A Sound Control Technologies ASP Audio Matrix 8x8 device—abbreviated "ASP" in this documentation—is an audio mixing device that has 8 audio inputs and 8 audio outputs. Any input can be routed to any output, and inputs can be mixed with the result directed to an output. Multiple ASP units can be connected together to form a 16x16 mixer array, 24x24 mixer array, etc.

AspDriver allows a HomeUX installation to control a subset of the functionality of an ASP mixer or mixer array:

• Inputs and outputs are assigned names.
• At most two inputs can be connected to a given output. Therefore, AspDriver reduces the functionality of the ASP hardware from a "mixer" to something that's more like a "router".
  • Effectively, AspDriver routes mono audio signals. AspDriver can be used with AggregatorDriver to simplify routing of stereo signals.
  • The purpose of allowing two inputs per output is for the situation where a stereo signal needs to be converted to a mono output.
• The volume and mute setting of each output can be controlled.

AspDriver is configured in the HomeUX configuration file. Here's the general structure (simplified):

"*" means "zero or more allowed". Children of <Device Driver="AspDriver.dll"> can appear in any order.

Example:

<configuration>
  ...
  <HomeUXSettings>
    ...

    <Device Name="ASP" Driver="AspDriver.dll" Units="3"
          sim:SerialPort="AspSimulator.dll;;Units=3;Test=0"
          real:SerialPort="COM7,38400,8,n,1,RtsEnable,DtrEnable">

      <Input Name="DVD/CD L"                InputId="7" />
      <Input Name="DVD/CD R"                InputId="8" />
      <Input Name="Music Server L"          InputId="17" />
      <Input Name="Music Server R"          InputId="18" />
      <Input Name="Music Server Rear L"     InputId="15" />
      <Input Name="Music Server Rear R"     InputId="16" />
      <Input Name="DVR L"                   InputId="5" />
      <Input Name="DVR R"                   InputId="6" />
      <Input Name="VCR L"                   InputId="11" />
      <Input Name="VCR R"                   InputId="12" />

      <Output Name="Exercise E + Bathroom"  OutputId="4" /> <!-- Right -->
      <Output Name="Exercise W + Shower"    OutputId="3" /> <!-- Left -->
      <Output Name="Game Room NE"           OutputId="7" />
      <Output Name="Game Room NW"           OutputId="8" />
      <Output Name="Game Room SE"           OutputId="11" />
      <Output Name="Game Room SW"           OutputId="12" />
      <Output Name="Game Room TV L"         OutputId="15" />
      <Output Name="Game Room TV R"         OutputId="16" />
      <Output Name="Kitchen E"              OutputId="1" /> <!--Left-->
      <Output Name="Kitchen W"              OutputId="2" /> <!-- Right -->
      <Output Name="Laundry Room"           OutputId="9" /> <!-- Mono -->
      <Output Name="Master Bedroom TV L"    OutputId="13" />
      <Output Name="Master Bedroom TV R"    OutputId="14" />
      <Output Name="Office N"               OutputId="6" /> <!--Left-->
      <Output Name="Office S"               OutputId="5" /> <!--Right-->
      <Output Name="Patio N"                OutputId="21" /> <!-- Left -->
      <Output Name="Patio S"                OutputId="22" /> <!-- Right -->
      <Output Name="Deck N"                 OutputId="19" /> <!-- Left -->
      <Output Name="Deck S"                 OutputId="20" /> <!-- Right -->
      <Output Name="Sunfire L"              OutputId="17" />
      <Output Name="Sunfire R"              OutputId="18" />

    </Device>

  ...
  </HomeUXSettings>
</configuration>
	

The following subsections describe the AspDriver configuration file XML elements.

AspDriver implements the following SyncPath schema:

• device-name\Outputs\output-name\Volume
  Gets or sets the volume of output output-name of device device-name, between 0.0 and 1.0, inclusive. 1.0 corresponds to maximum volume; each 0.03 decrease in the volume level corresponds to a 1-decibel reduction.
• device-name\Outputs\output-name\IsMuted
  Gets or sets the mute setting of output output-name of device device-name, (true or false).
• device-name\Outputs\output-name\Input
  Gets or sets the name of the first input connected to the output output-name of device device-name, or "-" if the first input is unconnected.
• device-name\Outputs\output-name\Input 2
  Gets or sets the name of the second input connected to the output output-name of device device-name, or "-" if the second input is unconnected.
• Configuration\device-name\InputNames\input-name
  Gets the display label for input input-name of device device-name; currently the display label is the same as input-name. This can be used to enumerate inputs. There's also a special value, Configuration\device-name\InputNames\- (the last segment is a hyphen "-") which is used to indicate an unconnected input.
• Configuration\device-name\OutputNames\output-name
  Gets the display label for output output-name of device device-name; currently the display label is the same as output-name. This can be used to enumerate outputs.

AspSimulator is a HomeUX-compatible virtual serial port implementation that simulates a subset of the serial communication behavior ASP hardware. AspSimulator performs no real-world actions—the simulation is purely for the purposes of testing a HomeUX installation without having to connect to real hardware.

To use AspSimulator in HomeUX, set the SerialPort attribute of the <Device Driver="AspDriver.dll"> configuration element to a string with the following format:

Parameters:

• unit-count is the number of simulated ASP Audio Matrix 8x8 devices connected together; it should be the same number as the "Units" attribute of the <Device Driver="AspDriver.dll"> configuration element. The default is 1.

• test-number specifies test behavior. This is for development use only; use 0 to specify normal behavior. The default is 0.

You can test AspSimulator independently of HomeUX, using the VSerial console application:

AspSimulator implements a limited simulation—only the following hardware commands are currently supported. (See ASP hardware documentation for information about hardware commands and notifications.)

• "INGAIN" and "ALLINGAIN": Set mode only, not request mode. Syntax:

  • INGAIN=input,gain
  • ALLINGAIN=gain,gain,...

  input is an input channel number (1 to N); gain is "L0" (0 dB), "L1" (+10 dB), "H0" (+50 dB), "H1" (+60 dB).

• "GAIN" and "ALLGAIN": Both set and request mode. Gain value can be a decimal value 0-70 or "M"; "+" and "-" are not supported. "ALLGAIN" supports only full array mode, not sparse array etc. Note that real ASP units are limited to 1-dB steps for gain values. Syntax:

  • GAIN=input,output (request)
  • GAIN=input,output,gain (set)
  • ALLGAIN=input (request)
  • ALLGAIN=input,gain,gain,...(set)

  input is an input channel number (1 to N); output is an output channel number (1 to N); gain is a dB dB value (0-70) or "M" (mute).

• "MASTER": Both set and request mode. Gain value can be a decimal value 0-31. Note that some actual ASP units (such as version 0.98) support 1-dB steps, but according to the documentation at least some unit support 1.5-dB steps. Syntax:

  • MASTER=output (request mode)
  • MASTER=output,gain (set mode)

  output is an output channel number (1 to N); gain is a dB value (0-31) or "M" (mute).

• "RESTORE": Only preset 1 supported. That preset cannot be altered: it does the same as restarting the simulator. All channels and crosspoints are muted. Syntax:

  • RESTORE=1

• "STATUS2": Only "ALLGAIN" and "ALLMASTER" lines are output. Syntax:

  • STATUS2