Aton HDR44 HD over Cat5 - A Quick Review - Page 2

More headache than I care to share, but in the end Aton did me right. I really like this unit, though I wish they sold an 8 in 8 out...

This may be a stupid question, but I'm new to distribution.


I may use iPhone/iPads with the upcoming RedEye rackmount unit for universal remote of my whole-house A/V. The gist of how RedEye works is that the rackmount unit receives WiFi signals, and then outputs IR over wire to the different zones you need. In my case, a zone will compromise of local and centralized devices - which RedEye supports.

Now obviously to get the IR from the rackmount unit to each zones' local components, I'm going to have to wire transmitters. My question is, would it seem possible to piggy-back onto the Aton IR wiring to accomplish this (for RedEye IR would be output from a centralized location to each Aton wall unit, which is then hooked up to IR trasmitters)?

The goal is to not have to modify the actual standard wiring for Aton in the walls. That way when I sell the house, the purchasers have the capability to do something similar to what I'm considering, or go the more traditional IR remote route. I'm trying to find solutions the leave lots of options - I figure that will lead to the best resale value.

Thanks for getting back to me!


I guess I don't really understand the IR in and out that's on the zone receivers. Could you explain what they do and how they work ... or is it pretty self explanatory from the instructions (I'm sure I can find them online)?


In reality, every zone would have local components. How else can you turn the volume up on a TV? The standard RedEye for each zone however cannot work, because I need to also access content from a centralized location.

I'll look into the iRule and Global Cache stuff to see how that might fit into my setup.

Ah, I getcha.

What I'm curious about - what forces the IR in to go in one direction (from the receiver plate to the Aton unit)? Are the Tx and Rx actually directly built in, or is it simply a wire?


I believe that's how the RedEye rackmount is intended to be used? Isn't the Aton using RS232 as the interface for passing IR? That's why I'm wondering if I can piggyback?


No problem. As for the RedEye rackmount, it will support multiple targets. It has 8 IR emitters.

You can have more than one RedEye - they would show up as different devices on the iPhone/iPad.

The issue with the regular RedEye is that it is specifically for one room. So if you have centralized and local devices, it wouldn't be an option. The rackmount unit can communicate with up to 8 rooms (I'll have to verify whether it is using RC232 or sending voltage like the Aton) - and multiple devices can access it at once.

Finally made a decision on the AA Avatrix vs Aton HDR44. Based on reading the Avatrix thread, I was concerned with some people having trouble getting the IR routing to work with Direct TV receivers (which will be 3 of my 4 sources). Also, the fact that the IR receivers weren't included with the Avatrix was a negative for me. One the other hand, the 4 input of the Aton vs 8 on the Avatrix is really a bare minimum, but I think I can make it work.

So, finally pulled the trigger on the Aton HDR44KT and ordered it tonight. Will start with one, and it all goes well, will buy a second kit for a 4x8 matrix. Fingers crossed!

Here is my update:

This device is amazing! Jautor is right on - I got it up and running with no problems... Well, I should clarify that the main issue was retro wiring the Cat 5 wires to the outlets. Once that was done, installation was easy. I have Cat 5 runs up to 125 feet, and the HD picture is perfect. I am using three HR24 Direct TV DVRs as the sources, and will add a Bluray player with netflix streaming soon. The IR switching on the device seems almost instantaneous and everything works as advertised. My wife figured out to use everything in about 5 minutes.

One (minor) gripe. The Direct TV remotes can now control everything (TV, Satellite, etc) except the Aton source itself. The Direct TV remotes have no learning capability. Aton only supplies 1 remote with the kit and my wife likes the direct TV remote. She doesn't want a separate large learning remote. So it seems the only choice is to buy more of the Aton remotes for each of the sets. I know it's a minor thing, but it really would have been nice to be down to one remote...

All in all, extremely pleased with this purchase and will now be buying a second kit to make a 4x8 system.

Thank you jautor for the fine review on the Aton matrix switcher. It is nice you spent the time to provide your direct experience with the product. I too am looking for a matrix devise for my audio video. I had been looking at a matrix devise from Wyre Storm (www.wyrestorm.com). I googled the Aton and got to Smarthouse.com. They had another product
http://www.smarthome.com/77814/CE-la...-CAT5-Output/p.
made by CE labs that had hdmi inputs for the sources. Is there reason why you when with composite instead of hdmi? I am new to the forum and hope I am not out line with my question or addressing other products on your thread. I have started thread on my home theater build which I feel will be very exciting and hope you will check it out. It is called marks from the ground up theater build. I am not sure how to add a link to my build on my replys. Thanks!!

So two units can be combined to form a 4x8?
Any quirks with wiring or control? Does Aton have any information on this?

Thanks

Thanks Jeff, I'll check out that manual.

I know this is a older post, hopefully Jeff is still listening.....I was wondering with a system such as the ATON HDR, how does one fit video/audio files stored on a media server PC or YouTube videos into the mix?

Are the outputs from the Component and Audio Loop Outs just normal signals? If I want my audio receiver that is tied to Output 1 to be next to the HDR44, it seems like I have 2 options:

1) Run coax audio from the wall plate all the way back to the receiver
2) Put the receiver right next to the HDR44 and just output the audio that would be tied to Output 1 directly to a receiver.

The use case is that I have a wall mount TV and don't have anywhere to put a receiver that is convenient, near the TV, so it is just easier to put it by the HDR44. In theory, I could see myself putting a few receivers, one for each room, next to the HDR44. You might ask then, why am I transmitting audio and video to each room, but the video + IR is pretty convenient over a system that just does video, plus another system that would do IR.

So if I wanted to do this with 4 zones, by having 4 receivers, would I be able to achieve that? I guess I need to split each of the 4 coax outputs 4 ways and then incorporate the audio piece into to the remote control system?

I finally started to hook up my HDR44 last weekend. I started with one zone in the breakfast room, got the audio and video working but couldn't seem to get the IR to change sources. Checked my CAT wires and all 8 pins looked good with a tester. Decided to swap the wall plate and now it works with the Aton remote. Anyone see that before?

I ran out of time to play around (will pick up again this weekend), but I seemed to also be having problems controlling the sources (HR24 and BD player) with their remotes. Is there any other things I need to be aware of to get IR working correctly?

When you mention the "talkback" light...do you mean the blue light on the IR receiver? That seems to be responding noramlly in my case. It also looks like there might be another light (green maybe) that I have not seen light up.

Really ony took time to try and get the HR24 working (got the, "you've been messing with that too long from my wife" so had to put away for awhile. I know signal is getting to the Aton unit since the Aton remote does switch sources.

I recently purchased an HDR44 router, but have been having difficulty with using a Harmony 900 remote with it.

Setup:
1) Sony Bravia
2) Onkyo Receiver
3) Directv DVR
4) HDR44

Pressing the Watch TV activity runs through the following tasks:
1) Turn on TV
2) Turn on Receiver
3) Turn on DVR
4) Set HDR44 to Zone 1
5) Set HDR44 to Source 1

If I haven't used a Zone/Source in some time, the activity fails to display the Zone1-Source1 combination. About half the time, I can manually press Source 1 three or four times to get the source to display. The other half, it seems I have to alternate pressing Source 1 and Source 2 before one of them will activate.

Do you have any tips on how to fix this? Recommend input/interkey delay settings on the remote?

An earlier post mentioned that the IR receivers are not LCD proof. I thought this might be the problem, so I moved the receiver about a foot away from the tv...no luck.

Any tips?