# Configure blackout ## Configure an automated blackout Live Encoder can blackout a program on SCTE-35 trigger and replace the video with a still image.\ SCTE-35 metadata can be: - either [in-band](/beam/live-encoder/configure/input/inband-metadata) - or [out-of-band](/beam/live-encoder/configure/input/outofband-metadata) Before you start: ensure you have configured the SCTE-35 metadata in the input stream. To create a scheduled blackout, follow these steps: ### Configure the metadata encoding 1. From the **Encoding** tab, go to the **Metadata encoding** section. 2. For each SCTE-35 metadata, click `Edit` in the **Actions** column then set the **Codec** to **Conditioning**. 3. Click **Ok** to validate. ### Configure the blackout encoding 1. Go to the **Blackout configuration** section. 2. Click **Add** then configure a blackout configuration by selecting and setting the adequate [blackout parameters](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/blackout). ![](/_machine-assets/87186aaf188f1557cd94a27a3dbdb60a2aec231158829aa20973403b933c260f.png "Example of blackout configuration with SplieOutSpliceIn") 3. Click **Ok** to validate. ### Configure the video encoding 1. Go to the **Video encoding** section. 2. For each video stream, select the associated [**Stream Conditioning** and **Blackout**](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/video#general-parameters) configuration. ![EL encoding video blackout](/_machine-assets/c737019e0316129d4e2426eab5c36c913e4d47686810ad5fbc7ba9c0cef9c792.png) 3. Click **Ok** to validate. ### Configure the audio encoding 1. Go to the **Audio encoding** section. 2. For each audio stream, select the associated [**Blackout**](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/audio#mpeg-1-layer-ii-dolby-digital-dolby-digital-plus-dolby-ac-4-aac-he-aac-he-aac-v2-parameters) configuration. ![EL encoding audio blackout](/_machine-assets/22205bbb0d62b170103af8aba5394722e0823a222c4a1b32207bd93343037a51.png) 3. Click **Ok** to validate. ### Configure the subtitle encoding 1. Go to the **Subtitle encoding** section. 2. For each subtitle stream, select the associated [**Blackout**](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/subtitle#general-parameters) configuration. ![EL encoding subtitle blackout](/_machine-assets/1f2788af5d9db0cb443812aaae75daaf700903efeb4e26973e7d775c9000181d.png) 3. Click **Ok** to validate. ### Check that blackout is present in the output Open the **Output** tab to ensure that blackout is present in the output. ![EL output blackout](/_machine-assets/e1fb509de5c212ffa9031531028e811b4341d26a7aaa910112f76970214e609f.png) _Example of output with blackout configured_ ### Activate blackout. You can [Manually activate or deactivate a blackout](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#manually-activate-or-deactivate-a-blackout). ## Configure a manual blackout To configure a manual blackout, follow these steps: ### Activate ESAM From the **General** tab, set the **ESAM server network interface** to activate ESAM. ### Create an SCTE-35 out-of-band input stream Go to the **Input** > **Sources** > **Out-of-band streams** section to create an SCTE-35 out-of-band input stream. ![EL encoding metadata cfig](/_machine-assets/98b3e810dc66b6c0bc7b79a16b6c0dd71c3a8683437b0113bed5ebae7b2b2613.png) ### Configure the metadata encoding 1. From the **Encoding** tab, go to the **Metadata encoding** section. 2. Next to your SCTE-35 metadata, click the edit button, `Edit` in the **Actions** column then set the **Codec** to **Conditioning**. ![EL encoding metadata cfig conditioning](/_machine-assets/e23521814e3bfbb8a15fd0c1a568c2ac7652dffd824ecfd1dd7f1a8a73aef89f.png) 3. Click **OK** to validate. ### Configure the blackout encoding 1. Go to the **Blackout configuration** section. 2. Click **Add** then configure a blackout configuration by selecting and setting the adequate **[blackout parameters](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/blackout).** ![](/_machine-assets/87186aaf188f1557cd94a27a3dbdb60a2aec231158829aa20973403b933c260f.png "Example of blackout configuration with SplieOutSpliceIn") 3. Click **OK** to validate. ### Configure the video encoding 1. Go to the **Video encoding** section. 