What turns on what, and what turns off what. This works the same way in every eXcontrol installation, from one screen to a whole venue.
The principle
Power: it switches the mains supply on and off through an Expromo power unit (EPS). Network: it tells screens and processors to show a picture, go dark, sleep or wake up.
What turns on what
The same three buttons work for the whole room, or for part of it. What happens depends on how each piece of equipment is connected:
| Equipment | Turn on | Standby | Turn off |
|---|---|---|---|
| On a power unitLED cabinets, processors, screens | Power onIt starts up, then shows the picture | Power stays onPicture goes dark or the screen sleeps, so it's back quickly | Power offIts switch on the power unit turns off |
| On its own wall socketa screen or processor with no power unit | Woken upPicture on | AsleepScreens sleep, processors go dark | AsleepSame as Standby: there's no switch to turn off |
| Always-on equipmentnetwork switch, control PC | On | On | OnNever switched off, so eXcontrol can always reach the system |
| Shared equipmente.g. a processor used by two parts of the room | Stays on as long as any part of the room still needs it. It only follows Standby or Turn off when nothing needs it any more. | ||
In what order
One power unit at a time, each switch a moment after the last.
Processors and screens boot. eXcontrol waits until each one answers.
Screens are woken one after another, and dark processors show the picture again.
Why one at a time? Equipment draws a large current spike at the moment it's switched on. Spreading the switch-ons out protects fuses and breakers.
Screens that keep their power (on a wall socket, or shared) are put to sleep over the network.
Last one first. Always-on equipment is left on.
Switching back on right after switching off waits at least 30 seconds, so the equipment isn't hard-restarted.
Parts of the room
An installation can be split into groups, e.g. the main wall and the lobby screens. Each group has its own buttons and can have its own schedule. The room button always controls everything.
Who can switch it
Turn on, Standby and Turn off for the whole room. Turning off or to standby asks for a second tap, so it can't happen by accident.
Switches the room, or a group, at set times. Before a scheduled switch-off you get a 15-minute warning and can extend by an hour.
Crestron, Q-SYS, Stream Deck and similar send their requests to eXcontrol, so the same safe order applies.
If someone turns a screen back on with a remote or a button, eXcontrol doesn't switch it off again. It shows a message saying what came on and when.
Good to know