Full Time Source Selection?

jjames
jjames AMX Sustaining Engineer
in AMX Control Products
Just curious - do you have your source select buttons available full time or do you use a button to pop up the selection of sources? For the most part, we've been using full time source select buttons. But, the down side is having so many source buttons taking up valuable real estate on an 8400, so now - I'm toying with using a button to pull up a popup (that doesn't cover the entire selected source controls).

Ideas? Thoughts?
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  • ericmedley
    ericmedley Senior Member - 3709 Posts
    jjames wrote: »
    Just curious - do you have your source select buttons available full time or do you use a button to pop up the selection of sources? For the most part, we've been using full time source select buttons. But, the down side is having so many source buttons taking up valuable real estate on an 8400, so now - I'm toying with using a button to pull up a popup (that doesn't cover the entire selected source controls).

    Ideas? Thoughts?

    On things larger than an 8400 I keep the source button on the screen as long as they are in the 'TV' mode. It goes away for other modes like Security, Weather, whole house audio, pool controls, HVAC, etc...

    On the 5200i I had to do popups. The screen is deceptively small. On your computer monitor you feel like you're making Fred Flintstone sized buttons. But on the display, they're tiny.

    Hello, by the way!
    e
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  • Colzie
    Colzie Senior Member
    ericmedley wrote: »
    On things larger than an 8400 I keep the source button on the screen as long as they are in the 'TV' mode. It goes away for other modes like Security, Weather, whole house audio, pool controls, HVAC, etc...

    I concur. If they are in the TV mode I always show the source buttons...if they have "too many" I show X number of sources with a More button (or page up/page down) to see the rest.

    I've played around with the idea of a "Wizard" touch panel that steps the user through getting to the desired source, then having ONLY controls for that source and one "Back" button to change sources. I think this would be great for extreme techo-phobes, but for anyone else it would get very annoying.
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  • jjames
    jjames AMX Sustaining Engineer
    Attached are two examples of what I'm doing. The first one shows a source select all the time, and the second shows the little popup that I'm talking about. I like having a little popup 'cuz it gives more room to play around with the controls. I was planning on doing it the same across the board for all the panels here - 5200s, CV7s and a CV12. I like to keep full continuity throughout the job so once they "learn" one panel - they've got the rest down.

    I dunno . . . maybe I'm grasping for straws that aren't there and should just go with it? I'm more curious about the users' interpretation or response to doing it one way or the other.
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  • DHawthorne
    DHawthorne Junior Member
    I used to have like sources (audio, video) available whenever using another of the same type, but am switching over to have a top-level menu up all the time, with fly-outs for the sources. My jobs tend to have lighting, thermostats, cameras, multi-room and any number of doo-dads I want available at any time, and this seems the best way to do it without seriously cramping the screen.
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  • a_riot42
    a_riot42 AMX Wizard
    I think the only answer is it depends. I like the popup style for sources as it lends more room for control buttons and non AV stuff, but then again, I like the feeling of seeing them all and being able to hit one at any time instantly. We have used both at my work and although I prefer programming the part-time style I prefer using the full-time style. So typically I will have all sources on the screen unless there is some good reason I can't. I hate having to hit multiple buttons to do a single thing, like choose a source or turn off the lights, so I try to avoid it but its not always possible.
    Paul
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  • Kenny
    Kenny Junior Member
    As a general rule I try to make all sources or at least the most commonly used ones available all the time.
    This is also true for volume control.
    In a few rare installs the page was just to cluttered to have volume on the main page. I have tried using external buttons on the MVPs but the user usually forget that it is there so I end up putting a volume button that shows a popup with the controls on it.
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