Lab Control

Describes version 4.37.1

If your room has serial-controlled A/V hardware - video switchers, picture-in-picture inserters, an audio matrix, or pan-tilt-zoom cameras - Lab Control drives it from inside Ovo Logger.

Setting up the hardware

Configure the room once, in Configuration → Lab setup:

• Add each serial device by its COM port and type. Devices are configured per machine, not per study, so a room is set up once and used by every project.
• Cameras get a position on their control chain; switcher inputs can be mapped to a camera, so routing that input automatically focuses its camera on the live surface.
• Outputs carry a jack number and either follow audio/video together or take a volume level.
• Rows can be put in whatever order matches your rack with the up/down arrows. That is display order only - the jack number stays with its row, so an output patched to jack 8 can sit anywhere in the list and still address jack 8.

Everything saves as you type. The live surface picks up changes the next time it is activated, no restart.

The live surface

Lab Controls opens a floating window that stays usable during recording and can be pinned always-on-top:

• Routing. Pick an input for each output. Re-picking the current input re-sends the command, which is the point when someone has been at the rack's front panel.
• Cameras, one button per camera; press-and-hold pads pan, tilt and zoom, and stop the moment you release. Save the current position as a preset and recall it with one click.
• Picture-in-picture - position and size where the inserter supports it, or simple on/off toggles where it doesn't.
• Audio - sliders on each output's own scale, with mute where the hardware supports it.

Templates

Save the current routing, camera presets and PIP as a named template (the ⋯ menu → Save template as…), and recall it from the picker to set the whole room up for the next session in one action.

If something doesn't respond

• Re-initialize hardware (the ⋯ menu) re-reads the configuration and re-runs the power-on handshakes - the first thing to try after changing Lab setup or power-cycling a device.
• Check the COM port and device type in Lab setup; a wrong baud override is the most common reason a device goes silent.
• The command log at the bottom of the live surface shows every command sent - useful when reporting a problem.
• The diagnostics bundle (Configuration → Report a problem) includes the room's serial configuration, so support can see what is configured without a screen share.