POWER STUDIO

LiveWire Control

Use the LiveWire Control plugin for Axia LiveWire studio integration.

Confirm the LiveWire network, device addresses and required GPIO/control behavior before enabling the plugin. Test player starts, status feedback and any on-air signaling in a maintenance window.

The LiveWire Control plugin handles control, status and display integration. Audio to and from the Axia network is normally handled through the Axia Livewire+ AES67 IP-Audio Driver for Windows. Download the current driver from the official Telos Alliance release page: Axia IP-Driver release and install information. The product page is here: Axia Livewire+ AES67 IP Audio Driver.

The plugin can send player title and artist information to the display of compatible Axia mixer channels. Use this when presenters should see loaded track information on the console surface as well as in Power Studio.

When configuring title display, test music tracks, jingles, spots and empty players. The console should show useful information without exposing internal file names or confusing operators during a live show.

On some computers, enabling title display can cause small ticks in the audio because of a bug in the Axia Livewire driver. This is not a Power Studio issue. If a station hears ticks after enabling Show Track titles in mixer, disable that option first and test the audio path again before changing other Power Studio settings.

The LiveWire Control plugin can also use an Axia V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer to switch between studios automatically when Multi-Studio Coordination changes the active or on-air studio.

Install The Axia IP-Audio Driver

Install and test the Axia driver before configuring Power Studio audio routing.

  1. Download the driver from the Telos Alliance release page.
  2. If an older Axia IP-Audio Driver is installed, make sure the station has the driver license information available, uninstall the old driver and reboot before installing the new version.
  3. On Windows 10 or Windows 11, review the Telos preparation notes before installing. Telos recommends disabling Windows Fast Startup for the current driver release.
  4. Run the installer, enter the driver license details when requested and reboot when the installer asks for it.
  5. Open the Axia IP-Driver configuration utility after the reboot.
  6. Select the network interface card that is connected to the LiveWire network. Use the dedicated LiveWire network card, not the office, internet or file-server network.

Keep the LiveWire network design simple and predictable. A Power Studio playout computer normally uses a wired Ethernet connection to the Axia network, stable IP addressing and a switch configuration that is already approved for the station's LiveWire/AES67 design.

Configure Driver Sources And Destinations

In the Axia IP-Driver configuration, configure the Windows audio devices that Power Studio will use.

For playout audio from Power Studio to the Axia network:

  1. Enable a Source for each stereo output needed by the station.
  2. Give each source a clear stream name, such as PS Player A, PS Player B, PS Cart A or PS Recorder.
  3. Assign each source a unique LiveWire channel number. Do not reuse channel numbers that are already used elsewhere in the Axia network.
  4. Use the normal stereo stream mode unless the station engineer has specified another mode.
  5. If the stream must remain visible and available even when Power Studio is not currently playing audio, enable the option that keeps the channel active.

In the Axia mixer, choose Computer Player as the source type for mixer channels that are used by Power Studio. With this source type, Axia GPIO follows the computer-player source logic automatically, which is what the LiveWire Control plugin expects.

For audio from the Axia network into Power Studio:

  1. Configure Destinations for the streams Power Studio must receive.
  2. Use the browse function when possible to select advertised LiveWire sources.
  3. Manually enter the channel number only when the station already has a documented channel plan.
  4. Use the receive buffer settings recommended by the station engineer if the network has jitter or timing issues.

For GPIO/control behavior, use the Source numbers defined in the Axia IP-Driver, not the LiveWire channel numbers assigned to the audio streams. The number configured in the Power Studio LiveWire Control plugin is the Axia IP-Driver source number. In many installations the source number and LiveWire channel plan are documented together, but they are not the same thing.

Configure The LiveWire Control Plugin

The plugin connects to the Axia IP-Driver or compatible LiveWire GPIO endpoint by host and port. The default settings are localhost and port 93, which matches a local Axia IP-Driver installation. If the driver or GPIO endpoint runs on another computer, enter that computer's address instead.

For troubleshooting, Telos documents how to connect to the IP-Driver control port and inspect GPI/GPO pin states here: Troubleshooting IP-Driver GPIO.

In Options and Settings > Plugins, enable LiveWire Control and open the plugin configuration. The main options are:

  • Host and Port: the LiveWire/IP-Driver control endpoint.
  • Send status updates: sends Power Studio player, cart, Playout Player PFL and Multi-Studio state back to LiveWire GPIO.
  • Show cued players on mixer: uses the Ready feedback state for cued players.
  • Indicate player with next Track: uses the Ready feedback state for the next playlist item. Enable ready state GPIO in the Axia mixer's LiveWire configuration when this is used.
  • Show Track titles in mixer: sends short player labels with artist and title information.
  • Edit channel mapping: maps Power Studio players, carts and the Multi-Studio V-Mixer output to Axia IP-Driver source numbers for GPIO and display control.

The mapping screen contains Players, Carts and Multi studio sections. Leave unused rows set to -. Although the Power Studio configuration screen uses the word channel, enter the Axia IP-Driver source number here, not the LiveWire audio channel number.

Next Track Channel Indicator

Power Studio can indicate on the Axia mixer which mixer channel, fed by a mapped player source, contains the next track that should play according to the playlist.

Enable Indicate player with next Track in the LiveWire Control plugin settings. Power Studio then uses the Ready feedback for the mapped Axia IP-Driver source number to indicate the player that contains the next playlist item. In the default behavior, the next-to-play player blinks while a normally cued player can remain steadily indicated.

