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Savant Video Tiling "SmartView"

post #1 of 12
11/26/12 at 2:21pm
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Anyone have any idea how much it will cost and any other details? All I can gather from the Savant website is that there is at least one specific piece of hardware involved and there are 3 "kits" that support 4, 6, and 9 tiles.

I just thought there would be more info available since the tiling debut at CEDIA is over ...
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post #2 of 12
11/26/12 at 2:38pm
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VOM-SV02
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post #3 of 12
11/26/12 at 5:56pm
I'm personally not comfortable with putting exact pricing info out in public. But if you're familiar with their lineup you can ball park it. It's a standard SSP chassis with specialized cards.

It's certainly not cheap. But if it works as advertised, looks DAMN cool!
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post #4 of 12
11/26/12 at 9:01pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jgrif08 View Post

I'm personally not comfortable with putting exact pricing info out in public. But if you're familiar with their lineup you can ball park it. It's a standard SSP chassis with specialized cards.
It's certainly not cheap. But if it works as advertised, looks DAMN cool!

Agreed 100% that if it works as advertised, it will be a great feature. Also it's understood that it won't be cheap. What I was trying to determine, though, is how it's implemented. I already have a Savant chassis that takes cards, so wondering if I need one of these each for each 2 HDMI sources and some sort of dedicated Mac driven server. Will have to probe my dealer about this...
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post #5 of 12
11/26/12 at 10:51pm
Whether or not you could upgrade your existing chassis would obviously depend on how many card slots you have available. The so-called "graphics inputs" on those cards are not for the sources, per se. Those actually get daisy chained in a way that's a little hard to explain without seeing the documentation. Frankly, it's a little hard to explain even with seeing the documentation, but that's another story rolleyes.gif

The sources would actually require they're own HDMI input cards on the top row of the chassis.

Also, if your current system is currently being driven by a Savant Host (HST-xxxx) as opposed to a Savant Sever (SVR-xxxx), I believe you will need to add the SVR to the mix as well.

All of that said, this is a brand new feature set that I haven't had the chance to work on yet. We just spec'd our first one last week, but it was for a new build as opposed to an existing system... slightly different from a design standpoint. So you should absolutely double check everything I've said here with your local Savant dealer.

Good luck!
JG
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post #6 of 12
11/27/12 at 9:15am
We are getting ready to install one next week. They are not cheap but the functionality is amazing, especially on a large display. I'll post back with some comments after we get the next one installed.
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post #7 of 12
11/27/12 at 10:54am
That would be fantastic Travis. I'd love to hear how it goes.

I just got word back from one of the guys over on the Savant boards, and it appears as though I was slightly off on my previous post. Supposedly a Savant HST-xxxx WILL run the tilling solution, so long as you have an available Display port or HDMI output on it. So the addition of an SVR-xxxx wouldn't be necessary in that case.

The display port and HDMI outputs on the HST's handle the iTunes streams to the chassis. So if you were currently using both you would have 8 discrete itunes streams available. If you "stole" one of them to provide a connection for the tiling solution, you would go down to having 4 discrete iTunes streams.

JG
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post #8 of 12
11/27/12 at 11:18am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgrif08 View Post

Whether or not you could upgrade your existing chassis would obviously depend on how many card slots you have available. The so-called "graphics inputs" on those cards are not for the sources, per se. Those actually get daisy chained in a way that's a little hard to explain without seeing the documentation. Frankly, it's a little hard to explain even with seeing the documentation, but that's another story rolleyes.gif
The sources would actually require they're own HDMI input cards on the top row of the chassis.
Also, if your current system is currently being driven by a Savant Host (HST-xxxx) as opposed to a Savant Sever (SVR-xxxx), I believe you will need to add the SVR to the mix as well.
All of that said, this is a brand new feature set that I haven't had the chance to work on yet. We just spec'd our first one last week, but it was for a new build as opposed to an existing system... slightly different from a design standpoint. So you should absolutely double check everything I've said here with your local Savant dealer.
Good luck!
JG

Thanks for the help JG. I appreciate it, especially from someone with some experience with it.

