Author Archives: HDANYWHERE Support Team

Voice control with Amazon Echo using the “MHUB 4K PRO Control / MHUB 4K PRO Smarthome” Skill

Setting up the MHUB 4K PRO Control / MHUB 4K PRO Smarthome Skill on the Alexa app

HDANYWHERE (HDA) Amazon Alexa App Skill

We are assuming that you have already downloaded the Amazon Alexa app and have a functioning Amazon account.

Skill types:
There are two types of skill which you can enable on the Alexa app.

  • Custom Skill
    With a Custom Skill we have full control over the voice interaction (a voice interaction is the communication you have with an ECHO device when speaking a command and also includes the response given by the ECHO) between you and your Echo device, this allows for a greater range of voice commands including playhead, change channel, switch sources, increase/decrease volume.Click here to view a the full range of voice commands.
  • Smarthome Skill
    The Smarthome skill differs from the custom skill in a couple of ways. Firstly, invoking a smarthome skill is fixed and defined by Amazon, this also applies to the voice interaction. We currently support on/off commands, allowing you to perform actions quickly by uttering “Alexa, turn on TV” or a custom label like “Alexa, turn on movies”.
  • You can of course, use both. They are FREE!

What you need to get your MHUB to respond to voice commands:

  1. You have completed the first-boot procedure within MHUB-OS
  2. You have MHUB-OS version 7.0 or higher installed on your MHUB
  3. You have an active HDA Cloud account
  4. You have downloaded uControl packs for all displays and source devices you want to control
  5. You have an active Amazon account
  6. You have an Amazon Alexa enabled device, such as Amazon Dot/Echo/Show

Linking the custom skill “MHUB 4K PRO Control”

  1. Go to the Skills section on the Alexa app and search for “MHUB 4K PRO Control”
  2. Click on the skill and select “Enable”
  3. Click “Link Account” – when you do this, you will be redirected to HDA Cloud’s secure login page. Enter your username and password in to the fields.

To enable the MHUB 4K PRO Control Skill you will need to add the skill first by pressing the "Enable" button in your Amazon Alexa app. Once enabled you will be forwarded to HDA Cloud to link your account with Amazon Alexa. Enter your HDA Cloud username and password and your MHUB will be connected to Alexa!

Linking the smarthome skill “MHUB 4K PRO Smarthome”

  1. Go to the Skills section on the Alexa app and search for “MHUB 4K PRO Control”
  2. Click on the skill and select “Enable”
  3. Click “Link Account” – when you do this, you will be redirected to HDA Cloud’s secure login page. Enter your username and password into the fields.
  4. After the account has been linked, visit the “Smart Home” screen then navigate to the ‘Manage devices in Smart Home’ then Devices. Next click ‘Discover’.
  5. This action will communicate with MHUB and pull any devices making them ready to use.

Configure voice commands to do exactly what you want

Let’s take the command “Alexa, tell my TV to watch football” as an example.

It might appear like a very simple command but there are a number of things that need to happen in order to watch football! First the TV might need to turn on, but in which room? The volume might need to be set to a desired limit. The correct source input might need to be selected on MHUB and finally that source will need to navigate to the channel hosting the football.

You can configure all those actions in what we call a “Sequence”.

Taking the example above:
Alexa (this wakes up your Amazon Dot/Echo/Show)
tell my TV to… (this invokes HDA’s custom skill)
watch (this is a special function which tells MHUB to start a Sequence)
football (this is your custom name for the Sequence, it can be anything you want)

Inside MHUB-OS we can configure exactly what “football” does.

  • You can select if you want MHUB to turn your TV on and adjust the volume
  • You can tell MHUB to switch to the source device with has the football on it
  • You can instruct MHUB to change the channel on that source device

Read more about Sequences and Scheduling.

Here’s a table of all the commands you can tell your MHUB to do…

Now you’re ready to go. Take a look at a full list of commands that you can say to your Echo.

Creating and Editing Sequences

Sequences allow your MHUB to make more complex things happen. For example, a single command could be setup to Turn on a TV, switch to your Satellite box and enter the number keys for a movie channel. These sequences can be triggered in a number of ways to provide a better user experience for MHUB owners.

