QSC modifies Core 110f processor to maintain availability

QSC has made functional changes to the Q-SYS Core 110f processor after one of its suppliers announced a key component would no longer be supplied.

The changes are designed to help integrators keep projects on track without pauses for redesigns.

Effective with the upcoming Core 110f v2, QSC is removing 16 x 16 GPIO ports from the back panel. On the front panel, it is also replacing the OLED display and 2 x USB Type ports, with a simplified, functionally similar solution.

In a company blog post, Trent Wagner, senior product manager for the Q-SYS platform at QSC, said: “By now we have all experienced the effects of supply chain challenges on a personal level. All AV manufacturers have had to make careful decisions to best serve the needs of our customers. Over the past few years, our Q-SYS supply chain and engineering teams have worked to mitigate component shortages, find alternate suppliers, and completely redesign products, all the while maintaining transparency with you and your customers.”

Despite the constraints of the pandemic, QSC has launched more than 20 Q-SYS products during this period, including new processors, I/O devices, PoE loudspeakers, touchscreens and collaboration cameras. And, when it became clear customers were in dire need of more processors, the company quickly increased production on the Core Nano processors by four times to keep projects going.

QSC does not expect system designs to be heavily affected by the modification to the Core 110f, as its research has shown that integrators prefer to use the four REAR Type A ports for HID routing and external USB audio device I/O. In addition, the USB Type B port featuring the Q-SYS USB AV Bridging suite is unaffected by any changes.

All information that was previously displayed on the front panel OLED display will still be readily available in Q-SYS Core Manager and Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager, while the new simplified front panel maintains the critical functions of power indication and ability to remotely identify the Core.

Where changes to the Core 100f will affect system designs, Q-SYS has provided documentation to help integrators pair the more widely available Core Nano with a range of native Q-SYS I/O and third-party device options to achieve the same goal as the Core 110f / Core 8 Flex.

“Because the Q-SYS Platform has been thoughtfully engineered with such extreme versatility, you can still achieve a similar Core 110f functional outcome natively from within the platform, or with certified ecosystem partner products,” said Wagner.

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