On July 22, 2009 at 08:34, Nick O said...
Hi guys, i have a fair amount of equipment that is going to be centrally located in my new place, i am interested in using the RS232 control system to get everything linked up, i have a good understanding of how to to link everything up from the AV side, but not much from the control side, i have upto this point been using a combination of pronto (the learning kind) and supplied remotes to generate macro's and filter these back to the AV using an IR extender system (pretty messy).
What i would want to do in an ideal world (unless someone can tell me a better way) is have some small touch screens in the head end rooms, that control all the back end stuff in the AV room. but retain the ability to use remotes from that location in case you need to do something more indepth.
Hi Nick. First of all, I would say hire a pro to help you. You will be pulling your hair out soon if you want to dive in to RS232 control this quick. That being said...
So questions are:
What kind of hardware do i need (touchscreens, some kind of rack mounted control system)
Touchscreen and control processor. I recommend RTI XP8 processor ($1,800), and a handheld T3V ($1,300). However, unless you are a dealer, you won't be able to get the software.
What cabeling would i need to put in to enable this stuff
Cat5 with a rb9 to rj45 adapter, or RS232 cable. Depending on what control system you go with. All of your AV gear can be controlled via RS232, right? If it does not have a BD9 port on the back (unless it's a Escient FP1, which uses a minipug), it can't be controlled with 232.
Where do i start in becoming more informed on how to program it all?
Having read around on here it would appear you need to get hold of the control codes from each manufacture true? (if so how easy?)
Start reading the manufacturers RS232 protocol guides, and of course the programming manual for whatever control system you will be using. 232 protocol manuals are easy to get and usually avaliable from the manufacturers website, or in your owners manual
I do work in IT so am not a complete nightmare when it comes to the technical side of things.
All help very gladly accepted. Thanks in advance
Nick
A good start will be a list of the equipment you have and want to control.
Again, I really say hire a pro to help you. It sounds like you may have a fair amount of gear. If you have no knowledge of RS232, and the programming if the control system, you are in for a serious time commitment. RS232 is a completely different language, and it varys from manufacturer to manufacturer.
RS232 can provide you with more codes than are avaliable with the IR database, and of course 2 way feedback. However, if your gear is mostly IR driven, or you have the codes/control you need with IR, and don't need 2 way feedback, I recommend you get a better IR remote, and fine tune your macros.
