Use this guide if an RE-2 is already installed in your rack. The Kiloview RE-2 is an HDMI encoding card for a Kiloview chassis. It is not a decoder and it is not a standalone SRT gateway appliance. Its useful job in this workflow is straightforward: encode the venue's HDMI programme feed and send it over SRT to Callaba for monitoring, recording, routing or distribution.
What the RE-2 actually provides
Kiloview's rack-card guide identifies the RE-2 as an encoding card with HDMI input, HDMI loop-through, a 3.5 mm audio input and 100 Mb/s Ethernet. The contemporary Kiloview catalogue lists H.264/AVC and Motion-JPEG video, AAC/G.711 audio, resolutions up to 1080p60, and SRT among its supported streaming protocols.
Two boundaries matter in production:
- No native NDI on RE-2. In this product generation, REN-2 was the NDI|HX variant. Do not copy an REN-2 workflow and assume the RE-2 exposes the same options.
- No verified 4K or HEVC path. Treat the RE-2 as an HD H.264 encoder unless documentation for the exact installed hardware and firmware proves otherwise.
The HDMI loop is a local confidence path, not a decoded network output. You can keep feeding a nearby monitor or switcher while the card sends a separately encoded stream to Callaba.
Choose the SRT connection mode before opening ports
Kiloview's SRT manual describes Caller, Listener and Rendezvous for its encoders. On an older EOL card, the exact labels and available fields can vary by firmware, so confirm the menu on the physical unit before writing a network plan.
- Venue HDMI source feeds the RE-2 input.
- RE-2 in Caller mode initiates an outbound UDP session.
- Callaba in Listener mode accepts the SRT feed on a controlled port.
- Operators verify the source in Callaba, then add recording, Multiview or downstream routes.
- RE-2 Caller → Callaba Listener
- Use this first. The venue only needs outbound UDP, while the cloud or self-hosted Callaba instance owns the reachable listening port.
- Callaba Caller → RE-2 Listener
- Use this only when the venue can provide a stable public address or VPN route and an inbound UDP rule to the card. It is usually a poor default for a temporary venue.
- RE-2 Rendezvous ↔ Callaba Rendezvous
- Use this only when both endpoints expose Rendezvous and the network team has deliberately mapped and tested both sides. Rendezvous is not a substitute for understanding NAT and firewall policy.
Configure RE-2 to send SRT to Callaba
- Record the current state. Export or photograph the working encode, audio and network settings before changing an EOL unit.
- Check firmware deliberately. Kiloview's historical RE-2 release 4.7.2512 specifically mentions an SRT packet-loss repair. Do not perform an event-day upgrade; stage the unit, upgrade only with a recovery plan, and run a soak test afterward.
- Confirm the baseband source. Lock the HDMI signal and check embedded or line-in audio locally. If the card shows a blue or abnormal preview, fix the source format or cable before touching SRT.
- Create a Callaba SRT server. Set it to Listener, assign the UDP port, and decide whether the first test will require Stream ID and a passphrase. Confirm that the port is reachable at the Callaba host.
- Add an SRT service on RE-2. Kiloview's card guide places streaming services under the H.264 stream configuration. Choose SRT-TS pushing, select Caller, and enter the Callaba host and UDP port.
- Match transport settings. If encryption is enabled, the AES mode and key must match. Kiloview documents a default 1316-byte payload, 125 ms latency and 25% bandwidth overhead; treat these as a starting point, not universal production values.
- Start one clean path. Keep recording, restreaming and extra outputs off until Callaba shows a stable incoming stream. Add downstream jobs after ingest is proven.
Stream ID, passphrase, host and port are exact values. A copied newline, changed capitalization or extra space can make a valid network path look broken.
Verify the path in the order an operator can act on it
- Connection: confirm the RE-2 session appears in Callaba and remains connected.
- Media: confirm picture, audio and expected frame format in preview.
- Transport: watch incoming bitrate, RTT, packet loss and retransmissions rather than relying only on a green status light.
- Duration: run across the same uplink and for long enough to expose congestion, thermal or firmware problems.
- Recovery: interrupt the venue uplink once and document what the RE-2 and Callaba do when connectivity returns.
If the source is important enough to keep an EOL encoder, it is important enough to prepare a second contribution path. In Callaba, that can be a separate SRT source connected to a manual or automatic failover route; the live Multiview interface lets the operator see the primary and backup before switching.
Troubleshoot without guessing
| Symptom | Check first | Likely correction |
|---|---|---|
| No SRT connection | Mode pair, destination host, UDP port and firewall | Return to RE-2 Caller and Callaba Listener; verify that the Caller is targeting the actual public Callaba endpoint. |
| Handshake starts but fails | AES mode/key, Stream ID and whitespace | Temporarily remove optional authentication, establish the base path, then re-enable matching values. |
| Connected but unstable | RTT, loss, retransmits and total venue upload use | Reduce encoder bitrate or increase SRT latency; do not try to repair an undersized uplink with bandwidth overhead alone. |
| Picture but no audio | HDMI embedded versus 3.5 mm line-in source and audio codec | Select the intended input and validate AAC end to end before trying a legacy G.711 path. |
| No NDI option | Model label | RE-2 is not REN-2. Use SRT from RE-2 or add a deliberate NDI bridge. |
Keep the workflow; replace the unsupported edge
A sensible RE-2 migration does not require redesigning everything at once. Preserve the proven Callaba listener, monitoring, recording and routing layer. Replace the venue card, reproduce the same contribution profile on RE-3 or another supported encoder, run both feeds side by side, and switch only after the new path survives the same loss and reconnect tests.
RE-3 is not a drop-in assumption: it adds HDMI, 3G-SDI and USB inputs, H.265 and current firmware, so input selection, audio mapping and encode profiles need a fresh review. Use the separate RE-3 to Callaba guide instead of copying old RE-2 settings blindly.
Primary sources used for this guide
Continue with the installed RE-2
Open the Callaba SRT Server page to create the receiving endpoint and review transport monitoring. Then use the live Multiview demo to see how operators compare primary and backup sources before a switch. If this path must be repeatable across several cards, use the SRT Server API documentation after the first UI-configured feed is stable.
