I get a bit of grief on board for having learned Systembuilder--though I may be overstating it. I'm very good at Systembuilder but hardly an expert. Anyway, in one of the setup screens in Composer you assign inputs to the AVR and display upon turn on. And you could fix it in systembuilder, though Systembuilder tends to like programming such as,

If Bluray on HDMI 2 is selected
then
Turn on TV, (wait 300), select input HDMI1;

You're stuck with this logic due to the underlying macros and the scrolling source and room macros.


I've had logic such as
If all rooms off fb is true
deslect group1, group2, group3, groupn;

brake under one database and then start working under an other, after I'd coded around it.

The underlying macros use analog volume signals, which can be an issue if your pre/pro module is anticipating a digital signal. Begin rewriting modules now....

I'm making more out of this then it's worth but the point I am trying to make is that you code Systembuilder with a different mentality than Simpl. It's feedback oriented. But there are 20 ways to code. If button join 1221 = ture then pulse TV on, (wait 300), pusle HDMI1;

There are certain things they leave out that cause you to shake your head. The only way to get the day of the week or am/pm state is to pull a TSTAT into Systembuilder. That macro gives you the ability to adjust system time, output PM state and current day of the week. But how about the date? They give you scheduling but not the date. If you cannot write modules you're out of luck.

I don't know about you, but I like providing this basic data on every touch panel. OK, I wrote the module--hardly an accomplishment, but I'd wager no Prodigy only dealer can write any module.

You don't see the signal names in the same way in Systembuilder as you do in Simpl. If you did not know to look in the macro, you'd not even know that you could build am/pm logic or current day of the week. Not only to you have to learn to manipulate Systembuilder but you have to understand the macros beneath the hood--and since they're not exposed it becomes a kind of cat and mouse game till you learn how to manipulate it.

Systembuilder, when it works, is an amazing tool. I'd much rather keep control and I've had some horrible experiences with it when it self-destructed. I will also tell you that using Systembuilder to code a lot of non-crestron is among the least enjoyable tasks I've ever done. There is no good copy and paste mechinism for logic. You can move signals from SIO A to SIO B or com ports really quickly in Simpl. It's much more time consuming in Systembuilder. I've written a ton of macros that would be serial in Simpl but are logic in Systembuilder.

The irony is that there is little you cannot do in Simpl that cannot be done in Systembuilder. It just gets done differently.

Alan

Sigh... should I even ask why not? I'm hoping there's a logical reason.

You mentioned in another thread you have Rhapsody working on Prodigy. How were you able to achieve this? I have a customer who's going to buy a Control4 from another dealer because he liked the Rhapsody feature so much.

This has been covered on any number of theads, on the Yahoo group and on IP.
There are at least 2 modules for Squeezebox, one on the Yahoo group for free and one for $$ from Controlworks. With Squeezebox, you can integrate Rhapsody, Pandora, Sirius, Internet radio, LastFm, mp3 collections and control them with Crestron, including feedback.

You're not going to get this on Prodigy without a programmer. One more reason I'm coding in Simpl. But I have a specific featureset and GUI I'm trying to use. I'm trying to fit Prodigy into a slot that does not operate significantly different than our larger systems. The difference is that Prodigy will be a fixed featureset whereas full Crestron will or at least have the possibility.

Alan

Maybe you should start coding in SB so you can sale it to us Prodigy only dealers =D

I know there will be more solutions coming as well as internet music sources have become so popular. Somebody will soon make a single box device that gives us access to all those, like Sonos does but actually a CI friendly product. Something that can be integrated into any system and has full 2-way control protocol in place.

Keep your fingers crossed.


TO mrtristan:

What AVR are you using? I know the Networkable Denon AVR's have a Rhapsody built-in and they get an onscreen GUI. that's pretty much the same as C4, right?

C4 displays Rhapsody on their controllers. Anyway to get feedback from a Denon receiver?

Yes, but you'll need to hire a CAIP....which may be worth it. I still don't know the details, but I think you could pay to have it done once and then reuse it over and over.

We've done 4 systems now and they work fine. I can't imagine how the Prodigy only dealers can customize the remote without some programming knowledge. The first page is a bit annoying if you are only doing av control. It adds an extra step for customers that in my opinion isn't needed. The Hard button programming menu opens up way too small and it can't be maximized. They are going to change that thankfully in the next release I hear!! Apart from that it is a cool little system and will give the URC's and RTI's a run for their money.

Agree, how hard is it to customize this part of the interface? I haven't tried yet. I also usually put a "Please Wait" page in while macros are running, is this more work than I can do in SB?

It's not that hard at all. You can add custom pages in VTpro, create your button text and assign your press join.

As for the " please wait page", I've never really been a fan. I have found that many customers just ignore that anyway. My customers anyway. I used to use it so that customers would remember to keep pointing the remote at the TV or gear when it was an IR only remote. They never listened...lol

With prodigy being full on RF, it shouldn't be necessary!

Purchase the module and I'll do that for you

Why? There are a ton of Denon modules to be found. If it's not in the Cresdb --and there are more than a few there--you can find plenty to add to your usrdb.
Other than volume what feedback would you want? Tuner? XM? If it's on the module you get it in Prodigy.

I'm using Integra and volume is on the PLX2. I also put that Integra volume on the TV. That's a little more difficult to do in Systembuilder.

And I do code Systembuilder--which is akin to saying you code C4 or Lutron. You configure in Systembuilder. You code the modules that you need--like the Time/Date module I spoke of, or a weather module.

But if you are going to offer these features, Simpl is the better solution. If you need to change a driver, you could easily be taught to do it.

Alan

Alan

Amen, brother.

Hey Alan, I thought the module had to be configured for SB? I obviously don't understand how to integrate modules into SB yet and take advantage of Feedback options.

Specifically, I was thinking the Rhapsody feature of the Denon AVR to provide Rhapsody feedback to the PLX2 or PTL4, since that was what he was asking about.

Why not conditionalize the buttons with a timer out? In Simpl this could be a Stepper2 busy signal or a one shot going high for the time you want to prevent system activity--stop button presses.

In Systmbuilder you can do the same thing with an If else statement

It means that every press on the remote runs the a check statement--an other annoying step to add to every drag and drop button press. Systembuilder is already a PIA to code and adding these steps is a real PIA. But it's doable.

I've only thoght of doing this once and mercifully the client finally learned to wait the 10s, but I also changed the logic a bit. But copying every button press into a buffer is a lot faster than doing the same thing in an IF/then in Systembuilder.

Alan