User manual

Phoenix
32
User Manual www.RealmCtrl.com
14
creation of media titles. Phoenix allows scheduling by media title and not by
source, although Phoenix does allow selection of a preferred source if so desired.
This is further explained in section 5.3.
4.2.3. Enter the Control Card using the [Control Card] drop-down. The cards listed
correspond to AMX card types. The most common card types used to control Head
End sources are: infrared (DT_AXCIRS), serial (DT_AXC232), and relay
(DT_AXCREL8 and DT_AXCREL14). One might wonder why the card names are
prefixed with “DT” and what affect selecting the wrong card (or no card) would have
on the system. The truth is, nobody seems to know where the “DT_” prefix
originated. It was integrated into Synergy by AMX LLC for reasons unknown. It
has remained this way in Phoenix for sake of backwards compatibility with Synergy.
Of more importance is the fact that neither Synergy nor Phoenix actually make use
of the card type. Evidently, it was added just in case a need to know the card type
arose at some point. That need never arose and so the card type is stored by both
the Server and the control system but it isn’t used. Nevertheless, it is a good idea
to go ahead and define the card, just in case the NetLinx control system needs that
information at some point in the future, and to help organize your overall facility.
4.2.4. Enter the Control Logic using the [Control Logic] drop-down. While the Control
Card described in section 4.2.3 is not relevant to the control system, the same is
not true of the Control Logic. The Control Logic defines the communication
mechanism and behaviors required to control the source. Selection of the wrong
Control Logic may cause your source to behave erratically or it may not work at all.
The philosophy behind Control Logics is that they provide control for entire families
of devices that utilize the same control mechanism (such as IR) and respond in
similar fashion. Consequently, one Control Logic may control hundreds of devices
of differing makes and models. However, some Control Logics are geared towards
devices that are extremely proprietary, especially in the case of RS-232 devices
and digital file servers. As RealmCtrl adds support for new devices to Phoenix, a
dedicated Control Logic is typically added, geared towards the specific device,
instead of utilizing the “one-to-many” philosophy that has driven Synergy in the
past. Therefore, you will see some Control Logics with specific device models
listed (such as “AMX MultiMedia MAX”) and others that are very generic (such as
“VCR01”). Also, you will notice that a naming convention has been followed
whereby some Control Logics are prefixed with an “x” and others are not. Those
Control Logics that are not prefixed with an “x” are replications of Control Logics
formerly available in Synergy. I.e., “VCR01” in Phoenix is a replication of the
“VCR1” Control Logic in Synergy. Any Control Logic prefixed with an “x” was
authored with no former guidelines from the behavior of Synergy.
For information regarding the Control Logic behaviors, and a list of those devices
supported by the new, device-specific Control Logics, see Appendix B: Infrared
Code Map on page 141.
Note: While some Control Logics mirror their Synergy counterparts, none of them
are driven by the same code as those that exist in Synergy. RealmCtrl has
duplicated their AXcess functionality
in the NetLinx code but they do not consist of
duplicated code
, since AXcess and NetLinx are not fully compatible. Therefore, if
you discover any discrepancy in the way that the Phoenix Control Logic behaves as
opposed to its Synergy counterpart that your facility was using previously (if
applicable), please send an e-mail to [e-mail] so that we can
investigate.
4.2.5. Enter the NetLinx or AXcess address of the source. This corresponds to the
physical AXlink bus address of the device that controls the source. It is entered