Network
renderer setup instructions
Note: Most of the algorithms and methodolgy described here
is Patent Pending or Patent Protected.
Playback to NAB/NBX audio renderers
Playback using generic RTSP/RTP PCM audio
-
Some devices support Bonjour based RTP streaming natively. On these
devices, streaming selection is available in all apps.
-
On other devices you can select an application which supports mDNS/Bonjour
-
Run the app and go to speaker selection (all speakers will
automatically be located on the network)
-
Select the output you wish to play audio on. Assuming you have
configured the device (below), these will usually be the room or rooms you
want to send audio to.
-
Play your audio from any other app. All audio on the device will be
routed to the requested room speakers.
-
Select another network speaker (or speakers) whenever you want.
-
Select "Internal speaker" to totally disable network streaming
Playback using DLNA streaming
-
Make sure you have Upnp publishing enabled on NBX/NAB
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Enter any DLNA remote control application (smart phones, TVs, etc)
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The virtual DLNA renderers (speakers) will be automatically detected
-
Select the output you wish to play audio on. Assuming you have
configured the device (below), these will usually be the room or rooms you
want to send audio to.
-
The DLNA remote control will also show you all the available audio sources
you can play. Select a source to start audio.
-
Select another network speaker (or speakers) whenever you want.
Playback using Logitech Media / Squeezebox streaming
-
Make sure you have Squeeze publishing enabled on NBX/NAB
-
If do not already have a Logitech Media Server on your network, enable the
local server on NBX/NAB general config page and reboot
-
The virtual SqueezeBox renderers (speakers) will be automatically attached
to the first LMS server on the network
-
If you have more than one LMS server, enter the desired server in the LMS
config page. Speakers may also be dynamically moved between servers
using iPeng or other apps
-
Playback is controlled via LMS apps (iPeng, etc) or the LMS web server on
port 9000. Select a source to start audio.
-
Select another network speaker (or speakers) whenever you want.
Since NAB/NBX can automatically control attached matrixes the
end user does not have to go through another step of using a control system
remote or program to route the audio from the player to the speakers. It
is all done in ONE STEP directly on the users smart phone / tablet.
NAB/NBX also keeps the 3rd party control system in sync and aware of
the audio routing that was done (so that other programming can be added if
needed).
Setup for NAB/NBX audio renderers
NBX/NAB supports configurable multichannel rendering. To
setup your device, enter the NAB/NBX IP address into a web browser. From
the main page, select "renderer channel config".
The config screen will look like the below.
Name |
Enabled |
Type |
Fixed |
Output mux |
Connect |
Disconnect |
Assigned |
|
|
|
Bonjour |
Upnp |
Squeeze |
channel |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
command |
command |
channel |
|
Each row corresponds to 1 of 48 configurable network audio renderers.
NBX/NAB can "publish" up to 48 virtual renderer devices to the network.
Audio servers and control points will see all these published devices as valid
"speakers" they can connect to.
When a network server connects to one of the virtual channels, the following
sequence takes place:
- NAB/NBX assigns the active connections to one of 8 internal renderers (1
renderer on NBX010).
This assignment is either fixed or dynamic based on the user config.
Fixed assignments always use the same given channel for a virtual device.
Dynamic assignment will select the first unused channel and assign it to the
virtual device only while the audio stream is active.
- On NBX, the assigned channel is a direct output of the device (channel X
is audio out X, etc).
- On NAB, the assigned channel is the numbered network audio input to the
CMXA2 matrix (channel X is CMX input 38+X).
- Next, on NAB the Output Mux settings for the virtual device are applied.
CMX will switch all outputs defined in the Output Mux for this virtual
device to the new assigned network audio channel. These commands are
echoed via Ethernet to keep any control system in sync.
- Finally, the Connect Command is executed. The disconnect command
is a configurable notification send via Ethernet and RS232. This can
be used to control external matrix or power amps and for synchronization
with a control system.
When a network server disconnects from one of the virtual channels, the
following sequence takes place:
- NAB/NBX removes the channel assignment is using dynamic assignment on
this virtual device.
- On NAB, NAB will disconnect all CMX matrix outputs that were switched to
this input. These commands are echoed via Ethernet to keep any control
system in sync.
- NAB/NBX executes the Disconnect Command. The disconnect command is
a configurable notification send via Ethernet and RS232. This can be
used to control external matrix or power amps and for synchronization with a
control system.
The configuration shown above is the default configuration for NBX100.
It exposes the 8 audio outputs directly via 8 fixed virtual devices.
Dynamic assignment can be done on NBX, but in most cases the default config will
be preferred.
The default configuration for NAB100 is quite different. It exposes 17
virtual devices using all dynamic assignment. The first 16 devices are
used as direct selection for each of the 16 output groups (out 1
analog/coax/toslink, out 2 etc). Device 17 is a group that allows direct
selection to all output zones. You may want to add additional virtual
devices for diferent groupings, such as "Main floor" etc. The dynamic
assignment allows NAB to automatically utilize all 8 renderers as needed to
stream 8 different audio streams to any combination of matrix outputs.
The details on each column data:
- Name: Configurable name for the virtual device. This is the
name the user will see and select from.
- Enabled: If set, this virtual device will be "published" to the
network.
- Type - Bonjour: If set, the device will be published via
mDNS/Bonjour (used by many smart phones)
- Type - Upnp: If set, the device will be published via Upnp
(used by DLNA mostly)
- Type - Squeeze: If set, the device will be published as a virtual
SqueezeBox speaker
- Fixed Channel: If set, fixed assignment will be used for this
device (otherwise it will be dynamic). You cannot have more than 8
fixed assignments
- Output Mux: Each box corresponds to the output number on CMXA2 (38
total outputs, analog 1-16, coax 17-32, optical 33-38). All the
outputs selected on the device will automatically switch when a connection
is made.
- Connect Command: The connect command is a configurable
notification send via Ethernet and RS232. This can be used to control
external matrix or power amps and for synchronization with a control system.
- Disconnect Command: The disconnect command is a configurable
notification send via Ethernet and RS232. This can be used to control
external matrix or power amps and for synchronization with a control system.
- Assigned Channel: This is a read only value which tells you the
current channel assignment. If a channel is fixed assignment, these
will not change.
The connect and disconnect commands use a printf style format. The
first assigned integer parameter is the assigned channel.