Magewell Control Hub Basic

About this product

If you look after a handful of Magewell encoders and decoders, you know the routine: a separate login for every box, and a stream that arrives in one protocol when the destination wants another. Control Hub Basic deals with both. It is Magewell’s device management software and stream conversion software in one, installed on a server and used from a web browser. Basic is the entry point to the three full versions: one licence covers up to 20 devices, 5 stream conversion channels and 20 conversion outputs.

What the Basic licence covers

• Devices: up to 20. Every registered encoder, decoder or other supported unit counts as one device, which suits a single venue, campus building or small studio.
• Stream conversion channels: up to 5. A channel takes a stream in and sends it out again, in the same or a different protocol.
• Conversion outputs: up to 20 in total. This figure is shared across all your channels rather than given to each one, so you can spend it where it is needed.
• A perpetual licence. All three full versions are sold this way, so you can budget for it as a purchase instead of a recurring fee.

What device management does for you

Once a device is registered, you can look after it from the Control Hub dashboard instead of visiting it:

• See status at a glance. One dashboard shows the state of your devices, so you can spot a problem before the event starts.
• Change settings remotely. Device parameters are configured from Control Hub, saving a login to each unit.
• Start and stop. Operations such as starting or stopping encoding are triggered remotely, so the operator stays at one desk.
• Update firmware in batches. Several devices can be upgraded together instead of one at a time.

Which devices it manages

Control Hub manages Ultra Stream and Ultra Encode encoders, Pro Convert encoders and decoders, Pro Convert audio converters, Modator chassis and modules, USB Fusion and the Director family, so the encoders, decoders and converters across a site sit in one list. Each product needs a minimum firmware version, and we are happy to check yours before you order.

Control Hub is built for Magewell’s network devices. Pro Capture, Eco Capture and USB Capture cards are outside its scope.

What stream conversion does

• One protocol in, another out. Control Hub converts between RTMP, SRT (in caller or listener mode), RTSP and transport streams delivered over UDP or RTP. That lets you take a stream as it arrives and hand it on in the form the next system expects.
• Devices or plain IP streams. A channel’s inputs and outputs can be registered Magewell devices or IP streams, so you can bring in a feed from outside your own estate.
• Planning NDI or HLS? Conversion covers the protocols above; NDI and HLS sit outside that list. Installed on Linux, Control Hub also generates an NDI stream for each channel automatically. Ask us to confirm the fit before building an NDI or HLS workflow around it.

Installing and licensing

• Runs where you choose. Control Hub is delivered as a Docker container, so you can host it on your own server or on public cloud infrastructure.
• Operating system. Linux is recommended, and the software is also compatible with Windows and macOS. The recommended server examples use Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
• Licence. You add the licence in Control Hub’s settings by entering its name and serial number. The licence page then shows the permitted number of devices, streaming channels and active outputs, which keeps your limits in view. Each licence runs on one Control Hub installation at a time.
• Try it first. A 14-day trial covers 5 devices, 5 channels and 5 outputs, so you can prove it on your own network before buying.

The other versions

Need more headroom, or device management on its own? Control Hub Lite manages 20 devices and is the device-management version. Control Hub Plus covers 50 devices, 25 channels and 50 outputs. Control Hub Pro covers 150 devices, 50 channels and 150 outputs. The whole family is on the Control Hub page.