6. The Front Panel User Interface¶
The optional NexLog DX-Series touch-screen LCD Front Panel provides direct control over your NexLog DX-Series digital logging recorder, enabling you to listen to recorded audio and manage recorded calls, without using an external display, keyboard, and mouse. If your NexLog DX-Series recorder has a blank front panel (no LCD Touch-screen), then connect a display, keyboard and mouse to the unit. To select a menu option on your Front Panel, use the touch screen directly (if installed), or use an attached USB keyboard and mouse; the 1024x600 display will appear as described below for the touch-screen.
The touchscreen display includes an navigation bar and a main display area which is set to one of three modes or a login screen. The three main screens are: Info, Replay, and Setup.
Info: Shows information about archives and channel activity at a glance.
Replay: Search, play and gather recordings into incidents.
Setup: This mode is used to configure the recorder.
Settings: Change settings for the Front Panel, such as disabling the on-screen keyboard.
Alerts: Display any active alerts for the system.
The bottom row of the screen shows from left to right: buttons for Info, Replay, Setup, the current time, Front Panel Settings, and Alerts & Alarms.
By default, the recorder is configured to automatically log in as the “Eventide” user. This is optional and can be set to require a log in, allowing multiple users on site to access the Front Panel with permissions customized to their role.
To the right of the current time is the settings button. Click the button to see the current logged-in user and a toggle to turn on or off the on-screen keyboard, which is on by default and can be turned off if you are using an external USB keyboard.
6.1. Front Panel Step by Step Quick Guide¶
To use the NexLog DX-Series Front Panel to monitor the recorder for recording activity, click (touch the screen directly or use a connected USB mouse) the Info button at the lower leftmost corner of the screen. This is the default screen the recorder boots up to, so it may already be visible.
Fig. 6.1 Front Panel Info Screen (with arrow pointing to Info button)¶
The top section of the Info page shows any archives and drives currently installed on the recorder. The middle section of the page shows a grid display of the channels that are currently configured on the recorder.
If a channel is green, it is in an idle state, ready and waiting to record.
If a channel is red, it is currently recording.
If a channel is grey, it is not configured for recording.
If a channel is yellow, it has recording currently disabled.
To listen to activity currently in progress on a channel (referred to as “Live Monitoring”), click (or push) a channel in the grid. A yellow oval indicator will appear on the channel button, indicating that it is currently Live Monitoring. Clicking the same channel again will stop Live Monitor for that channel. Multiple channels can be Live Monitored simultaneously. Note that a user must have Live Monitor permissions to use the Live Monitor feature.
If you are unable to enable live monitoring on any channels, the current user may lack Live Monitor permissions. See Section 7.6 Users and Security for information on granting Live Monitor access to users.
6.1.1. Query (Search for) Recordings¶
The NexLog DX-Series Front Panel has several modes to assist you in finding recordings on the recorder.
Fig. 6.2 Front Panel Info Screen (with arrow pointing to Recall button)¶
Click the magnifying glass button at the bottom left of the screen to go to the Front Panel’s Replay screen. This screen includes search criteria including date & time, resource selection, many other optional filters, and a column on the left with controls and options for interacting with the recordings on the recorder.
Fig. 6.3 Front Panel Replay Screen, showing Calendar Mode¶
The default view is search and the default search mode is calendar mode.
Click within the calendar to select or deselect dates. You can also click and drag to select multiple days quickly. The green arrows at the top of the calendar change the month that is displayed.
Click the desired channels in the “Resources” list to the left. (Only the selected channels will be searched).
Optional: The “Add Filter” buttons contain additional criteria for further refining the search.
When all criteria have been set, click “Search” in the top right corner. The query will run for a moment, and then the Replay record list will appear, containing the recordings matching the set criteria.
To search instead by a date range:
Return to the “Search Query” as before by clicking the icon of four squares above the time, and click the menu button to the right of Date. It will offer three modes: Calendar, Date Range and Relative.
Select Date Range.
Click the Calendar icons next to each field to open a window to select the date and time for start and end.
Set the Resources and Additional Filters as needed.
