Installation guide

CHAPTER 3: Key Audio Design Features
This chapter contains detailed information about the HAL System's major audio design features. Included is con-
ceptual background material to help you understand why each feature works as it does and how to best use the fea-
ture.
About the Distributed Program Bus
A common request for many audio systems is the delivery of background music or some other audio source to all
(or many) zones. Following are a few examples:
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A large department store requires that the same background music play in all areas on all floors.
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A large conference center requires a variety of background music sources be made available to all of its
zones.
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A multi-room sports bar/restaurant requires end user control in each area for choosing between background
music and TV audio for that area.
Have you ever designed and implemented a requirement resembling these descriptions? If so, then you know how
quickly these situations can become a nightmare of matrices and wiring—especially if the requirement is for mul-
tiple input channels to all zones. You wire it once, and then you wire it again and again.
The HALSystem designers examined the common characteristics of this often cumbersome and difficult con-
figuration and came up with a solution that is so simple, you'll quickly forget that mess of matrices! The solution?
It is a special processing block called the Distributed Program Bus.
What is the Distributed Program Bus?
When a system requires that one or more of its audio sources be made available in all zones, you simply wire
those audio sources as inputs to your Distributed Program Bus. Then, when you add Zone Processor blocks to
your system, each block automatically provides a connection to the Distributed Program Bus. All of the rout-
ing is handled internally by the Distributed Program Bus. Simple as that! No kidding! You configure and
wire the input sources common to all zones only once and they magically become available to every zone
you create!
NOTE: To incorporate the Distributed Program Bus into a zone in your system, you must use Zone Proc-
essor blocks (or Room Processors if you are configuring a Room Combine situation) to define those out-
put zones. The Distributed Program Bus is not intended to be manually wired to other blocks in your
system, thus it has no output node. Instead, the Zone Processor block (and Room Processor blocks—
used in a room combine system) provide an automatic behind-the-scenes connection to the Distributed
Program Bus.
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