Amazon DCV is a high-performance remote display protocol that enables secure connections to remote instances, such as VVCR’s Production Instances..
Amazon DCV is optimized for remote production environments, supporting multiple displays, USB Remotization, and customizable display settings.
It is free and requires no additional configuration to connect to Production Instances. Simply download the DCV client application, add your Production Instance’s hostname, username, and password, and you're ready to go!
To learn more about DCV, click here: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/what-is-dcv.html
To access Production Instances, download the Amazon DCV client application available here: https://www.amazondcv.com/
You can also click on the Help icon at the top right corner of the Production tab.
This will take you to our support article. Scroll down until you see the DCV Viewer Download Link.
Click Amazon DCV Client and download the version for your machine.
Follow the installation instructions. Then open DCV Viewer on your machine.
If you want to utilize USB devices with your Production Instance, make sure to enable USB Device Remotization during the installation process.
This is done in the Drivers Selection window. Click on the USB Device Remotization drop-down menu and select Will Be Installed on Local Hard Drive. Then press Next and follow the instructions to continue with the rest of the installation process.
Once DCV Viewer is installed, open the application on the computer you wish to operate your instance from.
Go back to the Production tab and copy the Hostname.
Then paste the Hostname into the DCV Viewer window. Click Connect.
The first time you connect to your instance on a machine, you will get an “Your Connection is not secure” message. Click Trust & Connect.
Go back to the Production tab and copy the Username and Password.
Then copy and paste them into DCV Viewer.
Click Login.
You can find the Hostname, Username, and Password in the Production Tab in VVCR.
Enabling Multiple Displays
DCV supports viewing your Production Instance across a single monitor, selected monitors, or on all available monitors. For both Windows and macOS clients, the extended display matches your physical display layout and screen resolutions.
Windows:
To extend the display across multiple monitors, go to the toolbar and click on the Full Screen icon.
Then select Across All Monitors or Across Selected Monitors.”
If you pick Across Selected Monitors, select the monitors you want to use, and click Apply.
macOS:
To extend full-screen across multiple monitors, click View.
Then select Full Screen All Monitors or Full Screen Selected Monitors.
If you pick Across Selected Monitors, select the monitors you want to use, and click Apply.
USB Remotization on Windows
DCV allows your physical USB devices to interact with programs running on your Production Instance. This is only compatible with Windows machines.
DCV uses an allow list to regulate USB device usage on remote instances. Commonly used devices are included by default, but others must be manually added to the allow list on the Production Instance.
On your machine running the DCV Client Application, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files(x86)\NICE\DCV\Client\bin\.
Run dcvusblist.exe to view connected USB devices.
Right-click the device you want to enable, copy the Filter String.
Open the DCV Client App and connect to your Production Instance.
Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\conf\usb-devices.conf.
Paste the Filter String at the bottom of the file. For multiple devices, paste each string on a new line.
Disconnect from the instance, then Stop and restart it to apply changes.
You can find more information on enabling USB devices here:
To enable a USB device, connect the device to an open USB slot on your computer.
In the Production Instance, click the Settings icon, and select Removable Devices... from the menu.
Then toggle the switch next to the USB device in the list.
You can find more information on using USB devices here:
Streaming Mode
DCV uses an adaptive protocol that automatically optimizes the streaming mode for current network capabilities. It also gives you the option to prioritize responsiveness or image quality.
To adjust this, click on the Settings icon and click Streaming Mode.
Then select Best Responsiveness to prioritize responsiveness or Best Quality to prioritize image quality.
You also have the option to enable High Color Accuracy and can check current network conditions.
On Mac, you can find these settings on the Display tab in Preferences.