HIVE - Software

Control from your phone, tablet or laptop via the web browser interface
Designed from the ground up by experienced AV professionals to be simple to use & easy to operate
Market leading lossless video codecs – H.264 & H.265 in addition to Avolites AiM & Notch LC
Build your own live control pages, accessible through your web browser or controlled by MIDI
Control the system from your lighting desk using ArtNet
Newtek NDI input
Rock-solid embedded Linux render engine

USB Video input. HDMI or SDI via external adapters supporting the USB Video Class standard
Ultimate flexibility with high resolution parameter control (up to 32 bit resolution)
Synchronise to external clock sources such as SMPTE timecode via USB MTC or ArtNet Timecode
Uncompressed 16 / 24 / 32 bit audio playback of videos with embedded audio
Easily controlled by 3rd party systems via comprehensive UDP command set
Advanced play list with follow-on commands
Synchronise multiple players to create huge installations

MAP

SIMPLE
ADVANCED
WARP & BLEND

ADVANCED MAPPING

On the advanced mapping page you can add any number of source and destination regions. This is a powerful feature enabling configurations of large and complex video outputs. Regions can also be converted into four point warps and masks.

You can import & export your output configurations to/from a text file which allows you to store multiple output configurations and recall them again in the future. You can also share the output configuration with other HIVE systems & users.

Output configurations are stored as JSON text files. Highly complex mappings can be generated from your 3D software environment or scripting language of choice.

MEDIA

MEDIA MANAGEMENT

The media page manages uploaded video files and images, supporting H.264 & H.265 media, the Avolites Ai codec, and Notch LC. If a file is uploaded that doesn’t use one of these codecs, the player can transcode it. The page displays a thumbnail preview of the video file, its duration, and FPS. Users can play, pause, and scrub content using a simple playhead. The software also allows for the addition of template images, web pages, user applications, and live inputs such as Newtek’s NDI as well as USB Video inputs from third-party adapters. The Avolites AIM Codec for Adobe Suite CC2019 & Onward can be downloaded here:

PLAY

PLAYLIST
EXTERNAL CLOCK
LIVE CONTROL
TIME LINE

PLAY PLAYLIST

Programming a playlist is the simplest method of controlling media in the HIVE user interface.

This page allows users to specify which videos on their device should play and in what order. Users can also choose what happens after each video finishes, such as playing the next video in the list or selecting a video at random.

The playlist can be controlled on two layers, allowing for an overlay with a logo or ident on one layer while the other randomly selects videos from the list.

Live inputs can also be included in the playlist.

EXTERNAL CLOCK

On the external clock page, users can synchronise video files stored on the device to an external clock like SMPTE timecode. You can set trigger times for each video, which will automatically play in sync with the timecode signal when the external clock reaches the trigger time.

You can choose to lock the video file frame by frame to the source or free-wheel, maintaining synchronisation while allowing the video file to continue playing if the external clock stops transmitting.

Additionally, users can synchronise to the system clock, enabling scheduled playback of video files at defined times of the day. ArtNet support for timecode from devices like TIMECORE is also available.

LIVE CONTROL

The live control page is a very flexible and powerful way to control your media, with 16 pages for adding buttons, faders, knobs, and custom controls to adjust any system parameter.

Users can add buttons to trigger media and composition triggers that activate all system parameters simultaneously, enabling the creation of complex scenes and effects with a single, user-customized control surface.

The control page can be configured to trigger from a MIDI device, or loaded through a web browser on various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

TIME LINE

The timeline page uses an intuitive nonlinear timeline to adjust media with key-framed opacity and 32 easing types, including linear, exponential, quadratic, bounce, and elastic.

Live inputs like USB HDMI/SDI and Newtek NDI can also be incorporated and mixed into the timeline.

Timelines can be added to the media list and triggered from playlists or external clock sources like USB timecode or ArtNet Timecode.

Users can import and export timelines to create multiple timelines for different chapters of their presentation.

ADJUST

SETTINGS
PARAMETERS
EFFECTS
SENSORS

ADJUST SETTINGS

DEVICE NAME - An editable name for this device which appears on the Device page.
IP METHOD - Select from DHCP or Static IP addresses.
IP ADDRESS - Enter a custom IP address or view the DHCP assigned Static IP address.
NET MASK - Enter a custom Net Mask or view the DHCP assigned Net Mask.
DMX UNIVERSE - Enter the DMX Universe that this device should appear on.
HIVE MODEL - Set during manufacture.
BEE TYPE - Select Queen or Worker. A Queen bee HIVE Player can take over control of many worker bees.
PLAY MODE CONTROL - Local control or Queen / Worker can be selected.
CONTROL PROTOCOL - ArtNET or ArtNET simplified. The latter is used for very basic lighting desks with only a few available control channels.
OUTPUT RESOLUTION - Select from 1280x720, 1920x1080 or 3840x2160 resolution.
OUTPUT REFRESH RATE - Select 25, 30, 50 or 60.
OUTPUT MODE - Select single output, cloned HDMI & DisplayPort, or L1 HDMI / L2 DisplayPort.
SEND COMMAND - Send system commands to reset or control the Hive Player operation.

ADJUST PARAMETERS

The HIVE players have a vast number of controllable parameters, everything from size, position, scale, speed, rotation, colour adjustment; all the parameters you would expect from a full professional media server.

Full parameter list available here: Hive Media Players Artnet Personality

These parameters can be controlled manually with keyboard and mouse on the Parameters page. They can be saved to the device so that the device starts up with all the parameters as you have set them.

Where it gets really interesting though is when you start controlling the HIVE player[s] with an external control surface like a lighting desk or any device which can control ArtNET fixtures. When you control the HIVE players via ArtNET the parameters page serves as a monitoring page to show the user what each of the parameters is currently set to. Very handy when you quickly want to check the output from the lighting desk is setting the value you want!

There is a layer selection drop down too, which allows you to set or monitor the parameters on the 2nd layer.

ADJUST EFFECTS

From the effects page you can apply effects to the video files playing on each layer. There is a maximum of 2 effects on each layer.

The current effects list is as follows:

1 - OLD TV	6 - FRACTAL SOUP	11 - INFINITY ZOOM
2 - SEPIA	7 - RADAR	12 - DOT GRID
3 - FEEDBACK	8 - PIXELISE	13 - KALEIDOSCOPE
4 - BLUR	9 - SOFT EDGE OVAL	14 - MULTI MIRROR
5 - CRYSTALISE	10 - TILE	15 - REBELLE DISTORT

We will be adding more effects soon. Feel free to get in touch and request an effect if there is something you would like to see in the system.

Intuitive user interface

Device

MAP

SIMPLE MAPPING