Q-SYS Designer Software: New AV, Control, and Management Features

Improvements

(Audio) Softphone: Domain-based calling

Q-SYS Softphone now supports domain-based calling. This allows greater flexibility with PBX devices and network configurations, in that a single SIP domain name can be white-listed instead of needing to specify multiple proxy IP addresses. The new Domain-Based Calling is available in the Softphone > Shared Settings in both Core Manager and Enterprise Manager.

(Audio) Software Dante: Expanded Dante Domain compatibility

• Software Dante Channel Groups are now shown in Dante Controller when the hosting Q-SYS Core processor is enrolled into a Dante Domain. Dante Domain Manager (DDM) v1.2.0.13 or later is required.

• Software Dante can now be enrolled into a Dante Domain using the hosting Q-SYS Core processor's IP address. This is useful for situations where automatic discovery and enrolling by name is not possible.

(Audio) CX-Q, CXD-Q, DPA-Q: PowerSave controls

The CX-Q, CXD-Q, and DPQ-Q amplifiers now include PowerSave controls in the new Power Management category of the Amp Output component. Set the dB threshold below which the amplifier will enter a reduced power mode once a timeout value has expired.

(Audio) Loudspeakers: Invert control

The new Loudspeaker component Invert control allows you to toggle inversion of the amplifier output to a loudspeaker - i.e., the positive signal becomes negative and vice versa. This has no effect on the perceived sound. Enabling this control might be useful in special cases when two loudspeakers are playing the same audio at high output power. Inverting the output to one of the two loudspeakers balances the draw on the amplifier's positive and negative power supplies so that a higher sustained output power is possible.

(Video) NC Series Conference Cameras

The Q-SYS NC Series conference cameras deliver high-quality video feeds natively to the Q-SYS Platform. With three models to choose from, these network cameras offer a simple and scalable video solution for any size meeting space.

• NC-110: fixed-lens, electronic pan, tilt, zoom (ePTZ) with 110° horizontal field of view

• NC-12x80: 12x optical zoom, 80° horizontal field of view

• NC-20x60: 20x optical zoom, 60° horizontal field of view

(Video) Mediacast: Camera stream, routing, and USB Video Bridging re-architecture

Q-SYS 9.3.0 introduces Q-SYS Mediacast, which is a simple, interoperable network streaming technology that brings higher quality, low-bandwidth IP streams to Q-SYS.

• Latency
  Compared to previous Q-SYS release camera streams, Mediacast provides improved latency from the lens of the camera to the USB application, reducing the potential for audio visual synchronization issues.
• Camera Streams
  Q-SYS PTZ-IP Series and NC Series cameras now provide a single IP stream to the Q-SYS Video Bridging device of choice. The USB Video Bridge then sends the Mediacast Stream to the host device and, ally, a Preview Stream to third-party applications.

o Mediacast Stream: Formerly known as Stream 1, the Mediacast Stream is a high-resolution H.264-only stream for output to Q-SYS USB Bridging devices for playback on a USB host device, such as PC with conference software. The USB Video Bridge decompresses the H.264 stream and locally scales the resolution and frame rate to match at that the USB host requests.

o Preview Stream: Formerly known as Stream 2, the Preview Stream is a lower resolution (360p maximum) H.264 stream that can be viewed by third-party applications and hardware decoders. It can be enabled or disabled depending on design requirements.

These streams are configurable in the Status/Control (Cameras) or USB Video Bridge component control panel, including their maximum bitrates.

• Video ats
  Q-SYS USB Video Bridges now decode video streams and scale appropriately for the host PC application. You can now what video ats are allowed to pass from the Q-SYS device to the host application based on the capabilities of your USB infrastructure - USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. In general, higher-quality YUY2 ats are supported by USB 3.0, while lower-quality (higher compression) MJPEG ats are supported by USB 2.0. The default setting for the new Video ats property for the USB Video Bridge component provides the greatest compatibility across applications.

See the USB Video Bridge topic to learn about USB connection requirements, the new Video ats property, and video troubleshooting tips.

