MRMC MHC CLASSIC, Quick Start Manual

Page 1: ...CRANES AND RIGS BROADCAST HEADS DSLR PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY RENTALS MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide Product code MRMC 1485 26 ...

Page 2: ...t is accurate and up to date Mark Roberts Motion Control continuously strives to improve their products and may make changes to the hardware firmware and software described in this document Mark Roberts Motion Control therefore cannot be held responsible for any error or omission in this document All product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective own...

Page 3: ...wering up a head and the PC 3 Changing system configuration and network settings 4 Network setup 5 Adding heads 5 Adding the Type of head 6 Changing a head s name 7 Assigning heads to user s 7 Assigning a Parent Head 8 Removing a head 8 Editing network settings on the head 8 Setting up video feed from the camera 10 Adding users 10 Logging in as a User 12 Testing head connectivity 12 ...

Page 4: ... 20 Iris 20 Shutter release button 21 All Cameras Shutter Release Toggle 21 Focus Point Selector 22 Presets 22 Storing a position as a preset 22 Activating a preset 23 Deleting a Preset 23 Editing a Preset Name 24 AutoFocus toggle button 24 Portrait switch 25 AutoFocus toggle button 25 Lv toggle button 26 Help button 26 Send All to Zero button 26 Chapter 3 Preferences Page 27 Master Manual Speed 2...

Page 5: ...Homing 36 Homing Style 37 Homing Velocity 37 Homing Time 37 Homing Offset 37 Homing when changing lenses 38 Enabling and disabling the axis 38 Stopping the head 38 Test the axis with manual control 38 Save and apply settings to the head 39 Tools tab 39 Tools tab for Pods 40 EXPORT ROBOT SETTINGS 40 IMPORT ROBOT SETTINGS 42 RESER ROBOT 42 RESET CAMERA Pod only 42 RESET 10 PIN Pod only 42 POWER DOWN...

Page 6: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide vi Chapter 7 Colour Page For Nikon DSLR Only 53 Appendix 1 Troubleshooting 57 Typical symptoms causes and actions 57 ...

Page 7: ... the installer follow the on screen instructions to install MHC The minimum system requirements for installing MHC v3 0 are Windows 10 Intel i3 CPU Note MHC is configured by MRMC for the type and number of heads the lens motors used and the lens types as delivered This includes MHC License network settings and names for each head configuring homing for each robot axis and lens motors if supplied s...

Page 8: ...ng Information If you have recently installed MHC when you launch MHC Polymotion Launcher click Manage Licenses On the Licenses window click the Copy button the bottom of your MHC screen to copy the UID and paste it your license request including any other products such as Polymotion Chat or Polymotion Player to support mrmoco com ...

Page 9: ...e PC 1 Cable together and power up all heads including camera and lens motors 1 Use the icon on desktop to launch Polymotion Launcher 2 Click tap MHC 3 If you are launching this for the first time you will be required to add a new license file or a license code Contact MRMC Support for a new license Refer to MHC Licensing Information on page 2 4 Once you have supplied a license code MHC Server and...

Page 10: ...CONTROLLER MAPPING View and modify functions assigned to USB joystick controller buttons Refer to MHC User Manual for further details USER Add change user accounts The Settings menu is different for Administrator and User login For more information on Settings menu for the User login refer to Settings menu on page 14 Note At any time if you need to restart MHC perform the following steps 1 Close t...

Page 11: ...obots already set up with addresses from 192 168 1 236 to 192 138 1 239 You can delete these if you want a clean slate to start from The two row colours represent the status of the heads Green The head is successfully connected and ready to operate Grey The head with the IP address is not connected with the system s network or is not powered up A connected head can also be disabled which means tha...

Page 12: ...ets Some heads such as Panasonic PTZ even if present on the network are not auto detected using the FIND button These can be added manually by entering their IP address after clicking the NEW button 3 Then enter the TYPE of head and a NAME for it The row for the head stays grey until the head is actually present on the network Adding the Type of head The first thing you should do is check what typ...

Page 13: ...ng the robot IP address because once it is connected MHC will try to change it to whatever it currently set to Ensure that you choose the correct head because if you chose the wrong one the head either won t work as expected or won t work at all Changing a head s name You can change the name of a connected or disconnected head The name appears in the ROBOT NAME column To change the head s name 1 S...

