Outputs, Players, and Zones

Haptique Music works best when each output is assigned to the Space where people expect to control it.

Understand outputs and players

An output is the destination where music plays. It may be a speaker pair, receiver zone, streamer, TV audio path, amplifier, or another supported media endpoint.

A player is the active playback control for an output. When music starts in the Kitchen, the Kitchen Music output has a player. When music also starts on the Patio, the Patio Speakers output has its own player.

In daily use, consumers usually think in this order:

1. Choose the room or Space.
2. Choose where music should play.
3. Choose what to play.
4. Control the player.

Start music in one room

1. Open the Space that contains the music output.
2. Select the music control or media zone.
3. Choose the output if the Space has more than one.
4. Choose a source, favorite, playlist, station, album, or queue item.
5. Choose whether to play now, play next, append to the queue, or replace the current queue when those options are available.
6. Adjust volume to a comfortable level.

Browse and play content

Haptique Music can show different shelves depending on what is enabled in the project:

• Local library albums, artists, tracks, playlists, and artwork.
• Uploaded songs.
• Internet radio stations.
• Connected streaming services.
• Favorites, bookmarks, saved filters, and smart views.

If the consumer cannot find music, first check that the source is connected, scanned, or saved. Then check that the user has permission to use that source.

Use more than one player

When music is playing in multiple rooms, Haptique Music should show each active player separately. This lets a consumer pause the Patio without stopping the Kitchen, or lower the Living Room volume without changing the Bedroom.

Use the player for the specific output you want to control:

• Play and pause.
• Skip and previous where supported.
• Volume and mute.
• Source or favorite selection.
• Queue and play-next actions where supported.
• Current playback state.

If two players are visible, check the player name before changing volume or stopping playback.

Queues

Queues are attached to the player or output that is playing. The available queue actions depend on the source and output.

Common queue actions:

• Play now or replace what is currently playing.
• Play next.
• Add to the end of the queue.
• Remove a track.
• Reorder tracks.
• Clear the queue.
• Select an item already in the queue.
• Toggle shuffle or repeat when supported.

Long queues may be shown in pages or with a summary so the player stays fast.

When moving playback to another output, Haptique Music can keep or copy the queue only when the source and target support it. If queue transfer is not available, start the same favorite, album, station, or playlist again on the new output.

Multi-room playback

Some systems support grouped playback across more than one output. If grouping is available, use it when the same music should play in several Spaces at the same time.

Common multi-room actions:

• Start the same favorite in several Spaces.
• Add another output to the current playback group.
• Remove one output from a group.
• Change group volume.
• Change one output’s volume inside the group, if supported.
• Stop the whole group.

If grouping is not supported by the connected system, start separate players in each Space instead.

There are two common group types:

• Same-system sync groups, where the connected audio system can keep rooms in time.
• Best-effort groups, where HOS sends commands to multiple outputs but exact sync is not guaranteed.

Use same-system sync groups for rooms where timing matters. Use best-effort groups for casual whole-home control, mixed systems, or places where slight timing differences are acceptable.

Live rooms and saved groups

The Outputs area can show standalone rooms and saved groups as live playback rows.

• A standalone room controls one output or media zone.
• A saved group controls multiple outputs together.
• A group can show its member rooms.
• A group can also have a coordinator, which owns transport and queue behavior for that group.

Use the group row when the whole group should pause, resume, skip, or change queue. Use the member room control when only one room’s volume should change.

For Sonos groups, HOS can use native join, leave, and coordinator-led playback behavior where supported. For mixed-provider groups, treat grouping as best-effort unless HOS labels it as synchronized.

Volume behavior

Volume can work differently depending on the connected audio system.

For one output, the volume control should change that output only.

For grouped playback, there may be two levels:

• Group volume changes the overall group.
• Output volume changes one room or speaker inside the group.

If a receiver, amplifier, or speaker does not expose volume control to Haptique OS, the music player may show playback controls while volume is handled by another device.

Move music to another output

To move music from one room to another:

1. Open the current player.
2. Stop or pause the current output.
3. Open the target Space.
4. Choose the target output.
5. Start the same source, favorite, or queue item.

If the connected system supports transfer or grouping, you may be able to add the target output first and then remove the original output.

When a Transfer action is available, use it instead of manually stopping and restarting. Transfer works best when Haptique Music owns the queue and the destination supports the same source.

Choose the right output

Some rooms have more than one output. For example, a Theater may have Theater Music for casual listening and AVR Main for movie playback.

Choose the output based on what the consumer wants:

• Use the room speakers for normal music.
• Use the AVR or TV audio path when sound should come through the theater system.
• Use a patio or outdoor output for outside listening.
• Use a grouped output when the same music should follow people across rooms.

RS90 and mobile control

On the HOS mobile app, open the Space and use the music player for that room. On RS90, map only the most common commands: volume, mute, play or pause, next, and one or two favorite music scenes.

Daily use

Most users should not need to think about sources, outputs, and integration details. They should be able to open a Space, choose music, and control playback from the same place they control lights, climate, scenes, and media.