Xantech MRC88M User Manual

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MRC88m “Auto-Configuration” Feature

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SPLCD-MRC-KP Integration

DESCRIPTION

This document describes how to use the “Auto-Configuration” feature of the MRC88m. This feature allows a specially configured SPLCD to be used as a full-featured MRC88m metadata

keypad without any Dragon programming for the SPLCD. For simplicity, we will call this specially configured SPLCD a SPLCD-MRC-KP (for “SPLCD as a

dedicated MRC88m Keypad”). Converting a standard SPLCD to a SPLCD-MRC-KP requires simply a firmware upgrade and a

project transfer. The required firmware and project files are included in the latest release of Dragon, and/or on the Xantech website. More details for this are included below in the section titled “Converting a standard SPLCD to a SPLCD-MRC-KP”.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS “AUTO-CONFIGURATION”?

It is a feature of the MRC88m that allows a SPLCD-MRC-KP to automatically do the following two things:

1. To label its source buttons with names to match the actual source devices that are connected to the MRC88m.

a. For Example, if an XIS100 iPod dock is connected to Source 1 of the MRC88m, the

Source 1 button on the SPLCD-MRC-KP could have the label “iPod” on it.

2. To automatically reconfigure its project pages to match the type of source devices that are connected to the MRC88m.

a. For example if an XIS100 iPod dock is connected to Source 1 of the MRC88m, the page

that is displayed when Source 1 is selected will have a button layout optimized for control of an MP3 player/Music Server.

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HOW DOES THE SPLCD-MRC-KP GET THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MRC88m SOURCE DEVICES?

The information about the source devices is sent from the MRC88m to the SPLCD-MRC-KP via the normal MRC88m CAT5 keypad connection during the MRC88m startup sequence.

WHERE DOES THE MRC88m GET THIS SOURCE DEVICE INFORMATION?

The source device information that is sent from the MRC88m to the SPLCD-MRC-KP is stored in the MRC88m Dragon project.

This information is entered into Dragon by the installer during the MRC88m project creation. It is part of the “Properties” of the Source Button.

HOW DO I CONFIGURE SOURCE 1 ON THE SPLCD-MRC-KP FOR THE XIS100 iPOD DOCK AND SET THE LABEL TO “iPOD”SO WHAT EXACTLY IS “AUTO-CONFIGURATION”?

1) Start Dragon-Drop.

2) Select the New Project item under the File Menu (“File->New Project”).

3) Open the Audio/Video Distribution project type and select “MRC88m”.

4) Select the “Blank Project” Option, then click “OK”. You should now see the MRC88m Virtual keypad.

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5) On the Virtual Keypad, select SRC1.

6) On the right-hand portion of the Dragon window, select the “Properties” tab near the bottom of the window.

The two fields in this Property sheet that are used by the Auto-Configuration feature are the “Source Type” and “Source Name”.

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“Source Type” is used to tell the SPLCD-MRC-KP what is the source device type, and “Source Name” is used to label the appropriate source button on the SPLCD-MRC-KP.

There are currently 8 source types supported by the system:

1. CD Player / Tape Player. (See Table 1 below.)

2. Satellite Receiver / Cable Receiver / Satellite Radio Receiver. (See Table 2 below.)

3. DVR / VCR. (See Table 3 below.)

4. Tuner (Radio). (See Table 4 below.)

5. MP3 (such as iPod) / Music Server. (See Table 5 below.)

6. DVD Player / BluRay Player. (See Table 6 below.)

7. Generic 1. (See Table 7 below.)

8. Generic 2. (See Table 7 below.)

7) Click the “Source Type” field in the “Button” property. This enables the drop-down box in the field to the right.

8) Click on the down arrow to expose the drop-down menu, and select MP3/Music Server. This will

be used to tell any connected SPLCD’s that Source 1 is a MP3/Music Server type of source, so that the SPLCD can display the appropriate page for this source.

9) Now click on the text box to the right of the “Source Name” field. Type in “iPod”. This text will be used to label the Source 1 button of the SPLCD.

10) Finally, click on the “Apply” button. Note that no changes to these properties will be made until the “Apply” button is clicked!

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Ok, I think I get all this. How do I program the buttons on the SPLCD-MRC-KP?

You don’t. You program the buttons on the MRC88m Virtual Keypad in Dragon. The buttons on the SPLCD-MRC-KP are pre-programmed to execute the macros that you program

under the MRC88m Virtual Keypad buttons. At the end of this document are the tables that describe the mapping between SPLCD-MRC-KP

buttons and the MRC88m Virtual Keypad buttons. There is a table for each of the 8 Source Device types.

If you are planning to use a SPLCD-MRC-KP in your MRC88m installation, refer to these tables when you are building the MRC88m project to insure seamless integration.

Converting a standard SPLCD to a SPLCD-MRC-KP

Currently the SPLCD-MRC-KP requires a slightly different firmware than the “normal” firmware. We designate these firmware versions with a leading “24” in their version numbers. For example, if the current SPLCD firmware is 2.05, there will be a corresponding firmware with version 242.05 for the SPLCD-MRC-KP.

The SPLCD-MRC-KP also requires a special Dragon project to be loaded. Currently these project files are called SPLCD-MRC-KP 39G.ddp (for the 3.9G) and SPLCD-MRC-KP 64G.ddp (for the

6.4G). So, to convert a standard SPLCD to a SPLCD-MRC-KP, perform the following steps:

1. Upgrade the firmware in the SPLCD to the latest SPLCD-MRC-KP firmware. At the date this document was written this was version 242.05.

2. Transfer the appropriate SPLCD-MRC-KP project to the unit.

The latest version of all these files (SPLCD-MRC-KP firmware and projects) can be found on the Xantech website (www.xantech.com) on the MRC88m product page.

That’s it!

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