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Duet Modules???

I'm wondering if and why anyone would opt to use a Duet module over a Netlinx module?

Those that I've tried seem very clunky.

It seems to me that nothing beats your own Netlinx module.

Comments

  • ericmedleyericmedley Posts: 4,177
    I tend to use which ever one seems to work best. I'll try the Duet version. If it gives me any problems or gobbles up too much RAM, I'll bail and go with the Netlinx version. Sometimes, the older Netlinx version has some bugs that are fixed in the newer Duet version.

    I don't have any kind of accurate numbers... but I'd say I tend to use the NetLinx versions most over the Duet. There are some exceptions, however.
  • AvargasAvargas Posts: 57
    I always prefer the netlinx modules that we make in our company.

    In my opinion, the problems with the AMX duet modules are:

    1 - They are close and we can't see how it works inside and we are unable to make changes (I found modules in AMX where I can't choose the language and i can only translate some parts of the panel (that's unaceptable in my opinion, AMX is sold in many european countrys).

    2 - Sometimes they put the modules in amx.com to download and they don't test all the funcionality (I really don't understand this, if the module isn't 100% functional don't put the module in the website, I feel distrust everytime that I need to use an AMX duet module).

    For this reasons (and lot more) I'm going to choose always a master with a non-duet firmware and netlinx modules if It's possible.

    P.S. Sorry for my english.
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Avargas wrote: »
    For this reasons (and lot more) I'm going to choose always a master with a non-duet firmware and netlinx modules if It's possible.
    While I agree with everyone here and agree that sometimes AMX's modules aren't up to par, I'm curious on your decision to run non-duet firmware? Do you revert the firmware on the masters you get? I think I'm wondering: why change the firmware to standard? You do know that with Duet firmware you don't *have* to use Duet code / modules, right?

    Avargas wrote: »
    P.S. Sorry for my english.
    Your English is just fine and I'm sure we could all understand it just fine. As always, there's never a need to apologize for your language skills. :D
  • AvargasAvargas Posts: 57
    jjames wrote: »
    I'm curious on your decision to run non-duet firmware? Do you revert the firmware on the masters you get? I think I'm wondering: why change the firmware to standard? You do know that with Duet firmware you don't *have* to use Duet code / modules, right?

    Yes, I know. My decision to downgrade the master firmware when I'm not using duet modules is just to decrease the wait time between reboot and reboot. Every firmware that AMX release is slower than the previous one. :P
    jjames wrote: »
    Your English is just fine and I'm sure we could all understand it just fine. As always, there's never a need to apologize for your language skills. :D

    Thanks. :)
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    Seems to me I just responded very similarly to this in another thread ...

    I am slowly but surely reverting to NetLinx modules whenever I can, and whenever it's feasible; even if it means writing my own. The bloat added by Duet and the need to conform to the Duet API for applications like VA makes them my second choice.

    I don't bother reverting the firmware though; I don't find the added reboot time to be all that troublesome. Gives me a chance to check these forums :) .
  • My preference is to use the modules that I have written myself. These are generally "NetLinx Lite" modules that only handle the functions that I need for a particular project. For example, projector modules only turn it on and off, change inputs, change aspect,video mute, and report lamp hours used. I don't include setup functions like lens shift, color adjustments, and keystone adjustments because these are generally one-time operations and can be done just as easily with the remote.

    For some cases though, I do need to use most of the fuctionality of a module. The one that comes to mind is the control of a video conference unit. In that case, I use the AMX module.

    I'm not impressed with the slowness or the bloat of the duet modules, but I do like the way they use the channels and levels to communicate back to the main program and reduce the amount of SEND_COMMAND instructions that need to be used. I had done some of this prior to ever seeing a duet module, but now try to build as much of that into my modules as I can using their standard for channel assignments.

    So, overall I prefer NetLinx modules for their size and speed, but like some of the interface features that come with the duet modules. I like the duet modules for the Polycom and Tandberg VTC systems, and have had fairly good results with the duet Endeleo module.

    Whenever both versions exist, I'll try each and pick the one that works best overall. Or in some cases will decide they are junk and write my own.
  • ericmedleyericmedley Posts: 4,177
    DHawthorne wrote: »
    Seems to me I just responded very similarly to this in another thread ...

    I am slowly but surely reverting to NetLinx modules whenever I can, and whenever it's feasible; even if it means writing my own. The bloat added by Duet and the need to conform to the Duet API for applications like VA makes them my second choice.

    I don't bother reverting the firmware though; I don't find the added reboot time to be all that troublesome. Gives me a chance to check these forums :) .

    I feel that, although I tend to not use the Duet modules written by AMX, I do think the Duet Firmware for the masters is a little more stable. I suppose if the fine foks in Dallas were working more in Duet, they'd naturally tend to pay more attention to detail when it comes to the inner workings.

    Since updating older NIs with newer Duet firmware, I've noticed less hiccups with NIC cards and general sturdiness from the masters.

    But for my money, I've done like you and have moved back to total NetLinx in my programming. There's just so much less overhead involved.
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