Totally confused re: 1.6 Zones

[rick325]

I am really confused about zones and how to make things work properly.

a) In my house, the installer setup 5 non-digital sources as inputs into my C4 multi-channel amp (the first generation 16ch one).

There is nothing hooked into the back of the HTC as audio in.

c) I control everything through a bunch of keypads around my house (which source goes to which room, volume, etc.).

I keep reading about these cool "zones" all over the place since 1.6, but when I go to my on screen navigator, under music=>zones there is nothing listed.

It would be great to be able to control the volume from the OSD, as well as even decide which sources go to which rooms. Or--is the zones thing only for streamed digital media?

Help!

[Mav-Jason]

Not TOTALLY sure about V1 amp w/ 1.6, but it should work fine.

You should be able to add/ subtract zones from any of your TS/ KP interfaces.

May very well be in programming.

[rick325]

Not TOTALLY sure about V1 amp w/ 1.6, but it should work fine.

You should be able to add/ subtract zones from any of your TS/ KP interfaces.

May very well be in programming.

Hmm... so if it is property configured, in the OSD where the Zones list is empty, how would one normally add a zone and/or select an audio device to play in that zone?

[jbs]

I'm not in front of my system right now, but from memory . . . if you are listening to digital music in one of your zones, and then you bring up the zones menu on a touchpanel or OSD, you should see that zone in the list. You can control the volume / mute / on/off from there, and you can click on ADD (I believe) to add additional zones to that session.

When you do, the new room/zone will be listed underneath the one you were already listening in, and they'll be playing the same digital music.

This will work with any source that goes into the matrix, but since it sounds like you're saying at the moment that nothing else is in there, I'm assuming digital music is the only thing you're using the system to listen to.

Does that all make sense, and when you try it does it work?

--Jason

[rick325]

I'm not in front of my system right now, but from memory . . . if you are listening to digital music in one of your zones, and then you bring up the zones menu on a touchpanel or OSD, you should see that zone in the list. You can control the volume / mute / on/off from there, and you can click on ADD (I believe) to add additional zones to that session.

When you do, the new room/zone will be listed underneath the one you were already listening in, and they'll be playing the same digital music.

This will work with any source that goes into the matrix, but since it sounds like you're saying at the moment that nothing else is in there, I'm assuming digital music is the only thing you're using the system to listen to.

Does that all make sense, and when you try it does it work?

--Jason

Actually, you have it inverted. I have 5 pairs of Analog RCA's going into the back of the C4 amp. The installer set it up that when i go to a 6-button keypad in a room and push any of the first 5 buttons, it will assign the corresponding input to that room. Volume control happens via a different 3-button keypad.

From what I have gleaned, I guess the issue is that my setup is not using "digital music in sessions" and is instead playing "analog inputs from the amp". Is there a way to use the zones function with my setup? BTW, what specifically is a "zone"? Is each of the outputs of the AMP a "zone", or is any room with an audio endpoint a zone, or something else?

Thanks in advance.

[jbs]

Do you have digital music stored on your system? Do you have a Mini Touchscreen, or an onscreen display, where you can navigate to music, and if so is there a music library there?

Zones, at least the way I use the term, have 2 different meanings -- one the one hand, I consider my system to ahve 16 zones of audio because there are 16 different rooms/locations in which I have speakers, each is its own audio end point. Each, then, is a zone.

But at the same time, zones are what the C4 system uses to describe grouping together those audio endpoints to play music simultaneously. When you have something playing in the kitchen, and you go to a touchpanel, bring up zones, and add the dining room to the kitchen, that's in a zone. I think they used to call them sessions or something else, and since I'm not at home at the moment, I can't swear that this is all correct, but to the best of my recollection it is.

All my audio inputs, whether they are digital music or the Tivo or whatever, can be a source for a multi-room session or zone. I believe this function is performed by the audio matrix, and I'd assume you have one of those in your mix if you're able to pull any of the 5 inputs into any of the rooms. An audio matrix is a different device than an amp, though I think I recall reading somewhere (you'd need to search or wait for someone else to confirm) that the amp can provide switching capabilities as well, so there may not be a matrix in your setup.

Sorry I can't be more precise.

--Jason

[rick325]

Thanks for the quick response.

a) I use the navigator on the TV (on screen display is what I have been calling it).

I don't have any digital media in the system (yet). If I push the music button, nothing is there. Even my CD/DVD player only shows up under "Video" (although is capable of playing music).

c) There is no matrix switch in my setup. I have a bunch of analog sources hooked directly into the amp, and as you suggest, the amp is doing the switching.

For vocabulary, let's use:

Physical Zone = where a pair of speakers is

Session Zone = a group of rooms with the same music

My understanding is now:

a) The Zone capability of 1.6 relates to Session Zones. Physical Zones won't show up here.

I likely have no Session Zones because my setup is directly piping analong music through the amp tot he right room

My question is now:

1. Given my setup, how can I get music from my CD player, hooked through the amp, to play in a Session Zone. My hope is that if that happens, then I can add more Physical Zones (or at least rooms with Audio End Points) into the Session Zone.

2. If I hook up an audio source to the audio inputs on my HTC, does that automatically then play in a Session Zone?

Thanks and sorry if I am confusing the issues further.