Vi V4.5 Quickstart Guide.doc
Page 4
VM
2
CONCEPTS
VM
2
stands for ‘Vistonics Microphone Monitoring’. It takes advantage of Harman’s
HiQnet control network to allow a level of integration between a HiQnet-enabled AKG
Wireless Microphone system, and a Soundcraft Vi Series console.
What is HiQnet
TM
?
HiQnet is a network communications protocol developed by Harman which enables
various professional audio products within the Harman Pro-audio range to
communicate with each other and provides remote control and monitoring of Harman
devices such as power amplifiers, powered speakers, DSP processors and
microphones. Ethernet is normally used as the transport method for HiQnet control,
as it provides a robust and standardised method of connecting multiple devices in a
network configuration. A Windows application called
System Architect
provides a
master control and monitoring program that allows all equipment on the HiQnet
network to be controlled from a single user interface.
How is HiQnet used on the Vi-series?
Since V3.0 software, the Vi-series has included only a limited HiQnet functionality
which allows error messages generated by other Harman devices to be displayed in
the console’s message log – for example thermal overload messages generated by
Crown amplifiers. In addition the consoles were able to transmit a Venue Preset
recall - the HiQnet equivalent of a MIDI Program Change – to all other devices in the
network.
Version 4.5
now adds significantly to this existing HiQnet functionality with
the ability to monitor wireless microphone status within the console GUI.
In the future, HiQnet will be used to provide remote control of console parameters.
How does VM
2
work?
In our Microphone Monitoring setup, the AKG wireless receivers are connected to an
AKG device called Hub4000Q, which receives data cables from up to 8 wireless
receiver units and provides a single HiQnet Ethernet connection through which the
monitoring information for the 8 microphones can be accessed by other devices.
In the simplest configuration, one Hub4000Q can be connected directly to the HiQnet
port of a Vi Series console, and the monitoring functionality will be provided on the
console. Typically however other devices will be required to share the HiQnet data
from the microphones, and in this case an Ethernet switch (not shown in the diagram
below) will be used to allow other Harman devices and/or a wired or wireless
computer running Harman’s System Architect software to be connected into the
network.
