Which Product for Which Job — Quick Reference

Modified on Tue, 9 Jun at 9:39 PM

A fast reference guide for selecting the right Pulse-Eight product for common installation scenarios. Use this when a customer describes a job and you need to point quickly to the right product family and model.

By Job Type

Residential — Small (1–4 zones, single room to small home)

Requirement	Product	Notes
Video to up to 4 rooms, no audio distribution	neo:4	Simplest install, 1U, 4 HDMI in / 4 HDBaseT out
Video to up to 4 rooms + audio per source	neo:6a (use 4 of 6 outputs)	Includes audio extraction outputs for ProAudio
Point-to-point HDMI extension, single room	neo:Ultra Extender Set	TX + RX pair, up to 100m, no matrix required
AV-over-IP to 1–4 rooms, existing network	OneIP TX + RX	Useful where a matrix would be overkill

Residential — Medium (5–8 zones, standard large home)

Requirement	Product	Notes
Video to up to 6 zones + audio extraction	neo:6a	6 HDMI in, 6 HDBaseT out, optical/coax audio per source
Video to up to 8 zones + audio extraction	neo:8a	8 HDMI in, 8 HDBaseT out, optical/coax audio per source
Video + audio, 4K@60Hz 4:4:4, ARC required, up to 4 zones	neo:XSR	6 HDMI in, 4 HDBaseT out, DSC, ARC
Video + built-in audio matrix, up to 8 zones	neo:X+	8 HDMI in, 8 HDBaseT out, 10 audio zones, ARC
Audio distribution to 8 zones	ProAudio 8 + neo:8a	Neo handles video extraction; ProAudio routes audio per zone

Residential — Large (9+ zones, estate, multi-building)

Requirement	Product	Notes
9+ zones, video + audio	OneIP + ProAudio	OneIP is purpose-built for this scale — stacking Neo Matrix units wastes ports and costs more
Multi-building, fibre required	OneIP Pro Transceiver + SFP	Fibre between buildings; Cat within each building
Audio to 16–32 zones	ProAudio 1632 or ProAudio 32	Match input count to Neo Matrix audio output count
Audio to 33–64 zones	ProAudio 3248 or ProAudio 3264	Note: Crestron driver not available for these models

Commercial / Hospitality

Requirement	Product	Notes
Hotel rooms, up to 8 rooms per riser	neo:8a per riser	One matrix per floor or zone cluster is a common pattern
Bar / restaurant, multiple screens	OneIP TX + multiple RX	Flexible screen count; add receivers as screens are added
Conference room / boardroom	neo:XSR or neo:X+	ARC for room audio; DSC for true 4K@60Hz quality
Server room / NOC monitoring station	OneIP Multiviewer	Quad-view up to 4 sources on one screen
Background music throughout a venue	ProAudio 3248 or 3264	32 input channels supports multiple streaming sources + mixer

By Key Feature Required

If the customer needs…	Specify…
4K@60Hz 4:4:4 (true HDR, no compression artefacts)	neo:XSR, neo:X+, or OneIP (any device)
ARC — audio back from smart TV apps	neo:XSR or neo:X+ only
Built-in multi-room audio matrix	neo:X+ only
Ethernet in every room over the same cable	neo:X+ (with neo:Ultra receivers) or OneIP Transceiver
More than 8 video zones	OneIP
Fibre between buildings	OneIP Pro Transceiver with SFP module
Monitoring station — multiple sources on one screen	OneIP Multiviewer
Per-zone audio volume and source control	ProAudio (any model) + Neo Matrix with audio extraction
Passive speaker amplification, multi-zone	ProAmp8 (pairs with ProAudio)
Remote monitoring and firmware updates	All Neo Matrix, OneIP, ProAmp8 (via Cloud Monitoring)
Runs approaching or exceeding 100m	neo:X+ with neo:Ultra receivers, or OneIP

Control System Quick Reference

Control System	Neo Matrix	OneIP	ProAudio 8–1632	ProAudio 3248/64	ProAmp8
Control4	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Crestron	✓	✗	✓*	✗	✗
Crestron Home	✓	✓	3rd party	✗	✗
Elan	✓	✓	✓*	✓/✗	✓
Savant	✓	✓	✓*	✓/✗	✗
RTI	✓	✗	✓*	✓/✗	✓
URC	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

* Extended I/O Mode must be enabled on ProAudio. Full driver details at monitoring.pulse-eight.com.

If You're Not Sure

The pre-sales and support team can help you specify the right system for any job. Have the zone count, source list, control system, and any specific requirements (ARC, audio distribution, fibre) ready and we can turn around a recommendation quickly.

Pre-sales and specification support:
UK: 01202 413 610 | US: (858) 748-8250 | sales@pulse-eight.com