JBL VP Series, User Manual

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JBL Professional

QUICK-START -- CONNECTING PC TO A JBL HiQNet DEVICE FOR THE FIRST TIME:

If this your first experience connecting a control computer running System Architect to a HiQnet-compliant 
JBL product, then this initial test configuration will be useful. It will greatly help to resolve simple networking 
issues before you connect to multiple devices or connect to a larger network:

Step 1)   Connect one networked loudspeaker to an unmanaged 100BaseT network switch with a standard 
CAT5 cable. Don’t apply AC power to the loudspeaker just yet.

Step 2)   Connect the control computer to the Ethernet switch with a standard CAT5 cable. 

Setting up a Simple Isolated Ethernet Network Using DHCP 

In this configuration DHCP will automatically assign an IP address to the device on the network and your 
computer.  

Step 1)   Open Network Connections on your computer and confirm that DHCP is Enabled.  To do this 
click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections. When 
your Network Connections Window opens, double click on the Local Area Network icon.  A Local Area 
Connections Status window will open. Click on the Properties button and the Local Area Connection 
Properties window open.  Next scroll through the items window, select the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) item 
and click on the Properties button.  The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window will open.  Select the 
“Obtain an IP address automatically” option.  Click OK through all your open network windows to close 
them.  

Step 2)   Apply power to your JBL DrivePack and wait for it to boot up.  With DHCP enabled, the DrivePack 
and your computer should both automatically negotiate an IP Address.  

Step 3)   Launch System Architect.  The DrivePack system should appear in the Venue View within a few 
minutes.  

Step 4)   If nothing comes up, you should first check that your System Architect™ application has the 
‘Network Active when the application starts’ and ‘Auto Populate venue view with detected devices’ boxes 
checked; these are found in the Tools menu under Options/General Network Information.  

Step 5)   If Auto Populate is checked and the network is active (look at the network status icon located at 
the bottom left corner of the Venue View window) and the devices are still not showing in the Venue View, 
select the Network Wizard in the Tools menu and change the IP address of the devices so they can be on 
the same network as your computer.  

Set up with a Static IP address

Step 1)   Go back through Step 1 above, except select “Use the following IP Address:’ option. 

Step 2)   Change the TCP/IP address of the control computer to 169.254.1.y and change the subnet mask 
set to 255.255.0.0. 

Note: The placeholder “y” in the last segment of the IP address represents a number anywhere in the range 
of 1 to 254.  The only requirement in your number selection is that no two devices on the same network can 
share the same IP address.  Depending upon PC operating system configuration a reboot may be needed 
now.

Step 3)   Avoid connecting the switch to any other Ethernet equipment other than the PC and the 

loudspeaker just yet. You’re creating a network with only two devices -- the PC and the loudspeaker. This is 

useful for a first test as it avoids any additional networking configuration issues.