Pearl 2 - Have Some Pre-Purchase Questions

Pearl & Pearl-2 General
1

Hello,

I’m AV Integrator and am looking to specify the Pearl 2 for some installations. Here goes!

  • How many NDI or NDI HX sources does the Pearl 2 support? I realize that HX is lower bandwidth but requires more CPU power to decode. I also realize that NDI full bandwidth has a bit less latency.

  • Does the Pearl 2 have any abilities to control PTZ cameras over VISCA IP or NDI? Or Save/Recall camera presets?

  • When using Epiphan Live to control the Pearl 2, are the thumbnails live motion previews of sources or are they captured thumbnails? What is the latency from input to Epiphan Live?

  • It appears to me that switching between channels is instant. Is there any support for transitions between inputs or are they always clean cuts?

  • Is there a way to have the same GUI as the built-in touchscreen on a larger display using an HDMI output? Along those same lines, can a USB touchscreen be used to essentially make a larger version of the touchscreen and also put it in a remote location. Given the Pearl 2 Rackmount would be out of sight and mind, that same interface may be useful elsewhere.

  • As far as Crestron integration / API goes, what are the limitations with the API, or does it provide full device control?

Thanks! These should get me started…

2

  • On Pearl-2 we recommend no more then 3 NDI inputs in 1080, or 1 in 4K. This would be for both NDI and NDI HX. While the reasons for hitting the limits are different (CPU vs NIC) the number ends up about the same.

  • Currently we do not have any PTZ controls built in.

  • In the Live dashboard the thumbnails are live motion, however at a reduced frame rate from actual in order to reduce system load.

  • At the moment switching is just a clean cut.

  • Unfortunately the UI from the touch screen is only avalible there, you can use the HDMI output to display a ‘local console’ but it is the full admin UI like the webUI.
    You could use a touch screen with USB instead of a USB KB/Mouse for that local console if you want.

  • The Crestron control is a driver they built, out of the box it is fairly basic, start/stop and switching, but like most Crestron controls it could be modified by a Crestron programmer.

3

Thanks for the info…

So, using the Local Console for HDMI and Web GUI, is this exactly the same as accessing the Web GUI from another PC? I imagine it isn’t optimized for touch.

Extending the built-in display to another external screen would be a huge plus in my book. Having a rackmount version is hardly 100% effective if you can’t use the same features that you’d get if it wasn’t rackmounted.

I was considering 1x 4K NDI (not HX) and 1x 1080p NDI. The bandwidth here would be under 500 Mbps, and most NICs can handle that. The system would not be outputting 4K, or doing simulcast to various destinations, so I think there would be some conservative CPU usage there. However, for this particular spec, I may recommend SDI. NDI would just be convenience since it’s 1x wire to install.

I read somewhere that the Crestron driver only allows up to 5 or 6 layouts… Is this a driver limitation that could be modified or is it an API limitation?

4

Correct, it is the same as the Admin webUI, so touch will work but it is not specifically designed for it.

with 2 NDI inputs like that would work, but they would have different latency, so mixing them together would not be ideal.

Out of the box/default the Crestron driver only auto lists/shows 5 layouts, with some custom work it could be whatever you like.