Overview
The Lexi Pause feature is an alternative to the default behavior of the Lexi Controller which offers some improvements in performance and workflow. Previously, the only available option was for Lexi jobs running on either EEG Cloud or Lexi Local to shut down every time captions were blocked, whether it was by an alternate caption source, GPI-E activation, or SCTE-104 triggers, incurring short delays when stopping and starting the instance. With this Lexi Pause feature, the job will be left running while captions are blocked, so pausing and resuming occurs much faster. There are some additional differences as well (see below).
The Pause feature is compatible with EEG Cloud Scheduling, and is capable of pausing jobs run through any access code targeting a given encoder. Below is an overview of the differences between the pause vs shutdown Lexi options:
Note: The Alta product also supports pausing/resuming Lexi via HTTP posts to an API endpoint.
Benefits of Lexi “Pause” (compared to Lexi “Shutdown”) Mode
- Less latency when transitioning bet/ Lexi and other captioning sources
- Ability to schedule Lexi jobs from EEG Cloud while still having Lexi not run upon detection of other caption sources (when Stopping Lexi, both cannot be done simultaneously)
- Won't run as many jobs, making it easier to review lists of jobs for debugging purposes.
Benefits of Lexi “Shutdown” (compared to Lexi “Pause”) Mode
- Users will not be billed when Lexi is shut down while blocked, but will continue to be billed while Lexi is paused. Lexi Pause does not currently work with the latest version of Lexi Local.
- Only Lexi Shutdown mode is currently supported with Lexi Local units (though support is coming soon for Lexi Local).
Instructions for Enabling “Lexi Pause”
Note: This Mode does not currently work with Lexi Local (coming soon). Only the Lexi Shutdown mode works with the latest version of Lexi Local.
1) Navigate to the Lexi module webpage on the encoder interface. On top, please ensure to have 'Instances' mode enabled, as opposed to 'Jobs' mode. Note that it is not necessary to select an instance for the pause feature to work - any instance or access code that targets the encoder will be paused.
2) If you are scheduling Lexi instances/jobs from EEG Cloud, please ensure the 'Enable Lexi' option is unchecked in the 'Lexi Client' section of the Lexi module (see attached image). If you are scheduling Lexi from the encoder, please ensure the option is enabled/checked.
3) Select the checkbox(es) of the field(s) that you would like Lexi to pause upon detection of ('Block on Upstream,' Block on Serial Port, Require GPI-E, or Block on SCTE-104). If applicable, enter the number of seconds in the input field box that you would like Lexi to continue again after no further detection of that selected option.
Note: It is recommended to set at least a 5 second delay upon blocking Lexi, for best performance.
- For the “Block on SCTE-104” feature to work, in addition to that checkbox being marked, SCTE 104 messages will need to be sent via VANC in upstream video. If a "splice start immediate" trigger is sent, Lexi will be paused (or shutdown) and become re-enabled if a "splice end immediate" trigger is sent upstream.
- For the GPI-E option to work, simply activate that GPI when you would like Lexi to pause and deactivate it when you would like Lexi to continue again.
4) In the 'Lexi Block Mode' field, select 'Pause' from the drop-down (as opposed to "Shut down").
5) Select 'Apply Settings' to save changes.