Page 14: ...only the disconnected grey head s IP address is editable Only when the head is connected can the network settings be changed on it Select a robot that is connected green and click in the IP ADDRESS box Use the appearing dialog box to change the IP settings of the robot Your system will also automatically update its local reference address so you won t lose the connection to the edited robot Enter ...

Page 15: ...ging across to a different subnet the head will appear disconnected until you change your computer network IP address to the new subnet range You can also use this dialog box to configure FTP server settings for a Robotic Pod For more detail on this refer to the Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Note You must be logged in as Administrator to change network settings on the head ...

Page 16: ...deo stream from the camera can be sent to MHC via an HDMI video encoder which converts SDI input into an IP stream that is web managed and can be viewed over LAN or public Internet To set up live feed on MHC via SDI out 1 Connect the HD video encoder to the network PC and the head Ensure that your PC on which you want to view that video feed from the head is on the same LAN as the head and the enc...

Page 17: ...there is three User accounts added to the system Operator Engineer and Supervisor You can have upto 15 user accounts including the default ones However if you require you can add more Users To do this 1 Click tap Settings USER 2 Click tap ADD USER 3 Enter the username and password that you want to assign to the user Select a Login Group 4 Click tap SAVE Once user s are added the heads can be assig...

Page 18: ...ty Logging on as a user will take you to the MHC Main Page You should be able to move the robot now with either the on screen controls or the joystick if you have one connected Check the pan and tilt are working now just to check if the head is connected properly For detailed explanation of the controls see Chapter 2 Main Page DefaultUsername DefaultPassword operator password engineer password sup...

Page 19: ...le on the Main page 1 Settings menu 2 Head selection 3 LiveView 4 Camera settings 5 Manual controls 6 AutoFocus toggle button 7 Shutter release button 8 All Cameras Shutter Release Toggle 9 Focus Point Selector 10 Presets 11 Portrait switch 12 Lv toggle button 13 Help button 14 Send All to Zero button 1 2 2 3 5 10 11 5 6 5 7 5 5 13 4 12 8 9 ...

Page 20: ...gineer login type has an additional page ROBOT that allows to access and edit the robot settings For more detail refer to Chapter 4 Robot Settings Page Engineer Supervisor type users only Head selection The icons on the page represent the heads that you can view and control using the MHC client MHC can support up to 12 connected heads Settings menu for Engineer login type Settings menu for Operato...

Page 21: ... state Coloursofstates Description The head is available to use but not selected The head is selected There is a problem with communication to the head it cannot be used at the time There is a problem with the head but you can still select and use it User who s currently operating the head Head assigned to All users Yellow border Head being controlled by a controller such as Pan Bars ...

Page 22: ...rror message by simply clicking tapping on the head icon On the message box there could be a repair button depending on the type of the error you are facing Click tap the repair button to initiate an automated fix on the problematic head Some errors can be fixed for example tripped axis and some cannot The slot is empty no head assigned to the icon A yellow icon also indicates that the head is bei...

Page 23: ...r using the camera s video output stream directly When you point on the LiveView window play pause and stop buttons appear briefly and disappear when you point away These buttons can be used to play pause or stop LiveView Note that these will only change what you see in the LiveView window and not the actual camera output LiveView can be toggled to Full Screen view by using the button on top ...

Page 24: ...perture priority S Shutter priority P Program M Manual Changing the camera settings You can change camera settings by clicking tapping on them and then using the set wheel or the arrows on the side If a value is faded grey instead of white that means it cannot be changed This happens if a particular camera mode is selected which has that property automatically set by the camera The exposure meter ...

Page 25: ...x with camera controls that are usable via TenPin Some other camera controls AutoFocus Mode Exposure Metering and AF Area Mode can be accessed via USB by clicking the Enable USB button Manual controls The manual controls are joysticks for Pan Tilt Roll if applicable focus zoom and iris The joysticks provide manual velocity controls The further you drag their handle from the centre the faster the r...

Page 26: ...ad with a two axes joystick While the vertical movement of the control will tilt the head the horizontal will change its pan angle Roll You can manually control the Roll axis on heads which have a Roll axis Focus You can manually focus the camera lens on the MRMC head by using this joystick control Zoom You can manually zoom the camera lens on the MRMC head by using this joystick control Iris Use ...

Page 27: ...ap click on the shutter release button If you want to take multiple shots rapidly burst keep pressing the button All Cameras Shutter Release Toggle When this toggle button active pressing the Shutter Release button will release the shutter for all the connected cameras being operated by that user ...

