ARC-3 Dynamic Menus

The ACR-3 wall panel delivers powerful capabilities with Dynamic Menus. Dynamic Menus allow you to enable an entire ARC or individual menus in an ARC using Controller Numbers. For example, in a room combining application, you may choose to display a separate set of menus when rooms are combined and another when uncombined. This Tech Tip will describe just a few ways Dynamic Menus can be used. Without a doubt, there are many more applications than we cover here.

In the first example, we will use a simple 4 room combine scenario. A 4 Room Automix Combiner module is used to combine inputs between rooms. A 4 Channel Gain module serves as the volume control for each room.

Each room is equipped with an ARC-3 wall panel. When all 4 rooms are separated, each room’s ARC-3 wall panel should only display the volume control for its room. When room A and B are combined, both rooms’ volume controls should appear on each room’s ARC-3’s. When all 4 rooms are combined, all 4 rooms’ volume controls would be accessible from all 4 ARC-3 wall panels.

The 4 Combine buttons from the Room Combine module are assigned as menus in the ARC-3 using Controller Numbers 11, 12, 13 and 14. There are 4 gain faders from the Gain Module also added as menus in the ARC-3 using Controller Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.

In the ARC-3 for room A, the volume fader 1 is setup as a normal, non-dynamic menu. Volume faders 2, 3, and 4 are setup as Dynamic Menus, so they will not be accessible until room A is combined with the others.

The ARC-3 Dynamic Menu uses the same Controller Numbers as the Combine buttons. The menus enable when the remote control numbers’ values are 65535, and disable when the remote control numbers’ values are 0.

The second example uses the Audio Level Detector module followed by a Threshold Detector module and Output Remote Control Number module to dynamically trigger a menu to appear in the ARC-3 when an audio signal is present. The gain fader is assigned as a menu in the ARC-3 using Controller Number 11. Gains 3 and 4 will have controller number 12 and 13.

The Dynamic Menu is enabled using Controller Number 1. When audio signal is present at the Audio Level Detector module’s input, it will engage the Output Remote Control Number module turning on Controller Number 1. Set the Audio Level Detector module to RMS, with a slow response to avoid the menu coming and going between songs, for example.

The third example uses the 1 Button Latched module and Output Remote Control Number module to dynamically trigger all menus in the ARC-3 to appear. In this case, the Dynamic Menu is enabled using Controller Number 1 in the Edit ARC-3 Menu dialog, rather than for the individual menus. When the 1 Button Latched module is triggered, it will engage the Output Remote Control Number module turning on Controller Number 1.

The 1 Button Latched module’s button can be triggered in a variety of ways including the Event Scheduler to recall a preset, a physical latched button connected to an External Control Input on the rear of the DSP, or any other third party control system connected via RS-232, or UDP/IP and TCP/IP over Ethernet.