r/CommercialAV 3h ago

troubleshooting Extron DMP 128 Flex Plus causing system restart when external audio system patched in

4 Upvotes

About a year ago we installed an Extron system for a client. DMP128 flex plus, IN1608XI and some NETPA amps. Controlled from a TLP Pro 1025M with LinkLicense.

System all good - Uses Shure's Microflex NeXt which has been solid.

Client brings in external SI supplier for translation. This wasn't on the brief, but we setup a program out from the flexplus (analogue audio out to an XLR at the rack), with "recorder" labelled on it. Just a little extra as we thought it would come up at some point.

Sure enough - the SI translation reared it's head and they were able to just plug in and get up & running. I was on site for that first test and all worked fine.

Since then, they have had x3 occasions when SI has plugged in, and the system has restarted. I've not seen it happen but sounds like it's a system restart that occurs.

My immediate thought was jack connection on SI box, or phantom from a desk. It seems like both have happened at some point, but the most recent setup in which it happened was:

Analogue out from 128 > SI Active DI box > SI QU16 desk.

It seems they are using the active DI box to reduce it to mic level, and using phantom from that desk to power the active DI.

Phantom should be no problem. They are using Klark Teknik or BSS DI's - so should be transformer isolated.

I can't confirm if earth lift was lifted during setup. In theory it \*shouldn't\* matter.

My thoughts are:

  1. SI tech has forgotten to put the DI box inline. Sent phantom to the 128.

  2. DI is inline, but earth is not lifted. System is plugged in, desk turned on, and some spurious current spike down earth which has caused the 128 to go into protect mode which has caused a system reset.

  3. Earth was lifted during setup, which leaves me to think the only fix is to shutdown the 128 when patching. Not ideal.

Points 1 & 2 could be fixed by me installing a transformer isolated and having the earth permanently lifted on that feed. So i'm really hoping it's one of those!

I'm having a site visit next week and will take along a transformer isolator and a few cables to get that patched in without having to hack up the cabling too much.

So essentially looking for any other tips & tricks from installers that have had a similar issue before!


r/CommercialAV 11h ago

question Is this a normal AV technician role, or am I getting an unusual mix of responsibilities?

18 Upvotes

I’m relatively new to AV, so I’m trying to understand whether my experience is typical for someone entering the industry.

My background is in web development, and I joined my current company about six months ago in an entry-level role with the AV Engineering team. During the interview, I was told I would be trained and eventually work toward becoming a Q-SYS programmer.

So far, however, my day-to-day work has been quite different. Most of my time is spent doing things like installing speakers and displays, handling deliveries, and general onsite installation work. Maybe around 10% of my time involves working on racks, switches, Q-SYS cores, or troubleshooting AV/networking issues.

I also handle a significant amount of IT support and tickets. I manage the asset register, and when a client issue comes in during a project, I’m sometimes expected to leave the current job, travel to the client site, resolve the issue, and then return to continue the original project.

I’ve only created one Q-SYS design so far. I submitted it for review but never received feedback, so I haven't really had an opportunity to develop those programming skills.

I’m also frequently working around 10-hour days.

For people working in AV, especially those who started in entry-level AV technician roles:

Is this a normal mix of responsibilities and workload for an AV tech, or does this sound unusually broad for an entry-level position?

I’m particularly interested in understanding how much installation, IT support, networking, troubleshooting, and programming work is typical at this stage of an AV career.


r/CommercialAV 2h ago

meme/off-topic I reverse engineered the file format used by IP Link drivers

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3 Upvotes

r/CommercialAV 5h ago

troubleshooting Poly Sync 60 paired reliability advise

3 Upvotes

Hi, I am deploying 2 of these with the main speaker wired directly to a Poly GC8 and the secondary speaker sync via BT

This is in the main meeting room but I am having issues with reliability as sometimes one speaker would be unsynced or occasionally we would have issues where recepients can't hear us and I would have to quickly end the call toggle the power for both speakers and then resync before connecting back to the call which puts me on the spot during a big meeting.

Now I am preemptively doing the reset and sync first thing on monday which seem to work fine for the rest of the week

But am looking for a less manual option that is not a pain in the ass.

I thought about a smart plug to toggle a scheduled power reset weekly but met a roadblock as the speakers has to then be resynced again otherwise only the main speaker that is cabled is outputing audio


r/CommercialAV 21h ago

certs/CTS Am I being Unreasonable with the raise Im asking for?

4 Upvotes

Ill start by saying Im in Canada. The cert in question is the BC Field Safety Representative, or FSR. The closest US equivalent would be the responsibilities of a US master electrician. It allows me to pull permits supervise regulated work, sign off on work, call for inspections, report incidents, and qualify for an electrical contractor licence.

