Pearl-2 tech specs
The input and output connectors are listed for Pearl-2. Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin is made up of two completely independent Pearl-2 systems, therefore it has double the number of inputs and outputs that are listed in this table.
Table 9 Specifications for Pearl-2
| Video Inputs | Local video inputs | (2) 12G SDI (2) HDMI™ 1.4a¹ / DVI2 (2) 4K HDMI 1.4a (UHD/DCI)3 / DVI2 (2) USB 3.0 (UVC) - rear panel |
|---|---|---|
| Video over Ethernet5 | RTSP4 NDI® 5 (with Alpha channel support) and NDI | |
| Connectors | (4) HDMI type A (female) (2) BNC (female) (2) USB-A (female) - rear panel (1) RJ-45 | |
| Aspect ratios | 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 16:10, and custom aspect ratios | |
| Standard resolutions | PAL, PAL wide, NTSC, NTSC wide | |
| Input resolution range | 640×480 to 4096×2160 | |
| Frame rate | Up to 60 fps7 | |
| Video input color spaces | HDMI: RGB 4:4:4, YCRCB 4:2:2, YCRCB 4:4:4 SDI: RGB 4:4:4, YCRCB 4:2:2 | |
| Deinterlacing | Yes | |
| Maximum cable length for SDI | 300 ft | |
| Maximum cable length for USB 3.0 | 6 ft | |
| Audio Inputs | Analog audio inputs | (4) XLR pro line level (+ 4.0 dBu) up to 12.3 VRMS, +24 dBu (balanced/unbalanced, mono or two L/R stereo pairs) (1) RCA consumer line level - 10 dBV (L/R stereo pair) |
| Connectors | (4) XLR (female) (2) RCA (female) | |
| Digital audio inputs9 | (2) SDI8 (4) HDMI (2) USB (rear panel) (6) RTSP (embedded from RTSP input over Ethernet) (4) NDI (embedded from NDI input over Ethernet) (6) SRT (embedded from SRT input over Ethernet) (4) Dante over Ethernet (4 channels, two stereo inputs; requires the Dante audio feature add-on and firmware 4.24.6 or newer) | |
| Connectors | (2) SDI (female) (4) HDMI (female) (2) USB (female) - rear panel (1) RJ-45 (female) | |
| Audio gain control | 0 dB to +30 dB | |
| Audio mute | Yes | |
| Configurable audio delay | -300 ms to +300 ms | |
| Video processing | Video output color space | 4:2:0, 8 bits per color |
| Video codec | H.264/AVC (ITU H.264, ISO/IEC 14496-10) 4:2:0, 8 bit color Encoding profile: High, Main, Baseline Profile levels: 3.0, 3.1,3.2,4.0,4.1, 5.1 Motion JPEG NDI, NDI | |
| Bitrate | 1 to 50 Mbps (selectable) | |
| Bitrate control | Constant | |
| Hardware accelerated video encoding | Optional | |
| Video scaling | Software and hardware | |
| Chroma keying | Upstream/downstream keying | |
| Key frames | 1/2 s, and 1 s up to 5 s in 1 second intervals | |
| Audio processing | Compression | MP3, AAC, and PCM |
| Sampling rate | MP3: 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz AAC: 16 kHz, 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz PCM: 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz | |
| Bitrate | 64 to 320 kbps (MP3 and AAC) | |
| Video output | Signal types | (2) HDMI (port 1 HDMI 2.0, port 2 HDMI 1.4a) (3) H.264/AVC digital video over Ethernet (4) NDI (unicast) (6) RTSP (6) SRT (push) (6) HLS (push) |
| Connectors | (2) HDMI (1) RJ-45 (female) | |
| Encoded channels | Up to six 1080p channels at 30 fps or one 4K channel at 30 fps (recommended) | |
| Streaming protocols | MPEG-TS and FLV RTSP over TCP/UDP SRT (push) over UDP HLS (push) over HTTP/HTTPS Multi-Publish to Streaming Server / CDN (SRT, RTSP, RTMP, RTMPS) HLS (pull) - Native Apple HTTP/HTTPS stream for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch | |
| Multicast streams | RTP/UDP, MPEG-TS & RTP, and MPEG-TS over UDP SAP | |
| Stream encryption and authentication | SRT: 128 bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits AES encryption (negotiated) and configurable passphrase HLS (push): MD5, SHA-256, and SHA-512 RTMPS: encryption plus CA certificate negotiation | |
| Resolution ranges | Recorded: 480p to 2160p Streamed H.264: 480p to 2160p NDI streamed: 480p to 1080p HDMI output ports: 480p to 2160p | |
| Frame rate | Up to 60 fps | |
| Formats | H.264/AVC (ITU H.264, ISO/IEC 14496-10) 4:2:0, 8 bit color Encoding profile: High, Main, Baseline Profile levels: 3.0, 3.1,3.2,4.0,4.1 Motion JPEG NDI | |
