A complete Perch Cast setup at each weight rack involves four pieces of hardware:
- Perch Cast — The core compute device that drives the on-screen experience. It connects to a TV or monitor via HDMI and to the local network via Ethernet (or Wi-Fi). It requires AC power.
- Perch Camera (P2) — A camera mounted at the rack that captures movement for rep tracking and form analysis. It connects to the local network via Ethernet (or Wi-Fi) and powers a tablet over USB. It requires AC power.
- TV / Monitor — A display mounted at the rack, connected to the Perch Cast device via HDMI. It requires AC power.
- Tablet (iPad or Android) — The athlete-facing touchscreen interface used to control the experience. It connects to the Perch Camera via USB (which also charges the tablet) or Bluetooth, and reaches the local network over Wi-Fi.
All four devices are co-located at each weight rack. The diagram below shows this layout along with how each device connects to power, to each other, and to the broader network. The dotted outline represents a single rack — this setup is repeated for every rack in the facility.
Power
Perch Cast requires AC power at each weight rack. Battery power is not supported. No special power capability is needed — standard outlets are sufficient — but plan for at least 3 outlets per rack. If you'd like to avoid power strips, we recommend aiming for 4 outlets per rack. The networking section below explains why.
TV / Monitor
Perch Cast connects to a TV or monitor via HDMI and supports any display with a resolution from 1080p up to 4K. There are no restrictions on screen size — choose whatever fits the space and viewing distance at your racks. Any standard TV or monitor with an HDMI input will work.
Networking
Cabling
For facilities being designed around Perch Cast and Perch Cameras, wired Ethernet is strongly recommended over Wi-Fi. Ethernet ensures stable, high-bandwidth connectivity, which is critical in large spaces with many devices operating simultaneously. Both Perch P2 Cameras and Perch Cast devices should each be allocated Ethernet connections, we recommend at least 1 Gigabit (Cat 5e or greater). Tablets connect via Wi-Fi and do not use Ethernet.
There are many valid ways to wire a facility, and your IT department will ultimately decide what works best for the space. Ideally, two Ethernet connections should be available at each rack — one for the Perch P2 Camera and one for the Perch Cast device. This is the simplest and most reliable setup, with all switching handled upstream in a network closet or utility space.
If running two cables per rack isn't practical, a small unmanaged switch can be placed at each rack instead. In this configuration, a single Ethernet uplink is run to the rack and the switch provides multiple ports for the devices to share that connection. This cuts the number of cable runs in half, but introduces additional hardware at each station that may need to be mounted, powered, and concealed to keep the rack area looking clean.
Bandwidth
Perch Cast and Perch Camera devices do not have unusually high bandwidth requirements individually. However, the bandwidth usage scales with the number of racks. As a rule of thumb, sub-gigabit switching infrastructure will not comfortably support more than approximately 5 weight racks. For larger deployments, ensure that switches and uplinks are rated for 1 gigabit or greater.
Neither the Perch Cast device nor the Perch Camera supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), so AC power is required at each rack regardless of cabling strategy.
Firewall, Wi-Fi, and Other Network Requirements
For additional network requirements — including firewall rules, required domains and ports, and Wi-Fi configuration guidance — refer to the Perch - IS&T Procurement Q&A.
Perch Cast and Perch Camera communicate over the LAN on a small, well-defined set of ports. The Perch Cast device opens connections to the Perch Camera at the same rack to receive sensor data, send control messages, and stream live video to the TV. All traffic between the two devices is encrypted in transit and authenticated — there is no unencrypted control or media path between Perch devices.
Topology
All Perch devices — cameras, Cast devices, and tablets — must be able to communicate with one another over the local network, regardless of whether they connect via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The wireless network used by tablets must have the same access to the other Perch devices on the LAN.
In networking terms, Perch devices must either reside on the same subnet or VLAN, or be placed on separate VLANs with routing rules that permit bidirectional traffic between them on the ports listed below. Perch devices locate one another by IP address through Perch Cloud, so mDNS is not required.
Ports between Perch Cast and Perch Camera
The Perch Camera listens on the following ports. The Perch Cast device initiates all connections; cameras never originate connections back to a Cast device. Stateful firewalls that permit established/related return traffic work without additional rules.
| Port | Proto | Purpose | Encryption | Authentication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9750 | TCP | Camera → Cast: sensor data, telemetry, and status (publish/subscribe). | Curve25519 | Short-lived JWT access token |
| 9751 | TCP | Cast → Camera: control commands, authentication handshake, and token refresh. | Curve25519 | Short-lived JWT access token (per request) |
| 9752 | TCP | Cast → Camera: events and data published from the Cast back to the Camera. | Curve25519 | Short-lived JWT access token |
| 443 | TCP | Live video signaling and HLS playback served by the Camera to the Cast. | TLS 1.2+ | Short-lived JWT access token |
| 8000 | UDP | Live video media (WebRTC) between Camera and Cast. | DTLS-SRTP | Negotiated through the authenticated TLS session on 443 |
Required firewall allowances
Within the LAN segment shared by Perch Cast and Perch Camera devices:
- TCP, Perch Cast → Perch Camera, on ports 9750, 9751, 9752, 443
- UDP, Perch Cast ↔ Perch Camera, on port 8000 (bidirectional; WebRTC media is peer-to-peer once the session is established)
Perch Cast and Perch Camera additionally require outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) to Perch Cloud for provisioning, configuration, and access-token issuance. No inbound rules from the public internet are required.
Encryption and Authentication
Every byte of traffic between a Perch Cast and a Perch Camera is encrypted and authenticated. Each device has its own cryptographic keypair, and a Camera only accepts connections from Cast devices it has been authorized to talk to. Every session is additionally gated by a short-lived JWT access token issued by Perch Cloud; expired or revoked tokens are rejected. The Perch Cast verifies the Camera's TLS certificate by fingerprint, so no device on the LAN can impersonate a Camera.
Notes for IT
- No WAN exposure required. Perch Cast and Perch Camera need to reach each other on the LAN, and each needs outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) to Perch Cloud. No inbound rules from the public internet are needed.
- Do not perform TLS inspection on traffic between Perch Cast and Perch Camera. The Cast pins the Camera's TLS certificate by fingerprint, so middleboxes that re-sign TLS traffic will prevent live video playback.
- WebRTC UDP timeouts. Idle timeouts on UDP 8000 should be at least 60 seconds. Aggressive UDP timeouts on the LAN switch or firewall can cause live video to stall during periods of low motion.
Network Topology and Device Access
The following applies regardless of whether devices are connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
All Perch devices — cameras, tablets, and TVs — must be able to communicate with one another over the local network, regardless of whether they are on Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Ensure that the wireless network your tablets use has the same access to the other Perch devices on the LAN.
In networking terms, this means they must either reside on the same subnet or VLAN, or be placed on separate VLANs with routing rules that permit bidirectional traffic between them. Perch devices communicate between one another by IP address, so they do not require mDNS.