Sequences are setup within MHUB-OS via the ‘Sequences and Scheduling’ page. They can also be setup remotely via the HDA Cloud (Currently only available for HDA PRO’s, coming soon to end users)

1

Within this page you can see and edit your current sequences. You can also test all your sequences to make sure they are functioning correctly.

To create a new sequence click the ‘Create New Sequence’ button.

2

The first part of the Sequence Creation page contains several naming fields which serve different purposes. They are:

Sequence name – This is the name that will be displayed within MHUB-OS
Description – Provide a short description of the sequence so you can see what it does at a short glance
uControl label – This is how the sequence will be labelled within the uControl app
Voice label – This is where voice control (such as Alexa) reads the title of the sequence so it can be triggered. You may find if you are struggling to trigger a particular sequence by voice that you can improve the function by changing the title that your voice control device is listening for.

The next section contains the tools to build your sequence using the available parameters

Command Type

Switch – Execute a simple switching command, first define the input and then the output you would like it switched to
Source – Deliver a command to a source device via the IR engine. This can be something simple like a ‘play’ command or something more complex like a ‘Go to channel command’ (a ‘Go to channel command’ delivers sequential number inputs so you can direct a TV receiver to a specific channel)
Display- Deliver a command to a connected display (or projector) such as ‘Power on’ or ‘Volume up’
Audio – Will integrate with “MHUB Audio”
Delay – Add a delay between one command and the next (Time in milliseconds to wait, eg. 500ms = 0.5 sec)

You can either choose to save the command or add ‘another command’ to create a more complex scenario. For instance, in the following example, we have first a “source switch” followed by a “Go to channel command” with a 500ms Delay.

3

Installing, configuring & using uControl on iOS & Android

uControl is HDANYWHERE’s free remote control app and is available for iOS and Android mobile platforms. Below is a guide to configuring and then using uControl.

Checklist:

  • Your MHUB is powered on and connected as per the quick start guide (inside MHUB packaging) to make sure your MHUB is connected correctly to your source devices, displays and has an active network connection before proceeding.
  • Your Android or iOS device is connected to the same network as your MHUB
  • You have downloaded the latest version of uControl from the relevant app store

Connecting to your MHUB with uControl

Before using uControl, it needs to be linked to your MHUB. Please follow the instructions below on how to do this.

    1a

  1. Open uControl and press the ‘SETUP A NEW MHUB SYSTEM’ button. uControl will now search your network for any MHUB devices.
  2. uControl will show relevant options. Press ‘CONNECT TO’ MHUB4K44PRO/MHUB4K88PRO/MHUB4K431/MHUB4K682/MHUBPRO4440/MHUBAUDIO64
  3. The app will now check the status of the unit, This can take upto 10 seconds, then it will show the screen ‘CONTINUE SETUP ON MHUB DEVICE’
  4. This will take you to the First Boot process on MHUB-OS where you will setup your system – First Boot Process
  5. After the first boot process is completed you will be shown the following screen. Click ‘ACCESS UCONTROL’ and you will be taken to the main uControl interface.

    6. 1b

Using uControl

After uControl is paired with your MHUB you can start to use it to control your device

Source switching on uControl

Source switching is performed by swiping left or right on the input bar and tapping on the required input. When input names are configured on MOS\MHUB SETUP page they will be reflected here.

To change to a different output, tap on the menu icon, and select the desired output from the popout menu, once again any output names configured on the MOS\MHUB SETUP page will be reflected here.

Using uControl to control source and display devices

To enable uControl to control your source or display devices, an IR pack is required and must be installed on your MHUB. This IR pack contains all the relevant information including a screen layout for uControl.
setup4a
To install an IR pack navigate to the settings menu by pressing on the MENU icon, and tapping on SETTINGS located at the bottom off the pop-out menu. This will bring up the setting page, tap on DOWNLOAD UCONTROL PACKS. this will take you to the UCONTROL page on MHUB-OS.
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  1. Using the drop-down menu, select which source or display you wish to install the IR pack for, This will bring up an expanded menu
  2. Click DEVICE TYPE to select the type of device that will be connected to the chosen port.
  3. Next click DEVICE MANUFACTURER and select the make of your device from the list and click on DOWNLOAD UCONTROL PACK – This will load two test commands from the downloaded IR Pack to confirm the commands are working as expected.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to test the two commands
  5. If the commands work as expected click YES to complete the process. If they do not, click NO and repeat step 4 until you find commands that work

