Capture Appliance Deployment

Owned by Hannah Petty
Last updated: Aug 01, 2016Version comment
3 min read

In this section:

Which Capture Appliance are You Deploying?

Echo 360 supports three capture appliances:

  • The Echo360 PRO (also called the PRO, the third generation capture appliance) was placed into service in December 2015. It is in active production. See Echo360 PRO Product Specifications for more details.
  • The EchoSystem SafeCapture HD (also called the SafeCapture HD, the second generation capture appliance) was placed into service in June 2011. It is no longer in production. See EchoSystem SafeCapture HD Product Specifications for more details.

    image of new capture appliance

The generic term "capture appliance" refers to either or both appliances.

Best Practices During Capture Appliance Installation

  • Run some test displays on the laptop and any other devices (notebooks, document cameras) that might be used. Use a range of signal resolutions and configurations.
  • For the SafeCapture HD appliance, if your VGA signal does not appear, ensure your VGA to DVI adapter type is DVI-I.
  • If you are using a Distribution Amplifier (DA), ensure the input and output resolutions are correct.
  • Ensure that the devices remain at their optimal settings. You might want to demonstrate good and bad settings to Instructors, show distorted Echoes, or tape a note on the device itself.
  • Contact Echo360 technical support if any of the displays is faulty. We will work with you to detect and correct the specific factor.

Troubleshooting the SafeCapture HD

Some common issues are described below.

If Content Is Not Captured

The SafeCapture HD does not record high definition content that is protected by HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection).

If Display is Not Captured

This issue arises only with the EchoSystem SafeCapture HD and occurs when an Instructor is using a laptop with both VGA and HDMI output ports. Specifically, this is a known issue with the Dell Latitude E6430 laptop but may apply to other models.

Problem: If you connect the laptop to the SafeCapture HD (on Primary Display) via a VGA→DVI-A cable, the laptop will begin to output on the digital port and not the VGA / Analog port. This causes a loss of capture.

Solution: Customers using laptops with both analog and digital video outputs should connect to the SafeCapture HD via HDMI (digital), which should output as expected.

While we have not yet identified other laptops with this issue, we presume the problem is not limited to the E6430. Our hypothesis is that newer laptops with both analog and digital video outputs may exhibit this problem. If you identify other laptops with this behavior, please contact Echo360 support and let us know.

If Content Is Distorted

This issue occurs most often when an Instructor is using a personal laptop and has specified a custom (non-standard) display resolution. The laptop does not communicate its display resolution correctly to the SafeCapture HD and distortions may result.

Several factors can cause a display resolution to be miscommunicated:

  • The laptop uses the obsolete GTF video standard
  • The laptop has a non-standard aspect ratio
  • The laptop uses flat panel scaling algorithms
  • The laptop's signal is subject to distribution amplifier effects
If this happens, urge Instructors to use a tested Classroom Capture installation on the podium PC rather than their own laptops, to capture the classroom lecture.

If Content Has "Curtains"

This issue arises only when you have specified the widescreen aspect ratio. See When Using the Widescreen Aspect Ratio on the Display Input.