Pulse-Eight Palladia III Matrix Switcher

This driver is for the Pulse-Eight Palladia III series matrix switchers with a firmware version of 2.14 or higher.

Important Driver Compatibility Notes

This driver should operate any Pulse-Eight matrix switch capable of utilizing the XIO settings in the switch which was introduced in firmware version 2.0.

If the switch is not capable of XIO operation, this driver will not work.

If the Switch does not have firmware version 2.14 or higher, this driver will not work.

Large format switches (16x16x32 Palladia III, ProAudio 32 DSP, etc.) may require firmware of 2.26 or greater. Please contact Pulse-Eight for Palladia III firmware updates.

It is required the driver configuration be set accordingly for the specific switch in use.

This driver has been tested with a Pulse-Eight HDA604 (Firmware 2.27) and a Pulse-Eight AUD1600 (Firmware 2.28).

Revision History

1.0 The Initial release of the driver

1.01 Fixed issue with driver initialization when using serial connectivity.

1.1 Adds reversed state variables for Selected Input.

Adds reversed state variables for Selected HDMI Output.

Adds reversed state variables for Selected Analog Audio Output.

Adds reversed state variables for Selected Digital Audio Output.

Adjusts driver initialization routine for compatibility with larger format switches.

Adjusts driver Multi-Zone commands for compatibility.

1.11 Fixed issue when Enable Selected HDMI Output was not checked.

Adjusted visibility of functions based on driver configuration.

1.12 Adjusted and moved Selected Settings in driver configuration.

Optimized initialization routines for ProAudio version switches.

1.13 Adjusted Selected HDMI Video and Audio text and integer variable writing routines.

1.2 Added APEX capabilities for Analog Audio Output Volume, Mute, and Power.

Added additional notes for Input and Output count configurations.

1.21 Added delayed initialization when/if the Zektor loses power and the driver disconnects.

1.22 Fix for Digital Audio Output text variable when selecting an analog audio input.

1.3 Updated to Pulse-Eight branding

Connection Type

Serial Port

The RS-232 connection on the Pulse-Eight matrix switch should be connected with a straight-through cable to the XP processor.

The Pulse-Eight matrix switch defaults to a baud rate of 19200.

Network (TCP)

The TCP/IP connection on the Pulse-Eight matrix switch should be connected to the Ethernet Network.

Refer to the Pulse-Eight documentation for setting the matrix switch to static IP.

The Pulse-Eight matrix switch uses port 50005 as default for TCP/IP communication.

Switch Settings

Volume Increments from Mute Level

Enable if it is preferred that volume adjustment commands issued while a zone is muted force the switch to start ramping volume from the mute level.

Volume Unmutes on Volume Command

Enable if it is preferred that the switch unmutes a zone before volume adjustments are made.

Output Count Configuration

HDMI Output Count

Enter the number of HDMI outputs on the switch. Up to 16 HDMI zone outputs are supported. This value MUST match the number of physical HDMI outputs on the switch.

Analog Audio Output Count

Enter the number of Analog Audio outputs on the switch. Up to 64 Analog Audio zone outputs are supported. This value CAN match the number of Analog Audio outputs to be used as long as they are used in sequential order with no gaps. If not in sequential order the number of the last Analog Audio output in use MUST be the value entered in this field.

Digital Audio Output Count

Enter the number of Digital Audio outputs on the switch. Up to 64 Digital Audio zone outputs are supported. This value CAN match the number of Digital Audio outputs to be used as long as they are used in sequential order with no gaps. If not in sequential order the number of the last Digital Audio output in use MUST be the value entered in this field.

Input Count Configuration

HDMI Input Count

Enter the number of HDMI inputs on the switch. Up to 16 HDMI inputs are supported. This value MUST match the number of physical HDMI inputs on the switch.

Analog Audio Input Count

Enter the number of Analog Audio inputs on the switch. Up to 32 Analog Audio inputs are supported. This value MUST match the number of physical Analog Audio inputs on the switch.

Coaxial Audio Input Count

Enter the number of Coaxial Audio inputs on the switch. Up to 32 Coaxial Audio inputs are supported. This value MUST match the number of physical Coaxial Audio inputs on the switch.

Optical Audio Input Count

Enter the number of Optical Audio inputs on the switch. Up to 16 Optical Audio inputs are supported. This value MUST match the number of physical Optical Audio inputs on the switch.

Selected Settings

Enable Selected HDMI Output

Enable the ability to use selected HDMI output commands and variables in the driver.

Enable Selected Audio Output

Enable the ability to use selected Analog Audio output commands and variables in the driver.

Enable Selected Digital Output

Enable the ability to use selected Digital Audio output commands and variables in the driver.

Enable Selected Input

Enable the ability to use selected Input commands and variables in the driver.

HDMI Output Naming

HDMI Output (1-16) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective HDMI Zone Output.

Analog Audio Output Naming

Analog Audio Output (1-64) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective Analog Audio Zone Output.

Digital Audio Output Naming

Digital Audio Output (1-64) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective Digital Audio Zone Output.

HDMI Input Naming

HDMI Input (1-16) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective HDMI Input.

Analog Audio Input Naming

Analog Audio Input (1-32) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective Analog Audio Input.

Coaxial Audio Input Naming

Coaxial Audio Input (1-32) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective Coaxial Audio Input.

Optical Audio Input Naming

Optical Audio Input (1-16) Name

Enter the name to use for the respective Optical Audio Input.

Driver Notes

- This driver checks for the firmware version upon initialization. If the firmware is not 2.14 or greater, an event is triggered for Firmware not supported and the driver will not complete initializing.

- This driver sets the XIO mode of the matrix switch to active automatically during initialization.

- Variables are provided for model, serial number, firmware version, along with events for supported or not supported firmware events.

- The driver is divided into sections based on the type of control. The sections are HDMI Zone Outputs, Analog Audio Zone Outputs, Digital Audio Zone Outputs, and Audio Inputs.

- If using the selected capabilities of the driver, each of the 4 aforementioned sections have their own selected list structure.

- Selected commands and variables are only visible if the respective section has been enabled for selected use.

- Paging source commands are setup in a way that all zones for a particular section of the switch share the same source for the respective preset. Preset 1 and Preset 2 for each section can have their own input assignment.

- Multi-Zone commands in each zone output section are included for the most commonly used controls.

- All Multi-Zone commands use a space separated list structure. Multi-Zone commands containing more than 16 zones may or may not work due to a limit in the receive buffer of the Pulse-Eight. It is recommended that commands be thoroughly tested prior to final deployment when more than 16 zones are to be controlled via the Multi-Zone commands.

- A RAW command is included for sending control commands not already in this driver. Feedback for any RAW command may or may not be available, depending on the command being sent.