AV-Sync Room Audio

Room Audio plays a video’s soundtrack through room speakers while Podcatcher Pro devices stay synchronized to the same video. Typical uses: multilingual exhibitions (ambient sound in the room, narration in the visitor’s language on the device) and accessibility.

How it works

The AV-Sync Video Tool puts two different signals on the stereo output of your media player:

• Left channel (white RCA) — the original soundtrack, for the room speakers
• Right channel (red RCA) — the AV-Sync timecode track, for the Brainbox. The Brainbox only reads this channel

Both play from the same video file, so they cannot drift apart.

Setup steps

1. Prepare the video

1. Open the AV-Sync Video Tool and load your video file
2. Tick advanced
3. Under Audio settings, tick room audio
4. Under Video code, tick use code and enter the same code as in the Platform: four characters starting with A1, for example A101
5. Process the video as usual

2. Connect the hardware

1. Split the media player’s stereo audio output into left and right (an RCA or jack splitter)
2. Connect the right channel (red) to the AV-Sync input of the Brainbox — a 3.5 mm jack. The Brainbox only reads the ring of the plug, which carries the right channel of a stereo cable. From RCA, use a stereo adapter (two RCA to 3.5 mm stereo) and plug the red connector into its right (red) input; a mono adapter does not put the signal on the ring
3. Connect the left channel (white) to your amplifier or room speakers

Note

The RCA socket on the Brainbox itself is the infrared output to the AV-Sync beacon, not an audio input. Audio always goes into the 3.5 mm jack.

Volume

Keep the media player at the level recommended in AV-Sync Setup, also when the same output feeds the room speakers. If the room is too quiet, turn up the amplifier rather than the media player, so the signal into the Brainbox does not get too loud.

Tip

Using a BrightSign player? The USB-C integration with the BrightSign plugin sends the timecode over USB, so the player’s audio output is entirely free for the room speakers. For room audio that is the better setup.

Verification

Your setup works when:

• the room speakers play the soundtrack,
• Podcatcher Pro devices at the stop play in sync with the video, and
• the AV-Sync LED on the Brainbox flashes green about twice per second while the video plays.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
No sound from the speakers	Left channel not connected	Check the white connector to the amplifier
Podcatcher Pro silent or out of sync, LED not flashing	Right channel not reaching the Brainbox	Swap the red and white connectors
Volume too low or too loud on one side	Media player level	Adjust the media player; see AV-Sync Setup for the recommended level for the timecode channel

Related articles

• AV-Sync Setup — standard AV-Sync configuration
• Understanding AV-Sync — how AV-Sync works