[anon-e-mouse]

I have to thank everyone who has answered my past questions & my future questions....


Here is a hypothetical situation. There is a dist. audio system to 2 different rooms each with their own keypad control. With a SINGLE STATION FM source, if I select FM radio in my room & my wife wants to listen to another FM station in another room are we going to have a keypad war or is there some type of priority system where the 2nd person can listen passively to the signal selected by the 1st person?


(Sorry if my point is unclear )

 

[cmcjo]

Both rooms will listen to the same single station FM source and both keypads will be able to control the FM source. I don't know of any keypads that you can lock out other keypads. By the way, if it is only an FM tuner, and you need to listen to more than 1 source at a time, get 2 tuners since they are not expensive.

 

[anon-e-mouse]

Well if there isn't a priority system is there at least some indication that a source is being listened too & you shouldn't change it lest you get in trouble... ;-)

 

[J-dubb16]

I believe the Niles keypads "warn" you if you are changing a source/channel that another area is utilizing. I don't know if it blocks you from doing it or not. You also may be able to slave one keypad through the first so if the master is using the FM source, the slave would have to use that source, but if the master is not in use, it would pass-through the signal.


J-dubb

 

[David Richardson]

Crestron keypad can be programmed for that scenario.


Some receivers with a zone 2 capability have the ability to lock out zone 2 control (can select radio) if zone 1 is on radio.


Dave

 

[Buzz Goddard]

How about no "war" at all? Why don't both you and your wife get your own tuner. Our Musica system can have a tuner built into each individual keypad. Everyone gets their own tuner.


OK, you'll still have "war" over other sources, like maybe your CD player, but I couldn't resist

 

[David Richardson]

Buzz !


"SINGLE STATION FM source" was the scenario. Heck why not have a cheap receiver for each zone. cheaper than the Musica keypad system but not as sweet !


Dave

 

[anon-e-mouse]

Thanks for the info/suggestions. I'm just trying to plan for the worst scenarios.


I keep having this dream that my wife is relaxing in the bath to classical music & I don't know this & I switch the channel on her to something else.

 

[jcm]

The Sony CAV-M100O sytstem supports this feature from the keypad.


jcmitch

http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp...p?storyid=4981

 

[audiblesolutions]

Think through the issue of priority. It sounds good in theory and as you are doing this for yourself it may meet your requirements and not prove over complicated for other less sophisticated users ( perhaps your wife?).


Priority places an other degree of complexity into the system. On the one hand it prevents an other user form controlling source equipment that an other user is listening to and stops any potential battles over what station the tuner will be set. On the other hand if there is no means for re-taking priority then when you move from one zone to an other you will not be able to affect control over the tuner. SONY DST multi room systems were my first experience with priority and I have found many clients found it a real pain. The first zone to select a source was assigned priority and only the IR remote could override that assignment and reassign it to an other zone. When a zone was assigned priority by the system having to remember how to override it so that an other zone can take control of the source. When they press the button in a zone without priority and the tuner does not change and they forget how to reassign priority you have a problem. I never program my Cresron systems to have priority. It is a poor feature in my opinion but to each his own.


Dave:

Buzz is correct to suggest an alternative method to priority to solve the potential "war" or conflict that can result from a single source in a multi-zone system. Indeed you are also correct in suggesting multiple receivers as a poor man's multi-room system. When I began in this business and took the ever popular automation class at CEDIA the instructor was also the owner of one of the largest automation firms in the world (and who would soon be out of business ) and he used exactly this design for his mega- systems. If your distributed audio processor fails all zones are dead. If one receiver fails you lose only that zone and as you point out you gain all of those tuners. Answering a question on priority by suggesting that a hardware solution is legitimate as was your example of a software solution. Equally valid is my suggestion of not to use priority. They each address the issue in different ways and from different points of view. But they are each about priority or different ways around the problem of different users in a multi-zone system hijacking the source equipment from an other user.


Alan

 

[AJF]

Probably the easiest and least expensive solution is to just buy 2 tuners . Label them "Radio 1" and "Radio 2" on the keypads then assign each of you a tuner . If she is assigned Radio 1, she will ALWAYS choose Radio 1 to listen to the radio no matter what zone she's in . You would always use Radio 2 .


As Joe said, the tuners are not expensive, and as Alan said, control priority becomes complicated .

 

[anon-e-mouse]

Thanks for the discussion on "priority". I hadn't thought about that scenario & I agree with you that it could create more problems than it could solve.


My example of a "single FM tuner" is just an example, but it could also refer to any single source (e.g., CD player, music server, etc.). While buying one extra tuner is simple and cheap, with multiple source devices, using your logic, I'd have to own two of every source device to avoid conflict.


I guess the best situation would be a visual cue on the keypad to notify the user that a certain source is in use. Can you point to any devices that do this?

 

[cmcjo]

Yes, I know for sure that an AMX system will have indicators on what's playing in what zone. I dont use the priority system myself, but I do have a multizone Sirius tuner and I know what tuner is playing what song in each zone. I can also control any of the Tuners, but I would usually select a tuner that is "not in use".

 

[audiblesolutions]

Indeed, you have come up with a " better " solution by providing feedback that the source is in use. This does not mean that you or your children will not go ahead and change the radio station in your original example but it at least provides some information.


we run into this problem all of the time. CD servers are not inexpensive and even the affluent balk at some of the prices asked for multiple players. However every system has its limits so even if you had 4 players you could still have more than 4 users accessing the system and requesting one of the sources already in use is a possibility. Thus some status indicator is inevitably required irrespective of how much money or the size of the system-unless you postulate duplication of source equipment for every zone. Even if you designed your system to be accessible on a first come/first served basis you would have to deal with issue either with priority or with status or by letting people control their systems blindly.


Alan

 

[AJF]

Quote:

Originally posted by cmcjo Yes, I know for sure that an AMX system will have indicators on what's playing in what zone. I dont use the priority system myself, but I do have a multizone Sirius tuner and I know what tuner is playing what song in each zone. I can also control any of the Tuners, but I would usually select a tuner that is "not in use".

Now tell him how much a system like this costs .

 

[cmcjo]

$129.99 With my discount!


His title does say "who is the boss"

 

[AJF]

LOL ! Who is your installer, I'd like to have one installed at my house too. Hell, at that price, I might as well do my office and house upstate too .


If you were offended by my post, you shouldn't be . The point I was trying to make is that a lot more can be done with a high end ( cost is less of an object ) system such as yours . And with all the responses, cost was never mentioned but I'm sure it will be a deciding factor in this case . Who is the boss ? In the end it's usually $$$$$.

 

[wiredhome]

The Russound CAV 6.6 will let any keypad go into 'Do Not Disturb' mode, which locks out othe keypads from altering that source.

The look on my sons face as he tried to stop my my DVD was priceless.


It 's the little things in life.....

 

[cmcjo]

Not offended at all, just trying to be funny. I probably spent more than 400 times that amount already on this addictive stuff. Actually, I was the installer. I just dont have the programming ability.


Will the keypad on the Russound that initiated the DND still be able to control the source without going out of DND?

 

[wiredhome]

The Russound keypad that has initiated the DND still has full control over the source device. The CAV 6.6 is ~sweet~