# Rename a channel

*Applies to: Pearl-2, Pearl Mini, Pearl Nexus, Pearl Nano*

You can change a channel's name from any of the channel configuration pages or using the custom layout editor.

Channels are created with the same name as their video source by default. When a second layout or a second video source is added to the channel, the channel name changes to **Channel X**, where **X** is the index number for the channel. To stop a channel name from automatically changing, you should assign the channel a custom name using the Admin panel.

**International characters**

You can include certain international characters in channel names.

Do not include any special currency, mathematical symbols, and other special characters such as slashes or spaces in the channel name. The device replaces special characters with an underscore.

**Rename a channel using the Admin panel**
- Log in to the Admin panel as **admin**.
- From the Channel(s) menu, select the channel and choose any of the menu options for the channel. For example, select **Metadata**.
- Click on the channel name that appears at the top of the page. The text turns red.
- Enter the new name using alphanumeric characters. We recommend using underscores to separate words rather than using spaces.
- Press **Enter** using your keyboard to save the new name.

**Device differences**
- **Pearl-2:** Auto channels initially have the channel name Auto A and Auto B. If you manually change the video input source on the layout to something other than the automatic video source, the channel name changes to the name of the video input source. To revert to the default name, delete the channel name and leave the name field blank — Pearl-2 automatically repopulates it with the default name.
- **Pearl Mini, Pearl Nexus:** No automatic auto-channel-renaming behavior is documented; the automatic-name-change behavior described above (channel name changes to **Channel X** when a second layout or video source is added) applies to the pre-configured HDMI-A/HDMI-B channels.
- **Pearl Nano:** Has a single Auto channel (not Auto A/Auto B). It initially has the channel name "Auto". If you manually change the video input source, the channel name changes to the name of the video input source; delete the channel name and leave it blank to revert to "Auto". The automatic-name-change behavior described above does not apply to Pearl Nano — it is a single-channel, single-layout device. Pearl Nano's supported international characters for channel/layout/input names, text overlays, and recorded-file names are enumerated: Western European/Nordic languages (Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish) and Central/Eastern European languages (Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Russian).

> product: pearl-family · topic: channels · source: pearl-family-common.md · updated: Oct 13, 2026