What is a 511 slave patch box and why would I want one?

A 511 patch box serves to connect together two or more Meridian Comms leads. It is needed whenever you have more than two Meridian DSP speakers in your system, so that the Comms output from the master speaker may be chained to the remaining DSP speakers. The Configuration Program offers to insert a 511 slave patch box as required (and to remove it when no longer needed). By showing Comms connections you see the details of the wiring.

What is a 519 Laserdisc demodulator and why would I want one?

A 519 Laserdisc demodulator is used to connect a laserdisc player to a Meridian controller. The demodulator which converts the AC-3/Dolby_Digital signal carried by RF carrier (stored on the analog right channel of an AC-3 laserdisc) to coax or fibre SP/DIF. The optical and RF inputs, which are switched as necessary to produce a digital or optical output, are in turn connected to the controller. The Configuration Program offers to insert a 519 demodulator as required (and to remove it when no longer needed).

What is the significance of products appearing in the "Other" tab of the resource bar?

These products do not fit into the categories of source, speaker, amplifier or controller. In general they do not have outputs. You may need to insert a 511 slave patch box to wire digital speakers.

What are the "Meridian defaults" applied by the connection wizard?

The connections depend on the default or current MSR key assigned to the source and on the controller connected to, as defined by the following table:

What is a phantom source?

A phantom source combines the physical properties of two physical sources, but has its own MSR+ key assignment. For example, by creating a suitable phantom source, you can arrange that pressing a particular MSR+ key selects audio input from a radio tuner and video input from a television. Such an arrangement would be appropriate for a television/radio simulcast.

In the Configuration Program, a phantom source is created by dragging or double-clicking the "phantom" icon in the resource bar. You will be prompted to choose its physical sources (one each for audio and video). Phantom source connections are not displayed by default, but made be shown by clicking the phantom source icon in the toolbar. Because phantom source connections are inherited from physical sources, they may not be altered on the phantom source in the product window.

Don't the connections of the Meridian 800 DVD/CD player depend on the cards fitted?

Yes indeed, but the current version of the Configuration Program only includes a template for a typical configuration:

Future versions of the Configuration Program will include the ability to configure 800 series products according to the exact cards fitted.