[Programming] Control4 Standard Video Wall with MultiDisplay Manager
Overview
The instructions in this article will use the MultiDisplay Manager to program an interface for a Just Add Power Standard Video Wall.
Before beginning this article, it is expected that you have:
- Configured all Just Add Power devices
- Configured the switching driver by connecting other sources and displays
- Added all non-Just Add Power drivers to the Composer project
- Configured initial video wall positioning through the webUI of a Just Add Power device: 3G Ultra or MaxColor instructions.
In Control4 Composer OS3, a video wall is represented by one Just Add Power RS232-IP Server per display.
Latest Control4 drivers available here.
Note: As of Composer 3.4.0, MultiDisplay Manager is not available on many iPhones.
2x2 Video Wall Template
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We will setup a 2x2 video wall. MultiDisplay Manager supports up to 3 rows and 6 columns, so these instructions can be replicated for walls up to that size.
R1C1
RX5
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R1C2
RX6
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R2C1
RX7
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R2C2
RX8
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Part 1: Add Room and Drivers
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- Create a new Room (we name ours Video Wall)
- Add drivers for the displays in the wall. These are used for control of the displays and AV connections. Treat this step like adding any other display to a normal Room.
- In Control/AV Connections, connect each display driver to the Just Add Power Switching Driver Output according to the Report File. It is important that the display driver is connected, and not the Just Add Power RS232-IP Server drivers.
- In Control/AV Connections, select the Video Wall room. The first display added to the room is already the Video End-Point for the room. Connect the other 3 displays as Additional Video End-Points. This makes these displays available to the MultiDisplay Manager.
- These drivers are done!
- Add 4 Just Add Power RS232-IP Server drivers to the Video Wall room. These represent the four Just Add Power Receivers behind the video wall (We name ours Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right J+P)
- In Properties for each driver, set the IP address for each Receiver according to the Report File.
- These drivers are done! No Control/AV connections are needed.
- Room, Drivers, and Connections are done!
Part 2: Agents and MultiDisplay Manager
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Now that all Connections are made, the MultiDisplay Manager allows the user interface to control more than one display in the same room.
- Under Agents in Composer, click on Add, and add MultiDisplay Manager to the Agents window if not already there.
- In MultiDisplay Manager on the Dashboard tab, click Add Wall and set the Audio Zone (Room) to Video Wall.
- Click the Pencil icon to configure the wall
- Set the Wall Name - this is how the user will see it on the interface. (We named ours 2x2 Video Wall)
- Set Audio Zone (Room) to the Tiling Room.
- Set the Audio Source to the audio source for the room (we leave our Audio Source blank because we are not doing audio).
- Set Layout to 2 Rows and 2 Columns and click Get Started. The layout is how the user will see it on the interface. Resize as you like. (We leave ours at default.)
- Set Sources and End-Points for the displays in the wall. Be sure to keep them in the same order as they are on the Report File and Room Connections. For Default Source, if you want a consistent source layout when the user selects the wall, set the sources here. (We leave ours at --none--)
- Click Save, then return to the Dashboard.
- Select the Presets tab. Click Add Preset to create two new Presets: one for Wall Mode, and one for Individual displays. This allows the user to change between one large wall and individual screens. (For larger walls, you may want more than two Presets for more layout options.)
- Click the Edit Pencil for the Individual preset
- Check the box to enable the Preset
- Set the Audio Source if you want audio to change to a specific source when this Preset is chosen. (We do not use audio)
- Set Sources for each Video Endpoint when this Preset is chosen. Think of these as default sources when the layout is selected. (We set ours so that each window shows a different source. We only have 4 sources so it is an easy choice.)
- Click Save, then go back to Presets.
- Click the Edit Pencil for the Wall Mode preset
- Check the box to enable the Preset
- Set the Audio Source if you want audio to be on a specific source when this Preset is chosen. (We do not use audio)
- Set Sources for each Video Endpoint when this Preset is chosen. This of this as the default source when the layout is selected, and since it is a video wall all endpoints should be set to the same source. (We set ours to the AppleTV by default, as it is our most-used source. Fit this to your user's requirements.)
- Click Save, then go back to Presets
- Agents and MultiDisplay Manager are done!
Part 3: Programming Macros
All the buttons and interfaces exist. Now we need to make them do stuff!
- Under the Programming tab in Composer, scroll down to the MultiDisplay Manager
- Select the Wall Mode preset.
- To build a video wall, Control4 must set 2x2 wall mode and positioning on all Just Add Power RS232-IP Server drivers. We'll do each of the drivers one at a time.
- On the Actions bar, select the Top Left J+P driver in the Video Wall room and scroll down to Device Specific Command.
- Select Basic Video Wall Mode Change from the dropdown
- Set Number of Rows to 2
- Set Number of Columns to 2
- Set Row Position to 1. This Receiver is in the first row of the video wall
- Set Column Position to 1. This Receiver is in the first column of the video wall
- Drag the green arrow into the Script Actions window
- Select the Top Right J+P driver and Basic Video Wall Mode Change
- Set Number of Rows to 2
- Set Number of Columns to 2
- Set Row Position to 1. This Receiver is in the first row of the video wall
- Set Column Position to 2. This Receiver is in the second column of the video wall
- Drag the green arrow into the Script Actions window
- Select the Bottom Left J+P driver and Basic Video Wall Mode Change
- Set Number of Rows to 2
- Set Number of Columns to 2
- Set Row Position to 2. This Receiver is in the second row of the video wall
- Set Column Position to 1. This Receiver is in the first column of the video wall
- Drag the green arrow into the Script Actions window
- Select the Bottom Right J+P driver and Basic Video Wall Mode Change
- Set Number of Rows to 2
- Set Number of Columns to 2
- Set Row Position to 2. This Receiver is in the second row of the video wall
- Set Column Position to 2. This Receiver is in the second column of the video wall
- Drag the green arrow into the Script Actions window
- The Wall Mode macro is built!
- Next we will build the macro for the Individuals preset to set the video wall to show 4 individual videos
- On the Actions bar, select the Top Left J+P driver in the Video Wall room and scroll down to Device Specific Command.
- Select Basic Video Wall Mode Change from the dropdown
- Set Number of Rows to 1
- Set Number of Columns to 1
- Set Row Position to 1
- Set Column Position to 1
- Drag the green arrow into the Script Actions window
- Repeat Step 10 for each Receiver in the wall, setting Number of Rows, Number of Columns, Row Position, and Column Position to 1 for all values. Drag the arrow into the Script for each Receiver.
- Programming Macros is done!
Part 4: Refresh Navigators and Go!
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Programming is complete and the MultiDisplay Manager is setup to control the video wall. Refresh Navigators to update the UI.
- Select the Video Wall room and the MultiDisplay Manager
- To watch a video wall:
- Select the list menu in the top-right corner, then select the Wall Mode preset
- Select all displays in the wall, then select the source button in the bottom-right corner and pick a source to show on the wall
- To watch individual screens:
- Select the list menu in the top-right corner, then select the Individuals preset
- Select any display in the wall, then select the source button in the bottom-right corner to switch that display
- Done!
