Description:

This driver is for the Neothings matrix switcher family. This driver should work for all of the Avalon and Borrego models available at the time of this writing. The Neothings models are effectively multiple matrix switchers in one box, each on a separate board, for switching a particular type of media (.e.g. component video, digital audio, etc...) Each board has the same number of outputs (2, 4, or 8) and some number of inputs (4, 6, or 8.) You can switch each board separately, or switch a particular output of all boards to the same input together.

Each output can have an input mapped to it, so the driver provides you with a field per available output (2, 4, or 8.) The current value of that field is the number of the input mapped to that output. You can write to the field to map a different input to that output. Note that zero is used as a mute. So if you write zero to an output field, that is just basically saying, nothing is mapped to this output. There are also a set of output fields that will switch all boards at the same time.

You will be prompted during driver installation as to the configuration of your particular model, e.g. 6x2, 4x2, 8x8. Be sure to pick the correct configuration or the driver will not work.

Quirks and Limitations:

None known at this time.

Connection Details

The Avalon and Borrego can use a serial or USB connection. When connected via USB, you must load a 'virtual com port' driver that makes the USB connection look like a serial port. So in either case the CQC driver treats it as a serial device. The connection parameters are 9600, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity, and no flow control. The speed is low, but the amount of data is small and the device sends asynchronous notifications of any locally made changes, so the speed is good enough for the job.

Driver Fields

This section lists the fields that the driver makes available, their types, minimum and maximum values, etc... Note that not all these fields will necessarily be available on your model. It depends on the number and type of boards. The output oriented fields are prefixed by B1_, B2_, or B3_ to indicate which board they are on. The reason for this prefixing is so that if a future model introduced the ability to have two boards of the same type. This prefixing scheme will avoid name clashes. These prefixes are shown as Bx_ below.

Name	Type	R/W	Description/Limits
Bx_AAudioX	Card	R/W	For each available analog audio output there will be a field of this sort, where X is the output number (1 to 8) and x is the board number. Its value represents the analog audio input that is currently mapped to it. Write to it to change the mapped input. The legal values depend on the model and will be 0 through 8, where zero indicates 'no selection'.
Bx_DAudioX	Card	R/W	For each available digital audio output there will be a field of this sort, where X is the output number (1 to 8) and x is the board number. Its value represents the digital audio input that is currently mapped to it. Write to it to change the mapped input. The legal values depend on the model and will be 0 through 8, where zero indicates 'no selection'.
Bx_CVideoX	Card	R/W	For each available component video output there will be a field of this sort, where X is the output number (1 to 8) and x is the board number. Its value represents the component video input that is currently mapped to it. Write to it to change the mapped input. The legal values depend on the model and will be 0 through 8, where zero indicates 'no selection'.
FPLight	Bool	R/W	Indicates the on/off status of the front panel LEDs. Write to it to turn the LEDs on or off.
Model	String	R	Indicates the model of the box, and will currently be Avalon or Borrego.
Power	Bool	R/W	Get or set the power state of the Avalon. Write false to put it into standby and True to power it on.
Bx_VideoX	Card	R/W	For each available composite video output there will be a field of this sort, where X is the output number (1 to 8) and x is the board number. Its value represents the composite vidoe input that is currently mapped to it. Write to it to change the mapped input. The legal values depend on the model and will be 0 through 8, where zero indicates 'no selection'.
Version	String	R	Indicates the firmware version of the device.