HDANYWHERE-uControl-Zone-Processor Quickstart Install Guide

Version: 20230824

Date: 2023-08-24

Authors: Kevin Lam

Overview

The HDAnywhere uControl Zone Processor (ZP5) and uControl Zone Processor Mini (ZP1) provides all the benefits of the uControl service without requiring MHUB. Designed to work stand alone or as part of an expansion to any MHUB system, or other brands, the ZP5 and ZP1 brings a rich array of control options in to the hands of the integrator offering a simple and elegant AV control option to old and new installs.

With hardwire or Wifi connection options, these units are handy to have when you need extra IR or Serial output control ports. The ZP5 features a HDMI CEC control port which makes integrating any TV or Projector a possibility. This could also be used to send any CEC command to any CEC enabled device that it is connected to.

Find out more here:

• ZP5
• ZP1

Features

• Auto Discovery
• Self healing. (With Auto Discovery, IP Address changes are detected by the driver)
• IR expansion (Bind any IR drivers for control)
• Serial expansion (Bind any RS232 drivers for control) Note One way RS232. Recommended to only use this for Driver Wizard RS232 drivers.
• Default HDAnywhere predefined uControl CEC Library (ZP5 Only)
• Custom CEC commands via Properties or programming (ZP5 only)

Quick Start

Before you start, make sure that:

• You have access to Composer Pro and your Control4 system. Composer Express is not supported.
• Your Control4 system is on OS 3.3.2+. Earlier Control4 OS Versions are not officially supported.

Add and connect the Chowmain uControl Zone Processor drivers into the Control4 system.

1. Select Driver > "Add or Update Driver or Agent" from the toolbar in the top left of Composer Pro and the Chowmain uControl Zone Processor drivers.

2. Add the appropriate driver for the Zone Processor you are setting up.

3. Connect to Device.

Enable Auto Discovery - True

• If you have multiple Zone Processors on the network, a Device MAC Address property will appear and you will need to enter the device's MAC Address for discovery to work. You can find the MAC Address from the HDAnywhere cloud website if you've added the device to a HDAnywhere cloud account.

• Upon discovery, you should see the IP Address property populate and the Connection Status show "Online"

Enable Auto Discovery - False

• Enter the Zone Processor's IP Address in the property. Upon connection, you should see the Connection Status show "Online".

Note We recommend a static IP Address or DHCP reservation setup for the Zone Processor on the network.

4. Refresh Navigators.

Zone Processor (ZP5)

Configure Delay Properties

• Command Delay - the Command Delay Milliseconds value is simply the time elapsed between each command that is sent to the TV.
• Power On Delay - used to establish the amount of time that will elapse during the power-on sequence before the driver continues to issue commands.
• Power Off Delay - used to establish the amount of time that will elapse during the power-off sequence before the driver continues to issue commands.
• Volume Ramp Delay - the Volume Ramp Delay Milliseconds value is simply the time elapsed between each volume command that is sent to the TV.

Make AV Bindings

• Make appropriate input and end-point bindings to suit your installation.
• Refresh Navigators

HDMI CEC

If you are using the ZP5 CEC control port, you need to ensure:

• HDMI CEC is enabled on the device you are trying to control.
• you have some basic knowledge of how CEC works.
• you understand that CEC is not standardised across all manufacturers. Whilst the protocol is implemented in a standard way, implementation, naming and command support are not.

Configure CEC Command Properties

• For every command that is needed in the integration of the Television, configure the Properties.
• The driver comes with the "Default" HDAnywhere predefined uControl CEC Library for any available commands. If these do not work, Change the "Command Type" property to "Custom" and enter the CEC command.

CEC Command Examples

• Examples shown below on how to enter commands found on the CEC-O-MATIC website.

Test CEC Commands

• In the driver Actions, you can send test CEC commands to verify the commands work.

Programmatically Execute CEC Command

• If you wish to send CEC commands via programming, you can do so via the driver's device specific command

FAQ

What are the Requirements for this driver?

• Control4 OS 3.3.2+

Why is this product so exciting?