Repeat the above steps until all required IR packs are installed. Once complete, click DONE on iOS or the back button on your android device

When an IR pack has been installed the uControl area of the screen is populated with the source device interface. These are device specific. Some control packs have multiple interface screens which can be navigated to by swiping left or right.
ucontrol-control-types

  • Gesture Control – This is where you navigate your devices menu or guide using one or two finger gestures or motions on your mobile device, the majority of the screen is filled with the ‘Gesture control area’
  • Navigation Control – This mirrors a conventional remote control, with individual buttons for navigation.
  • Playhead Control – This screen contains common functions used when viewing a recorded source or watching a bluray. Such as Play, pause, fast forward and rewind.
  • Numeric Keypad – This screen shows a 0 to 9 keypad for entering channel numbers etc.
  • External App – This allows uControl to open external applications such as Sonos.

When using gesture controls the following gestures are supported
gesture-function

  1. Navigation – single finger swipe up, down, left or right
  2. Enter – single finger tap
  3. Play/Pause – two finger swipe up to play, two finger swipe down to pause.

Daisy Chaining IR – How To

Daisy chaining IR can allow you to connect the IR systems of 2 devices. This allows IR to pass from one device to another

This does not work for HDMI Mirrored ports.

a) The diagram below shows how you can link two HDA devices, such as an MHUBU86240 and an XTND4K40TPC using a MHUB + XTND Integration Kit
Screenshot 2020-12-08 at 14.29.15

b) This second diagram shows how you would connect a HDA system to a 3RD PARTY extender or device such as a Harmony Remote by Daisy-chaining the IR transmitter from the 3RD party device and the IR receiver included with the MHUB system.

Screenshot 2020-12-08 at 14.21.04

c)

Screenshot 2020-12-08 at 14.21.04

XTND 2K (30) Short run adjust settings (XTND2K30)

If you find that you have no picture or poor picture quality, you may need to adjust the EQ settings on your XTND 2K30 based on the approximate distance of your cable run. If you have any patch points add an additional 10% onto your effective distance. The below diagram shows the correct switch settings for various lengths of cable run. We suggest working from the maximum distance and working down if you are unsure of the length of your cable run.

Error Message: ‘The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect’

Description

When I try to install the software, I receive this warning:

“The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log for more detail.”

This issue is typically caused by a conflict between the program and one or more of the files in the C++ runtime libraries. These libraries are part of the Windows operating system and are used, and potentially updated, by installing or updating several Microsoft or other third party products.

If you are experiencing this error when launching or installing the program, and if the program repair option does not resolve the issue, the most effective method to correct this error is to uninstall and reinstall any Microsoft Visual C++ installations currently available on your computer before proceeding with the installation.

To uninstall all current Microsoft Visual C++ installations

Open the Control Panel and locate the list of programs.

Windows 8/10
From within the Start screen, type “Control Panel” and click on the Control Panel search result when it appears.
Select Programs and Features.

Windows 7/Vista
Click Start> Control Panel
If viewing categories, click Programs> Uninstall a Program
If viewing icons, click Programs and Features

Windows XP
Select Start> Control Panel> Add or Remove Programs

Scroll down to locate the Microsoft Visual C++ entries.

Select each one, starting from the top entry, and choose Uninstall.

Do this for each entry, until there are no more Microsoft Visual C++ entries listed.

To reinstall new Microsoft Visual C++ packages follow the instructions on this page –

Microsoft Vistual C++

Once every package has been downloaded and installed, restart Windows.

Finally, launch the program. If the error message persists after following all of these instructions, then please contact HDanywhere technical support on 01684 576348

A basic guide to troubleshooting video issues

If you find yourself encountering issues with the picture (either poor quality or no picture) then the following list of common problems and solutions will help you diagnose the problem.

Firmware – Ensure your devices are on the most up-to-date firmware. Check the manufacturer’s website and use the menu settings on any internet-connectable device, such as sources, sinks, displays, projectors, AVRS, etc etc.

