Scheduled my first Show - no Sound?

[Guest guest]

Hey guys,

I created my first show today and then tried to schedule it for 10:45 pm to 11:00 pm tonite to come on. I created two musical sequences to play in that time. For the schedule I had the controllers plugged in, USB485 Booster hooked up, computer on and speakers tied in with 1/8" stereo adaptor. When 10:45 popped up, the show came on and worked great - but the speakers never played any sound, the sound only came from my laptop.

Now, I walked up to the MP3 controller pushed in the memory card and the sequence started over and sound came out of the speakers. When the SD card is in, it runs standalone but when out I don't get sound.

When I originally downlaoded the sequence and music to the SD card I forgot to transfer the mp3 song - do I have to do the samething when I am creating a show?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Bill Jr.

[Guest guest]

Hi Bill,

A show is controlled by the MP3 Director (using the SD card) or the PC but not both.

If you want to control a show from the PC then you do not need a MP3 director. The sound will generated by the PC and the show is directed using the LOR show scheduler....

If you want to control a show from the MP3 director, you create the show with the Hardware Utility and move that show's files to the SD card. Then with the PC not connected you insert the card in the MP3 player and the show will run. The sound in that case comes from the MP3 player.

There is not a way to schedule a show today with the MP3 player. That will be a future firmware upgrade. The show will play anytime the MP3 player is powered. You need to turn the power On/Off to the MP3 card to get the show to Start/Stop.

Hope this helps

[Guest guest]

Dan, I just want to understand what you said:

If I have a computer turned on and running all the time and plug in the USB485 booster will the show and schedule editor run my musical sequences and animation sequences? That probably rules out using the MP3 controller - correct? Where does my sound come from - computer?

OR

My confusion lies in - do I download all of my musical sequences and animation onto a memory card and run it through the MP3 controller? I love the fact that I only have to push in the memory card and it goes but If I create 20 minutes of musical and 1 hour and 40 minutes of animation - will it loop it self over and over? With that said, after the 20 minute musical finishes, how do I get random music to play with the 1 hour and 40 minute animations?

In closing, I have to do one or the other because both don't work together - It would be easier for me to use the memory card but I am not sure how to handle the music end of it.

Also, when I download onto the memory card - can I use any kind of a show or scheduler to tell it what I want?

Thanks for your help.

Bill Jr.

[Guest guest]

Dan, one last thing - I have four 1602 controllers besides the MP3 - what is the main purpose of having an MP3 controller? Would it be for standalone benefit only?

Bill Jr.

[Guest guest]

Bill Jr. wrote:

Dan, I just want to understand what you said:

If I have a computer turned on and running all the time and plug in the USB485 booster will the show and schedule editor run my musical sequences and animation sequences? That probably rules out using the MP3 controller - correct? Where does my sound come from - computer?

Bill... the music would come from your sound card or the headphone output on your pc.

[Guest guest]

If I have a computer turned on and running all the time and plug in the USB485 booster will the show and schedule editor run my musical sequences and animation sequences? That probably rules out using the MP3 controller - correct? Where does my sound come from - computer?

Correct. You can not use both of them together. In this instance, the sound would come from the computer.

My confusion lies in - do I download all of my musical sequences and animation onto a memory card and run it through the MP3 controller? I love the fact that I only have to push in the memory card and it goes but If I create 20 minutes of musical and 1 hour and 40 minutes of animation - will it loop it self over and over? With that said, after the 20 minute musical finishes, how do I get random music to play with the 1 hour and 40 minute animations?

Dan, please remove this if I get it wrong. According to the manual, you will create your show using the hardware editor. To complete the effect you want, you could load your musical sequences at the top of the list. You won't be able to do random music, but you could load music sequences with "all lights on" for the remaining time period.

In closing, I have to do one or the other because both don't work together - It would be easier for me to use the memory card but I am not sure how to handle the music end of it.

Correct, they do not work together. The MP3 Director has an output for the music. It's standard 1/8 connector. You can connect speakers to this. From what I've read, they will need to be powered speakers, or connected to an amplifier.

Also, when I download onto the memory card - can I use any kind of a show or scheduler to tell it what I want?

As mentioned above, use the hardware editor to create the show you want to run. When Dan releases the firmware upgrade, you will be better able to define the shows on the MP3 Director.

[Guest guest]

Bill Jr. wrote:

Dan, one last thing - I have four 1602 controllers besides the MP3 - what is the main purpose of having an MP3 controller? Would it be for standalone benefit only?

Bill Jr.

Yes, the MP3 player is designed to be a stand-alone unit. When used with the upcoming scheduling functionality, it's truly a 'plug and play' option.

[Guest guest]

Don, thanks for the info - I guess the only problem I have is how to insert music when only animation sequences are playing. Dan had mentioned to me a few days back that he might have a firmware upgrade before christmas that would allow me to download just music onto the memory card along with sequences so songs could play when animationsequences are playing. Even if I didn't have the MP3 Director I am still capable of running musical sequences with the normal 1602 W controllers. Music just seems to be that issue?

Thanks, Bill Jr.