Xlobby setup in Visio

[billberet]

well Damn it looks complicated after i put it down on paper.
does anyone else have an overview of their system?
http://www.cyberdyne-sys.com/xl/upload/XLsetup.png

[wesblack]

Nice job Bill, the layout looks great. I like the use of all your product and connector-cable icons




Wes Black \ Calrad

[billberet]

going thru this little diagram showed me some mistakes i found in my setup, i corrected these and everything is working smoothly.
now if i have to do any updates or changes i can consult the diagram instead of looking at all the hanging wires in the back of my rack.
i recommend everyone doing something like this, to give you a graphical representation of your setup.

[wesblack]

Good point Bill, I find that most installers just don't have the time or see any value in doing this...! I have often thought something like visio could be built-into xLobby would be cool , as long as it was easy and simple to use, setup and implement and saved users time to complete a given task or design. Since xLobby is in the middle of content management and control it could gather some of the information and help create the interface diagram part way, object-oriented architecture. Another method would be to have xLobbys design process for controlling devices configured in block diagram style skin editor so you would drag out a receiver on the menu and the create a connection point from xLobby to the receiver either IR or RS232, audio, video, etc. . This concept is not new and was used very well in the premise home automation software platform a discontinued product from years back. A block diagram or overview style design environment would provide users with a better understanding of how everything is connected and iteracts with each technology making it easier to visualize options or possible changes required in the overall design process.

For more details on Visio, visit this link.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/default.aspx

More Info on the Premise platform.
http://www.cocoontech.com/wiki/Premise





Wes Black \ Calrad

[samsonlov]

I find that most installers just don't have the time or see any value in doing this...!




Wes Black \ Calrad

Wes, you're absolutely right about "most installers" and their failure to see the extraordinary value in spending the extra time necessary to actually design a system (on paper or digitally) BEFORE going-out to the jobsite with the componenets that were picked-up on the way there, only to find that they are missing something really important - not to mention the nightmare they find themselves in when they return to try to make sense of the "rat's nest" of wires they left the first time they were there - oops, I guess I did mention it.

And, Kudos to Bill. (You "DIY" and "Just For Fun" guys never cease to impress.)
Samson

[vaporhat]

I have made many similar sketches though the evolution of my set-up and I have found it extremely helpful. I also keep a hard backed book of all the wiring in my house with every wire having it's own number. That alone is over 3 pages. I also keep all those sketches in that book too. It's fun to look back though all the iterations I went though. But the most valuable part of the book, aside from the wire numbers, is keeping track of all my inputs and outputs and port numbers, rs232, HDMI, RCA, VGA, etc..

In my sketches, I have been keeping each portion of my system on different "layers". Audio, video, rs232, USB, data (cat5/internet), etc.

I should look into recreating these sketches in VISIO because that looks great!

[samsonlov]

Hey vaporhat,
Sounds like you could run one of my installation crews better than me.