Backing up a Videohub

It is recommended that you have a backup of your Videohub's state before making any changes. To do so, perform the following functions on a computing device that supports the telnet networking command. Instructions below are for macOS:

1. Open the Terminal application, location in the Applications/Utilities folder on your Mac.

2. Identify the IP address and port number of your Videohub. You can find this information using the Videohub Setup application from Blackmagic Design (BMD). The port number for actual Videohub video routers from BMD will be 9990. Simulated Videohubs created by RouteEffect can run off of any port.

3. Enter nc IP_ADDRESS PORT_NUMBER in the Terminal application. If your Videohub's IP address is 10.0.1.19 and port 9990, you would enter: nc 10.0.1.19 9990.

4. Copy and paste the text that appears. This is called the Protocol Preamble.

Protocol Preamble Sample

A complete sample preamble is shown below:

PROTOCOL PREAMBLE:
Version: 2.8

VIDEOHUB DEVICE:
Device present: true
Model name: Blackmagic Videohub 20x20 12G
Friendly name: Blackmagic Videohub 20x20 12G
Unique ID: XYZ
Video inputs: 20
Video processing units: 0
Video outputs: 20
Video monitoring outputs: 0
Serial ports: 0

NETWORK:
Interface Count: 1
Default Interface: 0

NETWORK INTERFACE 0:
Name: 1GbE
Priority: 1
MAC Address: 7c:2e:0d:a7:38:e8
Dynamic IP: true
Current Addresses: 10.0.1.220/255.255.255.0
Current Gateway: 10.0.1.1
Static Addresses: 10.0.0.7/255.255.255.0
Static Gateway: 10.0.0.1

INPUT LABELS:
0 Input 1
1 Input 2
2 Input 3
3 Input 4
4 Input 5
5 Input 6
6 Input 7
7 Input 8
8 Input 9
9 Input 10
10 Input 11
11 Input 12
12 Input 13
13 Input 14
14 Input 15
15 Input 16
16 Input 17
17 Input 18
18 Input 19
19 Input 20

OUTPUT LABELS:
0 Output 1
1 Output 2
2 Output 3
3 Output 4
4 Output 5
5 Output 6
6 Output 7
7 Output 8
8 Output 9
9 Output 10
10 Output 11
11 Output 12
12 Output 13
13 Output 14
14 Output 15
15 Output 16
16 Output 17
17 Output 18
18 Output 19
19 Output 20

VIDEO OUTPUT LOCKS:
0 U
1 U
2 U
3 U
4 U
5 U
6 U
7 U
8 U
9 U
10 U
11 U
12 U
13 U
14 U
15 U
16 U
17 U
18 U
19 U

VIDEO OUTPUT ROUTING:
0 0
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
13 13
14 14
15 15
16 16
17 17
18 18
19 19

CONFIGURATION:
Take Mode: false

TAKE MODE:
0 true
1 true
2 true
3 true
4 true
5 true
6 true
7 true
8 true
9 true
10 true
11 true
12 true
13 true
14 true
15 true
16 true
17 true
18 true
19 true

END PRELUDE:

Commands

The portion of the preamble that constitutes the backup portion of your Videohub is located after the Network: and 'Network Interface: sections and the END PRELUDE: line.

INPUT LABELS:
0 Input 1
1 Input 2
2 Input 3
3 Input 4
4 Input 5
5 Input 6
6 Input 7
7 Input 8
8 Input 9
9 Input 10
10 Input 11
11 Input 12
12 Input 13
13 Input 14
14 Input 15
15 Input 16
16 Input 17
17 Input 18
18 Input 19
19 Input 20

OUTPUT LABELS:
0 Output 1
1 Output 2
2 Output 3
3 Output 4
4 Output 5
5 Output 6
6 Output 7
7 Output 8
8 Output 9
9 Output 10
10 Output 11
11 Output 12
12 Output 13
13 Output 14
14 Output 15
15 Output 16
16 Output 17
17 Output 18
18 Output 19
19 Output 20

VIDEO OUTPUT LOCKS:
0 U
1 U
2 U
3 U
4 U
5 U
6 U
7 U
8 U
9 U
10 U
11 U
12 U
13 U
14 U
15 U
16 U
17 U
18 U
19 U

VIDEO OUTPUT ROUTING:
0 0
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
13 13
14 14
15 15
16 16
17 17
18 18
19 19

CONFIGURATION:
Take Mode: false

TAKE MODE:
0 true
1 true
2 true
3 true
4 true
5 true
6 true
7 true
8 true
9 true
10 true
11 true
12 true
13 true
14 true
15 true
16 true
17 true
18 true
19 true

You can change the data in this text to update labels and routes for your Videohub. These are in fact the sample commands that the Videohub Controller application for Mac and PC and RouteEffect call to control the Videohub. More information on available commands and how to use them can be found in the Videohub Manual PDF that came with your Videohub.

Restoring a Videohub

To restore a Videohub, you first connect to it and issue it commands using the Ethernet Protocol.

1. Open the Terminal application on your Mac.

2. Enter nc IP_ADDRESS PORT_NUMBER and hit Return. Again, if your Videohub's IP address is 10.0.1.19 and port 9990, you would enter: nc 10.0.1.19 9990.

3. After the Protocol Preamble has been sent, you can issue commands to the Videohub. Each command consists of a command block header, such as INPUT LABELS: followed by a series of lines containing the commands. When you are ready to send the command to the Videohub, press Enter twice.

For example, if I was connected to an ATEM Mini Pro and wanted to restore it to the state listed in the Protocol Preamble above, I would copy and paste the relevant command data into the Terminal application and hit Return/Enter.

INPUT LABELS:
0 Black
1 VideoHub
2 ATEM
3 5D Mark IV
4 iPad
5 Color Bars
6 Color 1
7 Color 2
8 Media Player 1
9 Media Player 1 Key
10 Multi View
11 Program
12 Preview
13 VideoHub Direct

OUTPUT LABELS:
0 Output
1 Webcam Out
2 Program
3 Preview

VIDEO OUTPUT ROUTING:
0 11
1 11
2 2
3 1

Here is a video of issuing three separate commands to the ATEM Mini to restore its input labels, output labels, and routing configuration.