2. For each video stream, click `Edit` to select the associated [**Stream Conditioning** and **Blackout**](/beam/live-encoder/parameters/encoding/video#general-parameters) settings. ![EL encoding video blackout](/_machine-assets/c737019e0316129d4e2426eab5c36c913e4d47686810ad5fbc7ba9c0cef9c792.png) _Example of configuration for Stream Conditioning and Blackout parameters_ 3. Click **OK** to validate. ### Check that blackout is present in the output Open the **Output** tab to ensure that blackout is present in the output. ![EL output blackout](/_machine-assets/e1fb509de5c212ffa9031531028e811b4341d26a7aaa910112f76970214e609f.png) _Example of output with blackout configured_ ### Save Return to the list of services, or edit any parameters then save. ### Check statistics 1. From the list of services, click `Chart` to view statistics. 2. Ensure that blackout configurations display as expected in the **Monitoring** section of the **Statistics** page. ![screen stats blackout mfvp el](/_machine-assets/4e98b02ff31f9044b77c625211c792ed8af8557943a06c7862d8746644de5715.png) ### Activate blackout You can [Manually activate or deactivate a blackout](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#manually-activate-or-deactivate-a-blackout). ## Configure a scheduled blackout Creating a scheduled blackout is a 4-step process: 1. [Create a scheduled blackout configuration](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#create-a-scheduled-blackout-configuration). 2. [Apply a blackout configuration to video encodings](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#apply-a-blackout-configuration-to-video-encodings). 3. [Apply a blackout configuration to audio encodings](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#apply-a-blackout-configuration-to-audio-encodings). 4. [Check blackout configurations](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#check-blackout-configurations). ### Create a scheduled blackout configuration Live Encoder can blackout a program and replace the video with a still image. \ You must first create the blackout configuration, then configure to apply to video encodings. Before you start, ensure that: - A **Metadata input stream** must exist. - Metadata processing is set to **Conditioning** in **Metadata encoding** parameters. > **Info:** Audio plays during blackout, unless you configure the blackout to mute audio. 1. Display services. 2. Click `Edit` to edit the service. 3. Click the **Encoding** tab to display encoding options. 4. Scroll to **Blackout configuration** and click **+Add** to display parameters. The **Blackout configuration** options display. > **Info:** You can create multiple blackout configurations for a single service. 5. Configure the parameters, then click **Ok** to save. Blackout configurations display in the list (see image below). ![screen encoding blackout configuration mfvp el](/_machine-assets/9c40ec6bdb9ac3494e7537de92a3bc2fe7bc4f52999cf7d4c8d10e0f3db514eb.png) > **Info:** If no **SCTE-35 Input** options display in the list, then [reconfigure inputs](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/metadata-encoding). ![screen blackout configuration list mfvp el](/_machine-assets/7bcca72b44e46b5bc22c6eb5d5691c0bd8f8314fe874528b57d089cff1aa5337.png) 6. Use the save options to save configurations. 7. Apply the blackout configuration to a [video](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#apply-a-blackout-configuration-to-video-encodings) and/or [audio](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#apply-a-blackout-configuration-to-audio-encodings) encoding. ### Apply a blackout configuration to video encodings You can apply a blackout configuration per video encoding. Before you start: ensure that you created at least one blackout configuration. > **Info:** Blackout is **not supported in Pass-through**. 1. Display services. 2. Click `Edit` to edit the service. 3. Open the **Encoding** tab, then click `Edit` to edit the video stream. 4. Select the blackout option. All previously created blackout configurations display. 