| Network traffic shaping (multicast streams) | 4 Mbps to 95 Mbps (configurable) | |
| Audio output | Analog audio output | (1) 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack - front panel |
| Digital audio outputs | RTSP, SRT, and NDI audio over Ethernet HLS over HTTP/HTTPS HDMI audio (embedded) | |
| Monitor and control | Touch screen | 4.3 inch touch screen monitor (built in) resolution: 800x480 |
| USB keyboard | Connect a standard USB keyboard (optional) | |
| USB status light | Connect a single USB status light (optional), supported models: -Kuando BusyLight models: UC Alpha and UC Omega -Delcom Products USB HID single color and multi-color signal indicators | |
| Recording and storage | Record formats | AVI, MOV, MP4, and MPEG-TS |
| Upload image formats | JPEG, PNG | |
| Internal hard drive | 512 GB SSD10 | |
| File transfer protocols | FTP, SFTP, SCP, AWS S3 client, and WebDAV client RSync | |
| Network file share protocols | CIFS/SMB2+ | |
| File system for USB storage | FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, XFS, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, NTFS | |
| External USB ports | (1) USB 3.0 - front panel (2) USB 3.0 (UVC/UAC) - rear panel | |
| Bitrate | Up to 50 Mbps | |
| Communication | USB standards | USB 1.1, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 HDCP compliant. Only content that is not HDCP-protected is captured |
| Serial port | (1) Bidirectional RS-232 (female) | |
| Serial port protocols | Data bits: 7 or 8 (default) Stop bits: 1 Parity: None Flow control: None, Hardware or Software | |
| Serial port baud rate | 19200 bps | |
| Ethernet host port | (1) RJ-45 (female) | |
| Ethernet data rate | 10/100/1000 Base-T, half/full duplex with autodetect | |
| Maximum Transmission Unit | 68 to 1500 MTU, configurable | |
| Protocols | DHCP Option 81, TLS 1.2, LDAP, mDNS, DDNS, SAP, RTP, MPEG-TS & RTP and MPEG-TS/UDP, 802.1x, EAPOL, EAP-TTLS, EAP-TLS, PEAP, HTTP, HTTPS, NTP, PTP, FTP, SFTP, SCP AWS S3 | |
| Network discovery / Announce | SAP | |
| Network security | 802.1x EAP methods | PEAP, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS |
| Administration and control | Admin panel | Local web UI for full administration. On-screen display and mobile UI for confidence monitoring, administration, and control. Local Admin panel access using a USB mouse, keyboard, and monitor connected directly to Pearl-2 with built-in virtual keyboard and touch-screen monitor support. |
| Epiphan Live | Local web-based UI to easily control streaming, recording, and switching. | |
| Epiphan Edge | Cloud-based platform to remotely manage and control Pearl-2 devices. Start and stop recording/streaming, monitor channels and alert dashboard, remotely log in to Admin panel for rescue troubleshooting, update firmware and more from the Internet. | |
| Secure access | Multiple user accounts and passwords. HTTPS for secure Admin panel and Epiphan Live access, as well as local network access to the live channel broadcast. | |
| Remote access: | Remote login11 to cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live. | |
| API | Yes (HTTP/HTTPS or RS-232) | |
| Crestron driver | Yes See https://www.epiphan.com/support/pearl-2-software-documentation/#control-modules | |
| Integrations | Content Management Systems | Kaltura Panopto YuJa Opencast EchoVideo (Echo360) |
| Cloud access and management | Epiphan Edge | |
| General | Power supply | Internal: 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz |
| Power use | 0.8 A, 100-240 VAC | |
| Power cable | Standard IEC power cable (Pearl-2 has an internal power supply, so no separate external power adapter is required) | |
| Operating temperature | 32° to 122° F (0° to 50° Celsius) | |
| Cooling | Fan air flow: Bottom front to back | |
| Enclosure | Metal | |
| Form factor | Portable desktop model 19" rack mountable model 19" Rackmount Twin model | |
| Dimensions (W × D × H) | Pearl-2: 11.81″ × 9.45″ × 3.54″ (300mm × 240mm × 90mm) Pearl-2 Rackmount: 19 ⅛" × 3½" × 10 ⅞" (485 mm × 89 mm × 276 mm) - dimensions include mounting tabs Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin: 19 ⅛" × 3½" × 10 ⅞" (485 mm × 89 mm × 276 mm) - dimensions include mounting tabs | |
