Tiler Programming Tips

Tiler Programming Tips

Here are some quick tips we have on setting up Control4 UI buttons and Just Add Power 3G Tiler transmitters. 

Note: You need to have the static route setup on the router which will let you log into a J+P device with your computer (and also the control processor will be able to see it as well) 

Sending Just Add Power Commands

The video tiler is going to seem very complex but once you understand how it works everything becomes a bit easier. The 3G Tiler unit consists of four Receivers and one 3G Transmitter. All commands will be sent to the IP Address of the Transmitter.

We highly recommend sticking to the pre-defined, basic layouts that Just Add Power provides and using the recall functions they offer to show those layouts. Attached is the 3G Tiling Transmitter Manual from Just Add Power and on starting on Page 5 you'll find the basic layouts and the commands to use to activate each one. 

In the Control4 Driver files from Just Add Power there is another driver that you will need to install: proxy_ip_JustAddPower_TerminalServer.c4z. This driver allows you to send commands to the Tiler and when setting it up you will need to know the IP address of the Tiler Transmitter. You can get this IP address on the Just Add Power Programming Guide PDF that Blackwire provided with your order. 

Control4 UI Buttons

The Blackwire Control4 Video Wall & Tiler Icons driver contains a configurable UI Button which can display multiple tiler configurations. We recommend installing multiple copies of the Blackwire Driver and lock the icon the exact display that you need. You do this by setting the Mode to Tiler and hiding all of the configurations except the one you need. Name the driver something unique, like Sports Mode or Quad View – whatever your client might use most.   

Tiler + Control4

Here is where things get a little confusing but the Blackwire Tiler icons help make things much easier. Since there's no concept of a "video tiler" in Control4 so you'll have to do everything manually based on how the client interacts with the Tiler Icons. The best way to get the Tiler going is on the button press of the Tiler Icon
  1. Step 1: Select a source via navigator the normal way (i.e. On select -> Select Sat Box 1 in Theater). This will fire up Director and get the Room's audio and video devices setup correctly. 
  2. Step 2: Manually switch the video on the J+P matrix driver to the Tiler Transmitter Input.
  3. Step 3: Set the inputs up on the tiler to the default video sources you want. The first one will be the source you selected in step 1.
  4. Step 4: Send the layout command to the Tiler Transmitter based on the icon style you setup earlier. 
The screenshot below is example of programming for you to review. In this example, when the customer presses the UI button, Director will turn on the TV and selects "Roku 1" as the video source in the Theater. The next programming step manually switches the TVs input signal over to the Tiler's output (hint: use the J+P matrix switch driver to do this programming). Then, the 4 inputs of the tiler are set to the other video sources. This is how you assign the default sources for the Tiler. The last command sets the actual layout mode. In this example, it is a 2x2. We'll take a look at those commands next.



Basic Layout Commands

To set one of the basic 4 pre-built video layouts use the command format: _4in1_layout.sh $X

Where you see the $X you can use the following values: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 10
  1. 1 = Single-screen
  2. 2 = Primary Left
  3. 3 = Primary Top
  4. 4 = Quad
  5. 10 = Recall last custom layout
For example, to set a 2x2 grid view you'd use the following command: _4in1_layout.sh 4

Note: Keep in mind these commands are case sensitive and must be sent to the Tiler transmitter's IP address.