Q-SYS Level 1 Training (2024)

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Let’s start off with the big question: What is Q-SYS?

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Well, if you’re watching this video you probably have a general idea,

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but let’s make sure we’re on the same page because you might not be aware of everything that Q-SYS can do.

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Q-SYS is an cloud-manageable audio, video, and control platform built around a modern, standards-based IT architecture,

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which was designed to enable an Ecosystem of partners, that is also completely open for integration.

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It starts with an OS, that drives and manages a multitude of Q-SYS products within the platform.

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Additionally, its modern IT architecture and a set of development tools (called “Q-SYS Open”) enable an entire Ecosystem of third-party integrations developed by approved

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and endorsed Q-SYS Partners as well as a worldwide community of Q-SYS programmers and developers.

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I know, there’s a lot to unpack there, so let’s take a look at each of those pieces. It all starts with the Q-SYS Operating System.

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The Q-SYS OS is a software-based foundation for Q-SYS that makes everything possible, and it’s built off of a unified, standards-based IT architecture.

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We used industry-standard principles and mission-critical technologies like IEEE standard networking protocols, Intel processing, Linux,

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and conventional programming languages to make it as flexible, scalable and performance driven as possible.

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It includes a robust audio engine, video engine and control engine providing processing at the software layer,

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with a robust OS administrative layer that operates holistically, rather than requiring an integrator to spend time separately programming and integrating audio, video and control.

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One of the main jobs of the OS is to drive a single blueprint or design, for your individual system.

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The main focus of this course will be to teach you the basics of how to build this design using Q-SYS Designer Software, which is one of the tools available.

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The size and scope of designs can vary wildly.

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But whether you’re building a small design that might manage no more than the stereo background music of a coffee shop,

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or a massive design like an airport that manages hundreds of audio channels, controls countless third-party devices, and incorporates complicated scripting,

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your design will still be built within the same Q-SYS Designer software.

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As you can guess, Q-SYS can be used for a wide variety of applications. Much of this course will highlight high-value spaces for collaboration like boardrooms

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or conference spaces that require the integration of UC platforms and video platforms, but don’t let that trick you into thinking that’s all Q-SYS is used for.

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Q-SYS can be used in any number of applications for entertainment, collaboration, and commercial AV.

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Q-SYS is used in higher ed institutions for lecture halls, public address, and video distribution.

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It’s used in hospitality venues like hotels, convention centers, and cruise ships.

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Cinema, theme parks, government chambers, stadiums, transportation, restaurants, houses of worship, you name it! Any high value space that needs audio, video and control.

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Practically speaking, the Q-SYS OS needs a processor, which is where the Q-SYS Core comes in.

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If the Q-SYS OS is the brain of your system, then the Core processor is the HEART.

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There are a variety of models of Q-SYS Cores that vary in the amount of processing power they offer, the number of network audio channels they can handle,

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as well as differences in their available onboard I/O.

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For instance, some models have onboard audio inputs and outputs, others don’t.

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Some are better suited for centralized processing while other are better for in-room processing.

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Knowing which Core is right for you will depend on the needs of your system, but what’s important is that all Cores run the same Q-SYS OS,

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and offer all the same software-based functionality, and run designs from the same design tool, Q-SYS Designer software.

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In fact, the first thing you’ll probably do when creating a design is to choose which Core you intend on deploying it to with a simple drop-down menu with Designer

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(although you could easily change that later if you realize your processor demands have evolved).

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The needs of the system are going to dictate what kinds of devices that you are going to drive with your design.

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QSC offers an extensive portfolio of native Q-SYS hardware devices, services, and software that were designed to be driven directly by the OS.

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This ever-growing portfolio includes Q-SYS conference cameras, amplifiers, loudspeakers, touch panels, software licenses, IO devices,

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and of course the vast resources of digital signal processing, control processing, and video routing components that connect all of this together.

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Using native Q-SYS Products makes your integration much easier, as every one of these devices is designed with drag-and-drop functionality within the software,

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and has been rigorously tested against everything else in the Q-SYS Platform.

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However, we have no illusions of thinking we can manufacture every single imaginable peripheral or endpoint that you might need in your particular installation.

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That’s why we have Q-SYS Partners.

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Q-SYS Partners create software, services and hardware that integrate into the Q-SYS Ecosystem and have been fully vetted and endorsed by QSC.

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The solutions that they develop can be integrated into the Q-SYS OS and operate alongside native Q-SYS Products.

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Q-SYS Partners collaborate with QSC teams to develop and verify their solutions upfront, and then continue to work with QSC in their support and maintenance for our mutual customers.

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Later in the training, we’ll show you how to integrate plugins that give you the control of these third-party devices within your Q-SYS design,

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giving you the confidence that comes with these fully-vetted, benchmarked integrations.

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We mentioned earlier that Q-SYS allows for open integration, and we meant it.

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The reality is that there are plenty of manufacturers out there with whom we don’t have partnerships… yet…

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which is why we built Q-SYS Open so Q-SYS Partners and non-Partners alike can ALL enable third-party development within Q-SYS.

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The Q-SYS Open tools take full advantage of the industry hardened Q-SYS OS, namely its utilization of open industry standards and protocols,

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along with a collection of available developer tools for integration like Lua, HTML5, CSS, as well as an open API.

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Finally, don’t let all that talk of being “open” make you think we haven’t designed Q-SYS with security in mind.

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Q-SYS also employs world-class security measures, encryption, cryptographic code signing, and more to keep your systems safe.

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And you can also monitor and manage your installations remotely from the cloud by using our Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager platform.

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So, that’s Q-SYS in a nutshell.

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When you’re ready, move on to the next video, and we’ll start to discuss the basics of a Q-SYS signal path, hardware peripherals, and how to add them to your design.