Has aanyone had the "pleasure" of figuring out what exactly Sony has this Feature do?All the documentation I have found (both pages), basically states that you can have a sort of poor mans IR repeater system for the price of a few 1/8" patch cords.Yet it uses some other form of code transmission.

I have tried this connection into a TV and it didn't do anything when hooked into a connecting block (didn't receive IR signals From block).

My company does a lot of Plasma installs with RF extenders. It seems absurd to put an emmitter on the front of such a good looking TV.

I know this will work with Crestron and AMX systems, as I have seen it in action. But has anyone got it to work with IR signals?

Any info would be appreciated.

Control-S is not IR. It is a control signal proprietary to Sony. So in other words, it is not an IR repeater. It takes specific Sony commands and sends them to what you want to control, and is supposed to be more reliable than IR repeating since it is a solid connection. I believe you can control it with IR using a s-linke [Link: nirvis.com] and a xantech adaptor. You'll have to read up on it to know though as I'm not sure. But checking out the s-linke would be a step in the right direction. Hope that helps...

A good product. It's a shame it is no longer available from this site.

Are you sure about that. I got to the order page for it on their site.

Edited...I take that back...Wow, what a bummer.

I think he's talking about Control-S, Not S-Link

S-Link was a Data Format, Control-S is basically demodulated IR, and it IS on most of the new Plasmas I've seen lately. I think Xantech makes an adaptor still, But I cant find it ont he website right now.... All I have to do with an AMX system is load up an IR driver and turn the Carrier frequency OFF on the IR Port. Bingo.. Bobs yer uncle.....

Xantech 794-10 interface. The is one other as well, 794-? that has fewer dip switches but works on new SONY codes

Alan

I thought S-Link and Control-S were both just the IR with the carrier stripped?

I dont think S-Link was IR based at all. you could/can get lots of information through an S-Link, not just simple control.

ANyway, My point was (It was late) Control-S and S-Link are not one and the same, and Control A-II is again different....

I believe S-link and Control-S are one and the same. I also thought that S-link was the inter-product interface where a IR receive in one product could pass IR to other products so connected via S-link. However, I am not certain.

Alan

Heres what I found on S-Link/Control-S/Control AI/II/CONTROL-L

This appears to be a very old website as S-Link is not on most new products anymore... I've only seen Control A1/II and Control-S Lately.

Start Quote from [Link: brian-patti.com]

S-Link is a protocol used by Sony A/V components to talk to each other. It encompasses Control-S, an overall control protocol based on IR codes, Control-A1, a bidirectional protocol used to get CD information from CD players, and Control-L, a time protocol used by high-end video components. Since most of the new Sony components have an S-Link connector, and since Sony sells a box (CAV-1 or CAV-2) which allows a computer to talk S-Link, it should be possible to build intelligent A/V systems based on S-Link. I have heard of several people trying to do this; unfortunately, I know of few successes, in part because it seems S-Link is poorly documented and understood.

END QUOTE

So S-Link Includes Control-S, but not visa-versa.

I have never been able to get the Xantech 794-10 to work with a Sony CD changer. Anyone out there had success? Always had to internally install a 282 flasher or stick one on the face of it. I do believe that a 794-10 works with the Sony DVD players. My latest Sony MP3 compatible DCP455 changer says "Control A1 II" (good grief).

If you are refering to the Sony plasmas with the glass frame, you can put an emmiter on the back of glass panel firing in towards the receiver on the tv.

James

Yeah we do that on the XBR models. I was mainly concerned with the XS and TSU models.

Thanks

This looks like the device I could use. Thanks for the help.

I still would like to know if anyone actually has a system running this control s or s-link and how it works.

thanks

This message was edited by Grego on 09/10/04 07:28 ET.

There are several products made by Sony called the CIS 200, 201 &202 these boxes conect up to the RS232 port and will give you the following.

CIS 200

The CIS-200 Control Interface is designed to allow hardwired control with two way
communication of Sony audio/video products that use the S-Link control system from an RS232C serial communications device. S-Link is a general term for Sony audio/video control systems. S-Link is composed of the following two systems: Control-A1 for audio components, and Control-S for TVs and video components.
Audio products use the Control-A1 system, a completely new protocol that allows full two way communication. This makes possible not only component control with transport status information back, but also exchange of information such as custom file data from a CD changer. Up to ten components can be linked in daisy chained fashion.
TVs and Video products with the S-Link label use the Control-S system, also referred to as SIRCS (Sony Infrared Remote Control Standard), which has been in use since the early 1980’s. Although Control-S is a unidirectional protocol, the S-Link system employs circuitry that allows a component to return confirmation that it has been activated.
This unit is based around the motorola 68HC11 micro

CIS-201

The CIS-201 Control Interface is designed to allow both hardwired and infrared ontrol of Sony audio/video products from an RS232C serial communications device. It provides four discrete control channels, each with parallel outputs of Control-S and Infrared. Therefore any command sent via channel 1 will be output by both Control-S and Infrared outputs 1. If different category products are connected in this way, i.e. a TV to Control-S 1 and a DVD to Infrared 1, that channel can be shared, as each product will only respond to commands with its own product code.
The CIS-201 can be used either alone or in any combination of CIS-200 series devices, up to a maximum of 16. Since RS232 is a single-ended data transmission method (between only one transmitter and one receiver) only one CIS-200 can be used (since it is full two way), but by utilizing a buffered ‘loop out’ from each unit, up to 15 additional one way devices (CIS-201 and/or CIS-202) can reside on the the same bus. Each one way device has its own ID number (1-15), selected by its front panel dip-switch. ID number 0 is reserved for the CIS-200.

CIS-202

The CIS-202 Control Interface provides four Relay / Contact Closures. The maximum
ratings are:
0.6A 125V AC
0.6A 110V DC
2.0A 30V DC
The CIS-202 can be used either alone or in any combination of CIS-200 series devices, up to a maximum of 16. Since RS232 is a single-ended data transmission method (between only one transmitter and one receiver) only one CIS-200 can be used (since it is full two way), but by utilizing a buffered ‘loop out’ from each unit, up to 15 additional one way devices (CIS-201 and/or CIS-202) can reside on the the same bus. Each one way device has its own ID number (1-15), selected by its front panel dip-switch. ID number 0 is reserved for the CIS-200.

The info above was cut and pasted out of the maunals. they are still manufacted and sold by sony in the US only, and the data tables seem to be kept upto dat at regular intervals.