Biamp Launch

Getting started

Unbox and connect the Biamp Launch-capable hardware according to the included installation guide.

The device's IP address, serial number, and a link to the web UI can be found using the Biamp Discovery app. Click on Web UI to open the webpage, the web user interface (webUI) will prompt for authentication. The default username is admin and the default password is the device's 8-digit serial number. 

Connected peripherals will be shown on the Devices page of the web UI. Peripherals must be connected to the media ports of the device (P2-5 in the default Dedicated Control and Media network mode) to be discovered and available for inclusion in the Launch process. Launch requires the use of Biamp Parle mics and amplifiers for room tuning.  

• Always be sure to load the latest firmware to ensure hardware is up to date. Revision B Parle microphones and network boxes require system firmware version 4.2.1 or higher to function. Revision C Parle microphones and network boxes require system firmware version 4.4.1 or higher to function. Mics and boxes may appear to be unresponsive until firmware on the host TesiraFORTÉ X / Devio SCX is updated. 

Supported hardware for auto-configuration includes:

• Biamp Parle microphones (TCM-1, TCM-1A, and TCM-1EX or TCM-X, TCM-XA, and TCM-XEX or TTM-X and TTM-XEX).
• Biamp Parle amplifiers (any combination of 8 channels connected to loudspeakers on AMP-450P, AMP-450BP, and TCM-XA or TCM-1A) 
• TesiraFORTÉ X USB is configured as a 1x1 USB audio interface.
• (1) EX-UBT or (1) EX-USB with 1x1 USB audio and 2x1 Bluetooth audio (only available on EX-UBT). 
• (1) HD-1 controller.
  • Biamp Launch does not configure the Dante I/O on TesiraFORTÉ X devices. Dante I/O is only available when TesiraFORTÉ X is manually configured. Analog I/O (ch 1 in / ch 1 out) on TesiraFORTÉ X is enabled for use with a non-USB capable far end Rx/Tx device such as Cisco SX80. GPIO Logic Input 1 is enabled for Fire Alarm mute support.

Desono loudspeaker options:

• Tesira firmware version 4.11 or higher permit the selection of Desono loudspeakers installed in the room system. Confirm the proper model and select it via the web UI before running the Launch sequence. Selecting the proper loudspeaker model applies appropriate EQ curve which is subsequently fine tuned during the Launch sequence. The following loudspeaker options are available:
  • C-IC6 (default), C-C6LP, C-IC6LP-TAA
  • DX-S5
  • ENT206
  • EX-S8
  • MASK6C
  • P6-SM

Biamp Launch

After powering up the TesiraFORTÉ X / Devio SCX and peripheral Biamp AVB devices, the user will be greeted with a slowly pulsing green LED on the front right corner of the host TesiraFORTÉ X / Devio SCX device. This is the Biamp Launch button and the pulsing green LED indicates the new device is unconfigured and ready to be activated.

A target SPL for the room can be manually defined on the Audio page of the web UI. The default target value is 70dBA and this has been shown to yield excellent results in most cases with a UC meeting volume at around 50%. An average spoken word volume of approximately 60dBA has been found to be a comfortable level. In Windows 10, a PC volume adjustment from 100% to 50% reduces level by 10dB. 

The preferred UC vendor can be selected on the Audio page of the web UI. The Generic option is the default. Profiles for Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet are also available, These reflect the settings used with Biamp Tesira hardware during certification testing with each vendor platform. The UC Vendor setting can be changed at any time, without requiring Launch to be re-run.

• Launch can be initiated from the Launch button on the front panel.
• Launch can be initiated from the Audio page of the device's web user interface. The device's IP address and a link to the web UI can be found using the Biamp Discovery app.

Here is a video of the hardware setup and Launch process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD-AQ__Ai3o

 

 

 

Web user interface 

The device's IP address, serial number, and a link to the web UI can be found using the Biamp Discovery app. Click on Web UI to open the webpage

• Since this is a webpage running on a local web server there is no valid SSL certificate present. This is normal. A warning that "Your connection is not private" will appear, in the Advanced option you can choose "Proceed to ip address (unsafe)" to load the web UI.

The web user interface (webUI) will prompt for authentication. The default username is admin and the default password is the device's 8-digit serial number. The password is expected to be reset with more secure unique credentials by the installer in most installations. Web page security is managed on the Settings page in the web UI.

Password changes persist through both device resets via Device Maintenance > Clear Configuration and pinhole resets.

The Devices, Audio, Network, Settings, VoIP, Event Scheduler, Troubleshooting, and About webpages are accessible when a device is Launch-capable. (A manually configured Forte X provides a subset of these pages.)