My MSC-24SE is empty currently and will be populated with HDMI and audio distribution cards shortly. I'm not sure if it has a server or host in it but it will be supplemented soon with a redundant Mac Mini host I think. It was installed in the first stage of my home automation project that did not involve AV distribution. This is about to get underway. I believe 2 x 4 HDMI input cards, one 4 HDMI output card, and one 2 HDMI output card with Savant Host for OSD are spec'd for video distribution. So it sounds like if I want 6 tile capability I would need three of the above tiling cards. Will the OSD server manage the tiling also? Or will I need yet another Mac Mini for the tiling processing? I am gettiing the Savant Call Server and I think the PBX piece as part of an intercom system as well, so that makes for like 4 or 5 Mac Mini's in total! Hopefully one of them can be used for the video tiling.
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post #9 of 12
11/27/12 at 11:29pm
My pleasure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaG View Post

So it sounds like if I want 6 tile capability I would need three of the above tiling cards.

That is correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaG View Post

I believe 2 x 4 HDMI input cards, one 4 HDMI output card, and one 2 HDMI output card with Savant Host for OSD are spec'd for video distribution. Or will I need yet another Mac Mini for the tiling processing?

From your wording it's a little hard to understand exactly how the system was initially spec'd. But I doubt that you'll NEED another mac mini. Again, you could even use the HDMI or Diplay Port output of your existing Mac Mini. It will simply limit the number of discrete itunes streams you have available. But who really needs 8? I have yet to do a system where I've enabled more than 4.

As i understand it, the HST or the SVR would both be capable of 'driving' the tiling solution. The HDMI is currently only used for timing (video sync).

OSD functionality (now called TrueCommand) is a separate entity from the tiling solution, for now at least. So you have to compartmentalize how you think of those.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaG View Post

I am gettiing the Savant Call Server and I think the PBX piece as part of an intercom system as well, so that makes for like 4 or 5 Mac Mini's in total! Hopefully one of them can be used for the video tiling

The Call Server has essentially been replaced by the PBX. Can't see any reason why you need both.

My guess is you'll end up with 3 mac minis total. The one you already have. The redundant host. And one for the PBX. If you want the OSD (TrueCommand) functionality as well, you're probably looking at 4 mac minis. But I think your bottleneck is going to the number of output card slots available. Keep in mind, 6 tiles will take 3 output slots. So you're only left with 3 more slots to handle the rest of your HDMI distribution as well as any audio you need to pass through the chassis.

Hope this helps. Your dealer will have a much easier time explaining all of this in a sit down meeting. The verbiage can get a little confusing.

All the best!
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post #10 of 12
12/16/12 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgrif08 View Post

My pleasure.
That is correct.
From your wording it's a little hard to understand exactly how the system was initially spec'd. But I doubt that you'll NEED another mac mini. Again, you could even use the HDMI or Diplay Port output of your existing Mac Mini. It will simply limit the number of discrete itunes streams you have available. But who really needs 8? I have yet to do a system where I've enabled more than 4.
As i understand it, the HST or the SVR would both be capable of 'driving' the tiling solution. The HDMI is currently only used for timing (video sync).
OSD functionality (now called TrueCommand) is a separate entity from the tiling solution, for now at least. So you have to compartmentalize how you think of those.
The Call Server has essentially been replaced by the PBX. Can't see any reason why you need both.
My guess is you'll end up with 3 mac minis total. The one you already have. The redundant host. And one for the PBX. If you want the OSD (TrueCommand) functionality as well, you're probably looking at 4 mac minis. But I think your bottleneck is going to the number of output card slots available. Keep in mind, 6 tiles will take 3 output slots. So you're only left with 3 more slots to handle the rest of your HDMI distribution as well as any audio you need to pass through the chassis.
Hope this helps. Your dealer will have a much easier time explaining all of this in a sit down meeting. The verbiage can get a little confusing.
All the best!

Thanks again! You were right ... Even with what I thought would be plenty of room to grow into with the Savant chassis, there will only be room for two tiling cards (4 tiles) and still have the other AV distribution cards that I need. When I get the theater up and running I might have to upgrade the chassis with the expansion chassis. Hopefully that will still be available at that time...
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post #11 of 12
3/10/13 at 11:18am
i am very interetsed in the Tiling system for home theatre display...How are your installs going???

I am starting with Savant from scratch. so what would I need for a 4 to 6 input system and what are the ballparks on the price... the board posts here say "expensive" and i get that I just need to know what we are talking about without holding anyone to it. Many thanks!
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post #12 of 12
3/10/13 at 2:29pm
let me know how the Tiling install goes! thanks
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