All Vaux commands consist of three pieces of information: a
Device
number (which indicates IR bank 1 to 8,
Lighting device, etc.), a
Zone
number (which is either the Default Zone, or an explicitly-entered temporary
zone), and a
Function
Code (which corresponds to the key pressed, etc.). For the RC-8-RF only, there is also a
Security ID Code transmitted with every button press.
MACRO sequences are stored in the Controller
Vaux MACRO (key) sequences are accessed by the RC-8, but are stored in, and played back by, the
Controller. Note that the Macro play commands just use a single code — if you are teaching an RC-8-IR
Macro play command to a learning infrared unit, the user does not need to hold the remote in line-of-sight
position for the duration of the Macro playback, as some IR-macro remotes require. This is an important
distinction — especially when you have long macros to play (e.g. drop projection screen, delay for 30-
seconds, play laser...).
The RC-8 Keypad Buttons
There are several special buttons on the remote control; the SHIFT button, eight Device buttons (Tuner, CD,
etc.), the Zone button, the Sec button, and the Learn button. These are used for multi-button commands or
system programming tasks. The
Zone
button allows you to store a “default” zone in the RC-8 Remote
Control, and also allows you to access other zones in the house. This default zone is used to uniquely
identify different remotes around the house, since the zone information is included in the transmitted
commands (this applies to both RC-8-RF and RC-8-IR remotes). For example, if you will be leaving the RC-
8 in the master bedroom, you would set the default zone to the master bedroom (perhaps it is zone 3).
Then, when you press buttons on the RC-8, it tells the Aris Controller that you are “in zone 3.” More on this
later. The remaining buttons are used in varying ways, depending on the mode switch setting (Audio/Video,
Lts/App, or Macros).
The RC-8 Buttons for Learned Infrared Devices and Zone Control
In the
Audio/Video mode
, there are 30 buttons (excluding the special buttons indicated above) which can
access learned infrared codes for the currently-selected device. Each of the eight selectable Devices has a
30-button “keyboard” for a total of 240 infrared control codes. Of these 30 buttons, most are labeled with
standard commands (Play...) which will correspond to the IR devices in your system. There are also four
general-purpose “function” buttons, F1 - F4, which may be used for less-frequently used infrared
commands, for example, PIP, VCR tracking, surround modes, etc.
The Aris MediaMation Controller, which also provides multi-room audio/video switching, interprets a few of
the remote control buttons differently; the On and Off buttons are used to perform source selection, either
to switch a source device to the zone you are in, to another zone, or to the whole house. Aris Controllers
also use the Mute/Volume buttons to control volume levels for Aris zones (that is, the default zone or a
temporary zone).
There are also some shifted buttons (two-button code). Bass and Treble adjustments for the Aris zone are
available as shifted Channel and Volume buttons, respectively (that is, Shift-Channel and Shift-Volume).
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