I Are In Control. Or Not.

Technorati Tags: NetStreams,IR,RTI,Home Automation

For the end user, the ultimate measurement of satisfaction with their distributed audio/video system is the interaction point. For DigiLinX customers, these touch points are TouchLinX and KeyLinX devices. The TouchLinX device is a decent implementation of usability, with a few shortcomings. Ask any Digi customer, and they’ll generally have some sort of complaint – from device size and navigation flow, to skin choices and response times.

Those shortcomings are generally minor or a matter of taste, but one of the largest obstacles is that Digi is a hardwired system, meaning control is embedded in a wall. This is a real problem when you’re using it in conjunction with Panorama to control a video source. How realistic is it to ask a customer to control what they see on TV while standing next to a wall? If your customer wants to do something as simple as change the channel from the couch in the Living Room, you will be faced with integrating a remote control into the system.

Getting IR to work behave cooperate with DigiLinX has been one of the most frustrating, least rewarding tasks I have experienced since I began working with NetStreams products. I plan to do a series of postings on controlling DigiLinX with IR, based upon the experiences I’ve had over the past few months.

Up front I’ll tell you that, with the firmware and hardware available today, IR control of DigiLinX sucks. I mean it sucks big time. One of the absolute requirements of IR for the end user is that when they press a button on a remote control, the action they initiated will execute. If once in a while my customer hits the mute button on the remote and the sound is still on, they’re going to be perplexed. If the button fails to work 30-40% of the time, they’re going to be pissed. And they should be.

My experience thus far is that the shortcomings of IR control of DigiLinX is with the IRLinX receiver. Suggestions from NetStreams support focus on isolating the IRLinX device and minimizing interference or signal reflection. The current “best practice” for an IRLinX location is to stick it in a small cardboard box that measures 6″ x 2″ x 1″, and to tape the receiver to one end and the flasher on the other.

This picture speaks for itself. It doesn’t exactly look like something you want at a crucial pivot point for your $50,000 install, though, does it? To be honest, I wouldn’t care if it actually solved the problem. Which it doesn’t.

The Environment

My series of postings will revolve around an IR install I’m (still) working on for a client of mine. I’ll focus on controlling two logical areas – the Family Area and the Living Room. The Family Area is actually one large area made up of two audio zones – Family Room and Kitchen. I’ll take this into account as I build my control, keeping the two audio zones synched.

Each logical room has a plasma TV in it, and each TV has a Vutec Art Screen in front of it. For purposes of this posting, we can assume that there are two Panorama sources, both of which are DirecTV satellite boxes. One is a DVR and the other is simple an HD box. Note that they both understand the same set of IR commands, so their flashers will have to be isolated from each other.

This is a system I inherited from another installer, so I’m somewhat stuck with the design they put in place before the walls went up. The home is block construction, and has nicer finishes such as tongue and groove wood ceilings and plaster walls. It’s not the kind of home that you want to start cutting in to. On top of that, there are a few isolated attic areas, but they are separated from each other. The attic space above the A/V room is small, and doesn’t offer access to the rest of the house. Because of all these factors, I’ve decided to install a single SpeakerLinX in the A/V closet (which I’ll name Head End), and attach an IRLinX to it. An RTI T4 will send RF commands to an RP6 in the closet, which will flash the IRLinX.

IR Flow

The remote control will add to the functionality provided by the TouchLinX, but it won’t replace them. The user wants to be able to use either one to control the system. This means that the IR receiver on each satellite box will have two flashers on it – one from the RP6 for commands originating from the T4, and the other from the MLA-101 that is driven by the DigiLinX interface.

Because of the reliability issues of DigiLinX IR, I’ll send as few commands as possible to the IRLinX, and as many as possible directly to the satellite boxes. This means that I won’t be using the Digi IR pass-through feature. I consider this a huge win, having used IR pass-through in other jobs. With IR pass through, first you have to hope that the IRLinX will recognize the IR command, and then you have to pray that the command will actually reach the source. It’s a numbers game, and if you play it, you’re a loser.

So for this system, I’ll only have Digi do the following things:

• Control volume in each logical zone, including volume up and down, and mute. For the family area, I want to direct commands to both audio zones at the same time.
• Switch the display sources between the DVR and HD satellite boxes for a given room.
• Send the IR commands I’ve stored in Panorama to turn the TV on and off, and to raise and lower the Vutec screen.
• As an added bonus, I’ll also include a button that will allow the user to “Watch TV everywhere”. This will turn the audio on in every room set to the given satellite source, and will turn on every display.

Everything else, including channel changing, guide, favorites, etc will use the RP6 to flash DirecTV commands straight to the satellite box.

The T4 Interface

To make my intentions clearer, I wanted to show how the user will control the system. The home page allows the user to select one of the rooms. If they select Home Audio, I use the RTI browser interface to load the DigiLinX flash interface from the Head End device.

Once they do this, I ask them to select one of the two Panorama sources. When they click one, I switch the selected room (Family Room, in this example), turn on the audio and TV, and raise the screen. Note that on this screen, I can present them with TV on and off for the Family Room display, since they’ve already made that selection.

Now the TV should be on, and the user has control of the TV. Note that at this point, the only Digi IR commands that I’ll send are volume and Mute. Everything else goes directly to the DVR satellite box.

Alternatives

Another option I had when offering control to my client was to simply provide them with a tablet PC or UMPC, and have them use the flash interface off a Digi device. That would be ok, but it requires that my clients always be aware of what room they’re in, what source they’re on, and where the TV controls are located. When a device is installed in a wall and the default room is the current room, there is much less for the end user to think about. Not so when that control is mobile.

Additionally, the DVR interface for DigiLinX doesn’t have channel up and down. I’m not sure how that was left out of an interface that is meant to control a TV source, but that’s the way it is. The lack of a channel favorites screen is also noticeable, as is the absence of the required number of DVR keys that DirecTV offers, such as List and Active.

Now that I’ve explained the environment that I’m working in, look for future postings on how I made it all work.