In this article, we will discuss how to set up and use Rhombus's Audio Gateway:
Console Usage
Enable Audio Listening and Recording
After registering the audio gateway the first action to take within the console is to enable audio listening and recording.
Navigate to Settings -> Account and toggle the "Allow Audio Listening & Recording"
Assign Audio License
To enable the Audio Gateway to record audio and cloud archiving, you need to enable the Audio Gateway Enterprise license for a given device.
Navigate to the settings menu and click on the License & Features button. From there you will see the Audio Gateways tab in the upper left next to Cameras. Once here, you need to apply the Enterprise license to the desired device(s) by clicking the blue manage button in the Enterprise area of the License Summary section. Once selected, hit save. After, click the manage button on the far right of device you just added a license too. When the modal pops up select the Audio AI Analytics toggle and any cloud archiving wanted and then hit save.
See the below GIF to view the entire process.
Note: If you do not see Enterprise licenses in your account, please contact your Rhombus sales representative or our support team (help@rhombussystems.com)
Timeline
On the audio gateway page, you can listen to the audio capture synched with the camera footage. At the bottom of the footage you can dive into audio events by clicking on the seek points in the timeline (below in teal and red).
Changing Location and Device Name
At the bottom of the page you can edit the name of the camera (circled in black), change the address (circled in blue), and can unregister the camera (circled in red).
Changing Audio Settings
Clicking on the Audio Controls button within the device player view (below) will bring up the options that manipulate the device.
Configure to your setup needs by selecting the mic/speaker sources if you are utilizing the external input/output.
Acoustic Echo Cancelling (AEC)
AEC is a filter and is based on an adaptive algorithm that changes this filter to model the acoustic path. The output of the filter is then removed from the acoustic path signal, to create a “clean” signal output. Any echoes in the calling environment are released. Note: AEC only works with internal mic and speaker.
Noise Suppression
Noise Suppression removes as much noise as possible while causing minimum distortion to the speech of interest. Works best with a single foreground human speaker.
Audio Equalizer
After clicking the 'Show Audio Equalizer' button, you will see the ability to adjust the low shelf, three separate peaking levels, and the high shelf. All of these can be changed from +15db to -15db. Note: It is recommended that the filters are applied while the player is playing audio. This will provide immediate feedback regarding what impact your selection has.
- Low shelf frequencies typically refer to the range of frequencies below a certain point that is boosted or cut using a low shelf EQ filter. Examples of this could be reducing the booming of a room by cutting frequencies below 150 Hz or adding more sound to a person's voice by boosting frequencies below 120 Hz. Low Shelf: center freq 150 Hz
- The three Peaking filters allow all frequencies through and add a boost (or attenuation) to a range of frequencies. The first has 2000 Hz as the center frequency, with the other two at 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz as their respective center frequencies. Peaking (1): center freq 2000 Hz, Peaking (2): center freq 4000 Hz, Peaking (3): center freq 8000 Hz
- High shelf frequencies typically refer to the range of frequencies above a certain point that is boosted or cut using a high-shelf EQ filter. Examples of reducing the hiss and noise in a recording are by cutting frequencies above 16 kHz. High Shelf: center freq 16000 Hz
Below is a screenshot of what the Audio Equalizer controls look like:
Changing Assigned Cameras
In the upper left corner of the player view, select the drop-down next to "Assigned Cameras."
From here, you can select what cameras you want to associate the device with.
Listening in to the Device
Hovering over the audio button (below in red) will allow you to toggle the listening volume of the device. Make sure your volume is up on your machine to listen in!
Speaking Through the Device
Hovering over the microphone button (below in red) will allow you to speak through the device. Click and hold this button to then talk through it. Ensure the internal speaker volume is up so people around the sensor can hear what is said.
Mobile App
To navigate the audio gateway, select the gateway from the devices tab (far left icon) and choose the gateway of interest. Below is a demonstrative GIF of this process:
Below is the main screen of an audio gateway. Here you can have the ability to listen to the gateway on your mobile device by toggling the 'Playing/Muted' button on the top left below the name and location. Also, you can speak through the gateway by pressing and holding the 'Press and Hold to Talk' button, similar to a walkie-talkie. You can also assign the gateway to a different camera and listen to the audio events captured by the gateway by tapping on seek points in the timeline.
Policies
To create a policy for the A100, navigate to Settings -> Policies -> Audio Gateway device tab.
Loud Sound
You can create loudness policies (below) to be alerted when the sensor detects a high audio level.
Glass Break (Beta)
With our A100, you can create Glass Break alerts whenever the device hears a glass break noise. We recommend the A100 be facing or sideways pointed to the glass window areas and we recommend between 6-20ft of distance for accurate results.
Note: This feature is in beta mode. Please contact Rhombus support at help@rhombus.com if you receive any false positives during your experience.
To assign the policy to a sensor, click on the "Assigned Sensors" tab right of the "Audio Gateway Alert Settings" seen in the above screenshot. When there, you can add a device by clicking the "Add Device" button and then selecting the device you want to add the policy to.
Note: LUFS are units of audio loudness. The acronym stands for Loudness Units Full Scale. Essentially, it's a standard way of measuring audio that blends the perceived loudness from human hearing and the intensity of an audio signal.
External Inputs
Below are the connection points for the A100. Connections include:
- External Speaker Input
- External Microphone Input
- PoE Input
Unregistering
To unregister an audio gateway, navigate to the audio gateway page (Devices->Audio Gateway->one of interest), and click the 'Unregister' button on the bottom in the Unregister Gateway section.
Next, following the prompts, type in 'DELETE' in the text box, then click the 'Unregister' button.
Have more questions? Contact Rhombus Support at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 2 or support@rhombus.com.
Interested in learning more? Contact Rhombus Sales at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 1 or sales@rhombus.com.
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