	Devices	Audio	Network	Settings	VoIP	Event Scheduler	Troubleshooting	About
Pages available when Launch-capable

The Launch room configuration experience

Following the initial Biamp Launch button press, the Launch LED will immediately shift from a green pulse to an alternating red and green pulse pattern for the duration of the configuration and tuning process. An introductory "Welcome to Biamp Launch" message will play out. In pre-4.2 firmware releases there is a period of 15-60 seconds of silence followed by a recorded welcome announcement (English language) advising the user that the automated process is about to begin. No further user interaction is required to set up the system.

If Launch is initiated from the device's web UI there may be a short lag after clicking Launch before the button test changes to "Launch Running".

If Launch has already been run to configure the device, users are verbally directed by the system to press the button again to confirm they wish to proceed with re-running Launch. If the button is not pressed again the system will remain unchanged.

It is important to stay silent during the Launch process so that it can run successfully. The system analyzes the background noise present in the room as well as the loudspeaker and room responses to test tones it produces. The Launch process will typically take between 3 and 8 minutes to complete, depending on your system configuration.

The web UI Launch button will indicate when Launch is in progress. The front panel Launch LED color will change to an alternating pulsing green-red until Launch is complete. In the web UI the Launch button's text will change to reflect the current status of the Launch process.

A series of automated tests and procedures are run which configure and tune the system. Test tones may be louder than is comfortable for some users. Users may run Launch remotely via the web user interface or choose to protect their ears as needed if they intend to remain in the room under configuration during Launch.

After Launch completes it will announce the system is ready for use and the LED will be steady green. A reboot of the device is recommended before first use to ensure transmit mute states are in sync with USB hosts. The reboot can be a soft reboot from the web UI or a hard reboot (power cycle).

The Launch configuration is retained through reboots.

Hardware discovery

Once initiated, Launch clears any prior Launch configuration settings and begins an automated sequence of tests using the connected Biamp hardware.

The first tests determine what Biamp hardware is connected to the host device. A system is created including all of the discovered connected devices up to the device limits. If additional hardware beyond the allowed limits is discovered then Launch will fail to execute and will report the fault.

Up to 8 Parle microphones and 8 Parle amplifier channels with connected speakers may be used with Launch. Amplifier channels without connected speakers are not included in the count. 

Connected peripherals for auto-configuration may include:

• Biamp Parle microphones (TCM-1, TCM-1A, and TCM-1EX or TCM-X, TCM-XA, and TCM-XEX or TTM-X and TTM-XEX).
  • When using Biamp Launch, up to (4) Parle microphones are supported in TesiraFORTÉ X 400 and Devio SCX 400
  • When using Biamp Launch, up to (8) Parle microphones are supported in TesiraFORTÉ X 800, Devio SCX 800, and TesiraFORTÉ X 1600.
  • Only one type of Parle mic can be used in a Launch-capable system
    • TCM-1, TCM-1A, TCM-1EX or
    • TCM-X, TCM-XA, TCM-XEX or
    • TTM-X, TTM-XEX 
• Biamp Parle amplifiers (AMP-450P, AMP-450BP, and TCM-XA or TCM-1A) 
  • Up to (8) total channels of amplification are supported in auto-configuration. The total number of amplifier channels on connected devices may be greater than 8, but only 8 can be connected to loudspeakers. 
• TesiraFORTÉ X USB is configured as a 1x1 USB audio interface.
• (1) EX-UBT or EX-USB with support for 1x1 USB audio and 2x1 Bluetooth audio (only available on EX-UBT).
• (1) HD-1 controller.

TC-5 network appliances may be connected on P2-5 of the TesiraFORTÉ X / Devio SCX to increase the number of AVB and PoE+ network ports available. The unpowered port P1 of the TC-5 should be used to link the 2 devices. If the connected peripheral devices change then the Launch configuration may no longer be valid (e.g. - if a mic is removed) and the system will prompt that re-running Launch configuration is required. 

TesiraFORTÉ X supports single channel analog input and output to support Cisco Webex devices. The analog input gain setting is set to 0dB. The analog output full scale setting is set to -31dBu (mic level). The device's analog gain levels are not user adjustable. The analog input volume can be fine tuned on the Audio web UI page. 

Analog input channel 1 is routed to all speaker outputs and to the other available far end outputs (USB X, VoIP X, EX-UBT or EX-USB USB and Bluetooth (EX-UBT only)). Analog input 2 is unused.

Analog output channel 1 receives the room mics and any other available input paths (USB X, VoIP X, EX-UBT or EX-USB USB and Bluetooth (EX-UBT only)). Analog output channel 1 is a mic level output.

