full dynamic range of the recording process. If you record at too high a level, the signal will “clip” and sound very distorted. If you record at too low a level, the signal will sound very soft and have a poor signal-to-noise ratio. Enabling AGC gives extra margin when recording telephone calls where the local party may be much louder than the distant one-it will boost the gain by up to 24dB when the distant party is speaking. AGC should be enabled in most cases. It can be disabled in installations where audio levels are well-controlled (e.g., broadcast radio stations).

7.3.1.11.4. Analog Settings

Enable Beep

Enables a “Beep tone” to signify to callers that the call is being recorded. Activating the beep places a short, distinctive tone on the respective channel of the input connector. This tone is approximately 65 milliseconds in duration at a frequency of 1455 Hz. It serves to indicate that the call is being recorded, and is required by some state laws. Of course, the beep will only be audible to the callers if the recorder is connected directly to the telephone line in question; if an amplifier or other device is interposed it will serve no purpose. Beep tones are only generated on analog input boards.

If extended beep is enabled (at the Board Edit page), the beep will be 1403.508772 Hz and 387.5 ms, which is within the 1400 Hz ± 1.5% and 400ms ± 75ms specification for Australian requirements for beep on line recordings.

Enable Notch Filters

Enables the Notch filter for this channel. The frequency for the notch is set at the board level.

Enable 4Wire Mode

Pairs this channel with one adjacent such that the audio received on this channel and its pair are mixed into a single call record. If enabled on an odd channel, it will pair with the next channel: Channel 1 will pair with Channel 2. If enabled on an even channel, it will pair with the previous channel: Channel 6 will pair with Channel 5.

The settings for each channel are independent so that you can configure them as needed, but you can live monitor and playback calls as one channel. Audio and metadata from both channels are recorded if the conditions to record are met on either channel.

Enable MF ANI Detection

Enables the channel to capture and decode MF ANI data transmitted on some analog CAMA trunks.

Enable TTY/TDD Detection

Calls coming in on this channel with TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) text data will be decoded and the TDD text stored in the RTTsummary custom field. The text feed can then be viewed in MediaWorks DX when playing back the call. NexLog DX-Series supports decoding of TDD data encoded using Baudot codes at 45.5 baud utilizing 1 start bit, 5 data bits, and 1.5 stop bits. This feature requires the TDD Add-on License and an RTTsummary custom field. Without this feature enabled and licensed, the audio feed of the TDD will be recorded, but the recorder will not decode the text for display and search purposes.

7.3.1.11.5. Alert Settings

Activity Timeout

Timeout value in seconds. When set, alert #3001 (“Channel was active for more than X seconds”) is issued if a channel is continuously active for longer than the timeout value. The factory default is to disable this function. This setting does not affect the actual recording of the call. It simply issues an alert.

Activity Timeout is useful for calling attention to open or defective telephone circuits. When a channel is set for TRV detection, a LOW voltage activates it. If the circuit is open due to a broken wire, the voltage will always be LOW, and the recorder will issue an alert if this condition persists. If you are going to use this feature, then you should set this value to one that is longer than any reasonably expected call or message to avoid nuisance alerts.

Inactivity Timeout

Timeout value in seconds. When enabled, an alert is issued if there is no activity on the channel for longer than the timeout value. It will be regularly updated so that the user has more accurate information for the period of inactivity. The alert triggered is #3002 (“Channel ‘123’ was inactive for more than ‘X’ days ‘Y’ hours ‘Z’ minutes.”)

Fig. 7.40 Inactivity Timeout

This setting is disabled by default and does not affect the actual recording of the call. It simply issues an alert showing the amount of time the board was inactive after the Inactivity Timeout has been triggered.

Inactivity Timeout is useful for alerting you to circuits that should have signals but do not. If you are monitoring a radio channel and the radio is turned off, the inactivity timeout will eventually bring this to your attention. Likewise, an unused (but active and paid-for) telephone line can be identified with this feature. Of course, legitimate inactivity can span weekends and holiday periods. Setting periods too short can result in nuisance alerts.

Metadata Missing Alert

When metadata is being tagged to recordings, the system will raise an alert if the specified number of calls are recorded without additional metadata.

7.3.1.11.6. Additional Settings

Metadata Cache

When enabled, this option will reapply the received metadata to the number of recordings specified in the Uses field. The metadata can be held for the number of seconds specified in the Timeout field. The metadata will no longer be applied when the Uses or Timeout values are exceeded, whichever comes first.

Config Text

This is a special field that should only be used when asked to do so by an Eventide Service Agent.

Use Floating License

This option is only applicable when floating licenses are available on a system. Enabling this option will consume one of the available licenses. Disabling it will release the license. You can not consume more floating channels than are licensed.

These options are only visible when editing a channel inline:

Input Level

Real-time display of signal input level - useful for setting channel gain. This is not an editable item. This information is very useful for diagnosing recording problems, such as one call being broken up into multiple calls. Note that depending on the detect type this can either be TRVolt readings or VOX readings. Input level is available for Analog boards.

