Serial port

 

Applies to all DSOS players, except for DiVA, and requires a Feature Set to be activated.

Introduction

The iBX410, iBX410W, iBX440, HMP400, HMP400W, HMP300, HMP350, and the legacy players can send / receive commands to / from external devices compatible with the RS-232 serial communication standard – most professional monitors support this standard for switching on/off operation mode and other configurations.

The communication through the serial port is usually governed by a serial port protocol file, although it is also possible to write and read from the serial port using the JavaScript COM API. The player comes with four built-in protocol files and allows uploading custom protocol files with the appropriate commands supplied by the device manufacturer.

Configuration

Peripherals → Serial

The settings related to the RS232 port can be found within Control Center, on the Peripherals → Serial page for HMP300, HMP350 and DSOS players with Feature Set activated.

Note:

For legacy players, check out the I/O Automation page.

RS232 cables

For iBX410/iBX410W and iBX440 players,a dedicated RJ45 port is available for RS232 communication with the following wiring.

Note:

The female DB-9 pin numbering in the table above is to connect to a PC, or any other DTE (data terminal equipment) with a male DB-9 connector. To connect to devices which only have 3 pins (e.g., 3.5mm jack) the pins to connect are RxD, TxD and GND, connecting TxD on one side to RxD on the other.

For HMP400 and HMP400W players, any of the three USB-C 3.0 ports can be used as a serial port. A compatible USB-C to DB-9 cable can be purchased from SpinetiX.

For HMP300, HMP350, and the legacy players, a 3.5 mm TRS jack (3-pin) serial port interface is present, withstanding any voltages up to -25/+25V and driving output voltage levels between -5V/+5V. A compatible cable can be purchased from SpinetiX, or it can be created with the wiring detailed below.

Troubleshooting

Known problems

• Sometimes the 2nd and 3rd pins (see the diagram below) on the projector / screen might have been inverted regardless of the screen documentation (as experienced with the Panasonic devices) - in this case a male-male / male-female 9p null modem adapter (or cable) should be used after the SpinetiX cable.
• Sharp Aquos monitors are known to turn OFF the RS232 receiver when the PowerOff command is received. Some versions have a "hotel mode" that can be enabled to prevent this (contact your screen manufacturer or reseller to see if your screen has this feature and how to enable it). Alternatively, you can send a "RSPW1" command to the screen which tells the screen to respond to PowerOn commands when it's turned off.

Extended logging of com events

SpinetiX Support might require you to enable extended logging of com port events in case the serial communication doesn't work as expected. For that, follow these steps:

1. Download this configuration file.
2. Apply the configuration file.
3. Wait for the player to restart.
4. Trigger some serial commands to reproduce the issue.
5. Generate a standard player report.
6. Once done, apply this configuration file to revert to the default configuration.

---

To enable the extended logging of com port events on HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100, follow these steps:

1. Open the HMP Control Center.
2. Enable the "Advanced" menu – open the "Status" page, find the HMP picture and click where the SpinetiX logo (in case of an HMP200) or the blue button (in case of an HMP130 / HMP100) is displayed. A confirmation dialog appears; click on "Yes" to enable the "Advanced settings" menu on the left side.
3. From the "Advanced" menu, open the "Logs Settings" page.
4. Enable "Custom configuration" radio button under the "Config" section. Click the "Apply" button right below it.
5. Go to "Appender" section and find "debugfile" entry.
6. Enable "Subscribe to all loggers" option and set the "Max Size" to 50000KB .
7. Go to "Logger" section and set the "Priority" option (drop-down list) to "Info".
8. Scroll down and find the "--- comportfsm" row (under "display"); select "Trace" on the drop-down list on the right-most column and make sure that no checkbox are enabled for that row.
9. Make sure that no other checkboxes are enabled on the debugfile column.
10. Click the "Update" button at the bottom.
11. Restart the HMP.
12. Leave the player running and / or make some tests to trigger the serial communication failure.
13. Generate a new report.
14. Once done, revert to the default configuration – enable the "Default configuration" option and click the "Update" button.