Analog output 2 supports an Assistive Listening feed. By default the far-end input paths (USB X, VoIP X, EX-UBT or EX-USB USB and Bluetooth (EX-UBT only) are routed to analog output 2 for a mic-level Assistive Listening feed. Via the web UI, it can be changed to be far-end only, near-end only, mixed, or off. Analog output channel 2 can be set to either mic (-31) or line (+24) level output in the web UI. 

Support for analog input and output was added with Tesira firmware 4.2, support for assistive listening was added with firmware 4.4.3.

Note: In firmware releases 4.2 to 4.4.2 analog input 2 was also routed to all speakers and non-analog far-end outputs, in firmware 4.4.3 and later analog input 2 was muted. In firmware 4.2 to 4.4.2 analog output 2 was configured the same as analog output 1, with firmware release 4.4.3 it was re-purposed for use with assistive listening devices. 

TesiraFORTÉ X USB is configured as a 1x1 USB audio interface.

GPIO Logic Input 1 for Fire Alarm Mute Support was added with Tesira firmware v4.4.3. Customizable GPIO logic otherwise is only available when TesiraFORTÉ X is manually configured.

Biamp Launch does not configure Dante I/O on TesiraFORTÉ X devices, those features are only available when TesiraFORTÉ X is manually configured.

If an HD-1 fails to get a configuration ensure that the Control port (P1) is in a unique IP subnet range from the media ports. If no DHCP server is present it may be necessary to assign a static IP address to the control port so the HD-1 can communicate via the media subnet. The Control port IP address can be changed in the web UI on the Network page, note that the web page will now be seen at the new Control IP address.

 

Launch system calibration

The Launch-capable Biamp processor and the Parle mics and amplifiers offer a known reference system to begin tuning the room. System adaptations are made based on measurements of the room’s acoustic response and the loudspeaker behavior.

During the Launch process the Biamp Parle mics are put into a special test mode allowing them to be used as a high quality omnidirectional test microphone. The output characteristics of the Parle test mic are known with a high degree of accuracy and so can be used as a reference mic for our room measurements.

In addition to the default speaker tuning profile, Biamp Launch supports user defined custom speaker tuning profiles. This feature is supported in devices running firmware 4.2 and later.

Launch works for systems including from 1 to 8 Parle microphones and from 1 to 8 channels of Parle amplification. While the best results are achieved with (1) loudspeaker per amp channel, (2) 8-ohm or (2) 16-ohm loudspeakers can be connected per amp channel on a Parle amplifier. This means a room with 8 channels of amplification driving 16 loudspeakers can be tuned with Biamp Launch.  

Acoustic measurements

During the Launch process a variety of test tones and verbal commentary will be played through the connected loudspeaker to perform and narrate the system setup process.

The tests allow the system to determine the room's noise floor and reverberance.

The room’s acoustic properties are measured and the mic and speaker performance are evaluated both before and after the tuning process.

The system calculates the distance from each mic to each speaker, adjusts the amplifier outputs per channel to match a target EQ profile, assesses the loudspeaker output volume and matches the desired target volume, sets limiters to protect against SPL overshoot, and then verifies the behavior with another impulse sweep.  

Test components include:

Auto-configured system

Once the auto-configuration process is complete the Devices page will list the system components and show their status.

The Audio page shows:

• Microphone activity and privacy mute state.
  • the "Track" button shows the Parle mic azimuth tracker which indicates talker position and intensity
• Input and output audio meters are shown for all connections.
  • In the Event Scheduler Night Mode all output meters will be inactive, indicating the output paths are muted in the internal matrix. Mic meter activity is still seen but audio is blocked from all transmission paths.
• Input volumes can be manually adjusted on the Audio page.
• VoIP call status activity (if configured) is shown in the VoIP section
  • The VoIP > System page will show line registration status (if configured).
• USB connection, streaming, and mute status indication.
  • USB endpoint can be renamed on the Audio page.
• EX-UBT or EX-USB USB and Bluetooth connection (EX-UBT only), streaming, and mute status indication.
  • USB and Bluetooth endpoints can be renamed on the Audio page.
  • Bluetooth capability and discovery in a connected EX-UBT can be managed here and Bluetooth discovery.
• Analog input and outputs (TesiraFORTÉ X only, firmware 4.2 and later)

 

Report Card and Advanced Report Card

After the Launch process has completed, and the system has announced it is ready to use, a Launch report card is generated. To view the Launch report card, use a web browser to connect to the Biamp device at its IP address. Click the Audio tab to reveal the web-based Launch button (mirroring the function of the Launch LED button) and the Report Card button. Clicking the Report Card button opens a new webpage with details of the pre-Launch and post-Launch room acoustics measurements using easy to read graphics. 

