MSC-400 Reference Manual
Rev 4
41
Programming IF/ELSE Statements
IF Else statement enables you to program a decision into a Macro, making it truly a Smart Macro. What’s
the difference between a normal “stupid” macro and a Smart one? Let’s take a look at how to program a
Smart Macro in MSC-400 Editor:
1. Click on the red Record button, then record a standard macro with the macro steps you need from the
Connected Devices. Afterwards, the macro list for Watch Cable TV (power on the TV, Audio system
and the Cable box, then select the correct TV and Audio inputs) might look something like this:
Now, what’s wrong with this macro? Well, it’s not very smart. Here are the problems:
a. It doesn’t know whether the Cable Box is on or off and simply toggles it on or off with a
power command. Sometimes the Cable Box will be on, sometimes it will be out of sync
and the client will be extremely irritated.
b. The macro takes a long time because of the 5 second delay before the AUDIO receiver
will accept an Input command. When the system is already on, if the client switches from
watching a DVD to Watching Cable TV, the macro takes more than 5 seconds. Once
again, the client is irritated!
OK, let’s fix it. We’ll make this a smart macro by hooking up some sensors to the Cable box and the
Audio receiver. Cable boxes typically have a switched outlet on the rear. Some of them may need you
to activate it via the Cable box setup menu. Place an AC wall adapter (any voltage 3-25v) in the
switched outlet and connect it to a URC voltage sensor. Utilize a voltage sensor for the Audio receiver
the same way (though many AV receivers have a 12v trigger built in). Remember you can also use a
URC Video Sensor or any of the current, light or RFI sensors from other manufacturers via a URC
voltage sensor. Once you’ve connected the sensor and noted which input it is connected to, move to
the next step.
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