What is Wheatstone ACI?
Wheatstone's Automation Control Interface (ACI) is a proprietary TCP protocol that lets external systems, like automation and third-party control surfaces, address fader, routing, and playback functions on a Wheatstone control surface directly over IP, without going through the surface's front panel.
Cuez Automator connects to the control surface as a TCP client, enabling automated fader control, source switching, preset recall, and clip player control directly from within the rundown system.
Which devices are supported? This integration controls Wheatstone control surfaces (ACI port 55777). Wheatstone blades, which use a separate interface on port 55776, are not supported.
Adding a Wheatstone device to the Automator
In the top right corner of the Automator, we see 'Devices', this can be either in red or green depending on the status of the configured devices. Click it and select 'Add device'.
Next, select 'Wheatstone' from the 'Device type' dropdown list, then give it a name.
Enter the IP address or hostname of the Wheatstone control surface in the 'Host name' field. The 'Network port' defaults to 55777, the ACI port for control surfaces, and does not normally need to change.
Once connected, the Automator sends a keep-alive to the surface every 15 seconds. The device shows as 'online' (green) while the surface keeps replying, and shows as offline after about 35 seconds without a reply. Commands sent while the device is offline are dropped.
Configuring actions
The next step is to configure each Item and Block with the (set of) functions we want to perform on the Wheatstone control surface when triggering that Item or Block, more on that in this article.
Available functions
The Wheatstone integration includes 22 functions in total, covering fader control, channel and bus configuration, source and preset recall, and clip player control.
Levels are entered from 0 to 100, where 0 dB is at 75.
Channels are numbered from 1.
Target is the fader bank: Input, Group, Master, DCM, Mix Minus, Aux, or Studio.
đĄ The channel picker displays each input's loaded source name (e.g. "3 - Host Mic") for the bus, monitor, processing, and source-take actions. Strips without an assigned source appear as "Channel N" instead.
Fader Control
Set fader | Sets a fader to a specific level (0â100, 0 dB at 75). (set Target, Channel, Level) |
Open fader | Opens a fader instantly to 0 dB (75), cancelling any fade running on it. (set Target, Channel) |
Close fader | Closes a fader instantly and fully. (set Target, Channel) |
Fade to | Fades a fader to a level over a set duration (up to 15,000 ms, 0 is instant) using the chosen curve. (set Target, Channel, Level, Duration (ms), Curve) |
Store fader preset | Reads the fader's live level from the surface and stores it under a name you choose. The preset is stored by the Automator. (set Target, Channel, Preset name) |
Fade to preset | Fades a fader to a stored preset over a set duration. (set Target, Channel, Preset name, Duration (ms), Curve) |
Volume up | Nudges a fader up instantly by a number of percentage points from its live level, up to a maximum of 100. (set Target, Channel, Amount (%)) |
Volume down | Nudges a fader down instantly by a number of percentage points from its live level, down to a minimum of 0. (set Target, Channel, Amount (%)) |
Channel & Bus Control
Set channel on/off | Turns a channel on or off. Target can be Input, Group, Master, or DCM. On a DCM, on means unmuted and off means muted. (set Target, Channel, Status) |
Set bus assign | Assigns or unassigns an input channel to a bus: PGM, AUD, AUX, UTL, PGMA to PGMD, 5.1, ST1 to ST3, MONO, MM1 to MM8, or AUX1 to AUX4. (set Channel, Bus, Assigned) |
Set monitor (PFL/AFL/CUE) | Puts an input channel on or off a monitor bus (PFL, AFL, or CUE). (set Channel, Monitor bus, On) |
Set processing in/out | Switches a processor in or out of an input channel's signal path: EQ, DYN, CMP, EXP, or BMIN (bus-minus in). (set Channel, Processor, In) |
Source & Preset Control
Take source | Takes a signal onto an input channel, as if pressing TAKE. A signal ID of 0 disconnects the channel. (set Channel, Signal ID) |
Take source preset | Presses the channel's preset source key: Preset, Preset A, or Preset B. The preset signal itself is defined on the surface. (set Channel, Preset slot) |
Take event preset | Recalls a saved event preset on the surface. On desks without named event presets, enter the program number instead. (set Preset name) |
Set layer | Switches the surface to a layer (1â16). (set Layer) |
Clip Player
Clip player: play | Starts playback on the clip player. |
Clip player: pause | Pauses playback on the clip player. |
Clip player: cue | Stops the current track and cues it again at the beginning. |
Clip player: step track | Moves to the next or previous track. (set Direction) |
Clip player: step playlist | Moves to the next or previous playlist. (set Direction) |
Clip player: auto-advance | Turns automatic advance to the next track on or off. (set On) |
For further context on how these functions behave on the surface, refer to Wheatstone's ACI documentation.
Troubleshooting
If the Wheatstone control surface shows as offline in the Automator, check the following:
Host name â confirm the IP address or hostname entered in the Automator matches the control surface
Network port â confirm port 55777 is open and not being blocked by a firewall
ACI availability â confirm ACI is enabled on the control surface. The device only shows as online while the surface keeps replying to the Automator's keep-alive, and goes offline after about 35 seconds of silence
Device type â this integration controls control surfaces on port 55777. Wheatstone blades use a different interface (port 55776) and are not supported
Network â confirm the control surface and the Automator are on the same network, or that routing between them is in place
If the device shows as online but functions aren't being executed, check that the Target and Channel values in the action match the surface's actual channel numbering, since ACI addresses channels numerically rather than by their console label. Also check the target: Set channel on/off only works on Input, Group, Master, and DCM.