Click “Search” to run the query.
To search instead by a relative time window:
From the Date menu, select Relative.
Click the days or hours:minutes:seconds field to select a timeframe ranging from the present.
Set the Resources and Additional Filters as needed.
Click “Go” to run the query.
6.1.2. Playback¶
The NexLog DX-Series Front Panel can be used to playback recordings on the recorder.
Click the magnifying glass icon. This changes the view to the Replay screen.
Search for recordings as described above.
Verify that the Playback/Selection toggle is set to Playback. If not, click it to change to Playback mode.
Click any row to begin playback of a single recording at a time.
A pop up will appear to allow playback control, scrubbing through recordings and looping. This pop up can be closed and will reopen whenever a new recording is selected.
Fig. 6.4 Recall Screen Results with Transport Pop Up¶
The moving scrub can be used to set the exact point of playback. Click and drag it to move it around.
The << arrow >> buttons to the right and left of the scrub area can be clicked to skip playback forward or skip playback back by 10 seconds.
In the Transport Pop Up at the bottom of the screen, the Play/Pause button begins or pauses playback.
The Next and Previous buttons can be used to jump to the next or previous recording.
The Loop button is used to enable or disable looped playback. Loop points can be set in Timeline view but it is recommended to use an external mouse to set them.
The AGC button toggles the playback automatic gain control on/off.
If playback of more than one simultaneous recording at a time (“mixed playback”) is desired click the Default Playback Mode: button that says “Single Play” by default. It will provide four options for playback:
Single Play: Play the requested recording only, then stop. This is the default if the user has not changed this setting.
Continuous Play: Play the requested recording, then continue to the next, based on column sort.
Mixed Realtime: Play all recordings at once, starting from the requested recording, as they actually happened according to recorded start and end times. If there are gaps between calls, silence will be heard between calls.
Mixed Resource: Play all recordings on a single resource, starting from the requested recording, as they actually happened according to recorded start and end times. Silence will be heard between calls.
6.1.3. Incidents¶
Incidents are a useful way to handle collections of related recordings.
Fig. 6.5 Example Incident, Unsaved.¶
6.1.3.1. Creating an Incident¶
To use the NexLog DX-Series Front Panel to build an Incident:
Query recordings as described in “Query (Search for) Recording”, above.
With the Selection/Playback toggle set to Selection, click any calls you want to add to an incident.
Note
Recordings that are currently in progress (as shown by red text) cannot be added to Incidents.
Fig. 6.6 Selecting Calls for an Incident¶
Click the Tasks button and choose “New Incident from Selected Records”
Fig. 6.7 New Incident From Selected Records¶
The Front Panel will automatically switch to the Incident view, and the marked recordings will be added to the incident.
Fig. 6.8 New Incident¶
To remove any recordings that are not desired in the Incident, select the recordings as before, then click the Tasks button and select “Remove from Incident”.
6.1.3.2. Saving an Incident¶
To save the incident (a collection of recordings) on the recorder:
Click the “Save” button in the top left corner.
Enter a descriptive name for the incident.
“Protect Recordings from Deletion” is enabled by default and will protect the recordings from scheduled deletion from the recorder. Disable the setting and the recordings will be deleted at the time they normally would be due to retention settings.
To create a new Incident at any time, and repeat this process. More than one Incident can be open at a time. Access any open incidents via the Views menu button.
6.1.3.3. Exporting an Incident¶
To export an Incident as data files to a DVD-RAM, Blu-ray or USB drive:
Insert appropriate media to the recorder. If a you need to add media, click the Info button in the bottom left corner. Click the archive drive desired for exporting, and then click “Eject”. Confirm to eject, and the archive drive tray will open. Insert a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray (as appropriate) and close the tray. If a USB drive is desired for export, insert it into one of the recorder’s available USB slots.
From the Replay page, create an Incident as described in “Incidents” above, or open an existing Incident.
On the Incident page, click the Export button.
Choose Export if you want just the recordings. Choose Export Incident if you want to export the Incident for viewing in MediaWorks DX Desktop.