| Weight | Pearl-2: 8.38 lbs (3.8 kg) Pearl-2 Rackmount: 12.1 lbs (5.5 kg) Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin: 14.6 lbs (6.6 kg) | |
| Regulatory compliance | FCC compliance: Part 15 | |
| CE compliance: Directive 2014/30/EU - Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/35/EU - Low Voltage Directive Directive 2011/65/EU - RoHS | ||
| Time Synchronization | NTP, TIME (RFC 868), PTP v1 (IEEE-1588-2002 V1) | |
| Country of Origin | Made in Taiwan |
¹ HDCP compliant. Only content that is not HDCP-protected is captured from HDMI 2Using HDMI port with adapter. 3Requires 4K feature add on. 4Up to six 1080@30 inputs can be from RTSP sources or up to one 4K source can be from an RTSP source. 5A mix of video over Ethernet sources are supported. Just ensure total system load is within acceptable levels. 6Up to three 1080@30 inputs or up to one 4K input source. 7Except the HDMI 4K input ports, which support up to 30 fps. 8Digital audio is de-embedded from the digital source. 9SD-SDI audio is not supported. 10Approximately 100 MB of the hard drive space is reserved for system use. Recording space can be virtually unlimited with offload to networked storage. 11Requires an Epiphan Edge Premium account.
Optimum System Load
Recommended maximum channels and inputs
For best performance, Pearl-2 supports up to six 1080p30 channels and up to six 1080p video inputs, or up to one 4K30 channel with up to four 4K HDMI or SDI video inputs.
HDMI and SDI inputs support up to 60 fps at 8-bit color, up to standard 4K resolution. 12G-SDI supports 4K60 4:4:4 at 8-bit. The published input specification for the 4K HDMI ports remains 30 fps — plan around that number. 4K60 ingest over HDMI is technically possible with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling (required by the Pearl-2 HDMI 1.4a input spec); contact Epiphan support to confirm before relying on this for a specific deployment.
1080p30 is the recommended and safe limit for IP and USB inputs when ingesting up to six sources. Higher frame rates (1080p60 and above) can be ingested from IP or USB sources in some configurations, but the achievable combination varies significantly by setup and is not guaranteed; contact Epiphan support to evaluate a specific higher-frame-rate use case.
Mixing input types is supported — for example, 2 HDMI, 1 NDI|HX, 1 SRT, and 1 USB. Lossless protocols such as High Bandwidth NDI and USB should be counted at 1.5× the load of a standard IP input; for example, up to four 1080p30 High Bandwidth NDI inputs.
Exceeding these recommendations may be possible depending on your setup; contact Epiphan support to evaluate your use case. Pearl-2 has more headroom above these recommendations than Pearl Mini or Pearl Nexus.
While Pearl-2 is powerful, there is a limit to the number of concurrent tasks the onboard CPU can perform efficiently.
The number of concurrent tasks depends on many factors, such as:
the number of video sources
what frame rate and bitrate is used for a channel
if the video output ports are used
if a live monitor is connected to the HDMI output port (about the equivalent of an encoded 1920×1080@30 fps channel)
Other limiting factors
how many channels you have
how many layouts you have per channel
how often you switch layouts
if the system is resizing (scaling) video sources
Streaming an NDI output with Pearl-2 consumes about the equivalent of an encoded 1920×1080@30 fps channel .
For best results, we recommend keeping System load usage under 70%.
Check CPU usage on the touch screen of Pearl-2
To check the CPU usage from the touch screen, tap the gear icon and select System Status.
Recommendations
If the system load is higher than recommended, you can:
Disable the video output port (if unused).
Remove unused channels or layouts.
Reduce the number of channels created.
Stop channel(s) that are streaming or recording.
Ensure video sources come in at the right resolution so that Pearl-2 doesn't have to up scale or down scale the video source.