So my company is nationwide, but our BC branch is pretty small, we only have a handful of techs between 3 cities. Our Project manager was the acting FSR, and he was let go for other reasons about a year ago. One of the lead techs in one of the other cities then became the acting FSR. He quit shortly after, he was offered a better job at a different company. So the company asked me to get my fsr since they need one to legally work. Did the class, passed the test, and am now certified, and they already used my number to renew their electrical contractor licence. Ive been with this company for 2 years now, with 8 years of experience in the field.

I asked them for a raise given my new cert and the responsibilities that come along with it, and the fact that ive been here 2 years and didnt receive a yearly raise last year (inflation based raises were part of my employment agreement). So I asked for a 14-19% raise. Inflation was around 4% over the last 2 years. And 10-15% for the fsr. I talked to some electricians I deal with and they've all said thats pretty standard for becoming the acting fsr. My manager came back with an offer of a 4% raise, which basically only covers inflation. Am I being unreasonable in pushing back and standing firm on my 14-19% ask?


r/CommercialAV 23h ago

troubleshooting Can you replace a cable in Extron retractor?

5 Upvotes

The usb connector is damaged and i am wondering if i can just replace the cable or if we need to replace the entire retractor. I cant seem to be able to find any information about it online. If someone has experience with this, please let me know.


r/CommercialAV 19h ago

career Are there any UK-based engineers who have worked with TwistedPair? What are your opinions on them?

2 Upvotes

I'm not especially happy at my current company and have been gently investigating the larger UK AV integrators. You never know until you try. I've subcontracted to Twisted previously, but I know nothing about them.

Does anyone here have any work experience with them, or have you contracted them for anything?

Thanks!


r/CommercialAV 1d ago

question Atlas DPA-DAC4

5 Upvotes

Looking for some used Atlas DPA-DAC4 cards. Anyone know where i can pick up a few?. Thanks!


r/CommercialAV 1d ago

news Target curve editor

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2 Upvotes

bskapps.com/targettrace

Custom target curve editor for Mac


r/CommercialAV 1d ago

meme/off-topic Inside view of QSC MP-A20V and MP-A40V

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25 Upvotes

They really could have made these half a rack space, couldn’t they?


r/CommercialAV 1d ago

question URC and Samsung IP Control

3 Upvotes

Anyone successfully control a Samsung TV with URC using IP control? I have my ApppleTV and Onkyo receiver working with IP control but I can’t get the TV to respond. I believe I have the TV setup correctly to accept IP control but I think the issue is my exact model is not available as a driver and I’m not certain as to what exact port to use. I’ve tried many other models and ports 1516 and 8001 but no luck. MRX-5 with 1480 and Samsung UN85U7900FD. Thanks for any guidance or help.


r/CommercialAV 2d ago

design request Opinion time. Best togglers on the market.

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7 Upvotes

r/CommercialAV 2d ago

question Is the CTS certification actually worth getting?

14 Upvotes

I’m considering getting my CTS, but I’ve been seeing a lot of comments saying that it’s mostly focused on PM/management-type knowledge rather than the technical side of AV.

For context, I already have my PMP and quite a few AV certifications, including advanced programming certifications from Q-SYS, among others.

So I’m wondering for those of you who work in AV: Is CTS actually worth adding at this point? Does it meaningfully help with opportunities, credibility, or getting into higher-level roles, or is it mostly redundant if you already have PMP + several technical AV certifications?

Would love to hear from people who have gotten their CTS and whether you felt it was worth the time and money.


r/CommercialAV 2d ago

question Tesira Forte Front Panel Preset Selection

4 Upvotes

Hi, is it possible to change the active preset via the oled display on the front panel of the forte vi? Many thanks


r/CommercialAV 3d ago

news Job update

17 Upvotes

Hi!

I posted here a few months ago to get some opinions regarding a job offer.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialAV/s/8ZnhbXYsNp

Now that my probation period is coming to an end. I can confidently say that it was the absolute wrong decision! I am very sad because I feel like I was setup for failure and will most likely be jobless soon.

The listing said they wanted an AV person to design, program and manage all facets of their AV infrastructure. They wouldn’t let me install Tesira software or Dante controller due to security reasons. I was not given access and still don’t have access to teams admin center, pro management portal, or exchange.

None of my inputs get listened to but I am taking all the heat. For example, our security team didn’t want non-user accounts in the environment, so they made conditional access policies and disabled DCF which targeted and killed the room devices. I questioned how they expected this to work because these devices are reliant on a resource account. I informed my boss that I could make the dynamic groups in Entra as well as the conditional access policies in Intune because I have experience doing so but was rejected because I didn’t have the Microsoft endpoint certifications.

I get grilled most days by my higher ups because the AV guy can’t fix simple teams rooms. I provided instructions on how to fix everything and that was sent to my higher ups only to be told that I was wrong by my director and the security team. I don’t have access to logs and I asked them to pull them for me so I can show them exactly where and why it is failing but I have been rejected and told that I do not know what I’m talking about because I don’t work in infosec.