Power – Check that both the MHUB and the receivers are fully powered. The front panel of the MHUB should be illuminated* and the power light on the receiver should be on. If the receiver isn’t powered try an alternate power supply from another receiver that you know works. Alternatively, if you’re using the USB power supplies double check that the USB port you are using is supplying the appropriate current.

Is your transmission distance too long? – If you have a power light but the lock light isn’t illuminated this can indicate an issue with the signal strength. The maximum transmission distance for the mHub 2K range is 50m in best-case scenarios and 100m for the MHUB 4k Range. The transmission distance can be reduced by several factors, most commonly wall plates, patch panels and stranded patch leads can significantly reduce signal strength and potentially reduce the maximum distance the matrix can transmit signal. Whenever possible you should try to use a straight point to point connection to guarantee maximum distance.

Resolution – Check that you are using compatible resolutions between your source devices and displays, in particular you should be looking for situations where a TV is perhaps older than the rest of your displays and doesn’t support the same video formats (for instance it only supports 720p) Try reducing the resolution on your source devices and see if this fixes the issue. Also, if reducing the resolution causes the picture to appear again this can point to an issue with the bandwidth which can be addressed by reducing the transmission distance.

Snow/Sparkly picture – This is most often seen when the MHUB is failing to fully establish a connection with the receiver. Your first step should be to use another working location to verify the integrity of both the receiver and output on the matrix. Once you are happy both the receiver and MHUB output are working you should take a look at all your cables. Check that your RJ45 connectors are properly terminated to 568B standards and try swapping out the HDMI cables for ones from working locations.

* – with the MHUB family of products, If the unit has been idle for 5 minutes the panel may have gone into power-saving mode

mHub 4K control system integration

The mHub 4K range has full support for most popular control systems via serial (RS232) or IP.

All control strings and current available drivers are available in the mHub control pack, available here – Download
IP control

To control the mHub 4k unit via IP you will first need to discover it by using the mHub controller software available in the control pack above

The mHub 4K will acquire an IP address via DHCP the first time it is connected to your home network, use the controller software to locate it on your network.

mhub controller pic 1

In the mHub controller software select IP and then press the ‘search’ button, this should locate your mHub matrix. Press ‘connect’ the red button should turn green.

Press the configure button

mHub IP

From here you can set the matrix to a static IP if you wish (this is generally good practice)

Your matrix is now on your home network and will be able to receive IP commands from whatever control system you are using.

Looking for the mHub 2K information, go here – mHub 2K

How to disable the beep on mHub 2K and 4K (4×4 and 8×8)

To disable the beep on the mHub 2k range of matrices please following the instructions below using either I.P or RS232 connection methods.

To adjust the settings on the mHub range of products, you will need to download the controller software Download

 A) Connecting to the mHub Via I.P

The mHub 2K’s IP address is pre-configured as 192.168.0.100, your computer will need to have it’s IPV4 range configured to be within the same range initially while you setup the matrix. (You don’t need to follow this step if you have a mHub 4K system)

To configure your IPV4 settings you will need to navigate to the following menu

->Network and sharing center

—>Ethernet
—–>Properties
——->Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
———>Properties

IPV4

Once you have changed the IP settings on your PC, open the Mhub controller software.

In the Control Mode Select Box choose ‘IP’, then click the ‘Search’ button. When the IP address shows in the mHub IP box, click connect.

 

B)  Connecting to the mHub Via RS232

To connect via RS232 use the supplied serial cable can connect between the mHub and your PC, then on the Controller software select ‘RS232′, then in the RS232 Options section select the Com port being used from the drop down menu then click connect

Capture

 

C) Disabling the Beep

To disable the beep select the ‘Control’ tab and untick the box labeled ‘Enable Feedback Beep’.

mHubbeepimage

Once changed, you can verify the beep has been disabled by performing a source switch operation.

mHub 2K control system integration

The mHub 2K range has full support for most popular control systems via serial (RS232) or IP.

All control strings and current available drivers are available in the mHub control pack, available here – mHub Control Pack

To control the mHub 2k unit via IP you will first need to discover it by using the mHub controller software available in the control pack.

