Symetrix Composer® Version 8.4.2 Release Notes

29 Mar, 2023 | ApexPro News, Symetrix

Composer for Windows is an award-winning software that can handle the entire configuration process of Radius NX, Prism, and Edge DSPs. This software can create customized GUIs, manage scheduling, presets, logic, security, and integrate Symetrix and third-party control solutions.

Contents

I) Introduction
II) Changes from Previous Versions
III) Known Issues
IV) Installation Notes
V) Upgrading Firmware
VI) Issues with Site Files From Previous Versions of Composer
VII) Changing Between Dante Switched and Redundant Mode

Introduction

This document is intended for those users upgrading from Composer version 8.3. If you are a new user of Composer or are upgrading from an earlier version, you may also want to review the release notes for previous versions. These can be found on the Symetrix web site.

Changes From Previous Versions

8.4.2 Fixes and Improvements

The following issues have been resolved or improved in Composer 8.4.2:
• In rare cases, T-5 and T-5 Glass controllers would not boot completely after a power cycle, showing only a white screen. It is recommended that all users update to 8.4.2 to prevent this issue.

8.4.1 Fixes and Improvements
The following issues have been resolved or improved in Composer 8.4.1:
• xOut 12 fan speed reported improperly for Brooklyn 3 module.
• xIn 12 became unresponsive after deleting Tx bus.
• Improved upgrade reliability for T-5 and T-5 Glass.
• Other minor fixes and improvements.

8.4 New Features
Composer 8.4 is a major release and features the following enhancements:
• New Brooklyn 3 support.
○ All current Symetrix DSPs now support the Audinate Brooklyn 3 Dante module.
○ The installed card version is now displayed on the front panel screen.
• New SSH Lua API for Intelligent Modules.
○ Allows Intelligent Modules to interface with services requiring authenticated SSH communication.
• T-10 Glass fast screen switching.
○ T-10 Glass switches between control screens much faster than in previous versions.
• BETA: New USB human interface device (HID) control for Radius NX and USB Card.
○ Allows touchscreens and remotes to control and display the status of the most common universal
conferencing (UC) applications.
○ Currently only works with Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.
○ Other UC applications will require additional certification and/or a Composer update for full functionality.
The certification process is unique for each UC service; therefore, we cannot commit to a completion
timeline, nor can we guarantee completion.
○ See Composer Help File for details.

8.4 Fixes and Improvements
The following issues have been resolved or improved in Composer 8.4:
• Composer: Control screens could sometimes hang if they contained controls from disabled devices.
• Composer: Could not select 6 dB/oct slopes for Loudspeaker Manager HPF or LPF.
• Composer: Gain-sharing Echo Reducer module had some minorly mislabeled controls.
• Composer: Improved some firmware upgrade error messages to be more specific.
• Composer: Matrix Mixer would not allow editing channel names in some situations.
• Composer: Preset recalls on Crossover with Linkwitz-Riley changes did not update the low filters graphics
while online.
• Composer: Removing button from an option list dropdown menu would distort the gradient color.
• Composer: Some sites could fail to push utilizing third-party Dante devices with changed Dante
channel names.
• Control Server: Momentary buttons on Intelligent Modules were sluggish and would not operate properly
when run on a Control Server.
• Control Server: New events created on Control Server set to non-US times zones would sometimes show
up at the wrong time.
• Dante Firmware: All DSPs, xIn 12 and xOut 12 have been updated to Dante Firmware 4.2.0.28.
• DSP: Improved the Flex EQ response at low frequencies.
• Edge: System Mute would not function on an Edge with no cards.
• Lua: HTTP API would sometimes fail to pass the User and Password parameters to request.
• Lua: The TcpSockets API had a number of minor reliability and inconsistency issues. These have been
resolved and the documentation updated where appropriate.
• Prism 4×4: Improved PoE+ reliability via LLDP.
• Radius NX: Front panel Dante LED did not light if only connected to secondary Dante port.
• Radius NX: Status field in the Playback module did not match the file being played when looping.
• T-10 Glass: Control Screen Preset buttons would not change T-10 Glass brightness.
• T-10 Glass: Increased size of number pad used for unlocking the device.
• T-10 Glass: Sleep menu option would not sleep the device if sleep is not enabled in the device properties.
• T-Series: Overlapping an image over a fader resulted in the wrong order of images.
• USB: Hot swapping USB would intermittently result in audio failing to pass to the computer.
• Other minor fixes and improvements.
• Help File additions and updates.

