When programming the MSC-400, do you need to put IR commands on the processor? In other words, can a smart macro contain IR commands? I am so used to programming RTI where the IR commands cannot be programmed ont he processor and I am not sure if it's the same thing here...

Also, does the smart macro on the remote finish running before executing the next commands on the remote? For example on an MX-900:

Step one: Jump to please wait page
Step Two: Smart Macro Watch DVD (contains about 5 seconds of commands)
Step Three: Jump to DVD page


Does Step Three occur after the Watch DVD smart macro completes? Or do you need to leave a delay in between step 2 and 3 to alllow the macro to finish before you make the page jump?

Thanks for the help,
Jimmy

Create IR devices on the remote first then import them into the MSC project. Do this first before even starting anything with the MSC program. Once you have the MX program setup as you usually would for devices, goto MSC and choose File:ImportRemoteControlDevices



The macro will work in the order you lay it out. So if you have Wait - Trigger - Jump, it will go in that order but quickly because the Trigger is a single command sent from the MX to the MSC, so if you don't want that page to flip right away then put a delay on the MX side. I personally put the Trigger first to get the ball rolling, then deal with any Wait screens, delays and jumps.

Thanks for the explanation. You may have mis-understood my first question- I know you need to create the IR devices on first before importing to the MSC-400. My real question is, can you use IR commands in smart macros? For example, is this acceptable on the remote for a watch DVD button where the TV is an IR device?

Page Jump to Please Wait
SMART MACRO WATCH DVD (smart macro contains TV ON, DVD On, Input chg,etc)
Delay 3.0
Page Jump to DVD page

OR...
Do I need to do this:

Page Jump to Please Wait
TV On (IR)
SMART MACRO WATCH DVD
Delay 3.0
TV INPUT1
Jump to DVD Page

Hope I explained myself better.

Yes, I may have been confused by your question :-)

Are you stating the TV will be controlled via IR (line of sight, no emitter from the MSC)?

If YES, then the second way you listed in post 3 is what you want. The triggers are only for commands being sent from the MSC, all others (line of sight IR) will work as they usually do from the MX program.

Does that make sense?

There's no way to get an emitter or serial cable to the TV? The macros, would be cleaner and more reliable if you can.

Thanks, that cleared that up. So it's just like RTI. I always look for the RF solution, but do you find that there are problems when you mix and match IR devices? That isn't the case with RTI. There is no reason why it shouldnt work... Has anyone had poor to medicore performance when they have say an IR TV or Projector and are using an MSC-400 to control a rack of equipment?

Works 100% fine, I would just prefer to have everything coming off the MSC in an ideal world. In fact I have a home with 12 (or was it 10) mx980's sending triggers to an MSC but all the plasmas were IR line of sight (thanks to the hack who did the job first time around).

Another point mght be that if you send a TV on, followed by a SMART macro that lasts for 5-7 seconds, the client still has to aim the remote if the input needs to change on th TV. All the clients I have that use game systems have this issue that are bypassing thier surround. Oh well, thanks for the infor mation - very helpful.

That's correct and why I'd like to see an emitter there or serial if at all possible. It makes the install go from 98% to 100% reliable, of course the 2% is due to the client either not knowing they have to keep pointing or something interferes with the transmission while they are...other than that it will work.