Content is changing that we have known for some time!

The Streaming revolution that started with Sonos and others in audio has come firmly into custom installations with the advent of video streaming content services from Apple TV in custom Installations, Amazon, Netflix and Sky.

Users are all aware of this content and want it to be integrated into their systems which poses a problem for integration designers and installers.

Custom integrators have fought to tame the beast with control of screens from all the manufacturers for many years with the design focus and product development almost entirely ignoring the needs of the custom installation market. The new streaming products on the market have the same issue in that their principle design intention is for single box per household plug and play.  One of the skills of the custom integrator is to take the time to manage these locked down devices as best possible to enable a custom install quality experience using content from  the mass television market.

Firmware and Gui Changes

It’s common to use the on-screen gui to select content on these units as many don’t allow any sort of  3rd party 2 way control API. The nature of these boxes is that Gui’s change regularly and new services come and go. The Now TV box has had so many updates that trying to keep on top of programming shortcuts for system users is nearly impossible except by sticking to the core services. A change in the services list can display as a fault to the user when a control function they previously used is no longer there.

Remote Access

Remote access is bare minimum on these boxes which means that other than pinging a host to see if the NIC is alive we cant do much more that we would ultimately like to given an net connected device. Even the admin settings of these boxed generally need to be setup using the GUI and remote control meaning boots on the ground are essential.

Duplication of content

Clients see duplication of content on different platforms as different streaming services are available on different devices as app’s. This leads to customer confusion as they don’t know which they should be using which can cause confusion. You might say that they can use whichever they like which is true but each app runs it’s own instance and hence the users recent search history or paused content does not update across instances.

All this said these are just challenges for the goog custom install professionals to step up to. The wide selection of content now available at good quality to feed the systems is a great step forward from DVD’s and ripped content  media servers.

Lighting Control Process

Stage One:

Lighting Hardware Selection – Lighting Controls Specification

This stage splits straight down the middle between the two different hierarchies of control.

1. Lighting Controls schema

The User and environmental controls are the creative stage of the process where as designers we can work with you to look at how you will use and control the lighting within your space. Many designs use the simplistic method of replacing old light switches with new modern scene panels. While this gives more control it is real shame that the great potential of control has not been realised.

The schema of control comes first!

At this stage we are not looking to just provide a list of control equipment and find a schema for it’s use later. The process starts with looking at the uses of the spaces involved and how the users will use these different spaces. This requires interaction with all stake-holders in the project architect, managers and end-users. From this understanding of the use of the space we can design a controls system that works with the use rather than the other way round. The schema of control comes first and the equipment and placement of equipment to realise that schema comes naturally from it.

2.     Internal System Controls – Ballasts, Leading edge / trailing edge dimmers, LED controllers etc

ECG – Ballasts , Transformers ,LED – PSU’s, Convertors

The internal system controls of a system are equally important to get 100% correct if you are to achieve a stable system. To use a heating controls analogy these parts of the system are your valves , actuators and fan controllers. The users will never see them but they are fundamental to the stable operation of the system.

In the main electronic control gear is used over and above electromagnetic control gear due to the advantages in terms of energy saving. Many lighting manufacturers built control gear into their fittings and hence you don’t get the choice of getting good gear or bad gear but depending on the size of your project you can get your say. There are many different choices of control protocols and each manufacturer will profess that their gear performs the task better, faster and more efficiently that the last. The important thing is to ensure whatever is selected will work together with the control system, with the lamps selected and that all the installation requirements are known prior to stage two.

Stage Two:

The work completed in stage one holds us in good stead for the installation to take place.

Ensure that sufficient knowledge of the control system is available on the side of the contractor.

The electrical contractors become involved at this stage to install all the system wiring. Given the thorough design achieved we can fully brief and if necessary provide training for the electrical installers to ensure a sufficient quality level of installation is achieved. The types of cable and testing of lighting controls infrastructure is often unknown to electrical contractors and we provide testing and inspection services which allow us to ensure the internal system controls and control system communications have been correctly installed and are functioning correctly prior to the completion of the install and start of the commissioning phase.

Stage Three:

Lighting control Schema Creation and programming / commissioning of the lighting controls system.

If possible the lighting controls schema should be already established during stage one of the project however we have a great deal of experiance of being asked to enter a project at stage two or even stage three when controls have been installed with little thought to there eventual use. This process is much more restricted and results in a lesser result but with a bit of ingenuity a good result can still be achieved.

Given the lighting schema and a proofed and stabe system we can commence the programming of the system as per the lighting schema. Following an initial programming visit we allow the users to use the system for a couple of weeks and provide us with feedback of their experiance. A final visit incorporating some system training and any tweaks resulting from the user feedback completes the full commissioning of the project.