Known Issues

Issues Related to VoIP

1. If a speed-dial number is selected as the transfer target, the transfer will complete immediately as a blind
   transfer.
2. Pushing a Composer Site file to the device generates a VoIP card log message saying that the location is
   USA, even if it is not. This log message is harmless.
3. When a local conference on a line is active and DTMF digits are pressed locally, the DTMF signals are sent
   only to the call appearance that most recently joined the conference. When establishing a conference using
   two call appearances, if it is important for one call appearance to receive DTMF digits (for example,
   a conference bridge) then add that call appearance last.
4. There may be log messages in the VoIP card Telnet session that are categorized as ERR (error) but do not
   indicate real errors.
5. If a local conference is using the two call appearances on line 2 and the call on the first appearance is
   ended by pressing that Call/End button, the call on the second appearance is put on hold. Press the
   appearance 2 Call/End or Hold button to resume this call leg.
6. If the DTMF Relay type is changed to SIP INFO (default value is ‘Out of Band’), the SIP INFO messages
   are sent using the configured Transport Type for the line instead of the transport type used for a SIP dialog
   session for a call, if that is different.
7. If the default DTMF Relay type of ‘Out of Band’ is used, and the DTMF On Time setting is increased from
   the default value of 150 ms, then rapid digit presses can result in dropped digits in the transmitted stream.
8. When the Country parameter is set to Australia, the “ringback” and “busy” call progress tones played in the
   local room differ from the expected tones for that country. When the Country parameter is set to Germany,
   the “ringback” and “reorder” call progress tones played in the local room differ from the expected tones.
   When the Country parameter is set to the UK, the “reorder” call progress tone differs from the expected
   tone. This does not affect any call signaling, it only affects the locally generated sound effects that are
   played into the local room.
9. If the Auto-answer feature is enabled via the Web Admin Page and there is an active call on one call
   appearance, this call is not placed on Hold when the second call is received on the other call appearance
   and automatically answered. The original call remains active with two-way audio and the second call has
   no audio. For conference room applications Symetrix recommends leaving Auto-answer turned off.
10. If the Auto-answer feature is enabled via the Web Admin Page and a call is manually answered and placed
    on hold within the Auto-answer time window, for example before the call is auto-answered, then this held
    call is resumed automatically.
11. If the Reset Web Admin Password button is pressed to set the Web Admin password back to its default
    value, the setting is not immediately saved. If the system is rebooted it will boot up with the old password.
    To work around this, modify a setting in the Web Admin to force files to be saved to flash memory after
    resetting the password.
12. A consultative transfer performed by the remote party who called Line 1 of the VoIP card to Line 2 of the
    same VoIP card will not transfer the call and the initial call will be dropped.
13. The VoIP card can indicate that it has registered successfully before the Line 1 or Line 2 “Server Address”
    field is populated. However, this field is required to place and receive calls.
14. The Blind Transfer function where the user completes the transfer without waiting for ringback or an answer
    from the transfer target is in fact handled similarly to a semi-attended transfer. If the transfer target does not
    answer the call, the transferee remains on hold.
15. A non-standard port number cannot be specified in a direct URI dial string, for example when dialing
    1001@10.4.0.156:8325 the destination port of 5060 is used instead of 8325.
16. In rare cases, the HTML files used by the Web Admin may not load. Should this happen, refresh the
    browser to view the Web Admin.
17. If the DTMF Relay type is changed to ‘In Band’ (default value is ‘Out of Band’), the duration of transmitted
    DTMF tones does not match the configured ‘DTMF On Time’ parameter in the Web Admin when the G.722
    codec is used for a call. The actual duration is shorter so the configured duration may need to be increased
    to work with certain far ends.
18. If a firmware upgrade is performed and later a VoIP card is added or swapped, the VoIP card may not
    contain the correct Web Admin files. After adding or swapping the VoIP card, a manual firmware upgrade
    for that unit should be performed.

