I know I'm deaming, but thought it might be worth asking the question.

Is there any useful output from the RS-232 port on a sat receiver? My wife asked me if I could get the Crestron TP at home to display the currently playing music selection from Directv's music channels. I know, a long shot. Also, I know I could just look at the output in hyperterminal, but thought I would ask the ladies and gentlemen here first.

The old Sonys used to do it, not sure if it's changed with the new boxes. Sending the string \xFA\x07 would return the channel number in 2-byte hex (it doesn't return this after a channel change) . You'd have to write some logic to make it update every time you change the channel.

Here's a link to as complete a list of codes as I've found:

[Link: dtvcontrol.com]



Doug @ HomeWorks

I believe that the RCA units are the only one still outputing useful data ( not just an ACK command ). But Hughes set the specifications for these units from the 3 OEMs still manufacturering them and serial control may not be present any longer.

When the RCA serial control worked you could get channel feedback, on and off status and I think even output resolution. Now I bet you get zip.

Alan

Thanks very much for the replies. I'll do my due diligence next week and report back if I find anything other than no output at all.