Multiple B&W Ctouch on Network Question

Don't store EXACTLY the same scenes in both.

It is probably better to store the scenes in one and trigger from the other.

You can get really smart and have a single scene split so part of it is stored in one, and part in the other (just make sure they share the same trigger criteria). However this is likely to make maintenance of the site a bit of a pig, so its probably not a good idea.

 

OK - technical talk time.

Firstly - go read the tutorial about scenes.

Then, come back here...

When you create a scene, it has a trigger that is used to remotely activate it.

You can get very sophisticated and create a hybrid scene. This is where the SAME trigger is used in two different physical units to activate a scene. The net effect is that you send one trigger, and both units will respond and play out their stuff.

If there is no overlap in the stuff stored in the two units, then the result is just what you get from adding the two portions together.

Now, if you have overlap the result is still just adding them together, BUT you use more network bandwidth because you are doubling up.

The most extreme case is where you have two units programmed exactly the same, so when you trigger the scene, both units respond, and both play exactly the same stuff into the network.

Result: you get the desired effect, but slower (the finite network bandwidth is being used to send the same information 2 times - so the result will take 2 times as long to play out from start to finish.).

This is fine for small scenes, but if you have more than about 5-10 groups in a scene the additional latency will be noticeable.

Probably the bigger reason it is not such a good idea is that it makes it more difficult to maintain and understand the site over time.

For example, suppose I come back later and want to change the scene - changing levels or adding / removing groups. If I don't know to update both touchscreens (or whatever units the scenes are stored in), then I'll end up with WEIRD things happening. Sometimes it will work out right, sometimes not. The result may look random (in fact, its all quite predictable, it just LOOKS random.)

So - by all means do it if you document the living daylights out of the installation. But if its to be maintained by mere mortals, best to steer clear of this.