5. Check that the applied Blackout option displays for video encodings. ![screen video encoding table blackout mfvp el](/_machine-assets/463b2f26f56b684ddf6532f709b142a650fa1510342f0f766aba7725060f47a6.png) 6. [Apply the blackout configuration to audio](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#apply-a-blackout-configuration-to-audio-encodings) streams. 7. [Add encodings to output](/beam/live-encoder/configure/output/configure-output#define-the-output-stream-composition). 8. Use the save options to save configurations. 9. Ensure that [Blackout configurations are configured and applied](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#check-blackout-configurations) as expected. ### Apply a blackout configuration to audio encodings You can apply a blackout configuration per audio encoding. before you start, ensure that you have created at least one blackout configuration. > **Info:** Blackout is **not supported in Pass-through**. 1. Display services. 2. Click `Edit` to edit the service. 3. Open the **Encoding** tab, then click `Edit` to edit the audio stream, or **Add** a stream. 4. Click **Blackout** to display the list of previously created blackout configurations, then select a blackout configuration to apply. ![screen blackout configuration parameter audio selection mfvp el](/_machine-assets/2dda7e83e380c2560225df8bacd2d63c9c28cd6efc2de3f63b5d50dbe6313271.png) 5. Click **OK** to save. 6. Check that audio encodings display in the list with the blackout tag displayed. ![screen audio encoding table blackout mfvp el](/_machine-assets/c1050b1512ef35ef373fa339bd296f64563823b49a4dda878fbdc36dece32ec1.png) 7. [Add encodings to output](/beam/live-encoder/configure/output/configure-output#define-the-output-stream-composition). ### Check blackout configurations Blackout configurations are first created, then applied to video and/or audio encodings. The encodings are then configured in an output stream. Check the overviews to ensure that blackouts are configured and applied. 1. Display services. 2. Click `Edit` to edit the service. 3. Open the **Encoding** tab and ensure that any expected blackout configurations display in the list. ![screen blackout configuration list mfvp el](/_machine-assets/7bcca72b44e46b5bc22c6eb5d5691c0bd8f8314fe874528b57d089cff1aa5337.png) 4. Check video and audio encodings to ensure that blackout configurations are applied as expected. 5. Open the **Output** tab to ensure expected video and audio encodings display in the list. ![screen output stream list blackout mfvp el](/_machine-assets/91a2dceaef0f86e004e29f9e50af7a1aad39769eb4f6305ba2f92339f09b13a6.png) 6. Return to the list of services, or edit any parameters and then save. 7. From the list of services, click `Chart` to view statistics. 8. Ensure that blackout configurations display as expected in the **Statistics** page. ![screen stats blackout mfvp el](/_machine-assets/4e98b02ff31f9044b77c625211c792ed8af8557943a06c7862d8746644de5715.png) ### Activate blackout You can [Manually activate or deactivate a blackout](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#manually-activate-or-deactivate-a-blackout). ## Manually activate or deactivate a blackout Once you have configured a [manual](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#configure-a-manual-blackout) or an [automated blackout](/beam/live-encoder/configure/encoding/blackout-encoding#configure-an-automated-blackout) and started a service, you can manually activate or deactivate it. > **Info:** Manual blackout activation/deactivation is only available if **Trigger** parameter is set to **spliceOutSpliceIn**. ![EL encoding metadata cfig blackout splice cut](/_machine-assets/bafe96e6e3484361ab5e3d3c0fdb0a9b0bc599d9c8a7cb08f22a0288b5fc3c92.png) 1. Display statistics on [**Outputs**](/beam/live-encoder/monitor-statistics). ![EL stats outputs blackout](/_machine-assets/449f1f0728ac9452171d44947098614bc2f37b73d11cf824b94ce438a045ab97.png) 2. Click the **Activate Blackout** button. A message informs you that the command has been sent. 3. Click **OK**. The current video is blacked out until the specified **Timeout** (if configured); or by clicking the **Deactivate Blackout** button.