[kanegk]

Hi,

I am currently building a house and have gone for the Opus 500 system (4 Zones and two sub zones). Installation is at the first stage of completion (cabling installed) and most likely wont be fully completed until the end of the year.

AV installer is doing all the work

Has anyone got the Opus 500 system installed?

Share your experiences(do's\donts) etc

Does it integrate well with media center\sky etc?

Is it expensive to run (i guess it needs to stay on all the time)?

Any issues\crashes etc

thanks

[vex]

The base 500 system has been around for a while and become a sollid little system.

Are you using it with the text based 500 keypads or the newer 600 touchscreens? The touchscreens are a great interface and really allow good access to media centres and sky based control.

HTH

V.

[kanegk]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick response.

Yes i have 4 touch screens units as my main zones.

In terms of power usage, does the system go into a power save mode when not getting used for a period of time (at work\on holidays).

I guess until the Opus HD units are released there is not point in getting SkyHD as you wont get the quality through the opus system at present.

thanks

[hornydragon]

Opus 500 can be used with some 3rd party HD matrix solutions, your installer should be able to provide you with all the details about energy usage etc.

[kanegk]

thanks for that

As anyone had the opus 500 system installed for more than 12 months?

Experienced any problems with the kit?

thanks

[AVmadness]

Hi kanegk,

As an installer of the 500 series I can say that I rarely see anything come back in faulty, there were at first a batch of wcu600 keypads we had that were giving us error codes when programming but a quick firmware update sharp sorted it.

If you are planning to go with a third party HD matrix be sure to involve an installer as there are only certain ones that will work alongside Opus serial control unit, Opus have delayed there own hdmi matrix yet again lol the VMX500 i think its called. That's now due around the June/July area.

Like everyone else is saying though mate you really must get an installer invovled to look over your wiring, hear your needs and then recommend the equipment as there allot of pitfalls to avoid in this department.

[kanegk]

Hi,

Thanks for that info.

It seems the VMX500 HD switcher is available but no price has been given yet.

Platinum Home: Opus VMX500 HD Video Switcher

Yes i will be getting an opus certified installer to check the first fix and then to finish off the work.

Opus's own website doesn't seem to provide much info compared to other third party websites.

[AVmadness]

The VMX500 defo isn't out yet, I was on the phone to the Rep last week as I have customers waiting for them and its gonna be June/July area and even then they didn't sound convinced. I'm now looking at a third party solution that can switch the HD video the client needs whilst offering a composite video out to feed his keypads all out of one box....one of the Neo Pro ones is looking like the winner so far.

[Member 254261]

Hi there,

they're an excellent product with pretty damned good manufacturer backup should that ever be required.

just make sure everything is neat, tidy and installed well (nice rack install at head-end, cables labeled, plugs sorted, power supplies sorted etc) and your system will last you as long as you want it to! (read: think about upgrading!)

enjoy
dave

[Tfish]

Can someone tell me in a sentance what this system is/does? Ta

[vex]

Initially it was a audio only system, but with the development of the new 600 series keypads you can control lighting, heating, video switchers etc.

Is that short enough.

V.