Installing and Using the Device Monitor

Overview

The EchoSystem Device Monitor is a Windows-only application designed to work with the Delcom USB HID Visual Signal Indicator (a USB-attached light). Together, these products provide a visual confidence monitor to instructors and students on the state of a capture device while recording. They also allow you to quickly set up an ad-hoc recording without needing to access the ad-hoc recording interface.

The Delcom USB Visual Signal Indicator is a small light, that attaches via USB port to a classroom PC that controls ad hoc captures from an EchoSystem SafeCapture HD device (SCHD) or that has Classroom Capture installed.

The Device Monitor light is available from Delcom Products, product number 904007-SB: http://www.delcomproducts.com/productdetails.asp?productnum=904007-SB.

The EchoSystem Device Monitor 1.9.4 is available through the Echo360 Customer Portal at: http://echo360.com/customer-portal-login.

Since the Device Monitor is simply a way to interact with the existing ad hoc web interface, you should be able to use the Device Monitor with any version of EchoSystem that supports ad hoc capture. However, it has only been tested with EchoSystem versions 5.0 and up.

Installing the Device Monitor Software

The zip file containing the device monitor software can be obtained from the Echo360 Customer Portal.

To install the device monitor software:

1. Unzip the downloaded file.

2. Double-click the setup.exe file.

3. Follow the wizard prompts to install the software.

4. Click Finish to complete the installation.

Once installed, you can plug the Device Monitor light into the PC.

Launch the Device Monitor

The Device Monitor is configured to start when Windows starts. Even if the Device Monitor icon does not appear in the System Tray, the Device Monitor is active and the light should show current capture status and allow you to press it to start or control a capture.

To manually launch the Device Monitor:

• Double-click the Device Monitor icon on the desktop, OR

• Click Start > Echo360 Device Monitor

On first launch, you will be prompted to complete the Device Configuration defaults Ad Hoc Capture default settings. These can be done with generic information (applicable to all users) or with instructor-specific information. The information entered is retained on a per-user basis, so that each logged in user can have their own configurations.

Once launched, the Device Monitor can be controlled through the Windows System Tray icon, which looks like the Echo360 logo. Click this icon to open the Device Monitor menu options, as shown in the below figure.

Open

Device Configuration Defaults

Device configuration is performed through the Echo360 Configuration menu option. These settings identify the device that will be doing the capturing (either Classroom Capture or an SCHD), and an instructor login. Instructors can enter their specific login credentials or you can use the generic instructor login.

To set Device Configuration defaults:

1. Open the System Tray menu, shown above, and select Echo360 Configuration. This opens the Device Configuration dialog box, shown below.
   
   
   

   Open

   

2. Configure the following information to log in and connect to the capture device ad hoc interface:
   
   

   1. Device URL: Enter the fully qualified URL to the device. This will typically be the IP address shown for the device in the ESS (Configuration > Devices > Click the MAC address of the device). For example: https://10.3.10.245:8443 
      
      

   2. Credentials: Enter a username and password.

   
   
   

   1.  

      •  

        • If an instructor login is used, the instructor can select a section for the ad hoc capture.

        • If a generic login is used, any ad hoc captures will need to be manually processed and published to a section.

Ad Hoc Capture Defaults

The Ad Hoc Capture configuration allows you to set default information to be used for any Ad Hoc Capture initiated through the device monitor.

If an instructor provides their personal credentials in the Device Configuration dialog box (above), the Ad hoc Capture defaults (configured below) will be used for all captures initiated via the Device Monitor Light after the instructor logs into the PC. If for some reason the user cannot be authenticated or is not associated with a particular course or section, the capture can proceed, but will use generic capture settings and will need to be assigned to a Section later through the ESS.

To set Ad Hoc Capture defaults:

1. Open the System Tray menu, shown above, and select Ad Hoc Capture Settings. Depending on the credentials entered, one of the following Ad Hoc Capture dialog boxes appears.

   The two Ad Hoc Capture dialog boxes are identical except for the ability to select a Section to which to publish the capture. Section selection appears if the Credentials entered are for an instructor who is associated with an active course or section.

2. Enter information to apply to all Ad Hoc Captures initiated through the Device Monitor. These will be used unless manually overridden by the user: 
   
   
   

   • Default Capture Description: Provide a generic description for the capture that identifies it clearly. You may want to use Room or Device information so that you can contact possible instructors and direct the ad hoc capture to the proper section. 
     OR

   
   
   

   • Default Capture Title: If instructor credentials are entered, a Section can be identified and a more specific Title can be entered, identifying the basic subject matter for the capture. The Instructor can edit to be more specific this before initiating a capture, or in the EchoCenter after the capture is published if necessary.

   • Duration: Indicate how long you generally want ad hoc captures to be. Instructors can to stop the capture early, or extend the capture if necessary. Keep in mind if there is a scheduled capture for the room, the Ad hoc Capture cannot extend into the scheduled capture time.

   • What do you want to capture?: This identifies a Product Group for the Ad hoc Capture, indicating what inputs you want to include, like Video/Display or Audio/Video. The Product Group selected here will be retained for all captures unless changed by the user.

3. When finished, you can:
   
   
   

   • Click Save to retain the settings,

   • Click Capture to retain these settings and immediately initiate a capture.