Video Transcript
The Configurator
5m 48s
00:07
Welcome back.
00:08
Let’s take a look at a simple but vital part of the Q-Sys Designer software – the Configurator.
00:14
The Configurator is a window that lets you view all Q-SYS devices connected to the network
00:19
and manage their names and network settings.
00:22
You can access the Configurator at any time by going to Tools > Show Q-SYS Configurator,
00:28
or by clicking its icon in the top toolbar.
00:31
The Configurator displays as a tab in the main Designer window.
00:36
It’s divided into two panels: a list of all discovered devices appears on the left,
00:41
and—once you select one—its properties will appear in the right panel.
00:46
The device list will be sorted by type – Amplifiers, Cameras, Cores, etc.
00:52
For most devices, you’ll see its Name, Firmware Version, currently running design,
00:58
and the length of time that design has been running.
01:01
You’ll also see the IP address and net mask settings for each of its LAN ports.
01:06
Most Q-SYS devices have two LAN ports for redundancy purposes.
01:10
You can change its Mode from receiving an IP Address automatically to a static IP address,
01:16
and then you can define that IP address and its subnet directly.
01:20
For devices with a second LAN port, you could also choose to turn off that LAN B connection.
01:26
If you would like to add a password to your device, you can edit that password here.
01:30
You can also Reboot the device remotely from this panel.
01:33
Once you’ve made any changes to your device,
01:36
you must select Update Settings in order to make these changes active.
01:41
If you select a device that is password protected,
01:44
you’ll have to input that Password before you can access its settings.
01:47
If a Q-SYS device is properly connected to your network, it should populate in the list on the left.
01:53
If the square next to the device’s name is green,
01:56
then your PC and that device can already communicate.
02:00
Even if your PC and the device are segregated with subnets,
02:04
every Q-SYS device broadcasts its ID using muilticast protocols
02:08
that allow it to populate in this list even if your PC can’t directly communicate with it.
02:14
If there’s a red square next to the device’s name,
02:17
then the only information you can currently get from that device is its name and IP address,
02:22
which should be enough for you to reconfigure your PC’s settings into a subnet range
02:28
that will allow you to communicate with that device.
02:31
This interface may look different depending on the device.
02:35
Cameras, for instance, have a custom Configurator interface you could alternatively access
02:40
by entering their IP address into a web browser,
02:43
and its appearance in the Configurator will be the same as that web version.
02:47
A Core, on the other hand, won’t display any of its properties here,
02:51
but will instead give you a link that will redirect you to its Core Manager.
02:56
We’ll explore the Core Manager in the next video.
02:59
If you’re accessing a brand new device, it probably has an ugly factory default name,
03:05
and it’d be wise to change that to something that makes more sense for your installation.
03:10
You can input a new name, and don’t forget to hit Update.
03:15
Your device will reboot and return with its new name.
03:18
If you have multiple devices connected and aren’t sure which one is which,
03:22
you can press the ID button in the Configurator window,
03:26
and the corresponding ID light will begin flashing on the device.
03:31
Conversely, some devices have a physical ID button that you can press,
03:35
which will cause the device to flash in your Configurator window.
03:38
You can turn off this flashing by pressing the ID button again from either end.
03:44
However, be aware that adjusting your devices’ names and IP settings in the Configurator
03:50
doesn’t actually mean they’re part of your Q-SYS design.
03:52
This window is completely independent of the Inventory devices you’ve added to your Schematic.
03:58
The Configurator is basically like a restaurant menu, so you know what is available,
04:02
but you still have to tell the waiter what you want.
04:05
You must manually add all devices you want to incorporate into your design
04:09
by using the Inventory panel in the Left-Side Pane.
04:13
Once a device is added to your Inventory,
04:16
then you need to edit its Properties to identify the name of the device you want it to pair with.
04:21
This is how you link the virtual representation of that device in your design
04:26
with the actual physical device in the real world.
04:29
This is why the Configurator is so useful – you can quickly find the names of your physical devices on the network,
04:36
and use them to correctly label your Inventory items.
04:40
I’d recommend using the copy and paste tools for this, to make sure you don’t mis-type that name.
04:46
Depending on your workflow,
04:48
you might have built your design first and labeled your Inventory properties earlier,
04:53
in which case you could copy those names from the properties and into the Configurator
04:58
when labeling your Q-SYS devices for the first time.
05:00
Whichever way you do it,
05:02
these names need to match exactly in order for your design to pair with that device on the network.
05:08
If you ever connect to your Core and see an error on your peripherals that says “Missing”
05:13
even though you know the device is accessible in the Configurator, you probably typed the name wrong.
05:19
Or if you ever try to connect to your Core and you see this window:
05:23
“Discovering Core …” for more than a few seconds, well you’ve probably named your Core incorrectly,
05:28
and Designer is telling you that it can’t find a Core with the name you specified on the network.
05:33
Understanding the Configurator is the first important step to implementing your design with actual hardware.
05:39
Next, we’ll look at the Core Manager. Take a quick break, and move on whenever you’re ready.
Lesson Description
The Configurator
5m 48s
Use the Configurator tool to discover Q-SYS devices on your network and pair your Inventory items with your hardware