AJA Video System released update for HELO Plus. New firmware v2.0 is a major feature and maintenance release, it adds new improvements and fixes known issues to H.264 1080p50 streamer / recorder with SDI and HDMI I/O. It is highly recommended that you update firmware to improve overall productivity and avoid any potential issues.
   

New Features in v2.0

● PlayToStream (Licensable option). This option allows users to replay a previously recorded HELO Plus or HELO classic program via either of the Stream Outputs. It is possible to perform a PlayToStream operation on one Stream Output while simultaneously streaming a second, live stream to the other Stream Output. Clips recorded via other means are not supported.

● 4 channel audio (Licensable option). This option allows users to stream or record productions with 2 stereo pairs of audio. The sources for those streams can independently come from the analog audio input, the SDI input or the HDMI input. If the SDI input is selected and the 4-channel option is in place, the user may choose audio from any of the 8 audio pairs embedded in the SDI stream (if those audio streams are present).

● If the 4ch audio option is installed, the user can select which audio pair should be displayed on the front panel VU meters

● Stereo VU meters have been added to the webUI for both audio sources. In addition to showing the level of the incoming audio, the UI will indicate if that audio source is being used for Stream Output 1, Stream Output 2, Recording or any combination of the three. If the system is not licensed for the 4ch audio option detailed above, the second stereo VU meter will be grayed out.

NOTE: These VU meters are for guidance only. Third-party audio metering should be employed when performing critical audio editing and mixing.

● The HDMI & SDI outputs may now, independently, have information overlaid on screen. The opacity of the overlay is adjustable in the webUI. Information displayed on the screen is comprised of:

• System name
• Record and stream status indicators
• Video input source
• Timecode value (source defined in the webUI).
• Storage remaining on the local SD and USB drives.

Audio indicators (VU meters) for the stereo audio sources. If the system is licensed for the 4ch audio option, the overlay will contain 2x stereo VU meters. If the system is not licensed for the 4ch audio option, then only a single stereo VU meter will be shown.

● The Custom Test Pattern Generator image may now be imported as a .jpg image or as a .png image.

● The Video Test Pattern Generator format selection has a new choice: “Auto”. In auto mode, the test generator will automatically set itself to the format of the last valid input. The format will be maintained across a power cycle or reset, but will default to 1080i29.97 after a hard reset, until the first input arrives.

● The Encoder 1 and Encoder 2 Stream Type selection has been enhanced with an “RTMP / Facebook Live” selection. If the user chooses this selection, they will be guided through the steps to connect HELO Plus to a Facebook/Facebook Live page. HELO Plus is now a fully accredited and Facebook approved source device for such streams.

● Logging of RTMP streams has been extended to include status of several important parameters as an aid to issue resolution.

● The Layout page and Shotbox page in the WebUI will now show the Layout that was last recalled. If the layout is modified in any way, the Layout name will be followed by an asterisk, to indicate that the current layout is based on the recalled layout, but has some modifications. If this new layout is then stored over the original layout, or if a different layout is recalled, the asterisk will disappear.

Updates and Improvements in v2.0

● In previous versions of firmware, the system failed to publicize that it was capable of accepting a 12-bit RGB signal on its HDMI input. This issue has been corrected.

● if the Video Test Pattern Generator was set to Custom or Bars, then under some specific conditions the signal produced by the generator would be replaced by black. This issue has been corrected.

● In previous versions of firmware, Custom Video Test Pattern images or full-frame Layout images could occasionally exhibit artifacts on the first and last pixels of each line. This issue has been corrected.

● If the RTMP output stream(s) from HELO Plus were being viewed on VLC via a Wowza server, VLC would not populate its “Title” field with any data. This has been corrected - VLC will now show the stream name in its “Title” field.

● In previous versions, attempts to download files via HTTPS would fail. This has been corrected.

● In previous versions, HELO Plus would occasionally be unable to delete recordings from an SMB share. This issue has been corrected.

● Ki Pro Rack systems would not show up in the HELO Plus Network pane. This issue has been corrected.

● HELO Plus could occasionally display a “Please reboot” dialog in the event of a serious issue, but pressing the reboot button would not, in fact, reboot the system. This issue has been corrected.

● In previous versions of software, if a system with a static IP address was switched over to DHCP, but the DHCP server failed to issue an IP lease, the system would fall back to a “link local” address, as specified in the DHCP specification. Based on feedback from users, the system’s behavior has been modified so that it will now revert to the previously used static address, rather than falling back to the link local address.

● In previous versions of software, uploading an invalid Custom Test Pattern Image would cause the previous, valid, image to be deleted. This issue has been corrected.

● In previous versions of software, SRT encryption could occasionally fail. This issue has been corrected.

● In previous versions of software, streaming to a Wowza server via RTMP, AV sync could be observed to be out of specification. This issue has been corrected.

● In previous versions of software, on rare occasions it was possible for the Streaming indicators in the WebUI and the Streaming indicators on the front panel to get out of sync. This issue has been corrected.

● Some Content Delivery Networks could cause an issue where shutting down the streaming connection at the server end could cause the HELO Plus to appear frozen for a period of time, due to the lack of feedback from the server. This issue has been corrected.

● Various system performance and stability improvements have been implemented.

You should visit AJA’s site to download free firmware update v2.0 for HELO Plus.