Denon/Marantz AVR Series Receivers

This product was designed and tested with the Denon AVR Control Protocol 5.1.0_a and an AVR-4308ci.

Version 1.3 was designed and tested with the Denon AVR Control Protocol 6.6.0 and an AVR-4310ci.

Version 1.4 was designed and tested with a Marantz SR7005 Receiver and a Denon 2112.

Version 1.6 and 1.7 were designed and tested with a Marantz NR1605 Receiver and a Denon AVR-X4100.

Version 1.8 was developed with a AVR-X8500

The serial connection requires a straight through cable with a female end.

Network Auto Discovery:
Beginning with version 1.6 the driver has the ability to find a receiver on the network without having to enter an IP address. Every receiver has a Friendly Name that the driver can track down and connect to automatically. You can find this name through the receivers menu (Setup/Network/Friendly Name) or by looking in the network section of your PC (Network Places/Network Other Devices, etc.) Using this selection you eliminate the need to enter any networking information which also eliminates the possibility of entering it wrong. You also don't have to switch to static addressing or use DHCP reservations.

Let the router give the receiver an IP address (as well as configure all the other settings) and let the driver find the IP. If the IP address changes the driver will switch to the new address. To do this you choose UPnP as the Network Discovery method on the Driver tab of the processors window.

You can control the receiver through a serial port while still getting cover art. This still requires the driver to get the IP address of the receiver (where the cover art is) and pass it on to the panels which use http to get the artwork. Because the driver is not using the IP address itself it will not be aware if it changes. In this case the processor would require a reboot to restart the driver. This is true of either Auto-Discovery or the direct, static addressing method.

Media Server Functions:
The Metadata text variables form a menu system that also show you what's currently playing. They work best when stacked up. Metadata 1 is the menu title, 2 is the current song, 3 is the artist. The album is on line 5.

There are two boolean variables ('playing' and 'not playing') that can be used to hide the menu text when not playing. Older receivers >> If you use the menus the select button picks the top line and cursor keys scroll the menu up and down. Newer Receivers >> Each menu line has an associated variable used to highlight it, for these new receivers you have to use all the menu lines. An asterisk at the head of the line means the object is playable.

The sample file Virtual Panel is one example of how you can use visibility to display the data correctly. The Sample File RK3-V shows the raw metadata lines, this shows one of the biggest gotcha's in the current Marantz/Denon media menus. If the menus back up to the top 'NET' level the layout of the menus does not match the On-Screen display and you can't select what you want without seeing the monitor. The sample virtual panel solves this using the new 'NET Menu' variable as visibility to let you jump directly to the desired source.

There are 56 media 'presets', and a USB Preset and USB play function for each. They are called USB presets, but they work for Internet radio as well. Selecting the preset memory function stores the currently playing media as that preset and replaces the text. For the new receivers supported in Version 1.3 this function only works with the internet radio and music server functions.

iPod Functions:
iPod functions were added in the 1.1 update, with the 1.3 version of the driver the iPod Direct function works . They work similarly to the Net/USB functions, but have additional Title, Artist and Album variables that are derived from the metadata fields if you want to display metadata but don't want to show the menu functions. Because the menu selection now moves you can no longer vary the number of menu lines, you must use them all.

As of version 1.6, a directly controlled iPod will use the same commands/menus/metadata as the other streaming services. Unfortunately at this point the iPod functions do not refresh automatically and must be polled by the driver. Because of this the response is much slower on the iPod than on the streaming services.

Templates
The driver uses the following templates in its sub sources:
Analog Tuner: AM/FM Radio, Tuner
HD Tuner: HD-Tuner, AM/FM Radio, Tuner
XM Tuner: XM Radio, Satellite Radio, Tuner
Sirius Tuner: Sirius Radio, Satellite Radio, Tuner
Streaming Services: Media Player - Basic, Media Player - Simple, Music Player

In case of multiple entries, APEX uses the first available device in the template file.

Revision History

1.01 fixed the failure to accurately scale the sliders when Graph Data Sources were dragged onto them.

1.1 added iPod functionality and an RK3 sample file
1.11 added conversions for international characters
1.12 changed source status to return integer values with text editable with the 'Edit text...' menu on the button. Also added inputs compatible with newer models.

1.21 added control of GUI setup menus

1.3 added Sirius Radio functions, Menu select variables for moving highlights in newer receivers

1.4 Added inputs and commands used in the Marantz 7005/6005 receivers
1.43 Added commands and variables for older receivers, pre-HD Radio (like the 3805)
1.49 Changes analog tuner commands for compatibility with **12 receivers.

1.5 Added Inputs

1.6 Added new sources. Tuner preset 01 through 56 are now available. Updated menu/metadata handling (including cover art). Added receiver auto-discovery
1.61 fixes a network reconnect issue.
1.62 fixes a problem with Quick modes interfering with Surround Mode settings.
1.63 fixes a problem where Menu items would disappear when selected.
1.64 adds the variable for Multi-Channel Stereo (MCH)
1.65 fixes a issue with new firmware corrupting volume level display
1.66 adds the Bluetooth input. Fixes a possible problem when the receiver had inputs not recognized by the driver.

1.7 Complete front end redesign. The driver handles the configuration of inputs and the acquisition of variables on first connect completely differently and becomes ready to operate significantly faster than earlier versions. It is functionally the same as earlier version, the only change is an event that triggers when a connection is established (or re-established after an extended loss of contact) and the variables have been synchronized with the receiver.

1.71 Added HDMI Audio Output Commands

1.8 Fixes connection issue for non-UPnP selections. Adds the Advanced Programming Extensions for Integration Designer 10 and above. Adds boolean variables for presets 00-56. Adds “Power Toggle” and “Mute Toggle” to Zones 2, 3, and 4.
1.81 Adds the Advanced Programming Extensions for Integration Designer 10 and above
1.82 Driver Maintenance
1.83 Reorders commands to reduce confusion about Main Zone on/off vs System on/off

1.84 was created to add “Power Toggle” and “Mute Toggle” to zones 2, 3, and 4.

1.85 fixes the Bluetooth boolean

1.86 Restores the Audio Delay command and variable (not to be confused with the Delay Time command for the DRC function). Adds a variable for the HDMI output and adds control for the second subwoofer.

1.87 Adds AUX input (as opposed to AUX1)

1.88 Fixes a problem with incorrect values being written to Denon Volume and New Denon Volume variables. Also, fixes an issue with the New Denon Volume Set command giving incorrect values to the receiver.

1.89 Adds All Zone Stereo control

1.9 Fixes zone 3 and 4 volume variables.

2.0 Added 8k input source selection.

2.01 Fixes issues with certain variables displaying improperly on controllers.