The Pre-Launch Room Performance assessment grades the room profile attributes: initial speaker tuning accuracy, the room reverb levels, and the measured room noise. Each category can be scored as Poor, Medium, or Good. A calculation based on all measurements is used to determine the overall room score. The pre-Launch room may receive an overall score of Poor, Fair, Good, Great, or Excellent 

The Launch-Optimized Room Performance assessment grades the post-Launch performance results for: optimized speaker tuning, room reverb compensation, and transmitted noise level.  Each category can be scored as Poor, Medium, or Good. It indicates the settings applied for speaker enhancement, microphone enhancement, and the total noise reduction. These can be scored as none, low, medium, and high. A calculation based on all parameters is used to determine the overall room score. The Launch-optimized room may receive an overall score of Poor, Fair, Good, Great, or Excellent 

Note that certain room conditions (such as noisy HVAC systems) will limit the ability of Launch to attain Excellent results in every situation. Pre-launch conditions should be taken into consideration (a room initially rated as Poor will likely not be optimized to Excellent).

In the Connected Devices section each device can be opened to view some of the specific settings applied to the input or output channel. 

The Report Card is a powerful tool for assessing the initial suitability of the room for conferencing. validating the room performance, and the expected results from the Launch-optimized Biamp system. The Report Card also gives a complete listing of the hardware devices in the system (device models, their serial numbers, firmware version, and more). The Report Card is generated as a pdf formatted for printing.  

More detail on the Report Card and Advanced Report Card (available in version 4.2 and later) is available on the Biamp Launch Report Card page. 

 

 

Mic LED behavior

Parle mic LEDs are normally illuminated in solid green unless mute is engaged, when they will be illuminated in solid red.

 

When running firmware version 4.2 or higher, if Teams is selected as the preferred UC vendor, the Parle mic LEDs will be off when idle, green while streaming, and red when muted.

The default microphone LED state is "Always On". Users can manually select whether the LEDs are "always on" or are "on during call" for any UC vendor on the Audio webpage under Microphones.

 

Demo mode

The Demo mode changes the LED behavior on the TCM-X and TTM-X mics so they temporarily act in the same manner as the azimuth indicator. The mic's LEDs will indicate the direction and intensity of talkers relative to the mic. Demo mode automatically disables after 10 minutes. 

 

Event scheduler

In systems which have been auto-configured using Biamp Launch, the Event Scheduler allows automated recall of a few pre-programmed preset states on a user defined schedule. Events can be defined as one-time events or recurring events. It is not possible to add presets to a Launch-configured system.

Events are configured in the web UI on the Network > Event Scheduler > Events page. To create an event click the "Add Event" button at the top left of the page, then edit the name (if desired), select the preset desired, set the time and date of the event, and click Save.

NTP servers

When the Event Scheduler is going to be used to control preset recalls in the system it is recommended that the system is set to use an NTP server to keep accurate time and date.

NTP settings are found in the web UI on the Network > Settings page or can be edited using Tesira software's Device Maintenance > Date/Time Settings > NTP Settings. 

To enable NTP set "Use NTP" to On. 

The NTP settings dialog provides a list of up to three NTP servers to which the device can attempt to automatically synchronize. 

If your DHCP server supplies NTP server options, it can also be chosen as the preferred NTP address source. 

Ensure that the device is configured with valid network settings (gateway / DNS server) so it will to be able to resolve and access NTP servers on the desired network. 

Biamp highly recommends:

• Using NTP from the DHCP offer, or
• Manually entering public NTP server information such as:
  • 0.pool.ntp.org, 1.pool.ntp.org, 2.pool.ntp.org (from ntppool.org)
  • time.google.com (from Google)
  • time.nist.gov (from NIST)
  • Populating all fields is recommended.
    • Mixing and matching is also permitted.

 

3rd party control

Tesira 4.11 and newer, permits control of a Launched system via TTP (Tesira Text Protocol).

• SSH is the default protocol for TTP but Telnet can be enabled if needed.
• The following control point instance tags are available to third party controllers:
  • PrivacyMute
    • Mutes all in-room microphones. Reflects the state of USB and HD-1 privacy mutes 
  • MasterLevel
    • Controls in-room speaker output volume 
  • VoIPXControStatus
    • Supports typical dialing and control of VoIP-x if the line is registered for use.
  • BluetoothControlStatus
    • Available if EX-UBT is part of the system.
    • Allows enabling/disabling BT radio and BT discovery 
• Once the system has been launched, a power-on preset will set MasterLevel to 0 and unmute the PrivacyMute.