Q-SYS Corner

[Elia Orselli]

Now 8.4 has been published.
During today zoom about new cores and cinema market, qsc talked about "the end of the year" for new Core 8/Flex

[Steve Guttag]

Did you also note how QSC is really pushing the Core 8Flex for ATMOS houses? It has 64 streaming channels. So, depending on how "busy" your design is, 64 should cover many/most ATMOS systems and, obviously, all 7.1 and lesser systems. And for those that want to ensure near 100% uptime...you can put a primary and backup core all in 1U of space!

What would be really neat is if QSC could develop a "Global Hot Spare" concept for the COREs where one could have a CORE as big as the biggest CORE within the network and if any CORE went down, it would jump on line and take over.

[Elia Orselli]

I'm curious to see how many screens are cost effective with this method...

[Marcel Birgelen]

What would be really neat is if QSC could develop a "Global Hot Spare" concept for the COREs where one could have a CORE as big as the biggest CORE within the network and if any CORE went down, it would jump on line and take over.

I like the idea of a "global hot spare", but I think it will be difficult to implement. The hot-spare needs to constantly monitor and replicate the state of the current primary. Let's say you have 10 rooms with 10 of those smaller 8Flexes, the hot-spare would need to monitor and replicate the states of all those cores in order to take over when the time comes to do so, I don't think that's feasible.

I guess what eventually could be done is some kind of semi-hot spare (a lukewarm spare doesn't really have the ring to it ). That is, a spare that can quickly be loaded with the latest configuration of one of the primaries and can be booted when one of the other cores fails. It might take a few minutes to be able to take over, but in this scenario, the impact would be limited to a single auditorium anyway. Most equipment failure in any given auditorium causes more downtime.

[Steve Guttag]

I think with a DCIO/DCIO-H with one of the new COREs you are down at the cost of a purpose built box (DCP, DPM, JSD, CP) but with all the flexibility of Q-SYS and a 64x64 I/O system...you just put in what you need.

As for running multiple theatres on a pair of CORE Nanos...You'll have to mind your input count. For instance, if you bring all 16 channels of a DCIO over, plus the Mic/Line, Plus the mini-phone and you are up to 19-channels per screen. You can only get 3 screens on that...but, you really only need 10-channels for 7.1 + ADA and then you can decide what other inputs you need to support at each screen and then you can eek your way out to 4 screens, I suppose. 4-screens on 2 CORE Nanos? It will be cheaper than conventional and every screen will have a backup processor!

However, is it better to do that in a bigger complex or is it better to just put it on larger CORE510c where you can get out to 10-12 screens...depending on your thrift of input channels. I currently have a plex running 9 screens on a pair of CORE510c...without any hiccups but they have not been in long enough to really evaluate.

I could see this driving down the cost of ATMOS configurations though our Atmos houses have also been more tech savvy so they have had CORE110c and I have one screening room with a pair of CORE510c on it. So we'll see.

It's nice having additional tools/options.

[Jay Wyatt]

A control plugin for Series2 Christie projectors has just launched in the QSYS Asset Manager. Look, feel and function should be similar to that of the Christie touchpanel.


There will be a lot of ways to tie this into your design but here are some simple examples to get the creative ideas flowing. Feel free to share your own ideas, I'd like to see some.
Christie Plugin Examples.png

[Steve Guttag]

This is awesome Jay!!!

My request is that you add in the Anamorphic Lens buttons/status too. As odd as it may sound, about half of our Christies are installed with Anamorphic lenses.

Based on this, I can't wait to see what you all come up with for Barco and NEC.

[Leo Enticknap]

Sorry to keep adding to the wish list, but an IMS3000 plugin is on mine, especially one with "switch input to HDMI" and "switch input to Internal" buttons and control pins. I just can't figure out the API and hex codes to cook up my own...

[Steve Guttag]

I think if they are going to be able to perform HDMI/SDI/Player switching, they will need to go down the WSDL route as the KVL commands don't have those functions. It is possible to do it via Triggers/firealarm_cues.xml/Macros route but that does require that specific Triggers and Macros be created for such commands to work. I believe they DO have those commands in the WSDL list but you'd have to look and then you'd have to know how to work with them. I don't think Q-SYS can work with WSDL files, at this time...but I could be mistaken...particularly for the talents within QSC and their plugins.

[Steve Guttag]

FWIW...This morning, I believe I have HDMI,SDI, DCP switching working from Q-SYS using Triggers/firealarm_cues.xml/Macros. Thus far, I've been unable to obtain the status for which input is active though. I don't see it on SNMP and definitely not in KVL nor do I see it on the IMS3000 UI! If you have an IMS3000 with the sound processor activated, you do get an audio input source but that may not tell you anything unless you have something connected.

[Elia Orselli]

At IMS3000 training, Dolby suggested to switch from DCP, HDMI and SDI creating live CPLs (setup&maintenance > Playback Settings > Live Manager) instead of using Device Controller. If you build a playlist with a live content you can load and play it with KVL commands.
With Christie projectors (and the new qsys plugin) you may also assign IMB-HDMI input to a channel and switch channels to change the source.
Obviously these are temporary solutions, hoping that a qsys plugin appears...

