Back again for another exciting edition of “The Consultant Courier”, giving you the low-down on the latest and greatest for the consultant world! This blog will describe the various licensed features available for Q-SYS Core Processors, and how to specify the right license(s) based on your system requirements.
Why Do QSC Have Licensed Features? Let’s address the elephant in the room! Sometimes consultants ask me why these software features are not simply included in the price of the product. For QSC, it’s more productive to view the software as the product! Q-SYS is a software-based ecosystem, and therefore software has been, in effect, decoupled from the hardware. This allows major innovation without new expensive hardware or costly service calls.
Furthermore, software licenses are actually helping keep costs down. The Q-SYS Ecosystem enlists software licenses because it allows specifiers and integrators to identify and enable the software features needed for a given project rather force every installation to bear that burden. This “have it your way” approach means that QSC can continue to develop new industry-leading features while allowing projects to be right-sized with the proper selection of licensed software features.
Q-SYS License Options
“Software-based Dante for the Q-SYS Ecosystem” licenses
Type: Perpetual (one-time purchase), Node-based (assigned to the Core)
These licenses are compatible with all other Dante I/O products, including Dante Domain Manager. Introduced on March 30 2020, this license can be applied to a Q-SYS Core 110f processor. In fact, all Core 110f processors shipped after that date include an 8 x 8 software Dante license (SL-DAN-8-P), and can be expanded to either 16 x 16 or 32 x 32. If you purchased a Core 110f before March 30, 2020, it can be upgraded with any available Software-based Dante license.
License SKUs for Core 110f – 8 x 8: SL-QUD-110-P | 16 x 16: – SL-DAN-16-P | 32 x 32: SL-DAN32-P
*(Licenses for Core Nano, Core 8 Flex, Core 510 and Core 5200 coming soon)
Learn more about Software-based Dante license.
“User Control Interface (UCI) Deployment” licenses
Type: Perpetual (one-time purchase), Node-based (assigned to the Core)
These licenses allows you to deploy custom user control interfaces onto Q-SYS TSC touch screen controllers, iOS devices, HTML5 browser or standalone PC app. In the design phase, you don’t need a license to emulate and test your UCI designs; you will only need the license when it comes time to deploy it. Furthermore, you only need one license for each Core, not per control device.
License SKU: Core 110f: SL-QUD-110-P | Core 510: SL-QUD-510P | Core 5200: included (no license required)
*(Licenses for Core Nano and Core 8 Flex coming soon)
Learn more about UCI Deployment license.
Q-SYS Scripting Engine Licenses
Type: Perpetual (one-time purchase), Node-based (assigned to the Core)
This license allows you to use Q-SYS plugins for 3rd party devices or deploy custom Lua scripts (typically for system control). Similar to the UCI deployment license, you can use emulation mode to configure plugins and write and test Lua scripts within Q-SYS Designer Software, but the license is required to deploy a design containing plugins and scripts to a Core. Your single Scripting Engine license supports as many Q-SYS plugins and Lua scripts as you like.
License SKU: Core 110f: SL-QSE-110-P | Core 510: SL-QSE-510-P | Core 5200: included (no license required)
*(Licenses for Core Nano and Core 8 Flex coming soon)
Learn more about Q-SYS Scripting Engine license.
Q-SYS Multi-Track Playback (MTP) Licenses
Type: Perpetual (one-time purchase), Node-based (assigned to the Core)
All Core processors have a default ability to support 16 tracks of audio playback, in WAV, MP3 and FLAC files format. If you need greater than 16 audio tracks, there are three licensed options. Keep in mind that these licenses require an additional Q-SYS Media Drive to support this function (with the exception of Core 5200 which does not require an additional Media Drive).
License SKU:
- MTP Licenses: All Core: MTP-32 (32 channels); Core 510i / 5200: MTP-64 (64 channels), MTP-128 (128 channels)
- Q-SYS Media Drives: Core 110f – MD-110; Core 510i – M2-MD-S, M2-MD-M, M2-MD-L (contact your dealer for pricing)