There are four types of blocks:
Input connector. This is the first block in the chain. It connects to the RAS and reads data from it.
Parser. This is located right after the Input Connector. Parses data that the Input Connector receives from the RAS.
Processor. A chain can have one or more processors. They are located after parser. The first processor takes the data from the parser, processes it, and outputs it to the next block.
Output Connector. The final block in the chain. It takes the output of the last processor, converts it to cue points, and sends it to the configured URL.
Each block icon in the UI includes a caption that identifies the specific block’s function:
Caption | Description |
|---|---|
Block type: Input Connector | |
File | Reads data from the file on the disc. Configure it by setting the path to the file. |
TCP Client | Periodically tries to connect to TCP port at the specified host; once connected it reads data from the connection. |
TCP Server | Creates the local TCP Server and waits for a connection from the external source. |
UDP | Creates the UDP server and waits for messages. |
Serial | Connects to the serial port. |
Block type: Parser | |
Offset | Assumes that message has offset for each field. |
Regex | Applies a regular expression to the stream, and extracts matched groups as fields. |
Separator | Every field is separated by some character. |
Xml | Each field is configured as xpath. |
Key Value | Value is the field content, and the key is the field identifier. Key value pairs are separated by some character. |
Block type: Processor | |
Case | Transforms the value to uppercase, lowercase, or title case. |
Character Replace | Replaces a series of characters with a constant string. |
Cue Point Scheduler | Used for RAS systems that do not provide an End Break metadata event. |
Date Time | Changes format of the date. For example “dd/mm/yyyy” to “yy-mm-dd.” |
Drop | When applied, drops the message completely so it won’t be sent to the output connector. |
Mapping | Maps fields from the parser to cue attributes or cue metadata. |
Space Normalization | Replaces all whitespace occurrences with a single space. |
Strip Accent | Removes any diacritics (accents) from the value. |
Trigger Drop | Creates triggered metadata whiteoout events with a start/stop pair and optional timeout. |
Timed Drop | Creates timed metadata whiteout events. |
Time Span | Changes the format of the time. For example “mm:ss” to “s”. |
Block type: Output Connector | |
HTTP | Uses HTTP Transport. This is the only available output connector. |