Zone Manager
The Zone Manager is used to create and assign devices to zones in the multiple zone (network audio) configuration. The Zone Manager is disabled for single zone (sound configurations) and a single zone, “Sound Card”, is available in the scheduler windows. Zones consist of one or more network audio devices and are similar to a traditional intercom zone where audio can be broadcasted independently of other devices on the network. In the scheduler windows, zones are used to direct where audio will be sent. When audio is transmitted it will be transmitted to all devices in the selected zone. The same device may appear in multiple zones. For example, a device may appear in a zone for broadcasts specific to the area of the device and it may appear in another zone which consists of multiple devices for broadcasts to larger areas of the facility.
An example of the zone manager window is shown below:
The Zone Manager window consists of the “Zone List” on the left side of the window which contains a listing of existing zones and a “Devices in Zone” list which contains a listing of devices within the selected zone. In the example above, the “Full School” zone is selected and it consists of two devices, “Main 1” and “Main 2”. There are also two other zones defined for “Hall B” and “Hall D”.
The following buttons are available in the window:
Add Zone – Adds a new zone.
Delete Zone – Deletes an existing zone. Bell Commander verifies the scheduler for any schedules using the zone and if a schedule is using the zone, then a warning is displayed. If the warning is ignored, then corresponding schedule items will be removed which use the zone.
Rename Zone – Changes the name of an existing zone.
Edit Device List – Displays a window where devices can be added or removed from the selected zone.