• Mediacast Router
  The component formerly known as Camera Router is now called Mediacast Router. Use the Mediacast Router component to route multiple Mediacast streams to multiple destination Mediacast-capable devices.
• Schematic Wiring
  In support of future Q-SYS device support of Mediacast streaming, the er camera-style signal pin has been replaced with the new Mediacast signal pin on the Status/Control (Camera), USB Video Bridge, and Mediacast Router (formerly Camera Router) components.

(Video) PTZ-IP Series camera improvements

The PTZ-12x72 and PTZ-20x60 now have improved control and stability for Privacy and Home states.

(Video) Camera Model property removed

The Model property for the camera Status/Control component has been removed. Camera controls are now exclusively tied to the Q-SYS camera model you from the Inventory list.

(Video) USB Transfer Mode property removed

As a part of the USB bridging changes and improvements for Mediacast, the USB Transfer Mode property for the I/O USB Bridge is no longer available, as video data is now always transferred in "bulk" mode (without parsing) and audio data is always transferred in "isochronous" mode (with parsing, to avoid filling the buffer).

(Control) I/O-8 Flex: HID component support

The three HID components are now supported by the I/O-8 Flex and are available from the Inventory tree once you have added an I/O-8 Flex to your Inventory list.

• HID Keyboard: Trigger keystrokes on a remote PC or Mac computer connected to an I/O-8 Flex.

• HID Media: Control media application playback, including volume level, on a remote PC or Mac computer connected to an I/O-8 Flex.

• HID Conferencing: Control a conferencing application, such as Skype for Business or Zoom, on a remote computer connected to an I/O-8 Flex.

(Control) I/O-8 Flex: USB and Output component support

The USB and USB Output components are now supported by the I/O-8 Flex and are available from the Inventory tree once you have added an I/O-8 Flex to your Inventory list.

• USB Input: View information for HID devices connected to the USB-A ports on an I/O-8 Flex and route HID signals to either the USB Router component or directly to the USB Output component of another Q-SYS Core processor or peripheral.

• USB Output: View the connection status between the USB-B port of an I/O-8 Flex and the host USB device receiving HID signals from the USB Router component or directly from the USB of another Q-SYS Core processor or peripheral.

(Control) Scripting: VSCode editor

The VSCode editor is a new, robust alternative to the legacy editor. It offers:

• Code completion (Intellisense) - In addition to expanded code completion for standard Lua functions and Q-SYS Lua modules, the VSScript editor suggests controls that have been defined in ing components such as Text Controller, as well as Named Controls and Named Components.

• Error highlighting - The VSCode editor indicates any parse errors directly within the script.

• Snippets - These are commonly used blocks of code. As you author code, suggested snippets appear for ion.

• Hover help - Simply hover over a method to view its syntax and purpose.

(Control) Asset Manager: Filter and sort assets

You can now filter, arrange, and sort the list of available assets in Asset Manager. The new filtering and sorting s are next to the Search bar.

• Filter assets by type, including Plugins, Sample Designs, and CSS Sheets.

• Arrange assets by Name, Date, Author, and Manufacturer.

• Sort the assets list in ascending or descending order.

(Control) UCI Controller: Export and Import UCIs

The UCI Controller [BETA] feature now includes support for exporting and importing User Control Interfaces (UCIs) within Q-SYS Designer Software, allowing for easy sharing of UCIs between system designers. UCIs can also be downloaded and imported from Asset Manager.

(Control) UCI Controller: Control pin support

The UCI Controller [BETA] feature now supports control pin wiring for controls that have been added to a UCI from the Toolbox.

• A new Control Pin property now appears when ing Toolbox controls. You can expose Input, Output, Both, or no (None) control pins for each control.

• Enabled control pins appear in the new UCI Controller component, which you can drag out for your UCI within the User Control Interfaces section of the left-side pane.

(Control) UCI Viewer (Windows app) security enhancements

The Windows UCI Viewer app includes these security updates:

• Designs with encrypted control connections (via HTTPS) are now indicated with a green padlock icon.

• Designs with encrypted control connections will only use HTTPS for communication with UCI Viewer and will not fall back to HTTP.

• You can now hover over a design name to see the host Q-SYS Core processor name, whether the connection is encrypted, and the LAN interface IP address.

(Management)Re-size and re-order umns

You can now re-size and re-order columns on these pages in Core Manager and Enterprise Manager.