TRV Level

This non-editable item shows you the real-time minimum, maximum, and current value of the DC voltage at the channel input. The current value will indicate if the phone is on- or off-hook; the Min and Max will show the highest (on-hook) and lowest (off-hook) voltages seen by the channel input. If the current value fluctuates over a wide range when you are not using the telephone, it probably means that the line is very noisy. This information can help you set the TRV Thrsh value or diagnose problems such as spurious calls. This setting is only available for analog channels.

GPIO Pin

Specifies a value indicating the input pin on the GPIO board that is used for triggering recording to start or stop. The channel will record with the input pin is pulled high by connected to pin 49 and will stop recording with the pin is pulled low by connecting to ground with any even numbered pin. (This field is used with the detect GPIO setting.)

For the 24-channel GPIO board, values are as follows:

0: specifies pin 47 (PA0)	6: specifies pin 35 (PA6)
1: specifies pin 45 (PA1)	7: specifies pin 33 (PA7)
2: specifies pin 43 (PA2)	8: specifies pin 7 (PC4)
3: specifies pin 41 (PA3)	9: specifies pin 5 (PC5)
4: specifies pin 39 (PA4)	10: specifies pin 3 (PC6)
5: specifies pin 37 (PA5)	11: specifies pin 1 (PC7)

PBX Digital Sync Errors

This column is only important for Digital PBX tapping boards; it is used for installation and troubleshooting. The data will look like this: 1.1 / 0.66 [2,1,0]. The first two numbers are signal levels in volts. The first of the pair is the level of the signal coming from the PBX, and the second is the signal level coming from the phone set.

The three numbers inside the brackets are the total error counts for the channel since the last reconfiguration or restart:

• Sync errors are more general errors on the channel as a whole.

• PBX errors are errors in the signal from the PBX.

• Phone errors are in the signal from the phone.

These errors can signify problems and can affect recording: if the errors are increasing at a steady rate, it indicates that there is a problem with the telephone line connected to the recorder. However, if the error counts aren’t all zero but do not increase, it might not be an indication of a serious issue: for example, someone may have unplugged and then plugged back in a phone.

Problems can be caused by:

• Line issues (bad taps, multiple taps, line lengths, tap lengths, marginal wiring between the phone and PBX).

• Unsupported phone set or line card.

• The wrong PBX is set in the board configuration.

7.3.1.11.6.1. Choosing an Encoding Algorithm

The following encoding algorithms are available:

• 13 kbit/s GSM (factory default)

• 16 kbit/s G726

• 32 kbit/s G726

• 64 kbit/s MuLaw

The data rate indicates the amount of storage used per second of recording. The default will give you the most channel-hours. Encoding algorithms always represent a compromise between storage space and perceived quality. All the algorithms listed are general-purpose, and are not restricted to voice. You might want to select either the 32 or 64 kbps algorithm if your recordings are going to be used by other decoding equipment, such as with fax recording. Fax in particular is very sensitive to the compromises made in reduced-bit-rate encoding. The human ear is much less so.

You can experiment with these algorithms to get the best balance between sound quality and storage space.

7.3.1.12. Steps for Setting Levels, Thresholds, and Hold Times

It is undesirable for single conversations to be broken up into multiple calls. There is a slight lag between each stop and start, so some of the conversation will be lost. Setting levels and thresholds properly will help you avoid this condition. This applies to channels set for VOX detect.

If you are seeing this condition, or if you simply want to check how well the default parameters match your facility, try this procedure:

• Disable AGC

• Set the Input Gain. It should be set with signals that best match what will be seen during normal operation. Watch the values and adjust the gain so that the current value ranges between -6dB and -1dB while a signal is present.

• Enable AGC (if desired). Not recommended for broadcast recording, recommended for communications or telephone channels.

• Using the Input level or the detail levels graph note the VOX Cur value with no signal present, but with the cabling still connected to account for line noise. Then note the VOX Cur value with the lowest-level input signal that you are likely to see during use.

• Set the VOX Threshold using the values from the previous step. The threshold should be higher than noise but lower than your lowest signal.

Another possible cause for conversations recorded on multiple separate calls is Hold time. This would apply to both VOX Detect and TRV Detect. Conversations with pauses longer than the Hold setting will generate a stop-recording signal. When the conversation resumes, a start-recording signal will create a second call. To determine if this is happening, listen to the last several seconds of a call. If you hear a pause in the conversation longer than the Hold time, followed by a second separate call of the same conversation, then the length of the pause caused the stop-recording signal. If you wish, you can increase the Hold time. The downside is that longer periods of silence will be recorded at the end of EVERY call on that particular channel. For example, a 15-second Hold time on Channel 3 will cause a 15-second period of silence to be recorded on every call on Channel 3.