MediaMatrix Takes AV Control Mobile
Quick Bio
COMPANY: Peavey Electronics Corporation
HEADQUARTERS: Meridian, MS
OBJECTIVE: Originally conceived as one product, the Mainframe, MediaMatrix now encompasses over 16 products in all. In its simplest form, MediaMatrix exists as a small rackmountable processor. In more involved applications, it may serve as a large enterprise system using ethernet networks for the routing and distribution of audio, using CobraNet technology.
If you’re not reading this on an iPad, chances are that an iPad, iPhone, or other iDevice is within your reach. And if you’re not using it for AV projects yet, you will soon.
The prevalence of handheld and convenient wireless devices has given rise to a new market in applicationbased AV control. MediaMatrix, which brought the world’s first digital networked audio system online in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, has developed an iOS mobile application that, with a suite of powerful control products, allows integrators to create custom control interfaces to direct audio and video in networked installations.
Peavey’s MediaMatrix offers a highly scalable and flexible digital audio distribution and processing system, configurable for everything from board rooms to theme parks, stadiums, and the largest airports in the world. The recent development of enhanced control processing within MediaMatrix’s NWare software has added an important control element to the MediaMatrix product set. The MediaMatrix offerings have now expanded into hardware and software functionality that rivals traditional third-party control systems.
Through NWare, designers and programmers can create simple or complex logic circuits to perform conditional control over internal and external audio processing and routing functions, and over myriad external devices such as video routers and switchers, video file servers, lighting controls, and data network elements. Since the communication with such devices is bi-directional, systems can also be programmed to moni tor the health and performance of system elements such as data network switches, power supplies, and power amplifiers.
The MediaMatrix nControl frame is an enhanced control processor, which serves as an adjunct to the NION (MediaMatrix’s core processor module) control capabilities by adding multiple card slots for additional serial control, content input/output, and up to four TB of local storage. This allows the nControl to be configured as a control device and/or media server that takes its instructions from the host NION. MediaMatrix projects can now call hosted content for triggered or scheduled audio and video playback through the house audio system, digital signage, video monitors, and handheld devices.
The new MediaMatrix NWare Mobile app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch allows integrators to create custom wireless control interfaces for MediaMatrix installations. The layout and design of the user interface and experience is a product of the designer’s imagination and the vast programmability and flexibility of NWare. Designers and programmers can import portable network graphics of floor plans and zones, photographs of devices or content to be controlled, or layouts of physical spaces to define the scope of the area and the devices to be controlled. They can then add and label control buttons, switches, faders or sliders to extend the control interface to the wireless device. Moreover, the graphic functions of the internal audio processing devices can be extended to the device, allowing the user to EQ a room, for example, by simply grabbing and shaping the response curves of a multi-band parametric EQ—all on a handheld iOS device.
Kevin Ivey is general manager, Peavey Commercial Audio.
