Open topic with navigation

Release Notes

This document covers pertinent information, including Known Issues and Resolved Known Issues, for Q-SYS Designer 5.1. If you are upgrading from a release prior to release 4.2, be sure to read the Release Notes for the intermediate releases through 5.1. The most up-to-date Release Notes can be found on the QSC website (qsc.com).

Change Logs

For the latest list of fixes and enhancements since the initial release of Q-SYS Designer Release 5.1, visit the QSC website ( http://www.qsc.com ).

Important

Upgrade Path to Q-SYS Designer Release 5.1

As with any upgrade, before upgrading, be sure to create backup copies of your Q-SYS design files for the current version, and older versions. In addition, make backup files for all media you have on the Core. To avoid overwriting your backup copies, be sure you do not open the backup copies with the newly installed version of Q-SYS Designer.

When upgrading your Q-SYS software there are a few mandatory steps you must take depending on your currently installed release.

• If your software release is earlier than 2.0, you must upgrade to 2.0 before going further.
• If your software release is earlier than 3.3, you must upgrade to 3.3 before upgrading to release 4.2.
• If you are upgrading from release 2.3 to release 3.3, you will get the normal message, "Hardware firmware does not match..." 3.3.xxx, press OK, the Core is updated. Then you will see another message "upgrading from 3.3.xxx to 3.3.xxx (same release). Press OK again. The Core is updated to release 3.3.xxx. After this, the peripherals are updated twice.
• If you are upgrading from 4.1 to release 4.2, and replicate the following steps, your 4.1 design file becomes unusable.

1. Install and run Q-SYS Designer release 4.2 on your computer.
2. Open a design saved in Q-SYS Designer 4.1.
3. Save the design as a release 4.2 design. The design is "officially" a release 4.2 design.
4. Downgrade Q-SYS Designer to release 4.1.
5. Try to open the design you just saved as a 4.2 design. A "Loading File" error displays. You can no longer open the design in release 4.1. You must restore the 4.1 design file from your backup.

Installation Software Requirements

IMPORTANT:   Q-SYS Designer no longer supports Windows XP, Windows 8 PRO 32-bit, Windows 8 PRO 64-bit.

Q-SYS Designer / Design File Compatibility

Q-SYS Designer release numbering convention is a three-level system - major release.minor release.build number (2.2.100). Larger numbers indicate a newer release. If the "major.minor” release number of a design file and Q-SYS Designer software are the same, the "build" number doesn't matter. You will have to upgrade/downgrade your hardware to the same "build" number as the Q-SYS Designer software to Run the design on the Core.

You cannot open a design file with a newer "major.minor" release number than the Q-SYS Designer software. For example, you cannot open a 4.2.nnn design file with 3.3.nnn Q-SYS Designer software.

You can open a design file with an older "major.minor" release number than the Q-SYS Designer software. For example, you can open a 3.3.nnn design file with Release 4.2.nnn Q-SYS Designer software. If you save the file with the newer software, you cannot save it back to an older release.

IMPORTANT:   Make sure your design files are backed up using your current release before starting the upgrade to a newer release.

Qualified Ethernet Switches

Occasionally, between releases of Q-SYS Designer, new switches are qualified, and some disqualified. Be sure to check the QSC Website (http://qsc.com/solutions/q-sys/qualified-switches/) for the latest information.

QSC recommends that you disable EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet), a.k.a. IEEE 802.3az on switches that offer this feature. Some switch manufacturers offer their own version of a power saving mode or energy optimization mode, but the concepts are generally the same as those for the IEEE standard. These mechanisms attempt to reduce the drive current or wake time for a given LAN port by detecting the strength of the link partner and/or by detecting the length of the attached network cable and/or by detecting rest or idle periods between packet deliveries and placing the port into sleep or quiescent mode.

New Components in Q-SYS Designer

Please read the following information carefully. There are many changes and additions for Q-SYS Designer 5.1, some requiring your attention when you upgrade Q-SYS Designer to this release. As with any upgrade containing major changes, there may be a substantial impact to current designs. Before you upgrade be sure you understand the changes that are required for your system, and be sure you backup your design files.