In the “Select a destination” dialog box, click the appropriate media for the export, and click “OK”. The recordings within the Working Incident will be exported to the selected media. The Front Panel will indicate when the process is complete.
If you chose Export, the recordings exported in this manner are individual data files that can be played in Windows Media Player, iTunes, some personal audio players, and similar software and devices. Export Incident creates a file for use with MediaWorks DX or MediaWorks DX Desktop.
6.2. Setup Screen¶
Fig. 6.9 Front Panel Setup Screen with side menu visible¶
The SETUP screen allows you to view and modify various recorder parameters, such as IP address, time and date, network parameters, user accounts, and channel settings. Details about use of the Setup screen (and the nearly identical NexLog DX-Series Configuration Manager) are in Section 7: Configuration Manager.
To access the Setup page, click the Setup button:
Fig. 6.10 Front Panel with arrow pointing to Setup button¶
To access the side menu, click the gear button a second time.
Important! If you are in the process of setting up a recorder, the very first thing you should do is set the Date and Time Zone of the recorder, found under System → Date and Time.
6.3. Info Screen¶
The INFO screen allows you to view and set parameters for your archiving tasks, check individual channel status, and live monitor channel audio.
Fig. 6.11 Front Panel Info Screen¶
The top portion of the screen shows a summary status of your archiving drive or drives. Each archive drive will have an individual status indicator that looks like a brown rectangle with a white boarder. It displays the current status, the archive drive type (BLU-RAY, USB, NAS, RDX, Removable Hard disk), and a green line indicating the percentage full. Clicking or pressing on an archive drive will pop up a box with more information and actions you can take regarding the drive.
Table — INFO Screen Archive Messages
Display | Description |
|---|---|
No Disk | The drive is empty. |
Loading | A medium has been loaded and the recorder is scanning it to learn its status. |
Unloading | A medium is being ejected. |
Idle, Unformatted Media | An unformatted medium is inserted. |
Idle, Blank Media | A formatted, blank medium is inserted. |
Idle, Used Eventide Media | A medium with one or more recorded calls is inserted. |
Idle, Full Eventide Media | A full medium is inserted. |
Eventide Configuration Media | A medium containing recorder configuration information is inserted. |
Eventide Call Metadata | A medium containing call metadata is inserted. |
Preparing for Playback | The medium is preparing for browsing. “Browsing” means the viewing, searching, and playing back of calls. While preparing, the recorder is loading the calls from the archive into an internal database. |
Playback | The medium is ready for browsing. |
Standby | The drive is ready to archive as part of Archive Pairing |
Eventide Export | A data CD containing WAV files playable in a media player. |
Audio CD | A CD with Redbook audio that is playable in a standard CD player. |
The bottom half of the INFO screen displays information about live incoming calls. Each small block represents a channel. Each channel displays its number and a color:
Green – The channel is idle and ready for recording.
Red – Audio is being recorded.
Gray - The channel is not ready for recording. The audio interface board may be missing or has not been recognized by the recorder.
Yellow – Recording on the channel has been disabled by the “Record Enable” setting in Eventide MediaWorks DX or the recorder Front Panel.
Blue – Recording on this channel has been suppressed by call suppression settings.
Live monitoring a channel allows you to listen to audio being recorded in real time. This is accomplished by pressing or clicking on the channel status indicator. A yellow oval indicates that the channel is live monitoring. Multiple channels can be selected for live monitor at a single time. To control the volume at the Front Panel use the volume slider wheel below the display.
6.4. Archiving Controls¶
Eventide NexLog DX-Series can permanently copy all recorded activity (including recorded media) to an external archive for preservation. Depending on what hardware drives are present, archives can be created on Blu-ray media, Removable Hard Drives (R-HD), RDX media, on USB media and on network drives. You can configure the available archives using setup mode on the Front Panel or via the web Configuration Manager from your web browser.
