Network > Multicast
Configure the IP address ranges used for multicast address assignment for the Q-SYS cameras, video endpoints, and AES67 transmitters in your design. Each device type is configured separately and supports both automatic and manual range assignment. You can also set the Time-to-Live (TTL) value for multicast camera and video endpoint streams.
Note: When you update the ranges for a system with existing streams, the currently assigned stream IP addresses are preserved to avoid disruption. New streams will use the revised range values.
Auto Device Addresses
When a device type's Multicast Mode is set to Auto, the Core automatically assigns multicast addresses from a calculated range. The Auto Allocation Scheme controls the size of that range—Legacy Systems uses a smaller address pool suitable for most installations, while Large Scale Systems expands the available pool to support deployments with a higher number of multicast streams. This setting applies globally to Cameras, Video Endpoints, and AES67 Transmitters.
Auto Mode
To reduce the chance of multicast address overlap, Auto mode seeds addresses using a combination of the device type and MAC address of the Core's primary LAN interface. For each Core, the third octet of the range receives the seeded value. The address ranges and maximum stream counts depend on the Auto Allocation Scheme selected in Auto Device Addresses.
Legacy Systems
Auto mode is suitable for most installations. For very large systems that are planned to exceed the Maximum Multicast Streams Per Core value in the table, use Manual mode and specify a custom address range, or switch to the Large Scale Systems allocation scheme.
|
Device Type |
Multicast Address Range |
Maximum Multicast Streams Per Core |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cameras |
233.253.0.0 - 233.253.255.255 |
128 |
Applies to PTZ camera multicast streams in your design. |
|
Video Endpoints |
233.252.0.0 - 233.252.255.255 |
256 |
Applies to both NV Series and NVM endpoint multicast AV streams in your design. |
|
AES67 Transmitters |
233.254.0.0 - 233.254.255.255 |
256 |
Applies to both AES67 Transmitter component streams and System Link Transmitter component audio pin connections. |
Large Scale Systems
For large-scale deployments requiring a higher number of multicast streams per Core. Uses an expanded address range to support up to 2048 streams per device type.
|
Device Type |
Multicast Address Range |
Maximum Multicast Streams Per Core |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cameras |
233.237.24.0 – 233.237.31.255 |
2048 |
Applies to PTZ camera multicast streams in your design. |
|
Video Endpoints |
233.229.24.0 – 233.229.31.255 |
2048 |
Applies to both NV Series and NVM endpoint multicast AV streams in your design. |
|
AES67 Transmitters |
233.245.24.0 – 233.245.31.255 |
2048 |
Applies to both AES67 Transmitter component streams and System Link Transmitter component audio pin connections. |
Manual Mode
This mode allows you to customize the multicast range for each device type. The range must:
- Be between 224.0.0.0 and 239.255.255.255
- Be valid, Class D multicast addresses
- Not conflict with those registered with the IANA, any Q-SYS network services, or multicast address ranges for other Q-SYS device types—Cameras, Video Endpoints, AES67, or Peripheral Firmware Updates.
Note: Transmitting AES67 audio to a Brooklyn II-based Dante device requires address assignment within the 239.69.xxx.xxx range.
Note: After changing any multicast address range, restart your design for the new ranges to take effect. Multicast addresses are allocated to devices at design startup. If you change a range without restarting, devices will continue using their previously assigned addresses, which may result in address conflicts — particularly if you reassign a range that was previously used by a different device type. Restarting the design ensures all devices receive correctly allocated addresses from the updated ranges.
Multicast Time-to-Live (TTL)
For multicast Q-SYS Camera streams and Q-SYS Shift™ AV streams between Video Endpoints, network administrators can adjust the TTL value to set the maximum number of hops multicast traffic is allowed to traverse the network between origin and destination. This can be useful in cases where network traffic is heavy and it is necessary to prevent excessive hop counts. The TTL value is placed in the IP header of each packet. Once a packet has reached the TTL value, it is dropped. The default TTL value is 10, and can be set between 1 and 10.
Note: The TTL value is only applicable to Q-SYS Camera and Q-SYS Shift AV streams. It is not applicable to multicast audio from the AES67 Transmitter or audio from the System Link Transmitter, as the TTL value for those streams is hard-coded to 64.
Peripheral Firmware Updates
Configures multicast delivery for peripheral firmware updates. Multicast firmware delivery allows the Core to update multiple peripherals simultaneously rather than one at a time, significantly reducing update times across large deployments.
Note: Currently supported on NVM peripherals only.
|
Device Type |
Notes |
|---|---|
|
Multicast Mode |
Auto – Uses the default multicast address range (224.0.23.176 – 224.0.23.185). Manual – Specify a custom multicast address range for firmware delivery. |
|
Multicast Address Range |
The multicast address range used for firmware delivery. Ensure your network infrastructure is configured to allow multicast traffic on these addresses. |
Note: If a multicast firmware update fails, the Core automatically falls back to unicast (one-at-a-time) delivery to ensure the device is updated.
Note: The Peripheral Firmware Updates multicast range is independent of the Auto Allocation Scheme and the multicast address ranges configured for Cameras, Video Endpoints, and AES67 Transmitters.
