What I Do For A Living...

[AceInfinity]

So I was going to post this for a while, and neglected it. I've been getting a few requests though from a few people though, and I mentioned to another member that I would post this too. Here is an idea of some of the things I work with on a daily basis. :)

The names I have worked with include Crestron, RTI, AMX, Extron, Lutron, Adagio, Biamp, Cisco, Sonos, Control4, and many others.

Crestron Examples:

 

[AceInfinity]

I can't put everything into a single post, so here is another Crestron example:

 

[AceInfinity]

Here is me doing programming for a DSP at a Joey's bar in my area. I was there for 2 days, from 1AM to 9AM one Friday (technically Saturday), after a full day of work, then the following Sunday again from 1AM to 7AM to finish up. This is because you can't really fool around with the audio when the place is full of people...

1.

2.

 

[AceInfinity]

3.

 

[AceInfinity]

A few images (In attachments)

 

[AceInfinity]

A few more... *sorry for all the posts - there is a limitation to how many videos you can have in a post, and attachments it seems too.*

 

[Anthony N]

That's very amazing what you do Ace! Quite speechless actually.

 

[AceInfinity]

The pictures and images are actually 2 different jobs I believe. I did 2 of these Joey's over 2 days on the weekend. Both got touchpanels, and the controller's were replaced with the CP3 series. The main thing was getting the audio to work and the switcher for one place, with the new touchpanel, and at the other place I had to program the DSP for each zone, including the crossover's (setting the frequency ranges for each output from the crossover) in which the crossover point I set to 300hz (right where you see the rolloff for where the 2 "lines" cross in the program in that video. It was cool because it was realtime, I could change and fine tune it while the audio was playing. This included output from each of the cable boxes, the PC they had for straight music, and other sources. Most people don't really think audio in places like bars can be all that complex, but they forget it is a huge main attraction for places like that. Some places have more money to spend than others... They had quite a few clusters of high end JBL's which are typically in and around ~92-95 db @ 1W for sensitivity. The ones I have in my basement right now have a sensitivity of 105db @ 1W, and it all goes through an active crossover, so the frequency is split over the mids, subs, and the tweeters, and I've got 3 amplifiers of different power outputs for each. :)

The racks in those places were pretty messy though. For example, in the attachments below I've posted a picture of a rack I was starting to wire in for the audio (analog). The other images are some images of new equipment I recently recieved, and have yet to test. :)

 

[Patrick]

How long have you been programming, Ace?

 

[AceInfinity]

Roughly 7 or 8 years... Before that time I did occasional web development (very minimal), so I'm not going to consider that as part of my experience. That was back when graphics and video editing were my main thing (did that for a year or so). I met a game developer, and learned a few things through that, and decided that it was "cooler" because I enjoyed challenging myself. Ironically, although game development was what originally got me into programming, I never did that professionally, only on my own time, and still it is the area in which I have the least experience in for programming as of today. Once I got into programming I kind of went down my own path with desktop software and whatnot... I was very interested in audio still, so when I found things like this with product lines like Crestron, where the concept of automation, which includes audio systems and much more, could be combined with programming, I knew this was what I wanted to do. It combines my knowledge with technology and programming and puts it all into one. So I get to physically work with the equipment that I'm installing, and program it, and do cool things that most people would want in their homes. It requires lots of knowledge about networking too though however, which is something I'm still lacking in, but I'm getting there. :thumbsup2:

 

[Patrick]

Wow, that's really neat! It does indeed sound like you love what you do.

 

[Anthony N]

No joking. What he does is awesome. But let's be honest, programmers (at times) need hardware guru's at their side. Ace seems to have the best of both worlds under his belt.

 

[AceInfinity]

I'm currently setting up a home theater system in my house with a projector, motorized screen, apple TV, shawbox, and a 5.1 surround system (which may turn into a 7.1 later). Everything *will eventually* be automated through various manual switches, IOS device if I can figure that out, or a touchpanel that I already have controlling the shawbox, projector, and screen relays for up/down and stop limits... Later on lighting may be integrated with this entire system, but I need to get the rest working first. When it is finished, I will post a video of it. Right now it's slow going though because I am trying to hold off on spending all my money at once, and at various times I get opportunities for good deals on stuff. Just a screen I'm looking at (a larger one for the projector) is about $2000. Good quality speakers are obviously expensive too, and I already got a good deal so far on some 10" subs that I can add into this home project. It is a large room though, so added bass will give a really good enveloped feeling of rumbling if you're watching an action movie. :)

Because I'm putting in Crestron stuff though, it's a little over my budget to just go out and buy this stuff at market price lol. I'd be maybe a couple hundred thousand in debt if I went on a spending spree. It's usually commercial grade stuff for that reason... I have a video of the system in progress, but it's nothing spectacular just yet. It would be cool if I could control it with my Surface too, but I've already got lots of work to do as it stands, so that won't be for a while (since I'm doing this all on my own and on whatever spare time I have left).

 

[Anthony N]

Remind me when I build my house to make accommodations for you so you can work on my home theater system :) Btw do you know of any IR blaster extenders so if my cable box were in a different room it'd still work. (I should of known charter wouldn't know anything)

 

[AceInfinity]

Btw do you know of any IR blaster extenders so if my cable box were in a different room it'd still work.

Just get a balun that transmits the IR. You don't really want to have a long IR wire going super long distances. I use an IR balun (one for tx (transmit) and one for rx (receive)). It's got RJ-45 ports so transmit and recieve is over probably Cat5 cables, then you'll need an IR receiver at the opposite end of the cable box to receive the IR frequencies and transmit them down to the transmit balun which has an IR emitter *stuck* over the IR receiver location on your cable box. :)

I use PROconnect baluns (KeyDigital), which is a HDMI/DVI via dual Cat5/6 (Tx/Rx) balun but it has a one way RS-232, IR too, and it supports up to 150ft on 1080p.

Model #: PCBKDCATHD100

And I've done exactly what you are talking about with these baluns many times... :thumbsup2: Even for AppleTV's.

 

[Anthony N]

Well when I build I will keep you in mind!