Fig. 6.12 Archive Pop Up on Info Screen¶
Select any archive in Info Mode to display detailed information and control basic archive behavior for the selected archive. All common archive operations can be performed from this dialog. Select “Start” or “Stop” to initiate or pause archiving on the device. Selecting “Browse” will activate the archive, making it available for searching and playback in Replay Mode. Selecting “Eject” will remove the archive from the drive (if it is on a physical drive, the media will be ejected; if it is a network attached archive, it will be detached from the network). Select “Format” to re-initialize the archive media.
Warning
All data on the archive will be lost if you choose to format an archive with data on it.
Table — Archive dialog information
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Status | Display the current archive status, including the availability for continued archiving, or the current playback mode. |
Type | Displays the type of archive drive (Blu-Ray, RDX, R-HD, DVD-RAM, USB, etc.) |
Media Type | Displays the type of archive media (Blu-Ray, RDX, R-HD, DVD, network drive, etc.) |
Queued | Indicates the position of the archive within the archive queue. If another archive drive is filled to capacity, the next archive in the queue is activated. |
Record count | Displays the number of recordings on the archive, if available. |
Capacity | Gives a rough visual representation of the remaining space left on the archive. |
6.5. Navigation Bar¶
During operation, the Navigation Bar displays the current recorder time and offers quick access to the Info, Replay, Setup and Alarms pages. In addition, depending on the operating mode, it may display other controls or information.
Fig. 6.13 Navigation Bar¶
To switch operating modes, press the mode button and select an option from the menu which appears.
When active alarms are present, the alarm button flashes. Press the alarm button to view a list of the active alarms. Press the alarm button again to return to the previous operating mode.
6.6. Alarm Status¶
Alarms can be viewed and acknowledged at the alarm screen viewable by clicking the bell icon on the information bar. The icon will flash red if there is an unacknowledged alarm, with a red oval showing the total number. If all alarms are acknowledged, it will show in a yellow oval the number of current alarms.
Fig. 6.14 Alarm Status¶
In the above image, you can see one unacknowledged alarm, but the icon in the Navigation Bar shows 2, because there is a second, previously-acknowledged alert that is still active. To see it, click the Show Acknowledged Alarms checkbox.
Alarms indicate an active condition on the recorder. In some cases, an alarm condition can be automatically resolved by the recorder. An example of such an alarm is losing time synchronization to a time source because it is unavailable for a period of time. Some alarms will require user action before they will be resolved. An example of such an alarm is a hard drive failure in a RAID system.
Alarms can be acknowledged from this screen, causing the alarm to be less intrusive. Once all of the alarms are acknowledged or resolved, the alarm icon will stop blinking red.
Some alarm conditions are configured by default to trigger an audio alarm on the recorder. Acknowledging an alarm condition that causes an audio alert will silence the audio.
To see a history of alarms and alerts go to .
For more information on alarms and the action to take, see Section 7.7 Alerts and Logs section.
6.7. Replay Screen (Detailed Information)¶
The Replay screen is where you view, search, and playback calls. It is also where you create incidents and export recordings in a format that is playable in a PC without Eventide client software. Calls are displayed as rows, one row per call. You can specify which columns to display (the default set of columns is Channel Name, Start Time, and Duration). Searches are accomplished by applying filters to the main call list. Calls can be filtered on date and time, channel number, and dialed DTMF digits, among other parameters.
Fig. 6.15 Replay Screen¶
6.7.1. Replay Screen Menu¶
The Replay screen features a menu on the left that gives access to the tools and configuration options available.
The top most corner is contextual, changing with the active View.
View: Choose from Search, Instant Recall, Evaluations, and Incidents; any open incident can be accessed from here as well.
Tasks: See Properties for the selected call, Protect selected calls, create a new incident from selected records, add selected records to an open incident, evaluate records (if Quality Factor is licensed and configured), start playback, add a text annotation.
Export: Export records in a variety of ways, including mixed, sequential and mixed per resource, to attached archive media.
Tools: Configure time markers, date formats, resource gain defaults, EQ settings, and column defaults, see connection information and log out current user.
Default Playback Mode: Choose how recordings should playback:
Single Play: Play the requested recording only, then stop. This is the default if the user has not changed this setting.