• HDMI CEC control port on the ZP5 makes it possible to integrate any TV or projector on the market with CEC.
• Programmatically fire CEC commands to any CEC enabled devices.
• IR and RS232 expansion (One-way)

Where can I find CEC commands?

• Use the CEC-O-MATIC website to build commands. Refer to the driver installation guide to find out how to use these commands on the driver.

What hardware will this driver work on?

• The HDAnywhere uControl Zone Processor ZP5 and uControl Zone Processor Mini ZP1

Do you offer any other cool drivers?

• Control4 is a major part of our business. We develop new drivers all the time. You can see all of our drivers on our website (https://chowmain.software). Sign up to our newsletter to get notified when new drivers are released.

I want to try this driver out before buying it?

• All Chowmain drivers for Control4 come with a 90 day trial.

Licensing

• How does the trial period work?

  All Chowmain drivers are free to use for a set trial period. When the trial expires the driver will cease to function until you purchase a licence and apply it to the driverCentral project.

• Where do I buy a Licence from?

  This driver is developed by Chowmain software & Apps and is distributed by driverCentral, Inc https://www.drivercentral.io/chowmain-ltd

  To purchase a driver:

  1. On driverCentral, purchase a license and register it to your project

  2. If the driver is not already installed in your project, download it and install it

  3. If necessary, use the cloud driver’s Action: “Check Drivers” to force the licence to download into the project

Creating a Project on Driver Central

1. Visit http://www.drivercentral.io

2. Log into your driver Central dealer account

3. Click Portal

4. Click New Project

5. Enter the project name

   

6. Click Add Project

7. Click on the project we just created

   

8. Take note of the Project Token as this will be used later when we install the Cloud Driver

   

9. Click Close

Purchasing a Driver Licence

1. Visit https://www.drivercentral.io/chowmain-ltd/ and find the product/driver you want to purchase a licence for

2. Click on Add to Cart

   

3. Now click the shopping cart icon (top right) and click View cart

   

4. Confirm that your order is correct and click on Proceed to checkout

   

5. Choose your payment option, provide the relevent details and click Place order

   

6. You will now be at a page where you can see your purchased licence

   

7. From here assign the licence to the project we created or if you did not follow that step create a new project

   

Install the driverCentral cloud driver

1. Visit http://www.drivercentral.io

2. Log into your driver Central dealer account

3. Click Portal

4. Click Cloud Driver

   

5. Copy the C4Z driver to My Documents\Control4\Drivers directory

6. Add the driver to your project

7. Click on the driver to view it’s properties

   

8. Type in the project token we took note of earlier

9. Click Actions tab

10. Click Check Drivers

Install Chowmain driver

1. Install the Chowmain driver

2. You will notice that the Activation Status reflects a Licence Activated state

3. Any driver that does not have a purchased licence will have a trial licence activated via the marketplace
   Note that there is no way to reactivate the trial so please use wisely

4. If you do not then press the Check Drivers action in the driverCentral Cloud driver again

   

Developer Information

Copyright © 2023 Chowmain Ltd. http://www.chowmainsoft.com

All information contained herein is, and remains the property of Chowmain Ltd and its suppliers, if any. The intellectual and technical concepts contained herein are proprietary to Chowmain Ltd and its suppliers and may be covered by U.S. and Foreign Patents, patents in process, and are protected by trade secret or copyright law. Dissemination of this information or reproduction of this material is strictly forbidden unless prior written permission is obtained from Chowmain Ltd.

Information stated in this document is current as of July 2020 and may change. For latest information please visit http://www.chowmainsoft.com

Support

Ticket / Live Chat Support

We provide ticket based support and live chat support for those who can't contact us via phone. Click the button below to visit our online helpdesk.

Phone Support

Driver Documentation

All of our drivers come with detailed instructions on how to install and configure the driver for use in different projects. Please refer to the documentation included with the driver you downloaded, or contact us if you are unable to locate the documentation for your driver.

Change Log

Version 20230824 - 24-AUG-2023

• Initial release