This requires matching configuration in the Axia mixer. Use Computer Player as the source type for the relevant mixer channels and enable ready state GPIO in the Axia LiveWire configuration. Without that Axia-side configuration, Power Studio may send the Ready feedback correctly, but the mixer will not show the next-track indication in the expected place.

Test this with a real playlist: cue an item in Player A-D, confirm which player is marked as next in Power Studio, and check that the mixer channel fed by the same mapped Axia IP-Driver source number is indicated on the mixer.

Mixer Channel Functions

For a mapped player source, Power Studio can use these LiveWire GPIO functions:

  • ON pulse starts the mapped player.
  • OFF pulse stops and cues the mapped player.
  • Preview follows the mixer preview/PFL state and switches Playout Player PFL on or off for the mapped player.
  • Ready can be driven by Power Studio to indicate a cued player or the next playlist item, depending on the plugin settings.
  • Preview feedback can be driven by Power Studio to indicate that the mapped player is in Playout Player PFL.
  • Label can be written by Power Studio when Show Track titles in mixer is enabled.

For a mapped cart source, Power Studio can use:

  • ON pulse to play the selected cart.
  • OFF pulse to stop the cart.
  • NEXT pulse to retrigger the cart when Allow retrigger is enabled on the cart mapping row.
  • Ready feedback to indicate a selected cart when cart feedback is enabled.

The plugin uses the five LiveWire GPIO pin positions used by Axia source logic. In practical terms, the relevant source functions are ON or NEXT, OFF, Preview, ON pulse and OFF pulse. For normal studio operation, configure the Axia source profiles and GPIO behavior so the console sends the same ON, OFF and Preview logic that the presenters expect from the mixer channel.

Automatic Multi-Studio V-Mixer Switching

The Multi studio > V-Mixer mapping is used for automatic studio switching. Map this row to the Axia IP-Driver source number that controls the Axia V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer logic port.

Power Studio sends the Multi-Studio machine on-air states to the five LiveWire pin positions on that mapped source. A known on-air studio is sent as an active low state and a known off-air studio is sent as inactive. On the Axia side, those five pins can control V-Mixer inputs 1-5, so the V-Mixer can select, mix or route the audio/control feed that belongs to the active studio.

This can be used for setups where multiple Power Studio instances or studios share a central playout environment and the Axia mixer should follow the studio that currently has control. For example, studio 1-5 can each feed a V-Mixer input, while Power Studio's Multi-Studio state drives which input is active.

Configure the Axia V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer before enabling the Power Studio mapping:

  1. In the Axia console or engine web interface, configure the V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer inputs for the studio sources.
  2. Assign the V-Mixer output to the required fader, physical output or Livewire output.
  3. Set the V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer logic port to an unused Axia source/GPIO assignment.
  4. In Power Studio, map Multi studio > V-Mixer to the Axia IP-Driver source number that belongs to that assignment.
  5. Test which Power Studio studio number drives which V-Mixer input, and document the final studio-to-input mapping.

Telos documents several V-Mixer control types. Normal follows the held GPI state and is usually the most predictable choice when Power Studio sends current on-air states. Toggle and Radio are pulse-oriented modes and should only be used after the station engineer has tested the exact behavior with Power Studio's Multi-Studio changes.

For Axia iQ/QOR systems, Telos documents a single five-channel V-Mixer that can be controlled by GPIO and assigned to a fader, physical output or Livewire output. For Altus systems, Telos documents Mini-Mixers with five inputs and a logic port that can be controlled through Livewire GPIO. The relevant Telos pages are V-Mixer / Mini-Mixer Control Types, Axia GPIO for V-Mixer, Assigning a QOR V-Mix and Using Mini-Mixers.

Configure Power Studio

After the Axia driver is installed and the required sources and destinations are visible in Windows:

  1. Open Options and Settings > Audio Routing in Power Studio.
  2. Route Player A, Player B, cart players, auxiliary players and recording inputs to the Axia IP-Audio Driver devices that match the station's channel plan.
  3. If the Axia driver exposes both WDM/WASAPI-style devices and ASIO devices, choose one driver approach for the station and keep it consistent. Do not mix driver types unless there is a specific reason and the full route has been tested.
  4. Check Advanced audio settings and confirm that the internal sample rate and buffer settings match the studio's audio standard and the Axia network design.
  5. Open Options and Settings > Plugins, enable the LiveWire Control plugin and configure the Axia device addresses, player mappings, GPIO behavior and display/title options used by the station. In the mapping screen, use Axia IP-Driver source numbers.
  6. Restart Power Studio after changing driver, audio-routing or plugin settings.

Test The Complete Route

Before using the studio on air, test the complete chain:

  • Power Studio audio appears on the expected Axia console channels.
  • Playout Player PFL/cue, cart players, recorder inputs and auxiliary players use the correct routes.
  • Console start/stop or GPIO actions control the intended Power Studio players.
  • Mixer channels used by Power Studio are configured as Computer Player sources in the Axia mixer.
  • The numbers in the Power Studio LiveWire Control mapping match the Axia IP-Driver source numbers, not only the LiveWire audio channel numbers.
  • Player title and artist information appears correctly on compatible Axia channel displays, without causing audible ticks from the Axia Livewire driver.
  • The Multi-Studio V-Mixer mapping switches the intended V-Mixer or Mini-Mixer input.
  • Restarting Power Studio leaves the V-Mixer in a predictable state after the first known Multi-Studio state update.
  • The route still works after restarting Power Studio and after rebooting the playout computer.
  • Windows Firewall allows the required Axia/LiveWire communication on the trusted studio network.