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.

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.
   
   
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.

Additional Device Monitor Configuration

Device Monitor Light Defaults

The Device Monitor light indicates the current status of the capture using both steady-state and blinking LED lights of different colors. The default setting are shown below but can be changed.

By default, the light indicator settings are as follows:

• Light Off - The recording device is idle OR the device monitor software is not running or is not communicating with the recording device.
• Steady Red Light - The device is currently recording. The Inputs being recorded (audio, display, video) are determined by the Product Group selected for the capture in the ad hoc Capture settings (configured in the section above).
• Steady Yellow Light - The device is currently preparing to start a capture (called "Waiting" mode).
• Flashing Yellow Light - The capture is currently paused. No inputs are being captured.
• Flashing Green Light - The capture has been stopped and capture processing is being completed. The light will turn off when finished.
• Flashing Red Light - There has been an error capturing or communicating with the recording device. You may need to stop and then start a new capture.
• Steady Green Light - Not used by default but can be configured for any of the LED states.

To view or change Device Monitor Light settings:

1. Open the System Tray menu, shown above, and select Device Monitor Configuration. The Device Monitor Configuration dialog box appears, shown below.
   

2. Use the Checkboxes described above to enable or disable features of the monitor and light.
3. Use the drop-down lists to set a different light color or state for each LED State. A full drop-down list with all possible selections is shown below.
4. Use the Power levels to set how bright you want each light-state to appear via the Delcom light. A higher Power level indicates a brighter light.
5. When finished, click Apply to apply the changes, or OK to apply the changes and close the dialog box.

Using the Light to Control the Capture

The Device Monitor light functions not only as a capture status indicator, but also as an "Easy Button" to start, pause, and stop Adhoc Captures. Note that this feature can be disabled in the Device Monitor Configuration. It is enabled by default.

Whenever the light is used to initiate a capture, the settings configured in the above sections of this page are used to define the title, duration, and inputs for the capture, as well as the section to which it will be published (if configured).

The light will control captures as follows:

• To Start an Ad Hoc Capture: Press and hold the light for two seconds or until it turns yellow. The device will turn Red when recording begins.
• To Pause a Capture: Press the light for one second (tapping the light should be sufficient) or until it begins to flash yellow.
• To Resume a paused Capture: Press the light for one second (tapping the light should be sufficient) or until it turns red again.
• To Stop a Capture: Press and hold the light for two seconds or until it begins to flash green. When the capture processing is complete, the light will turn off.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

• The "light indicators" listed above are based on the default Device Monitor Configuration settings. If you changed these settings, apply those changes to the above instructions.
• If you changed the default LED configurations, communicate those specifics to the instructors.
• You can use the device monitor light to Pause, Resume, and Stop any capture (scheduled or ad hoc), as well as initiate a new ad hoc capture.
• You cannot Extend a Capture using the light. You must use the System Tray menu. See the instructions that follow.

If you want to Extend a capture already in progress (either ad hoc or scheduled) with the device monitor, you must use the System Tray menu. Be advised, however, that if there is a subsequent capture scheduled for the room, you cannot extend the current capture beyond the starting time of the next scheduled capture for that room.

To Extend a Capture:

1. Open the System Tray menu and select Extend Capture.
2. Enter the amount of time you want to extend the current capture. This duration is added to the existing capture. For example, if the original duration was set to 45 minutes, enter 15 into this dialog box to make the capture 1 hour.
3. When finished, click OK.

The capture will continue for the configured extension or until you manually stop the capture.

Locking the Configuration

Use the Configuration Lock option to set a password on the Device Monitor configuration. Locking the configuration is optional.

Select Configuration Lock from the System Tray menu, shown above, to bring up the Configuration Security dialog box as shown.

If you do lock the configuration, making any changes to the device monitor configuration will require entering the appropriate password to do so.

Admin Override

Device Monitor 1.9.4 includes an admin override feature that supersedes any local settings and uses configuration values from a supplied XML file. This allows for mass deployment of the application without the need to configure each individual instance.

When an admin override XML is used, Device Monitor will parse it, use the supplied settings and prevent any configuration changes through the user interface. This includes graying-out the Device URL field in the Echo360 Configuration window and preventing access to the Device Monitor Configuration window.

In order to use this feature, a file labeled adminOverride.xml must be created and placed in the following directory:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Echo360\Echo360 Device Monitor\ 

An example adminOverride.xml which outlines the required structure is as follows:

<AdminOverride xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">

  <!-- these can be set or not regardless of the OverrideDelcomSettings flag -->
  <EchoServerURI>https://10.3.6.164:8443</EchoServerURI>
  <EchoUsername>instructor</EchoUsername>
  <EchoEncryptedPassword>166125033209225163193094161087240006163200008085</EchoEncryptedPassword>

  <!-- set to true to enable all of the settings below -->
  <OverrideDelcomSettings>true</OverrideDelcomSettings>

  <!--disable all delcom light gestures -->
  <DisableDelcomGestures>false</DisableDelcomGestures>

  <!-- disable individual gestures, if DisableDelcomGestures is true all will be disabled regardless of these settings -->
  <DisableDelcomGestureStart>false</DisableDelcomGestureStart>
  <DisableDelcomGestureStop>false</DisableDelcomGestureStop>
  <DisableDelcomGesturePause>false</DisableDelcomGesturePause>
  <DisableDelcomGestureResume>false</DisableDelcomGestureResume>

  <!-- set led sequence and level for each device state -->
  <LEDStateIdle>2</LEDStateIdle>
  <LEDStateIdlePowerLevel>50</LEDStateIdlePowerLevel>
  <LEDStateWaiting>6</LEDStateWaiting>
  <LEDStateWaitingPowerLevel>50</LEDStateWaitingPowerLevel>
  <LEDStateCapturing>4</LEDStateCapturing>
  <LEDStateCapturingPowerLevel>50</LEDStateCapturingPowerLevel>
  <LEDStatePaused>7</LEDStatePaused>
  <LEDStatePausedPowerLevel>50</LEDStatePausedPowerLevel>
  <LEDStateCompleting>3</LEDStateCompleting>
  <LEDStateCompletingPowerLevel>50</LEDStateCompletingPowerLevel>
  <LEDStateError>5</LEDStateError>
  <LEDStateErrorPowerLevel>50</LEDStateErrorPowerLevel>

  <!-- allow warning signal when audio is not detected for the delay time -->
  <AudioWarningEnabled>false</AudioWarningEnabled>
  <AudioWarningDelay>2</AudioWarningDelay>
  <AudioWarningLEDState>13</AudioWarningLEDState>
  <AudioWarningPowerLevel>50</AudioWarningPowerLevel>

  <!-- allow warning signal when capture is about to end within delay time -->
  <CaptureWarningEnabled>false</CaptureWarningEnabled>
  <CaptureWarningDelay>5</CaptureWarningDelay>
  <CaptureWarningLEDState>8</CaptureWarningLEDState>
  <CaptureWarningPowerLevel>50</CaptureWarningPowerLevel>
</AdminOverride>