Video Asylum

Posted by Steve K (P) on November 06, 2002 at 21:05:25

In Reply to: I posted a similar question in Tweaks/DIY recently - any help? posted by rwalton on November 06, 2002 at 18:51:08:

Hey Rick,

Not sure about the home-brew job. It may work just fine. When it comes to IR routing and control, Xantech is all I deal with. They're the best IMO. The Xantech catalogue can be a bit hard to deal with at first, so lets have a look and see what ya might use.

First off, I'd recommend you go to Xantech.com and download the whole catalogue in PDF format. The smaller, low rez version will be plenty. Reason is, they make a variety of IR receivers. They all do basically the same thing, you just need to find one that'll "fit" in your room/setup. There's pics...have a look and see what ya like. The IR recivers start on catalogue page #23 and go thru 26. Also, most of the recivers can be had in "CFL" friendly versions...that means that the stray IR emitted by many flouresent lights will be ignored by the pickup. They also make a "plasma TV friendly" pickup that's not listed, because it was released after the catatlogue went to print. The red pixels on a plasma tv spray IR like a fire hose! If there's a plasma in the same room as the IR pickup, get a plasma [or at least a CFL] friendly model! Lots of windows, that let in lots of sun light can also cause a problem for non-CFL friendly models.

Typically we install the Hidden Link style pickup, on a table top or on top of the tv...it's about the size of a pack of cigrattes. If you're going for a more "finished" look, I'd recommend the J-Box style pickup...mounts flush into a wall with a decora style trim plate...looks quite nice. The J-Box receiver may look ugly in the pic, but in reality you never actually see any of what's pictured in the catalogue...it's hidden behind the coverplate. Sorta looks like a light switch, without the switch, when your done.

Second, you'll have to pick out a connecting block. To do this you'll have to keep in mind how many pieces of gear you'll want to control...or better said, how many IR emitters you'll need. Emitters come in two basic flavors...single and dual. Pretty straight forward...the single ones work one piece of gear and the dual is like two emitters, spliced onto one mini plug [therefore taking only one port on a connecting block to run two devices].

Typically we use the 789-44, single zone, 4-port block. That'll let you control up to eight devices [4 dual emitters], or any lesser combination there of. A more upscale connecting block will let you control more stuff, but 8 devices is a good amount. The little CB20 and CB12 arn't very flexable...you dont have to have many devices to run out of emitter ports. Something like the 790-00 will run up to 10 dual emitters...if you wanna control a whole lot of stuff.

Next we'll need to pick out a power supply. Not a lot to think about here. Just a basic wall wart will suffice...it's a rare day we need one of the big "high current" models. Most of the time we spec the 781RG. You'll need a power "module" if you wanna use the big 10 port connecting block...but I don't think that's necessary here?

Getting near the end. Emitters...actually they call them "mini emitters". You've got the two basic styles, dual and single...and then either one can be had in a "flashing" or regular version. The flashing emitter will flash red as it's emitting IR, for a visual confirmation that it's working...the regular ones work the exact same way, they just dont emit visible light while they're working. Dosn't really matter what you choose here...they'll all do the same job. You could save a bit of money by using dual's. Part numbers 282m, 283m, 284m, 286m.

That's probably enough info to get the ball rolling. Once we've picked out some part numbers well talk about hook up. It's pretty striaght forward, but depending on the parts and wire lengths things can vary a tad. Price wise, we're probably looking in the 100 to 200 dollar range here...give or take.

If I've not covered something well enough...lemme know. Being a 2-channel guy, thrown into the world of mulit-room, multi-zone audio, was quite a culture shock.

If you wanna give me a call at work that's ok too. Or email me...or we can use the Asylum...either way.

:-)
Steve Kaudle

The Listening Room
Saginaw, MI
989-792-3816