Continuous Play: Play the requested recording, then continue to the next, based on column sort.
Mixed Realtime: Play all recordings at once, starting from the requested recording, as they actually happened according to recorded start and end times. If there are gaps between calls, silence will be heard between calls.
Mixed Resource: Play all recordings on a single resource, starting from the requested recording, as they actually happened according to recorded start and end times. Silence will be heard between calls.
Playback/Selection Toggle: Toggle whether a click on a recording starts playback or selects the call. Useful when you want to select more than one call at a time to add to an incident.
6.7.2. Playing Audio Recordings¶
To play a recording:
From the Replay screen, use Search or Instant Recall to see recordings. Check that the Playback/Selection Toggle is set to Playback, then select a recording. The audio recording will play, and a transport pop up will display at the bottom of the screen showing the recording’s playback status and general attributes.
Press *Next* to select the next audio recording and then Play to play it, in descending sequence. Press *Previous* to select the previous recording. Press *Pause* to pause playback for the current recording.
Use the Default Playback Mode menu to choose between the four kinds of playback, as detailed above in the previous subsection.
Press the *Looping* icon to toggle looping of the call playback.
Press the *AGC* icon to enable AGC.
6.7.3. Searching for Recordings¶
Perform advanced searches by selecting the Search View from the View button in the left menu.
Fig. 6.16 Calendar Search¶
All search queries require two parts: a channel filter and a date filter. To refine a search further, use the + Add Filter button to select from all Metadata fields available on this recorder to find exactly the set of recordings you’re looking for.
To select the channels for the query, simply select the desired channel name in the “Selected Channels” list. To deselect a channel, select it again. By using the tree view, you can select all channels in a given group or all at once. Only channels for which you have permission to view are included in the list.
Select date filters for the query in one of three ways. Change the date selection mode by pressing the “Mode” button repeatedly until you find a date selection method which works best for the query you are attempting.
In “Calendar” mode, select days in a traditional monthly calendar by choosing individual days of interest. Select any combination or range of days. Change the month or year by navigating with the controls at the top of the calendar.
Fig. 6.17 Calendar¶
Note
When using the calendar selector, you can only select days on the currently selected month.
In “Date Range” mode, specify a starting and ending date. Select the “From” date and choose a starting date from the calendar which appears. Select the “Through” date and select an ending date (inclusive) for the query.
Fig. 6.18 Date Range¶
In “Relative” mode, recordings are retrieved within a specified time period relative to the current date and time. Select the “Previous” list box and choose one of the available options. Optionally, enable the “Update with Live Records” option to continuously monitor channel activity for new recordings and have them appear in the results.
Fig. 6.19 Relative Mode¶
6.7.4. Information Bar¶
At the bottom of the Search View, above the Navigation bar, there is a slim bar that includes an information button (i) that will show the current query, the time when the query was completed, three navigation icons (Search Query, Record Grid, and Timeline views) and the number of records and how many are selected (for example, it might say “1218 records, 5 selected”).
The Navigation icons switch between the search query, a list of results (the Record Grid), and a timeline view of the recordings that show the recordings in time, arranged into rows per resource.
6.7.5. Filtering¶
Optionally, add other standard filters to the query by clicking the “+Add Filters” button. A dialog appears, allowing you to enable filters based on “Protection”, “Duration” and “Direction” of recordings. Simply enable a desired option and select “OK” to add the filter to the current query. The “More” button allows you to further limit the query by specifying values for custom database fields, including Caller ID. Your installation of NexLog DX-Series might have additional, custom fields as well. Add as many filtered fields as needed; they will all be appended to the filter.
6.7.6. Choosing Default Columns¶
Changing the default set of columns will allow you to see associated metadata with your recordings. To change the column selection, navigate to the “Choose Default Columns” menu option in the Tools menu. From the dialog which appears, use the right arrow to move fields from the “All Columns” list into the “Default Columns” list. Use the left arrow to remove a column. Use the up and down arrows to sort the columns.
Select “Save”, and the selected columns will be displayed in all search results. Once recordings are displayed from your query, sort the results using any visible column. Simply select the header section to sort the recordings. Select it again to sort in the opposite direction. Re-order columns by selecting and dragging them to a new location.