New Inventory Components

Touchscreen TSC7t

The TSC-7t (table top) uses a color graphics display with a 400 nit anti-glare LCD. The control surface is a capacitive touch interface that is reliable, bright, and easy to use. The TSC-7t can be mounted or free-standing on a horizontal surface. The TSC-7t does not support audio bridging at this time.

New Audio Components

Gating Automatic Mic Mixer - Absolute Threshold Component

This Gating Automatic Mic Mixer was removed in a previously release of Q-SYS designer. The main difference between this legacy version and the newer component is the type of threshold used to determine when a mic should open. The legacy version uses an absolute threshold level whereas the newer version uses a relative threshold level (signal level above noise) to open a mic.

In addition, the Linear Attenuation button is now a two-choice drop-down list. The two choices are Logarithmic and Linear .

Changed Components in Q-SYS Designer

Changed Inventory Components

Gating Automatic Mic Mixer - Relative Threshold Component

This Gating Automatic Mic Mixer - Relative Threshold's Linear Attenuation button is now a two-choice drop-down list. The two choices are Logarithmic and Linear .

POTS Controller Component

Added a Tone Output to the POTS Properties. This feature adds another audio output to the POTS-In Component that contains the tones played during or while making a call, giving you the ability to treat the tones separate form the voice audio.

Softphones

Added a Tone Output to the SoftPhone Properties. This feature adds another audio output to the SoftPhone-In Component that contains the tones played during or while making a call, giving you the ability to treat the tones separate form the voice audio.

Loudspeakers

Inline processing allows you to apply the Intrinsic Correction or Basic Correction settings for a QSC loudspeaker even if you're using an amplifier that is not directly supported by Q-SYS.

Core 110f

The Core 110f now supports an external clock source.

Changed Audio Components

Acoustic Echo Canceler

The latency for AEC was changed from 17.3 ms to 13.3 ms.

Audio Recorder

The Sample Rate of 16 kHz is now available.

Changed Features in Q-SYS Designer

Schematic Components

• Added the ability to copy and paste all control settings from one component to another, of the same kind, in Run mode.

New Features in Q-SYS Administrator

Softphones

The STUN (Simple Traversal of UDP through NATs) feature allows you to communicate with a cloud-based PBX. STUN is a protocol that finds the public IP of a service (Q-SYS) that is behind a firewall or network address translator. A STUN packet is sent to a publicly accessible STUN server, which responds with the public-to-private IP address. Once Q-SYS receives the public address it uses that address to communicate with a cloud-based PBX.

Changed Features in Q-SYS Administrator

Command Scheduler

• You can now display the event information in a list-type view in addition to the calendar-type view.
• You can now display a list of the scheduled events

BETA Version Features

There are a number of features in Q-SYS Designer currently in a BETA version. These features are marked as such in the Q-SYS Designer user interface, and in the associated help topics. A feature labeled as BETA indicates that the feature is not as polished as we would like it to be. It is functional, but there might be caveats and rough edges associated with it. In addition, a BETA feature is more likely to change in the future.

Currently in BETA

• Channel Group
• SPL/Leq Meter
• Timeline

Removed from BETA

Gating Automatic Mic Mixer

Resolved Known Issues

The following issues have been resolved:

Issue: Fixed an issue that when the TSC-3 and Core are on different subnets, but have routing in place to communicate, the TSC-3 starts to load but displays a "Load Failed" error and continues to repeat the error.

Known Issues

Remote Paging

Issue: In a Remote Paging scenario with the destination Core has the Administrator Guest permission "External Control Protocol" set to "NO", the Remote Source tab's "Communication Status" reads "Fault - Not connected". This affects only the destination Core.

Workaround: Set the destination Core's Administrator Guest permissions "External Control Protocol" to "YES".

Network

The TSC-3 is Unable to Boot from LAN-B or Aux on a Core 250i

Issue: The TSC-3 must be connected to the LAN A network - connecting it to the LAN B or AUX networks is not currently supported.

Core Redundancy - CobraNet

Issue: A CobraNet card in a Core which is in standby is not automatically suppressed from transmitting and receiving. This might affect your ability to use a redundant pair of Cores populated with CobraNet cards.

Core Redundancy - Clock Master

Issue: Redundant Cores, Primary Core set to the highest-priority clock master, backup Core set to the second highest-priority

If the Primary Core looses connections to the Network, or is rebooted, when it regains network connectivity, there is a short audio stream dropout.