How to Control Absolutely Everything with One Button

The Microflex Ecosystem for AV Conferencing covers the complete audio signal chain from microphone to DSP to loudspeaker, providing networked audio solutions for environments of all types, from small meeting rooms to large conference spaces.  When microphones are mounted on the wall or ceiling, they’re out of reach; how do you mute the audio?

You can use a room control system, but there’s a simpler solution called the MXA Network Mute Button.  It’s a touch-sensitive button that allows you to control the audio without any complicated programming.  The MXA Network Mute Button works with all of the Shure Microflex Ecosystem products:

• MXA910 ceiling array microphone
• MXA710 linear array microphone
• MXA310 table array microphone
• IntelliMix P300 audio conferencing processor
• IntelliMix Room software DSP
• ANIUSB-MATRIX audio network interface
• MXN5W-C networked loudspeaker

Two versions are available.  The MXA-NMB model has an aluminum finish with a microphone mute icon on top; the MXA-NMB/BLANK has a plain aluminum finish with no icon.

How the MXA Network Mute Button Connects

You simply connect an Ethernet cable to the RJ45 connector on the base of the mute switch, and then to the network switch that your other Shure devices are connected to.  Then you just drag and drop these devices into our Designer software platform and connect the logic ports between the devices.  The MXA mute button automatically recognizes the devices that it’s controlling.  In a small room with one MXA910 ceiling array mic, the MXA mute button might be muting the output of the mic itself.  In a larger room with multiple MXA710 linear array mics and an IntelliMix P300 audio conferencing processor, the switch might actually be muting the audio output of the processor.  When you link mute buttons to a DSP or audio network interface, any supported devices connected to the DSP or audio network interface will match the button's mute status.

Installing the MXA Network Mute Button

The MXA mute button fits into a round hole in a table that is either 7/8 inch (22 mm) or 1 inch (25.4 mm) in diameter.  So if you have existing button mics on a table and you want to upgrade your system with our array microphones, the mute switch can fit into an existing hole.  The only part that’s visible to the user is a capacitive touch-top device that sits just above the table surface.  That connects to the base, which compresses it to the table, and one network cable connects it into the Microflex ecosystem and provides PoE power. 

Yes, You Can Use Multiple Buttons

The beauty of the Network Mute Button is that it is scalable. You can have multiple buttons around a table that control a single mic in the ceiling. Or you can have one mute button that controls multiple mics, or an individual mute button for each mic. You can configure the control in whatever way suits the user’s needs. 

And like the other Microflex Ecosystem microphones, you can also control how the LED on the mute button appears depending on the button condition.  You can choose blue for mic on and red for mute if that’s what the client wants.  When a user presses one mute button, the LED on the other mute button will also change its status.  And of course the button can be momentary (push-to-mute or push-to-talk) or toggled (push on, push off).

Bonus:  The Button Can Talk to Non-Shure Devices

If the AV system includes a room control system or third-party video codec, the MXA mute button can send command strings to it that can be used to control audio (mute, level adjustment, etc.) or other system functions like changing presets.  The mute button’s LED can also be externally controlled by command strings, so the room control system can change its color, brightness, solid/flashing behavior, etc.  The MXA Mute Button Command Strings document has details on implementing these functions.

As videoconferencing becomes an essential feature in meeting rooms and classrooms, the ability to make AV systems easier to use and simpler to install is important.  The MXA Network Mute Button helps IT managers and system integrators add basic mute functionality to meeting rooms without a lot of costly hardware and programming time.

DOWNLOADS

Download the MXA Network Mute Button spec sheet

Download the MXA Network Mute Button Command Strings document

Download the MXA Network Mute Button BIM Files