I understand what you are saying RTI Installer... but I disagree.

You methodology works fine as long as every zone has a controller, and every zone can ONLY be controlled by its own controller.

Lets say you have a Kitchen zone and a living room zone.
In the kitchen you are listening to CD
In the living room you are listening to radio.

Now, from the kitchen, you set the whole main floor to "CD". So, now the living room is also on CD (or music server, or whatever).

The problem is, if someone walks into the living room, the touch panel says "Radio", even though they are listening to the CD.

Since the song playing is Yoko Ono, the person in the living room says "yuck" and attempts to change the song, by selecting a new radio station! Now, since they are NOT actually listening to radio, selecting a new station does not change the music. So, now they are confused and frustrated.

Meanwhile, someone in another zone was still listening to the radio. The person in the living room, attempting to change the CD music, just changed the radio station, and now everyone is mad.


I'm a one-way only guy myself (RTI)... but I've run into lots of large installations where I can easily see the benefit of real 2 way control.

As for the feedback from the plasma: If the control system could always have up-to-date status of the plasma, receiver, sources, etc... then starting and changing macros could be much quicker and more reliable to boot.

I agree that with intelligent design and programming, a one-way system can be nearly bullet proof... and I have hundreds of happy clients who agree..... but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't use a more expensive, more dynamic, more sophisticated control option if I had it available to me.

I regularly use 'HAL' systems ( [Link: ozhifi.com] ) for my Multi Zone applications, 8 inputs + 2 local sources by 6 zones. Package includes 6 keypads and 6 basic remotes, $4,500 aud. I.R. pass though via keypads and very simple RS232, e.g. Volume Up Zone 1 = VR 1 1\r I should add, has 2 way control as well.


This is exactly how I feel also, and I know that when RTI does let 2 way control out into the market place I'm going to have to learn a whole lot of new rules (which you AMX and Crestron guys already know).

Actualy I would never do it that way, rooms like dining spaces never get anything more than volume and mute control, I centralize spaces like you are talking about to a common master control.

Go to this link

Global control is handeled this way --->

Private rooms, get their own hand held controllers, all of the equipment goes in closets like this-->

Depending on the customers needs, we may have multiple identical audio sources that are identified by the individual family members name on the individual control to avoid confusion, for a better description of what I am talking about go here --> [Link: mastertheaterbuilders.com]

I think RTI Installer is the West Coast version of me...

We do things almost exactly the same way.


We, as a company, have been putting in "one way" systems for a long time, very successfully.

Easy to use.
Reliable.
Great sound.

Am I excited by the prospect of two way communication? Hell yeah! More for the meta-data than the syncing of keypads.

Hi, everybody! Here may 5 cents.

Although it might look weird, but it might be useful to check out some stuff from a professional range. Meanwhile they are doing many interesting gadgets, which are at the similar price range but far more beyond by reliabilty and performance. I mean such audio networking and processing systems like BSS London, Biamp Audia or Electro Voice IrisNet.

Those are some amazing graphics RTI, but I do both Crestron and RTI and the feedback means so much.

No point arguing here, but if you know, then you know. If you don't know, then you don't know.

There are a few bi directional things I am really looking forward to integrating that have always bugged me, thats why I have gone so far as to take apart a T1 and use it guts as a trigger platform to cause programs to be executed based on other events in and outside the home. Notwithstanding what I have always wanted more than anything since the beginning from RTI is built in programmable timers, fortunately they listened and that will be part of the new XP8's bag of tricks

Could you elaborate? I'm playing with a similar idea, but using a third-party controller (RCS CS308) as the interface for external conditions and control.
This came about while trying to "sync" central system source selections with individual systems. I'm curious what you were able to to with the "hacked" T1.

I solder wires directly to the T1 keyboard that in turn are connected to a programmable momentary relay, which in turn is connected to something like a magnetic contact on a garage door, so when the customer opens his garage door it causes the T1 to execute a command which---> turns on the hall and kitchen lights. Or, customer walks into the theater, the motion sensor triggers a command on the T1, which turns everything in the theater on, an RP-6 relay deactivates the power on command until the theater is in an off state. A quadriplegic person can control his TV by using the wand he holds in his mouth, because a simplified touch pad is hard wired to the T1 and so on, the possibilities are endless.