Serial Control of Plasma TV

[Griff]

Can anyone give me any direction on how I would control our Plasma TV through the computer using the serial input? Just about all the Plasma's advertize the fact that they have serial input control, but I cannot figure out how to actually control a Plasma TV through the serial port input. (The electronic eye for the remote on our Plasma died a while back, and sadly it would be cheaper to buy a new Plasma TV than to get it serviced - so I would like to be able to access the Plazma's settings through the computer).

[byremote]

Most plasma serial configs do not have a GUI interface, simply a series of commands sent via the COM port that can query and control the device. As there are no standards for these sort of things (and the commands can be quite complex) it is no small feat to set this up. If you have a PC programming background than writing a program would not too difficult.

One existing software alternative is my (free) Com Controller http://www.byremote.com.au/downloads...oad.asp?SID=27 program which allows you to enter all of the commands you require which can be fired manually, or as a direct response from another program (such as HIP - my remote control program) via windows messaging . To set this up though, you will need to have documentation provided by the manufacturer for the the correct serial cable and the input codes. A couple of users have uploaded their configs here http://forums.dvbowners.com/index.php?showtopic=4663 and if yours is not supported, and you get it working you can also contribute.

[Griff]

Thanks Peter -- I had already discovered your HIP program. That was pretty easy to configure, but I get the impression from your post (and the very limited information I could find on line about serial commands) that configuring the serial commands to the Plasma will be much more difficult. I was able to find a technical reference for Gateway's RS-232 Serial connections, but I have no idea how to use that information. For example, it says: "In order to transmit data from the computer to the plasma TV, the data must be sent in 1 byte hex format. The command code (see the following table) must first be sent to the plasma TV, followed by the value (in hexadecimal format)." This is way over my head. Any suggestions on resources I can use to figure out what to do with the information.

Thanks again.

Tom

[byremote]

What make and model plasma do you have?

Programming com ports is actually not that hard once you get into it and Com Commander makes it about as easy as you can get. You should get yourself the correct cable, install Com Commander and using their examples try to program something simple (like the mute). You won't lose anything by giving it a go.

[Griff]

I have one of the Gateway 42 inch plasmas (from the time that Gateway jumped into, then out of, the plasma tv business). The Gateway technical reference for their serial ports is at: http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals...47/8508947.htm

I just don't know what to do with it.

[null_pointer_us]

Hexadecimal notation is just a number written in base-16 format. Here are some different number systems.

Decimal (base 10) digits:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Hexadecimal (base 16) digits:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

Octal (base 8) digits:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Binary (base 2) digits:
0 1

So "F" is hexadecimal for 15, "FF" is hexadecimal for 255, and so on. Hexadecimal numbers are usually prefixed with "0x" which has no other meaning than to indicate the number is in hexadecimal.

Windows calculator has a scientific mode which you can enable to convert numbers between these formats.

[byremote]

I have attached a ComCommander ccc file using the information you sent me. This is in no way complete, but there should be enough to get you started ( I have no idea if it will work!!)

So what you need to do is this....

1) Attach a straight-through serial cable (do NOT use a null modem/laplink cable) taking note of the COM port number this is attached to.

2) Unzip the attachment and copy it to your ComController directory

3) Start ComController, and click on the drop down list of libraries and select the Gateway Plasma.ccc option.

4) Make sure the COM port is correct and the other settings match the items in that PDF and click connect.

5) If you are successful, you can use the TestComController application to see whether the codes are working (Mute On Off is a good one to use).

If they are, then you should go back to the main CC screen and select the the Edit Libraries button. If you compare the entries for Mute On/Off with the documentation then you can see how this is done.

If it does not work, I am afraid I cannot help you (there are many aspect to all of this that can cause problems, and without a unit it is impossible to debug).

Good Luck!!

[Griff]

Thanks for all you help with this. I will give it a try, and report back. (I have to wait on the receipt of a new vid card -- my ATI x700 PCIx shorted out on me).