Page 28: ...to BASIC You can store the position of the head as a preset and later make it to go to a recorded position this motion is called Goto When storing a position all the axes will be stored A preset button is faded when no position is stored in them Storing a position as a preset 1 Use the controls to go to a head position of your choice Ensure that the Zoom and Focus axes are in correct positions ...

Page 29: ... activate it for all of them just by clicking the preset button To run a preset move for all connected heads select GROUP and then click the preset that you want to run Note that if a preset button does not have a move stored for a head then the head will not move If a Goto is in progress you can immediately stop the movement by clicking tapping the red STOP button The speed of the robot moving in...

Page 30: ... its name Click tap again to exit the edit mode AutoFocus toggle button You can turn on off the AutoFocus feature of the camera lens with this toggle button Note Pressing the delete button will delete the goto move stored in the preset button but not its name whereas deleting editing the name of a preset will alter its name only but not the goto move itself ...

Page 31: ...5 Portrait switch Use this switch if you want to take portrait pictures It flips the LiveView image and rotates the camera by 90 AutoFocus toggle button You can turn on off the AutoFocus feature of the camera lens with this toggle button ...

Page 32: ...ill not have a view The video stream address once configured in the MHC Network Settings page in the Admin login displays the SDI video feed from the camera when the Lv button is pressed The button is disabled for all other cameras Help button allows you to access MHC Quick Start Guide intended to get you started on MHC and a more detailed MHC User Guide as well other related MRMC manuals Send All...

Page 33: ...stored on the head unlike those in the Robot Settings page thus providing a faster way of setting limits Master Manual Speed The Master Manual Speed control specifies how fast you want all axes to move Note that this is user dependent that is in case the robot is assigned to more than one user then each user can set this value individually Individual axis speed controls Current position Master spe...

Page 34: ...ored as minimum and maximum limits for each axis using the SET button These are user limits and not stored on the head These limits are checked at run time to see that the move does not exceed the allowed limits of travel Invert Use this button to invert the direction of the input control for the axis Homing You can use the axis Home button to home each axis individually This button is not availab...

Page 35: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 29 Notes ...

Page 36: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 30 Notes ...

Page 37: ...d indicated with selectable tabs near the top Selecting different robots You ll find the name and number of the currently selected robot in the header of the page in green With the green arrow buttons on the side of the header you can browse through all of your robots while staying at the same robot settings sub section For example you want to change the same parameter on all of your connected rob...

Page 38: ... Motor settings Motor type depends on the type of motor that the head uses for that axis The motor type must be set to the type of motor on that axis You will need to refer to the product specification for the exact motor type For Lens axes you want to check that if you are using a serial lens these say Focus serial or Zoom serial If you are using external servo motors then this should say Servo P...

Page 39: ...ct the range of movement of the robot in some cases Minimum and Maximum position is the range that the axis is allowed to move If there is limited space for the robot you must avoid collisions to the surrounding objects You can keep the view in a certain field for easier operation Minimum and Maximum Positions can be set the unit is degrees The recommended way to set these values is to slowly appr...

Page 40: ...tting compensates for backlash in the motor during Goto moves and manual control Backlash is when you have a bit of wiggle room usually between where gears are meshing the axis can be moved a little without the motor actually moving Normally 0 is the best setting unless you have problems with backlash Override and restore limits OVERRIDE LIMITS will temporarily disable these settings if you want t...

Page 41: ...ically moves the axes to the home positions that are built into the hardware and then assigns these positions as the zero points for the axes Once zeroed an axis can be controlled to not hit its limits of travel and can be programmed to move to preset positions and provide accurate Target Tracking information The method of Home Zeroing depends on the hardware setup and is pre configured by MRMC Ho...

Page 42: ...Home at the top of the page Ensure that the values in the Minimum and Maximum Position and Homing Type are correct for the lens on the head for the axes you are homing This is done automatically for Zoom with end stops Homing type Lens The Focus is normally Homing type Slip Check that the Status of the axis is ON in the grey box If it is not click the ENABLE button to turn it on 2 Click tap the HO...

Page 43: ... the axis will seek its reference point The direction is set by the sign This should be set low at first It is in display scaled units just like the maximum velocity Homing Time This setting determines the time allowed to look for the home position before timing out Homing Offset Once a reference point has been properly located the axis will move a given distance from this point back to its normal...

Page 44: ...ng wrong in the axis settings Once you have fixed the problem or to re test you click the ENABLE button to allow the axis to move You can also disable the axis if you don t want it to move even when the user move the controller The status will display as USER when it is disabled by the user Stopping the head Use the STOP button to stop the head movement Test the axis with manual control You can te...

