Zone 2

[BaZa]

So has anyone here setup a Zone 2 on an AMP with C4?

I have an install today with a Denon Amp using Zone 2 to power another room. I would assume you would just have to use custom buttons with macros setup.

Any suggestions or tips from those of you that have done it?

Thanks

[danlevine]

Hi BaZa

You can make two separate drivers for zone 1 and zone 2 if they can handle different sources.

If not a custom button would work as well, just not as glamorous.

Dan

[swoop19]

I am using full Zone 2 switching and volume control on a denon AVR-5805 receiver with C4s driver. As long as you set the bindings correctly, the denon driver will allow you to connect seperately for zone 2 and have full control. Let me know if you need anything more specific. Jeff

[Samer Shami]

As swoop19 suggested, it is all in the bindings. Make sure you have another room setup in Composer. The critical part to ensure is the two end-points (Video and Audio) are terminated in the Zone 2 output of the Denon. Make sure that the volume controls for the second room also terminate in the Zone 2 output on the Denon.

Only use custom buttons if you don't want to navigate to the other room via the on-screen or SRC to control the audio in that room. Ultimately there is only so much you can do via the custom buttons before having to resort to changing rooms.

I attached a sample file to help you get started. The most attention should be directed to the room end-points under the Connections tab (select the room name once in Connections).

[BaZa]

Thanks Samer. I really appreciate your expert insight so often presented here. It's nice to have a place like this where eager newbies and share with pro's.

I have been in the A/V business for 11 years but never got into the thick of it until the last 2 years. It's almost like a re-birth getting into all this home automation and networking. It's very engaging and involved. I like that.

[BaZa]

Samer, do you know if I set all my room selections for Zone 2 on that room, and I go and select that room and select media, will the drivers automatically refer to the Z2 codes? Will it turn on Z2 on the receiver and only control volume for Z2 or is there something else I would have to setup?

Also, will he have access to sound from a cable box and a dvd player without having a display device in that Zone? I wonder if setting the Video volume and the audio video volume makes these accessable or if there has to be a display device (real or not) setup in that room?

Any ideas?

[Samer Shami]

do you know if I set all my room selections for Zone 2 on that room, and I go and select that room and select media, will the drivers automatically refer to the Z2 codes? Will it turn on Z2 on the receiver and only control volume for Z2 or is there something else I would have to setup?

I looked through the Denon 5805 driver, and it does actually use the discrete codes for zone input selection. When you select inputs, C4 will automatically figure things out and it will send out the correct IR code associated with that output. Turning on the receiver is another matter. I could not find any discrete zone on/off commands. I presume that C4 will turn on the receiver if it needs to play with zones. Volume control is handled as well (so long as you bind the correct zone output). There are discrete volume controls for zones within this driver.

If you aren't using the 5805, please make sure you do a dry run with your Denon unit, or else look over the in-built driver to see what it supports.

Also, will he have access to sound from a cable box and a dvd player without having a display device in that Zone? I wonder if setting the Video volume and the audio video volume makes these accessable or if there has to be a display device (real or not) setup in that room?

You can double check these statements by using the "Accessible devices" when selecting a room in "System Design". My gut feeling is that you will still get audio from the cable box and dvd player because you have terminated audio in that room in the Denon's zone output. However, you have not terminated the video end-point to anything. This means regardless of what volume controls you decide to bind, it will not make the cable box or dvd player video as accessible under video devices. However, if you were to terminate the video endpoint in the zone rooms to the Denon's zone output - then the video will become accessible! The problem is that they will now appear on the SRC or on-screen. Even though the client cannot view the dvd or cable box in these zones, they will still appear there. So moral of the story is don't connect the video end-point unless you have some means of displaying video in these zones.

[swoop19]

BaZa, Which receiver are you using? I can give you some details on my experience with setting up Zone 2 on some denon receivers using both 5805 and 3806 models and using both IR and serial. Jeff

[BaZa]

I am using a AVR2106, which shouldn't be much different than an AVR3806.