What scenarios are created automatically?
Scenarios, or activities, are the buttons that appear on the main menu of every controller, such as Web pads, PDAs, mobile phones, and Media Director PCs. Scenarios are specific to rooms. A scenario can affect any device anywhere in the house, but certain scenarios will only be displayed in certain rooms. This is so that when you are in a particular room, you will only see the scenarios that you are likely to use from that room. With mobile phones, your current room is detected automatically. The menu on the mobile phone will show the scenarios for the room that you are currently in. Other controllers are not able to detect the location automatically, so there will be a room button you use to tell the controller what room you are in. It is possible to select any room in the house (no matter where you are), however, so you can choose the scenarios for any room at any time.
LinuxMCE automatically creates several scenarios to get you started. Naturally, every home is different and you will likely want to change the scenarios. However, most users find it easier to modify existing scenarios than to start from scratch. (Once you make a modification to one of the default scenarios, then LinuxMCE no longer modifies that scenario.) LinuxMCE creates the following initial default scenarios:
Lighting:
- ON/OFF - in any room with lights, there will be on and off scenarios that turns those lights on or off.
- Showtime - in any room with a television, there will be a Showtime scenario which sets all ceiling lights at 10%, sets accent and picture lights at 30%, and turns off all other lights in the room. It can also close any blinds or drapes.
- Sleep - in all bedrooms this will turn off lights, close blinds and drapes, stop any media that is playing, and change the user's mode to "sleeping." Phone calls routing can be set as part of this scenario.
- Wakeup - in all bedrooms this will open the blinds, and turn on the lights to 30%, and change the user's mode to "at home".
- House to sleep mode - this scenario is created in the master bedroom only. It executes the normal sleep scenario for that room. It also turns off interior lights in public rooms (i.e. non-bedrooms), and stops any media in public rooms. It changes the house mode to "sleeping," which affects which security sensors are armed.
- Leave home/Return Home - in all rooms defined as foyers or entrances, 'Leave home' will turn off all interior lights, stop all media in all rooms, and set the house mode to 'armed away'. Return home sets the house mode to 'disarmed'. This affects the security sensors. If you choose this scenario from any controller other than your own personal mobile phone, you will be asked to enter your pin number.
Media:
- Videos/Audio/Pictures/Documents/Playlists - these scenarios are automatically created in any room with a media director to play media. Rooms with a network audio player only will see the music and play list scenarios.
- TV - this scenario is in any room with a Media Director that has PVR capabilities.
- Manage Drives - this scenario is in any room with a Media Director that has a disk drive for playing CDs or DVDs. Use this button to eject the disk, or to restart playing the disk that is currently in the drive.
- Other media sources - a scenario will automatically be created for all media sources within the room. Some devices have multiple media sources built-in. For example if you have a VCR/DVD/TV combo unit, then three separate scenarios will be created automatically to use and control each of these three sources. Some devices do not have any media source (such as amplifiers and projectors). In this case no scenarios will be created for these devices. These devices will automatically be controlled whenever you start the media source that is connected to them.
Climate and Irrigation:
- ON/OFF - in any room with a thermostat, this will turn the thermostat on, off, or set it to automatic.
- Pool/Jacuzzi/Sprinklers - a scenario will automatically be created in the master bedroom and all public living rooms to control these types of devices.
Telecom:
- Active Call - this scenario shows all currently active calls.
- Speed dial - this allows quick dialing.
- Dial Direct - use like a regular telephone by pushing the buttons on screen.
- Phone Book - this scenario, which is automatically created in every room of the house, is used to keep track of numbers and allows on-screen caller id information.
- Voicemail/user status indicators - this scenario shows your current user status. This affects your calls routing, and shows your pending voicemail. By default, there is an indicator for every user in every room. You can remove a user's indicator from any rooms in which that particular user is not likely to be.
- Intercom - this scenario allow messages to be broadcast to various rooms and phones.
Security:
- Security - this button is created by default in every room. It is used to change the house mode, which determines which security sensors are armed and which events will be triggered by them.
- Single Camera Views - if you have four or fewer surveillance cameras in the house, a shortcut button for each camera will be created. This scenario is present in every room.
- Quad Camera Views - if you have more than four surveillance cameras, scenarios will be created to view four cameras at a time. By default the system will try to group the cameras together by rooms.