The mhub 2K’s IP address is pre-configured as 192.168.0.100, your computer will need to have it’s IPV4 range configured to be within the same range initially while you setup the matrix. To configure your IPV4 settings you will need to navigate to the following menu

->Network and sharing center
—>Ethernet
—–>Properties
——->Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
———>Properties

IPV4

Configure your settings as shown in the image, this will change your computer IP range and you will temporarily lose internet connectivity (if your previous IP range was different from this)

Once you have changed the IP settings on your PC, open the Mhub controller software

mhub controller pic 1

In the mHub controller software select IP and then press the ‘search’ button, this should locate your mHub matrix. Press ‘connect’ the red button should turn green.

Press the configure button

mHub IP

Change the IP configuration to manual (static), and then enter an IP address within your home network range that is not currently being used and then click ‘Set IP’.

You can now go back into your IPV4 settings and set them back as they were before (obtain an IP address automatically)

Your matrix is now on your home network and will be able to receive IP commands from whatever control system you are using.

Looking for the mHub 4K information, go here – mHub 4K

HDBaseT compatibility with Panasonic CX/CS series

blog

The recent release of Panasonic’s new CX/CS HDTVs feature no support for the HDBaseT transmission technology found in HDanywhere’s multiroom matrices (Modular 4×4 and 8×8 / mHub 4K / 100m Pro Extender).

This software incompatibility caused these displays to be unable to display picture from HDanywhere products. Please note that this only affects NEW Panasonic CX/CS range displays.

Yesterday, Panasonic released firmware updates resolving this issue. There is now full compatibility between HDanywhere products and Panasonics entire range of displays.

A Quick tip for updating the TVs on a network: if you select update firmware in the normal way, it will probably say that it’s already up to date. You need to go to apps then select Netflix, and that will force it to check the update server.

If your TV isn’t downloading the update automatically you can manually update it.

For CX you need version 3.206 or higher and for CS you need 3.014 and up.

Modular Error Codes (4×4 and 8×8)

Error Code Description
1001 Corrupt Service Card – Replace the SDCard or format and re-create
1002 Insert valid SDCard – No card detected or installed in the unit
1003 Write Protect Mode – SDCard is in write protect mode
1004 System Failure – MatrixOS is missing from the system and needs to be installed – i.e. rebuild the SDCard
1005 Insert Service Card – Insert an SDCard with a valid matrix OS firmware image
1006 Update failed – No firmware image found
1007 Update failed – Firmware image is corrupt or invalid
1008 Update failed – Firmware image is too large for the system.
1009 Remove service card – A bulk update card is installed and the update is complete, ready for a normal service card.
1010 Onscreen message varies – The unit update has failed and will be showing where internally in the unit it has failed.
1011 Update failed writing to flash. A critical error and process was stopped
1012 Communication Fault – The system cannot bring up internal communication bus and is unable to proceed
1013 Module Fault – Comes with specified module number
1014 System Fault – An internal IC has failed, indicated by the extended error code
1015 Input hotplug fault. Unable to enable the hot plug 5V voltage for one or more input modules
1016 EDID Setup Fault – The system cannot bring up the EDID mixing routines
1017 Communication fault – The system cannot bring up the 5V I2C communication line
1018 IR Mux fault – The system cannot bring up the IR Mux subsystem
1019 IR Capture fault – The system cannot bring up the IR capture subsystem
1020 Local Network Failure – Unable to ping the local gateway
1021 Remote Net Failure – Unable to ping DNS servers
1022 Module Power Fault – The system reports that one of the voltages used to power modules is not functioning correctly
1023 Network HW Fault – The network hardware has a hardware fault
1024 Network HW Fault – EDID Read Failure – the system has failed to read the EDID from a connected device
1025 Network HW Fault – Filesystem Fault – The system has an issue reading from the SDCard
1026 Network HW Fault – Invalid update URL – The custom URL for retrieving updates is not valid
1027 Network HW Fault – Discovery failure – the system has failed to enable its auto discovery feature (SDDP)
1028 Network HW Fault – Invalid Aux MCU – the Component fitted is incorrect
1029 Update failed – This version is too old for this part
1030 Invalid Module – A module is inserted in the wrong port