For a month or so now I have been having pretty nasty issues with Infrared control of devices via both our demo Panorama system and/or DigiLinX IRLinX / MediaLinX 101A combination.
Today, a nice new box and software build turned up that has solved all of that.
The MLA4000 from Netstreams, a small and tidy unit that fits perfectly in a 19’ rack and takes only 1U of space, has replaced 4 MLA101A’s and 1 CL100 unit. Essentially that means that instead of having to use 6U of rack space, you only use 1U. This is great news for any homeowner as space concern is paramount. For the installer is means a much tidier setup.
Whilst the space saving is great, a much more vital issue has been resolved. Since implementing the Panorama system and combining with the DigiLinX system I have had annoying intermittent problems with IR Pass-through control on our test setup. Essentially, the system would sometimes take commands from the remote, queue them up, and then send them all together. Not good if you are browsing a Sky Planner…. Also, if the IRLinX or the PAN700 IR Receiver were located anywhere near a LCD / Plasma, it would end up flooding the IR signal so that commands could not get through to the source device. Lets just say that tempers were tried over the past months and many a remote was broken as it bounced off my LCD… 😉
The great news is that the MLA4000 and the latest firmware build has solved everything in regard to the IR issues, the only remaining issue is some minor IR flooding still remains – so minor in fact that it is hardly noticable. I am assured by Netstreams that very soon an update will be available to fix that which is fantastic.
As I type that, I realise that I should also point out to potential purchasers of the DigiLinX system that a massive bonus of the product is the fact that your chosen installer will be able to provide you with ongoing updates to your product across it’s lifetime that both improve and enhance the product. This really is something that most systems lack (at least easily). NTES are offering a remote update service for Netstreams customers for a small annual fee so the client does not even need one of our engineers to visit the location!
I want to add another comment regarding my issues and working with the guys over at Netstreams Inc. I want to say a big thank-you to all the team I have been working with on these issues over the past couple of months, I have never come across a more “involved” and helpful company. The dedication from the team was amazing, including some of them staying back late just before the American thanksgiving vacation to talk to me, here in Europe, late into the night to ensure that I could work out issues with the demo setup to allow a customer demo to proceed the following day. As far as I am concerned, if Netstreams keep and expand on this “personal employee dedication” they will go far.