Page 45: ...settings to the robot use the two buttons in the top right corner Tools tab The TOOLS tab allows resetting of the head and exporting and importing MHC settings Note There other settings here known as Motor Tuning settings which are advanced settings and should be fine left as the default settings ...

Page 46: ...set to Pod in MHC the TOOLS tab contains additional buttons as below EXPORT ROBOT SETTINGS Use this button to store all the settings in MHC to an XML file which you can import later This can be used to copy settings to another robot or save the factory settings to be restored later ...

Page 47: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 41 1 Clicking the button will open a dialog box enter the name of the XML file 2 Click Save ...

Page 48: ...equired RESET CAMERA Pod only Clicking Reset Camera resets the Nikon camera as though you power cycled it RESET 10 PIN Pod only 10 pin board is a special board that MHC uses to access special functions in the D5 camera Clicking Reset 10 Pin reinitialises the 10 Pin board or resets all the camera functions that are accessible via 10 pin protocol such as ISO aperture focus white balance image qualit...

Page 49: ...do this if your bandwidth is limited and you want to reduce the traffic on the network TEST NETWORK QUALITY Pod only This button displays the percentage values of Jitter and Loss in the network Environment tab Pod only This tab gives you the information about various environmental factors such as the temperature of the Pod moisture in the Pod and others that allow you to level the Pod Use this tab...

Page 50: ... 44 Note that heater can be switched on and remain on when the fan is switched on Once the fan or heater is turned on the icon is blue The heater can remain on for a maximum of 5 minutes after which it will be switched off automatically ...

Page 51: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 45 Notes ...

Page 52: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 46 ...

Page 53: ...head has a dedicated placeholder with controls for the head The Camera trigger button and Pan Tilt on screen control button can be toggled If the Camera trigger button is active green clicking tapping anywhere on the placeholder will capture a photo indicated by a brief flash If Pan Tilt control button is green then clicking and holding the video stream will display a Pan Tilt control on the place...

Page 54: ...lled by the connected joystick controller At any point only one head can be controlled by the joystick controller You can also switch to full screen view for a head by clicking the Full screen button The screen provides all the controls that are available on the Main page Clicking the Camera settings will open a dialog that allows you change them similar to that on the Main page ...

Page 55: ...t Guide 49 Clicking displays the pan tilt on screen control that you can use to pan and tilt the head while in full screen view Camera settings Pan tilt on screen control toggle Pan tilt control Pan tilt on screen control toggle ...

Page 56: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 50 Notes ...

Page 57: ... page mimics some of the controls on the rear of the Nikon camera The Lv button is disabled for Z6 camera and should be always left turned on for D5 camera The RTSP video stream from the D5 needs to be configured for this page to display the video stream To learn more about how to set up RTSP stream from the camera refer to Setting up video feed from the camera on page 10 Use the DISP button in th...

Page 58: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 52 Notes ...

Page 59: ...our page has combinations of functions that can be accessed via SRH or USB The default Nikon camera connection for Nikon D5 or Z9 is USB which allows you to colour controls The selected mode in the camera STILL PHOTO or VIDEO is displayed in the top left corner To connect to the camera via SRF 1 Ensure that the Nikon D5 or Z9 are grouped and an SRF group name is created 2 Select Network from the C...

Page 60: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 54 To save the updated settings to the camera click SAVE SETTINGS TO CAMERA In the pop up click SAVE settings and RESTART camera ...

Page 61: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 55 Notes ...

Page 62: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 56 ...

Page 63: ...Ensure that two devices on the same network do not have the same IP address If you have connected more than one heads connected the MRMC system to another local network or moved the head between networks check that correct addresses have been entered in MHC A appears with the head icon in the MHC Main screen Click tap the spanner icon appearing below the head icon to allow MHC to correct the error...

Page 64: ...d the Preferences page Click the Reset Robot button in the Tools tab The head will take a few seconds to reconnect after doing this The axis settings do not appear to be correct If the axis settings seem to be out of order or you just want to get back to the original settings then you can reset the settings to factory default This can be done from Server Axis Camera controls are not responding Cli...

Page 65: ...MHC Classic v3 0 Quick Start Guide 59 Notes ...

Page 66: ...Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd Unit 3 South East Studios Blindley Heath Surrey RH7 6JP United Kingdom Telephone 44 0 1342 838000 info mrmoco com www mrmoco com ...