[Leo Enticknap]

With Christie projectors (and the new qsys plugin) you may also assign IMB-HDMI input to a channel and switch channels to change the source.

Didn't work for me last week, with an IMS3000 in a Christie CP4220. I tried it. If the IMS3000 was set to Internal when the Christie channel with "IMB-HDMI" as the Input source was selected, nothing changed in the IMS3000. Both the Christie and the IMS3000 had their current firmwares installed.

[Elia Orselli]

I think I tried with a 2210, but I'll check in laboratory. Maybe I'm wrong and it works only with ims2000

[Steve Guttag]

Switching via SPL is archaic. Create a Macro with the switch:

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.00.07 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.00.19 PM.png

Mind you, it would be nice if outside devices could use that internal command but alas no, that is an internal command <sigh>

So then you need to create a Trigger for external commands.

Since I already had HDMI, SDI and DCP commands from my eCNA automations (eCNA and JNIOR are "blessed" automations with their own dedicated "signals"), I created "Q" Triggers as in QHDMI, QSDI and QDCP to look for "any" signals that meet the criteria:

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.01.29 PM.png

So the trigger is looking for any source that is on the right TCP port (13200) and with a properly formatted command (See the Doremi/Dolby sheet on servers sending commands to each other...available from the Doremi download site).

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.01.39 PM.png

That is all the easy part. You then need to create a "firealarm_cues.xml" file. Which you can do in your favorite text editor (I use Notepad++ and Sublime), or you can have the IMS3000 do it for you.

Here is the portion in my firealarm_cues.xml file that links the trigger to the Macro:

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.04.58 PM.png

However, you can create your own complete file by merely building up an SPL with nothing but triggers.

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.04.24 PM.png

When you save it, you can use the drop down at the top of the save window to save it as either a default_macros.xml (work whenever a show is running) or a firealarm_cues.xml (work always, shows running or not).

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.04.17 PM.png

And then on the Q-SYS side have a button that issues a command that matches what you named in the trigger:
18,SIG,0,QHDMI,N,??\r\n is the command, in my case. The first part is the total number of characters in the command, minus the commas.

Is it convoluted, yes. But that is the Doremi way. And hey, they used to not hand hold you so much with the ability to create the file in the Editor. You could always make the show in the editor but then, you had to note its UUID...go find that file by UUID...rename it and then drop it into the correct folder...all while being a "root" user!

And, honestly, I'll take this over the KLV crap. If you want to execute a show via that, you have to first put in the obscenely long KLV Pack Key (16 bytes), plus the BER length...and the UUID of the special show you created (which can be deleted by ANY user that can make shows. You can also call a show by its name...HaHaHaHa. That is an even loooooonger command.

For those that have not seen a KLV command in the flesh. Here is the Pause command:

\x06\x0E\x2B\x34\x02\x05\x01\x0A\x0E\x10\x01\x01\x 01\x03\x0D\x00\x83\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00\x01

Yup...all in hex. To add insult to injury, the first 13 bytes are almost always the same for every command. For example, here is the Play command (only works of a show is loaded in the player already and paused...it won't load a show and then play):

\x06\x0E\x2B\x34\x02\x05\x01\x0A\x0E\x10\x01\x01\x 01\x03\x0B\x00\x83\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00\x01

Did you see the difference in the two?


I'll admit, there is a certain satisfaction when one finally "gets" the KLV commands because it isn't easy/intuitive...especially the "BER" length part. I definitely had some coaching on that one. And if you ever get the Doremi document on the commands...don't expect examples.

So, thus far, my Q-SYS component for the IMS3000 has had a mixture of ASCII (talk to the Cinema Processor portion with a similar command set as the CP850/950), SNMP to determine what the state of some of the cinema processor stuff is in, Trigger cues for things I can't do directly (tell it to go between 5.1 and 7.1 mode, in addition to the HDMI, SDI stuff) and KLV for anything that can be directly commanded (though I'm using SNMP for play/pause/eject status rather than polling via KLV). It feels kludgy but it DOES work.

From the UI standpoint, it works smoothly:

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.39.26 PM.png

The Blue "LED" above denotes a good ATMOS-LINK (AES67) stream.

Screen Shot 2020-09-20 at 7.39.36 PM.png

And the fader just feels like a "normal" fader with bump buttons (with push-n-hold) or slider. The extra green "LED" is to denote that Q-SYS and the IMS3000 faders agree with each other.

[Steve Guttag]

So what are people's opinions (or even company policies) on locking down the COREs so others can't get into them without a password? I'm definitely of a mixed view here since without a password, someone on the same network as the CORE can get into Core Manager...and potentially muck things up. I'm less concerned about the design itself as you do need the software first. And, if there is something that you really want to hold tight to your chest, drop it into a Container and lock the Container so it will still work but it won't open for anyone but you (that is a way to lock an entire design too.

And, if you are of the type to lock things down, how do you handle studio screenings where a "Dolby guy" might be required to tune the room as part of their contract with the studio? I've been toying with a "Screening" EQ panel that could put on a UCI and the tech could tune with that (give them the 7.1 worth of Graphic EQ and the ability to select which auditorium to use it on. This would keep the DSP usage down from having completely duplicate Graphic EQs for each auditorium on the off chance it has to be tuned by an outsider.

Any thoughts?