Fig. 6.20 Column Defaults¶
Fig. 6.21 Column Options¶
6.7.7. Creating Incidents¶
Incidents are a collection of recordings that can be managed separately from the list of filtered recordings. Incidents can be saved and exported for future use and shared with other users on remote clients like Eventide MediaWorks DX.
To add a recording to an incident you select the recording by setting the Playback/Selection toggle to Selection, then choose the recordings you want to include. After recordings have been selected, use the Tasks menu to select New Incident from Selected Records.
This will take you to the new Incident. Notice the information bar says Untitled*. The * next to the name indicates the incident has not been saved since changes were last made (in this case, the change is that it was created in the first place.) To save the incident, click the save button in the top left corner. A dialog will appear where you will be asked to supply a name for the incident (and, optionally, to protect the recordings contained within the incident). Saving an incident allows other remote clients (such as MediaWorks DX) to view and open the incident when connected to the same Eventide NexLog DX-Series recorder. To open a previously saved incident, select “Open incident” from the Menu button and select the desired incident name.
There is also a Save As button, which will let you duplicate an existing incident to a new name.
Fig. 6.22 Selected Calls in Replay Screen¶
Open previously saved incidents from the View menu “Open Incident” button. At the bottom of the View menu you can see any currently open Incidents and switch to them or close them.
6.7.8. Export¶
Export the audio from all recordings collected into an incident by selecting the “Export” menu button. This will open an Export menu that will let you choose how to export audio and video as files to playback on a computer, with optional inclusion of text or pdf listing of the calls.
Before exporting audio, ensure that an appropriate export destination is available (for example, insert a blank recordable CD, or insert a blank, formatted USB thumb drive, into the recorder). When exporting, all available export destinations will be listed in the dialog which appears. Select the export destination.
There are 5 pages of options for each Export. You can save an export default or presets to skip to the last step (choosing where to export to.) These steps are:
Select Media:
Would you like to export:
All media in your record list?
Only selected media in your record list?
The “Call(s) to export:” number will update based on the above choice.
Create text listing: On by default, this will include a text file listing all of the call records in this export.
Include Attachments: Choose to include or exclude files attached to an incident. Only relevant when exporting from an incident that has attachments.
Create PDF listing: This will include a pdf listing the call records included in this export.
Select File Divisions:
One file per record (sequential): 1 file per record, unmixed.
One file for the entire record list (sequential): 1 file including all calls one after each other in sequential order by time.
One file for the entire record list (mixed): 1 file, mixed by time, such that calls are spaced in real time based on when they were recorded; calls that happen at the same time will overlap.
One file per resource (mixed): 1 file per resource/channel, spaced in real time as they were recorded.
Screen Recorded Call’s Settings:
There are four encoding types for screen export. The first two, MPEG, High and Medium, are much higher quality in a much smaller file size, but require VLC or Chrome or other third party software for playback. The second two, AVI Low and Medium Compression, will work on a stock Windows XP system, but the quality is lower and the file size is very large. These options are included to allow for maximum compatibility.
Select Export Options:
Time Markers: Here you can select Talking Time or Beep (and then choose the desired talking time modes), choose to use the timeline playback settings, and set the file type to save as. In the File output encoding box, select the type of data compression scheme you want to use. If you have purchased and entered an add-on license for MP3 encoding, MP3 will be an available choice in this menu.
The Use timeline playback settings and apply redaction areas option is on by default and will cause exports to sound the same as they do when played back in the same mode as the export, including volume adjustments, AGC, panning and redaction areas. The Export Audio Annotations option will include any audio annotations present on the calls being exported.
After selecting the export options, click the Next > button.
Select Destination:
Choose which drive to export to. You can only export to an idle, blank media or Eventide Export media; archives and exports cannot coexist on the same drive.
If you are going to make multiple exports to the same Eventide Export media, check the Use Folder checkbox and enter a name for this export. This will write the files to a folder, keeping them separate from any later exports.