• Core Manager

o Status

o Event Log

• Enterprise Manager

o Alerts & Notifications

o Audit Log

o Assets

o System > Status

o System > Event Log

Tip: Simply click and drag a column border to re-size it. To change the order in which columns appear, click and drag a column name within the columns menu.

(Management)Camera Resolution settings have moved

The settings for changing IP stream resolution and frame rate have moved from the Core Manager (and Enterprise Manager) > Video > Cameras page to the new Mediacast Streams tab in the camera's Status/Control and USB Video Bridge components in Q-SYS Designer Software.

To learn more, see the updated Status/Control (Cameras) or USB Video Bridge topics, which describe the controls within the Mediacast Streams tab.

Tip: The Mediacast Streams tab appears within both components and has the same controls in each.

(Management) Network Services: NC Series cameras added

The Network > Services page in Core Manager and Enterprise Manager now includes a line item for Q-SYS NC Series cameras, allowing you to enable or disable the Q-SYS Core processor's ability to communicate with those cameras.

• To learn about how to enable or disable individual network services for your Q-SYS Core processor, see the Core Manager >Network > Services topic.
• To see a list of network services and their associated network protocols, see the Network Interfaces, Services, & Protocols topic.

(Management) Enterprise Manager: Assets page improvements

• Serial number information is now viewable for Q-SYS peripherals.
• Configured Date/Time information is now viewable for Q-SYS Core processors.

(Platform) Deprecated: Core 110f - USB 2.0 support for Video Bridging

Q-SYS 9.3.0 introduces new features that improve camera imaging and USB Video Bridging performance and capabilities. To take full advantage of these new software features using the Core 110f's onboard AV USB bridge, the cable infrastructure between the Core 110f's USB device port (Type B) and the PC's USB host port (Type A) must be USB 3.0 compatible, including the cable, port, and anything in between. If you choose to use USB 2.0 infrastructure after updating to v9.3.0, AV bridging performance will be limited to 360p. Note that this does not affect other Q-SYS bridging devices.

(Platform)Deprecated: cgi-bin calls for media file management

To increase the security of data transfers to and from the Core, the ability to upload, delete, and reference audio files via CGI s is no longer supported. This impacts anyone using the existing Q-SYS PA Remote API (PARAPI) or other custom software using the cgi-bin calls. Use the new media-related Management APIs for audio file transfers instead, which allow for ed API calls over secure HTTPS.

(Platform)Deprecated: FTP server and volatile storage on the Core

To increase the security of media file uploads and downloads to and from the Core, the ability to enable the FTP server on the Core is no longer supported. Q-SYSCore Manager now provides a much richer user experience for media file management via the Files page. You can also use the new media-related Management APIs for audio file transfers, which allow for ed API calls over secure HTTPS.

Bug fixes

• Audio: Existing channel names are now preserved in the Software Dante RX component when upgrading Q-SYS Designer Software.
• Video: You can now include all of the I/O-USB Bridge's inventory components in your design (USB Audio Bridge speakerphone and/or sound card, USB Video Bridge, USB In and Out, HID components) without receiving a compile error.
• Control: Shared layers are now visible and editable after returning to Design mode from Run or Emulation mode if the Shared Layer's visibility was previously set to false.
• Management: In Enterprise Manager, newly-created Organizations are now visible in the list immediately.
• Management: Accessing Core Manager from an iOS device no longer results in an error.

Important notes

• The Domain Based Calling is required by NuWave, Momentum Telecom, and Zoom.

• To learn more about the Softphone, refer to the Core Manager >Telephony > Softphones topic.

• See the Amp Output (Network Amplifiers) topic to learn more.

• To learn how to apply new cameras to your system, see the NC Series Cameras Application topic. To learn about the NC Series camera features and specs, see the NC Series Conference Cameras topic.

• The Q-SYS Core 110f and 110c processors support YUY2 resolutions only and are therefore limited to 360p max performance with a USB 2.0 connection.

• See the Mediacast Router topic to learn more.

• The VSCode editor is able from the Q-SYS Designer Software > File >Preferences menu. To learn more, and to see examples, view the VSCode Editor topic.

• To learn how to export and import UCIs, see the UCI Controller [BETA] topic.

• As part of the FTP server deprecation, the "Volatile Storage" feature has also been removed.