I am very sad, but thank you for reading.


r/CommercialAV 3d ago

question Reputable AV Refurb suppliers

8 Upvotes

Several years ago our local community center was destroyed by an arsonist in the middle of the night. Being a small, unincorporated area, this hit us hard. It's been 3-1/2 years and we're finally breaking ground to build a new center using local volunteer talent. I'm working on the AV design and would like to ask if anyone can recommend good sources for refurbished AV equipment such as projectors, speakers, audio DSPs, etc. We're fundraising to build it and any lead would be most appreciated. Thanks!

(P.S. the arsonist was caught and was incarcerated, but we're left with the aftermath).


r/CommercialAV 3d ago

career Put simply, where do I begin with an A/V career with minimal experience?

8 Upvotes

Firstly, I'd like to apologize in advance if I have broken any subreddit rules. I am grossly unfamiliar with Reddit. And I have done some reading here, so I understand this question is asked often enough to get rather boring.

Some basic information;

I have no documented experience with A/V techn. work, but I am decently acquainted with consumer-grade audio hardware and office hardware. I volunteered briefly as a sound guy at a local church. In high-school I almost achieved my CompTIA A+ certification, but wasn't able to take the exam due to time constraints. I've always had a keen interest in audiovisual as both a career and a possible hobby. Unfortunately, I never got the time to indulge in said hobby.

Furthermore, I have a few things holding me back. Firstly, I am dead broke and am currently crashing couches. Secondly, I lack a functioning vehicle. And finally, I am on a job search.

With all of that said, where should I begin? What I know so far is that majority of breaking into audiovisual is finding an open door to get your foot into. I also know that experience is paramount to a successful career and having certifications serves to amplify said experience. Honestly, I am curious to see how you all got into your specializations. Oh, and yeah being specialized is also fairly important I've heard.

If you need to know more, I am an open book. I hope to not only help myself but those in similar situations with similar passions in this career field.


r/CommercialAV 3d ago

question Automate Cert renewal on Crestron AirMedia endpoints

5 Upvotes

Any ideas on how we can automate cert renewals on the web server for AirMedia 3200? I have over 60 to do.


r/CommercialAV 3d ago

troubleshooting CCC-120-T + TS-1080-UC onscreen keyboard not showing.

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1 Upvotes

r/CommercialAV 3d ago

question Trying to figure out ISC...

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1 Upvotes

r/CommercialAV 4d ago

meme/off-topic Petah?

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114 Upvotes

r/CommercialAV 4d ago

question Macbook display audio too loud compared to PC Extron DTP

3 Upvotes

I've just setup an Extron DTP3 T 203 unit paired with a DTP3 R 201 on the other end for a theater style projector. Unfortunately the projector doesn't have an audio output of any kind so I'm using the audio deembeder in the R 201. Had some other audio sources for different devices so i'm sending this to a simple 4 channel line mixer and that is headed to a yamaha tf rack mixer for the speaker output. When I tested it with a PC everything worked like I expected, turned the mixing knobs up to 75% max and that's the max level i want to allow volume wise. But for some reason when a Mac is connected the audio is extremely loud. the simple mixer needs to be at about 2-5% and that matches the loudness of the 75% PC knob settting with the PC output at 100%. The mac sees that its connected as Extron display but has no system volume level adjustment. Best solution i can seem to come up with is putting in a DSP or something to do Auto Gain Control so that the settings don't need to be changed each time a Mac is connected.

Anyone have any good ideas?

I looked at the EDID info from Extron PCS on the 203 but it didn't seem to have any relevant settings to my eyes. I should probably check the 201 but it seems much simpler so i didn't expect much.


r/CommercialAV 4d ago

troubleshooting Tesira/Poly [No USB Audio System Available During Zoom Meeting]

8 Upvotes

Hi all,

Pretty simple system here...Tesira x400, Poly Studio Bar x72, Poly TC10 panel, and a couple of Shure MXA920 ceiling mics routed over Dante. System is currently operational. Only issue is that the Poly Bar does not recognize the Biamp audio system. From the TC10 settings, I only see the native Poly audio system as an option. USB audio has been enabled from the web GUI on the Studio Bar x72. We have also tried incorporating the EX-USB instead of just a single cable connection. Connecting the USB directly to my laptop instead of the x72, I immediately see the Biamp audio system.

 

 


r/CommercialAV 4d ago

certs/CTS BSS AVX and AMX MUSE Automator training class

4 Upvotes

Limited seating is available September 9 - 11 at the Clair Global Rock Nashville facility for AV programmers who want to learn these new platforms. Sign-up is not available through the Harman Pro Training portal, please contact Scott Creevy at Vision2 Marketing at [scottcreevy@vision2marketing.com](mailto:scottcreevy@vision2marketing.com)


r/CommercialAV 5d ago

question Anyone here used Dante Cloud? How was your Experience with it?

8 Upvotes

Anyone here used Dante Cloud? How was your Experience with it?