Quick Start

Just the Basics

This is all you need to know to get started with Matrix Mic. See the rest of this help document for instructions on using advanced features and creating and saving configurations.

Each section of the user interface can be expanded or collapsed by clicking on the section title bar. If you add or remove physical audio devices (ex. a USB microphone or soundcard) while the program is running, you need to click the Refresh Devices button on the program toolbar. You cannot broadcast announcements from the microphone AND play an audio file at the same time. Also some edit operations are disabled during broadcast or play. The controls will be disabled (grayed out) until you click the Stop button.

Output Groups

The first time you start Matrix Mic it will scan the computer hardware for input devices (microphones) and output devices (audio sound cards). It will create Output Groups -- one for each output device and one group that contains all output devices. Each Output Group specifies one or more speaker zones (devices) you want to broadcast to. For example, an Output Group could specify that sound should be targeted to the Lobby PA AND the Courtyard PA simultaneously. You can add more Output Groups as desired to designate differnet combinations of Target devices.

Microphone/Line-In and Output Group section

To Broadcast the microphone or a line-in source, refer to the program window Microphone and Output Groups section (see Figure 1.).

1. Pick microphone or line-in source - Pick the microphone you want to use as the input device from the Mic/Line-In Input selector. Or any audio player (ex. an MP3 Player) could be connected to a Line-In jack on the soundcard as well.
2. Pick output group - Pick the Output Group you want to use from the Output Groups selector. The Output Group specifies which zones (devices) you want to broadcast to.
3. Start Broadcast - Now click the Start Broadcast button and begin speaking into the microphone. Your announcement will be piped to each device specified in the selected Output Group. There will be a slight delay in the speaker output which will make the speakers slightly out of phase with your voice (about a half second). This is normal to the way Direct Sound works.
4. Stop Broadcast - Click the Stop Broadcast button to stop broadcast.

Play Audio File section

To Play an Audio File, refer to the program window Play Audio File section (see Figure 2.). Note that the playback format is contained inside the audio file itself, so the Broadcast Output format (see Figure 1.) has no bearing on file Play.

1. Select the Audio File - Click the Browse button to select the audio file to play. See the Notes on File Format and Restrictions below. File -- Recent Audio Files keeps a list of the 10 most recently used audio files.
2. Pick output group - Pick the Output Group you want to use from the Outputs selector. The Output Group specifies which zones (devices) you want to pipe the audio to.
3. Play  ^[1] - Now click the Play button. The audio will be piped to each device specified in the selected Output Group. You can Pause and Resume play as needed.
4. Stop - Click the Stop button to stop play.

Altering Play Behavior

• Play Mode  - You can change Play Behavior as described below. These changes must be set BEFORE you click Play.
  • Play Once  - The audio file is Played One Time through.
  • Repeat  - Play will repeat for the number of times specified in the Repeat Number field.
  • Loop  - Play will continue infinitely until the Stop button is clicked.
• Apply Delay  - When checked, a time delay is added after the file plays to introduce a delay between plays when Repeat or Loop is used.
• Post Delay Click the Delay Edit button to change the Delay Time. It must be set prior to starting play. The delay is accurate to tenths of a seconds. (a tenth of a second equals 100 milliseconds)

[1] Audio File Format and Restrictions

To use Output Groups and play to multiple zones simultaneously, the file format MUST be a WAV file (a DirectX restriction). If your wav file does not play, see supported Wav file format for detail.

All other formats will be played only to the current Windows Default Speakers, selected in Windows Control Panel -- Sounds applet. However, the Windows Default Speakers can be changed quickly at any time. The Default Playback Device is usually named the Primary Sound Driver in the Devices selector (Figure 3).

The Target Output indicator (see Figure 2, next to the Pause button) will indicate where the output will be played (either to the Output Group devices or the Default Speakers).

Output Device Settings section

A Device is the soundcard that drives a set of speakers. Refer to the program window Output Device Settings section (Figure 3.).

1. Pick the Device  - Click the Devices selector to select the audio output device.
2. Adjust Volume  - Use the Volume slider to adjust the device volume. Each device can have its own Volume level. The volume percent is relative to the current Speaker Volume Level set in the Windows Control Panel -- Sounds. See the About Volume section for details.
3. Apply as Master Volume checkbox - When checked, moving the volume slider control will to apply to ALL devices at once. When unchecked, the slider volume change is applied only to the current selected device.
4. Logical Name  - You can give the current selected device a name that is more descriptive of the speaker system that the device is connected to (ex. Lobby PA) Keep it short, since it is used in some list selection dialogs.

Saving and Restoring Configurations

Any changes you make such as volume setting or creating new Output Groups, can be saved in a configuration file (with extension .mmcfg). So if you operate sound at several theaters, you can create a configuration for each one.

• Save - Click File -- Save Configuration to save the current configuration for future use.
• Open - Click File -- Open to open a previously saved configuration.