Other issues

19. T-5 and T-5 Glass cannot be downgraded from 8.2 or later to 8.1 or 8.0. Attempting to do so may result
    in a screen showing only the Symetrix logo on the device. Simply upgrade to 8.2 to restore full operation
    of the device. If you need to downgrade a T-5 or T-5 Glass from 8.2 or later, contact Tech Support for
    special instructions.
20. Units may fail to pass Dante audio when switched versus redundancy mode is changed. See instructions
    on how to change this below.
21. Composer may fail to locate any devices. In some cases, this may require adjustments to the Windows
    firewall. Open Windows Firewall > Advanced Settings > Inbound Rules > New Rule. Specify path to
    Composer84.exe and save rule. Repeat for an Outbound rule. Restart PC.
22. Using multiple features that access the external USB drive on Radius NX may compromise performance.
    Examples include recording, playback, and accessing files via FTP or the Media Manager. Ideally limit the
    use of these features to one type at a time, or two at most.
23. Radius NX USB recordings are limited to 4 GB per file. Longer continuous recordings will be split up.
24. Using a low-quality external USB drive for Radius NX recording or playback, may result in poor
    performance, dropouts, or even a device reset. Only use high quality drives.
25. Playlists with non-US characters cannot be edited using the Media Manager. A work-around is to edit them
    manually using FTP. Similarly, audio files with non-US characters cannot be previewed using the Media
    Manager.
26. When using a preset to mute all devices, Attero Tech and other third party devices may not be muted.
    Dante transmitters will be muted, so in most cases, they will effectively be muted because they are
    receiving no audio from Symetrix units.
27. When an xIn, xOut, xIO, or third party Dante unit is first attached to the network, it may take up to
    two minutes to be located by Composer. When it is unplugged, it may still be visible in Composer
    for up to a minute.
28. Some controls in Composer cannot be added to SymVue panels. For a complete list, see the SymVue
    topic in the Help file.
29. Large button matrices in SymVue panels may adversely affect performance.
30. Storing the settings of large matrix modules in more than 100 presets may adversely affect performance.
31. Multiple instances of SymVue panels containing Shure microphone diagnostics may adversely
    affect performance. Minimizing the total number of Shure diagnostic controls opened in SymVue
    is recommended.
32. There may be slight discrepancies in displayed frequencies between SymVue panels and their
    corresponding control screens. For example, in a British EQ frequency display, if the control screen shows
    200.000 Hz, the panel shows 200.002 Hz. These rounding discrepancies are visible due to the very high
    precision shown in EQ frequencies and should be insignificant since they are generally less than 0.002%.
33. For EQ modules that are switchable between Octaves and Q, the SymVue panel will always display the
    Q value, even though the label may say “Octaves.” The label is created at the time of export and is not
    updated if the mode is changed. For best results, leave any filters in Q mode if they need to be exported
    to SymVue.
34. In control screens with background images, it is difficult to wireframe select controls on top of the image
    since the wireframe dragging may select and move the image. To work around this, first lock the image via
    the right-click menu. Then hold down the Alt key when wireframe selecting controls.
35. In DTMF Decoder modules, the DTMF Sequences cannot be stored in presets. However, they can be
    stored in settings files, allowing them to be moved from one module to another.
36. If a numeric value box is placed in a control screen without its corresponding fader, it may not update
    properly. The work-around is to include the fader as well.
37. If Dante routing or settings are changed via Audinate’s Dante Controller software, loss of functionality may
    result. Changes made from Dante Controller may be in conflict with those made through Composer. For
    best results, do not reboot the Dante hardware or change settings using Dante Controller. Use it only as a
    monitoring and troubleshooting tool.
38. A maximum of 80 Dante units are allowed in any system. This includes Symetrix and third-party devices.
    If more than 80 are present, you may not be able to locate certain units.
39. In the ARC-WEB dialer, if many speed-dials are populated with extremely long strings (thousands of
    characters total), the dialer may not function. This is unlikely to be an issue with “normal” usage.
40. When upgrading the Dante Kernel Firmware for xIO devices, the upgrade may report failure when there are
    large numbers of units on the Dante network. However, the upgrade will actually succeed as verified by the
    new version number being displayed. To avoid the erroneous message, upgrade each xIO unit with only it
    and a single locating DSP unit on the Dante network.
41. Web monitoring may not work properly if certain ad blocker browser extensions are installed.
    If you are having trouble accessing a unit’s web GUI, disable all ad blockers and/or add the unit’s
    IP address to the whitelist.

