Control Systems - The Future Is Here

     The last post touched on the ability to monitor and control devices through a network.  This post will begin to explain some of the control systems that exist and what they are capable of.  Understanding these systems can give you a better idea of where technology is going and how it can be used.  
     Let me start with an example that people have probably heard of.  It is called Phillips hue.  Hue is a set of light bulbs that can be control with a mobile device.  The bulbs connect to a bridge that then gets connected to a wireless router via network cabling.  With the bulbs now connected to the network, you can control them via a smart phone app.  The app can dim and brighten, turn on and off, and even set scenes.  You can set up a scene for watching movies where your kitchen lights are dim, and living room lights are off.  Just press the scene and the lights will automatically adjust.  
     I started with Hue because it is the most consumer friendly example.  While the consumer market is just getting to know control systems, the truth is they have been around for years in the commercial market.  The leaders are Crestron and AMX.  These companies create complex control systems for nearly every aspect of your space.  You can control lighting, shades, computers, displays, and audio systems.  Manufacturers are making their equipment controllable so any of these items can be controlled over one of these complex systems.  
     A control system allows a user to control their entire space from a thin control panel.  These control panels can be button or touchscreen and can be located in a surface or set on a table.  Control systems are very popular in offices and boardrooms.  A user can sit at the conference table and lower the shades, dim the lights, turn on the display, and select their input source for presentation.  Control systems are used in many other applications as well.  The hotel industry uses them in their rooms to control various functions.  Some institutions use control systems for simple uses like lighting or shade control.  No matter the application, control systems provide a classy and convenient way to control lighting, shading, and devices.  While Crestron and AMX provide systems for home use, more consumer-grade products are beginning to surface.  Soon households will have control systems running every aspect of their homes.  Some already do, but more will certainly follow.  

-Jon

Audio Networking: AV Meets IT

     The world of analog audio has been on its way out for some time, and digital audio has been moving in.  Now there is a new culprit entering the scene, and that's networking.  The integration of digital audio means audio networks can now gain massive territory.  To illustrate, I will paint scenario.  

     The old way of designing an audio system was through analog means.  There would be a mixing board with physical inputs, analog cabling routing to processors, and then an output to speakers.  This is one of the simplest forms of an audio system.  In the analog domain an audio network gets messy as it grows in size.  This is due to the cabling, power, and space requirements. 

        Today’s technology has taken the world of network routing, and applied it to audio system applications.  Think of how your Internet and corresponding devices are set up.  You have your router that grabs the Internet from your provider to supply to your household.  Then every device you want on the network connects to that router somehow; whether it is physically or wirelessly.  All of those connected devices can now talk to each other and the Internet.  So, now you can print wirelessly, connect to the Internet, and share files remotely with other computers in your household.  These are the basics of networking and now you can do it with audio systems.  

     Audio is starting to use the same blue Ethernet cable that is used for Internet networks.  Ethernet has the capability to carry more audio signals than an analog cable that can only carry one.  So already there is an advantage.  Manufacturers are also developing digital audio devices that have the capability to talk to one another intelligently.  Addresses are assigned to each device that is attached to the network and with little manipulation from the user; these devices can talk to each other.  This is called Audio over Ethernet (AoE).  More commonly you will see it described as a Cobranet or Dante system.  These are two common systems that allow audio over Ethernet at great speeds.  Another advantage of having audio devices on a network is the ability to control and monitor them remotely.  There are some brands that allow the end user to monitor and control a device from anywhere in the world through the Internet.  The manufacturer sets up a web portal that allows the user to log in to his/her device(s) and control or monitor.  This is huge because I have witnessed first-hand, times when the crew needed access to a piece of gear but didn’t have the authorization, and the only guy that did was not there.  Having network capabilities eliminates that problem from occurring, or at least greatly reduces it. 

     So hopefully you can start to see how much of an advantage it is to have audio systems set up in a network configuration.  It allows for more complex systems, reduction in cabling, and expansion of use.  However, these systems are far more complex to design and install.  This sums up my introduction to the world of networked audio.  There will be future posts delving deeper into the equipment and techniques used to design and operate these systems.  

-Jon