Converting Codec Pro to MTR – Network and Room Navigator Setup

[arjan.de.goede]

We’re planning to convert our Codec Pro devices, which currently use CVI (Cloud Video Interop) to connect to Teams, to MTR — since they support that, right?

In this case, does the Room Navigator log in with the same M365 Teams account as the codec? Or, once the codec is converted to MTR, does the Room Navigator automatically display the Teams interface?

Currently, the regular network port of our Codec Pro is connected to a separate IoT network.
Is the touch panel port on the Codec Pro part of a separate network, and can we use that port to connect to the AV-over-IP network so the Room Navigator can also be used to control the projection screens (up/down), select inputs and outputs, and combine rooms?

We want to keep the IoT network and AV-over-IP network separated.

Thanks!

[Nithin Eluvathingal]

CODEC Pro is certified for MTR. AFAIK , if you are connecting the Navigator through the network, you need to have an MTR PRO license. With the basic version, the Navigator should be connected directly to the device itself.

[Jonathan Schulenberg · Accepted solution]

The RN panel will require its own sign-in process. It will display a different code than the Kit Pro.

The second half of your question is much broader. The four auxiliary Ethernet ports on the Kit Pro are functionally identical except only two of them provide PoE. The RN panel used as the room controller may connect to one of the PoE-capable auxiliary ports and be proxied by the Kit Pro to the outside network for MTR-A. If you also have a RN scheduling panel outside the door it cannot use the auxiliary ports of the codec when running MTR-A; it must connect to the LAN separately.

The Kit Pro, the RN is just the user interface, can interface to with other devices (e.g. shades, lighting, HVAC, etc.) using UI Extensions and the Javascript macro framework. If those other devices are IP-connected and have a RESTful API (raw TCP/UDP sockets are not supported yet; serial is also an option, with some limitations) you have the option of connecting them, or an intermediate Ethernet switch, to the auxiliary ports of the Kit Pro. There is a reserved range of 169.254.1.225-254/24 for static address assignment to 3rd-party components. The Kit Pro won't proxy traffic for those devices to the LAN however; it's an isolated network. If you add a switch ensure that it does not offer a DHCP server or default gateway. Macros are equally capable of reaching devices on either the auxiliary or LAN ports though, so you have options.

Specific to a projector: it's worth checking for HDMI CEC support first. If not, using a controller that can independently manage the projector and potentially a motorized screen may be easier. The Extron HD CTL 100 or Liberty DL-UHDILC are two possible examples (not an endorsement of either).

[arjan.de.goede]

Thanks all.

I have heard that when converting a Codec Pro to MTR, a lot of the original features of the codec Pro (RoomOS) are lost, is that true ?

So a maximum of 2 cameras and 2 HDMI outputs?  Are there other limitations, are macros still working on the Room navigator in MTR mode?

The plan is to use our Codec Pros in combination with Crestron CP4N control engine and CB-IO-COM-102 wired ethernet modules with com ports to control the projection screens (up/down) and projectors on/off,  Crestron DM NVX 4k60 AV encoders/decoders for video inputs/outputs , Netgear M4250 AV switch, QSC Core 110f-v2 analog I/O processor for ( I think) the 8 wireless shure microphones per room.

[Jonathan Schulenberg]

Yes and no. MTR-A is essentially a black box but RoomOS is still running. Many, not all, integrations and 3rd-party peripherals are still possible so long as they only need to interact with RoomOS. The RoomOS xAPI Documentation even has a "MTR" checkbox filter; however, it's critical to understand that only means that the command remains available within RoomOS while hosting the MTR-A container - not that it can act upon the MTR-A container directly. I'll give a specific example of this below. UI extensions are also still possible - but only if you place them in the Control Panel drawer that slides in from the right edge of the Room Navigator or Board/Desk series primary display. Same constraint: you can't modify the MTR-A GUI but you can add buttons to RoomOS.

You're correct that HDMI 1 & 2 out are immutable for MTR-A and HDMI 3 is unusable with it. MTR-A in a dual display arrangement also assumes that both displays are on the front wall (i.e., there is no proper support for presenter confidence monitor or other requirements). You'll need to use a DA, ideally one that supports CEC, if you need to mirror outputs. This is also an example where xAPI support gets tricky: xConfiguration Video Output Connector[1] MonitorRole is available when running MTR but it only acts upon RoomOS, not MTR-A. That means native Webex Meetings or Zoom SIP CRC joins but not MS Teams meetings. (This is only possible when the endpoint is dual-registered to Teams Admin Center and Webex Control Hub.)

The way I think of it is that the HDMI outputs are hardcoded for MTR-A. Everything else is presented as a single virtual I/O device to the Android container: a single audio line out, a single microphone in, and a single presentation in. MTR has no awareness of what RoomOS has for I/O or what processing is happening outside the Android container.

Additional documentation is available in the MTR Guide on the RoomOS site.