Installation Notes

If you are upgrading an existing installation that loads a configuration automatically on start-up, the following
procedure is recommended:

1. Make sure you have a copy of the original Site file (.symx file). If it exists on your local drive, skip to
   step 2. Otherwise, use your previously installed version of Composer and choose Hardware > System
   Manager. Select the hardware that contains an archived Site file and press “Go On-line (Pull from Unit).
   Follow the prompts to save the archived file to your local drive. Make a note of its location.
2. Turn off the automatic configuration load by going to ‘Upgrade Firmware’, clicking on ‘Erase Memory’,
   selecting only ‘Stored Site File’ and pressing Erase. Repeat for all connected units.
3. Upgrade the firmware as described below.
4. Re-push your entire Site file to the hardware. Open the Site file in Composer 8.4 and choose
   Hardware > Go On-line (Push Design to Hardware) (or press F4).
   Following the re-download procedure listed above guarantees that the DSP code running in your hardware is
   the correct version to work with the new firmware and Composer application code.
   Version 8.4 installs to a separate location than from previous versions on your hard drive. Version 8.4 can
   cohabitate with previous versions of Composer on your PC and will not interfere with their settings. It is
   important to note, however, that the firmware on the hardware must match the version of Composer that
   communicates with it. Version 8.4 will only communicate with hardware that is running the firmware released
   with Version 8.4, etc. If you intend to switch between versions of Composer while using the same hardware,
   you must remember to change the firmware each time. Composer checks this on download and warns you if a
   mismatch is detected.

Upgrading Firmware

IMPORTANT: In order to run Composer version 8.4, the firmware in your hardware devices must be upgraded
to the latest version. If you are receiving this software with a new device from the factory, then the firmware
versions should already be correct. However, if you are using it with an existing device, then the firmware must
be upgraded. Information about the latest release versions is always available on the Symextrix web site.
When you try to push a design to hardware, the firmware versions will be automatically checked and you will
be told if an upgrade is required. The latest firmware is always provided in the Composer installer.

Upgrading Firmware Using Auto Upgrade

1. Follow the steps under Installation Notes above.
2. Install Composer 8.4 using the provided Setup utility. This will copy the necessary firmware files to your
   hard drive.
3. Launch the version of Composer that was just installed.
4. Connect your hardware devices as they would be for normal operation. Disconnect or power down all thirdparty audio devices, especially power amps and speakers, connected to your device(s) during the upgrade.
5. If you already have a Site file created with all units to be upgraded in it, open that and skip to step 7.
   Otherwise create a new Site file containing all units to be upgraded.
6. For each one, locate them on the network using Hardware > Locate Hardware.
7. Choose Hardware > Upgrade Firmware. Press the Auto Upgrade button. This will upgrade all units
   contained in the site.

If you encounter problems with this procedure or want more control over the upgrade process, try the manual
operation procedure below.

Upgrading Firmware—Manual Operation

1. Install Composer 8.4 using the provided Setup utility. This will copy the necessary firmware files to your
   hard drive.
2. Launch the version of Composer that was just installed.
3. Connect your hardware devices as they would be for normal operation. Disconnect or power down all
   third-party audio devices, especially power amps and speakers, connected to your device(s) during
   the upgrade.
4. Choose Hardware > System Manager. Select the Hardware tab. If necessary, change the Network
   Search Parameters to discover your unit(s).
5. Click the unit to be upgraded and press the Upgrade Firmware button.
6. Click the Upgrade button under Composer Firmware File. An open file dialog will appear allowing you to
7. browse for firmware files. By default it should take you into the C:\Program Files (x86)\Symetrix\Composer
8. 8.4\Upgrade folder. Select the appropriate file and click ‘Upgrade’. Close the dialog box.
9. If you have more than one device, repeat steps 5-6

Upgrading firmware for xIn 12, xOut 12, xIn 4, xOut 4, or xIO 4×4 devices

When you try to push a design to hardware, the firmware versions will be automatically checked and you will
be told if an upgrade is required. To upgrade xIn/xOut/xIO device firmware, follow these steps.

1. Install Composer 8.4 using the provided Setup utility. This will copy the necessary firmware files to your
   hard drive.
2. Launch the version of Composer that was just installed.
3. Connect your xIn/xOut/xIO devices as they would be for normal operation. Each device must be connected
   to a Dante network that contains at least one Edge, Radius, or Prism unit. This unit will act as the locating
   unit for the device to be upgraded.
4. If you have a Site file that contains the locating unit and the xIn/xOut unit(s), open it and skip to 7.
5. Create a new Site file and add a locating DSP unit and all units to be upgraded.
6. For each device to be upgraded, right click on the unit and select Locate Hardware. Find the device in the
   table, click on it, press Select Hardware Unit then Close.
7. Right click on the xIn/xOut/xIO unit and select Unit Properties.
8. Press the Upgrade Firmware… button. Composer will automatically determine if an upgrade is required
   for the User or Kernel firmware and choose the appropriate version for that version of Composer. To select
   a custom version, click the Change Version button and select the kernel or user file to be used for the
   upgrade. This should only be done under supervision by tech support. The filename of the upgrade files
   will indicate their version. Press the Upgrade Firmware button.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 for each device to be upgraded.

Upgrading RS-485 Device Firmware
New releases may include new firmware versions for Symetrix RS-485 devices such as the Modular
ARC family and ARC-IIe. To upgrade RS-485 device firmware, follow these steps.

Method 1 – Using a Site File

1. Install Composer 8.4 using the provided Setup utility. This will copy the necessary firmware files to your
   hard drive.
2. Launch the version of Composer that was just installed.
3. Connect your RS-485 devices as they would be for normal operation. RS-485 devices must have unique
   addresses (set by rotary or DIP switches on the units—see the appropriate hardware Quick Start Guide for
   more information).
4. If you already have a Site file created with all units that have RS-485 devices attached, open that and skip
   to step 6. Otherwise create a new Site file containing all units that have RS-485 devices to be upgraded.
5. Choose Hardware Hardware > Upgrade Firmware.
6. Choose the unit that has the RS-485 devices attached and select Upgrade ARCs.
7. Select the RS-485 device and press the Upgrade Firmware button.
8. Choose the appropriate firmware file and press ‘Open’.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for each RS-485 device connected to that unit. If there are RS-485 devices
   connected to other units, repeat steps 6-9.

Method 2 – Using the System Manager

1. Install Composer 8.4 using the provided Setup utility. This will copy the necessary firmware files to your
   hard drive.
2. Launch the version of Composer that was just installed.
3. Connect your RS-485 devices as they would be for normal operation. RS-485 devices must have unique
   addresses (set by rotary or DIP switches on the units—see the appropriate hardware Quick Start Guide for
   more information).
4. Choose Hardware Hardware > System Manager. Select the Hardware tab. If necessary, change the
   Network Search Parameters to discover your unit(s).
5. Click the unit that has the RS-485 devices attached and select Properties.
6. Select the RS-485 Remote Control tab. Select the RS-485 device and press the
   Upgrade Firmware button.
7. Choose the appropriate firmware file and press ‘Open’.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each RS-485 device connected to that unit.
   If there are RS-485 devices connected to other units, repeat steps 5-7.

Issues With Site Files From Previous Versions of Composer

In version 8.4, the Site file (.symx file) format has changed from previous versions. You will be able to open
all previous version Site files in version 8.4 or later. However, files saved with version 8.4 may not be
readable by previous versions and/or some features may not work properly.
If you intend to maintain both 8.4 and previous versions on your computer, we recommend the following
guidelines to minimize difficulties with file formats:

A. Backup all previous design files.
It is recommended that you backup your version 8.0 or earlier design files to a secure location before using
or installing Version 8.4. Even if all else goes completely wrong, as long as you have those files, there is a
way to recreate your old setup. Note that once you save a file with Composer 8.4 and overwrite a file from a
previous version, it may no longer be readable in the previous version of Composer.

B. Don’t use the same file names for Version 8.4 design files.
If you are going to maintain both versions of the software on your PC, it is highly recommended that you
include something in the file name of all previous version files you save to indicate their version. This way you
will be able to tell the files apart if they become co-mingled.
Even if you are not going to maintain both versions, it is a good idea to use this practice at least until all your
design files have been converted and you have fully embraced Version 8.4.

C. Choose the default locations when installing software.
When you install any version of Composer software, allow the installation to go to the default folder. This
ensures that multiple versions will not interfere with each other.

D. Do not use version 8.4 software with previous versions of firmware or previous versions of software with version 8.4 firmware.
The versions of software and firmware must match! The only operation you should do that accesses
hardware with mismatched software and firmware is to upgrade to the correct firmware. Upgrading is
generally possible regardless of the firmware mismatch. If this is not the case, the release notes will make a
point of mentioning this

Changing Between Dante Switched and Redundant Mode

If Dante units are cabled for redundant mode while the units are still set to switched mode, problems such as
failure to change modes and loss of audio may occur. Use the procedure below any time a device is switched
from redundant to switched mode or vice versa. Two different procedures are required depending on if you are
using a switched or daisy-chained Dante network.

Procedure 1 – Switched Network or Direct Connection Between Only Two Units

1. Cable the Dante network as if it were in switched mode, not redundant mode. In other words, make
   connections only to the primary jack. Alternately, if your do not have redundant-capable units that must be
   located through a DSP, you may simply disconnect the Dante network entirely. If more than two devices are
   used without an external switch, you will need to use Procedure 2 below.
2. In Composer, go to Tools > Dante Flow Manager > Configure Dante. Select “Redundant Network” or
   “Switched Port” as appropriate.
3. Push online with the units. This will take slightly longer than usual as the Dante units change their mode.
4. Power down the units.
5. Cable the Dante network as appropriate for the new mode. If switching to redundant mode, you may now
   connect the primary and secondary between two units or to separate switches.
6. Power on the units.
7. Again push online.

Procedure 2 – Daisy-chained Connections

1. Connect the first two units’ primary jacks only, primary to primary.
2. In Composer, go to Tools > Dante Flow Manager > Configure Dante. Note that in a daisy-chained
   connection, only switched mode is supported. Select “Switched Port.”
3. In your Site file, disable everything except the first two units.
4. Push on-line with the units. This will take slightly longer than usual as the Dante units change their mode.
5. Disconnect the second unit and connect the third unit’s primary to the first unit’s primary.
6. In your Site file, enable only the two connected unit.
7. Push online. Repeat steps 5-7 for all units.
8. Power down the units.
9. Connect all units.
10. Power on the units.
11. Enable all units in your Site file. Again push online.

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