Kramer Electronics, Ltd. RC Configuration and Installation Guide Revision 8 Intended for Kramer Technical Personnel or external System Integrators. To check that you have the latest version, go to the DOWNLOADS section of our Web site at: http://www.kramerelectronics.com/support/downloads.
Contents Contents 1 1.1 2 2.1 Introduction Quick Start Overview Requirements for Using the Kramer RC Configuration 1 2 3 4 2.1.1 2.1.2 System Requirements The Required Operating System 4 4 3 4 4.1 5 5.1 5.2 6 6.1 6.2 6.3 7 7.1 7.
Contents 11.4.1 The Discover Command 43 11.5 12 12.1 12.2 13 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 14 14.
Contents Figure 29: Setting the Delay Time and Button Lighting Figure 30: Labeling the RC Buttons Figure 31: Typing the Label Figure 32: Lights ON RC Command Figure 33: Switch a DVD to the Projector Command Figure 34: IR Command Setting Figure 35: Self Command Front Panel Setting Figure 36: Self Command Setting Figure 37: Local Area Connection Properties Window Figure 38: Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties Window Figure 39: Local Area Connection Properties Window Figure 40: The Advanced Tab Figure 41: Se
Introduction 1 Introduction Welcome to Kramer Electronics! Since 1981, Kramer Electronics has been providing a world of unique, creative, and affordable solutions to the vast range of problems that confront the video, audio, presentation, and broadcasting professional on a daily basis. In recent years, we have redesigned and upgraded most of our line, making the best even better! Our 1,000-plus different models now appear in 11 groups 1 that are clearly defined by function.
Introduction 1.1 Quick Start To configure your Room Controller, follow these basic steps (see section 4): 1. Download the software from our Web site at: http://www.kramerelectronics.com 2 2. Extract the ZIP file 3. Install the software application 1. Check, according to your list of peripheral devices, that you have all the required drivers 2. Download the required drivers to a folder (for example, C:\Media-Room1\Peripheral Device Drivers) 1.
Overview 2 Overview The Kramer RC devices are a series of highly sophisticated machines, used for controlling A/V equipment and room items in media rooms. An RC system includes A/V equipment (for example, DVD players, audio amplifiers and switchers) and media room items, such as blinds, lights and so on.
Overview 2.1 Requirements for Using the Kramer RC Configuration This section describes the system requirements for the Kramer RC Configuration software. 2.1.1 System Requirements The minimum system requirements include: • A 400MHz processor • 128MB RAM • 300MB free hard disk space • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 • A network connection for configuring devices 2.1.2 The Required Operating System Microsoft® Windows XP® is the recommended operating system 1. 1 Windows NT does not support .NET 2.0.
Initial Planning 3 Initial Planning Carefully plan your RC system layout to ensure a smooth and easy configuration, and installation.
The RC Configuration Software 4 The RC Configuration Software The RC can be configured via the Kramer RC Configuration software, an easy-to-use software that lets you set a sequence of RC commands (the macro) and assign them to any of the buttons on the RC device.
The RC Configuration Software You can download the Configuration program 1 from the Internet. To do so: 1. Go to our Web site at http://www.kramerelectronics.com and download the file: “Kramer RC Config.zip” from the DOWNLOADS section. 2. Extract the file “Kramer RC Config.zip” package, which includes the Kramer RC configuration application setup and the Kramer device drivers2, to a folder (for example, C:\Program Files\Kramer RC Configuration). 3. Install the Kramer RC Configuration application.
Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window 5 Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window The RC system peripheral devices have device drivers that let them communicate with computers. The device driver needs to be installed so that the computer can recognize it and control it. The Kramer RC Configuration software uses driver commands to control these peripheral devices. 5.
Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window Figure 4: The Driver Manager Window Prior to Installing the Drivers Figure 5: Importing a Kramer Driver File 9
Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window Figure 6: Exporting a Kramer Driver File 10 KRAMER: SIMPLE CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window Figure 7: The Driver Manager Window 11
Downloading and Installing the Drivers via the Driver Manager Window Table 2: Driver Manager Window Features # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Feature Vendors Area Function Lists the downloaded vendors New: press to enter a new vendor name manually Rename: press to rename the vendor name Delete: erases the selected vendor Devices Area Lists the names of devices of a selected vendor (in the Vendors area) New: press to enter a new device name manually Rename: press to rename the device name Delete: press to
Connecting to the RC Device 6 Connecting to the RC Device Table 3 defines the connecting ports available for each machine and the connecting methods: Table 3: Machine Connection Method The Machine Name RC-8IR, RC-8IRE The Connection Port Ethernet, RS-232 The Connection Method Discover (see section 6.1) Connect (See section 6.2) 3.5mm Serial configuration Jack Connect (See section 6.2) RC-6IR, RC-6IRE RC-6IRP, RC-8IRP RC-8RK, RC-8RKL VP-23RC RC-7B, RC-7BE RC-7LC, RC-7LCE RC-7RL, RC-7RLE 6.
Connecting to the RC Device 6.2 The “Connect” Connection Method To connect the RC device to your PC via the Connect connection method, do the following: 1. Connect the RC device to the PC via either of the following: Ethernet port (see section 10.3) Serial CONFIG serial configuration jack 1 2.
Connecting to the RC Device 6.3 Changing the Network Settings If the RC device has an Ethernet port you can change the settings according to your network requirements. To change the settings according to your network requirements: 1. Open the Device menu and click Properties. The Device Properties dialog box opens. 2. Click the Set button to apply the settings (see Figure 11).
Creating a Driver Command 7 Creating a Driver Command You can write new driver commands via the Driver Manager window. You can write two types of commands for a device (for example, a DVD player, projector, A/V receiver, and so on): • Serial commands (see section 7.1) • IR commands (see section 7.2) 7.1 Creating a Serial Command To write the serial commands for a selected device: 1. Click the New button in the Serial Commands area. The New Serial Command window appears. 2.
Creating a Driver Command When writing a serial command: - Enclose the strings in quotation marks (for example, "MUTE OFF") - Prefix the hex characters with 0x or "$" (for example, 0x0D), unprefixed values are in decimal (for example, 13) - String and byte values should be separated by commas or spaces (for example, "BRIGHT DEC",0x0D) - If a protocol command states Carriage Return () and/or Line Feed () following the command line, add 0x0D or 0x0A, respectively, outside the command quotation marks,
Creating a Driver Command RC-8IRP RC-8IR RC-6IRE RC-6IR RC-8IRE and RC-8IRK VP-23RC RC-7RL, RC-7LC, RC-7B Figure 14: Initializing the IR Learner Procedure 4. Push the button to which you want the IR commands to be read (for example, button 6). Button 6 is now ready to accept the command.
Creating a Driver Command 5. Point the DVD’s remote control transmitter directly at the IR receiver on the RC device. 6. Press the desired command on the remote control (for example, Play). Button 6 on the RC device is now learning the IR command. If the learning process is successful, button 6 on the RC device blinks several times, pauses, and then all the buttons blink sequentially.
Creating a Driver Command 7.2.3 Read the IR Commands from the RC Device to the PC To read the new IR commands from the RC device, click the New button in the IR commands area to type the new command name. An IR command type area appears, as illustrated in Figure 16. To write a new IR command to the RC device: 1. Click the New button in the IR commands area to type the new command name. The following window appears: Figure 15: New IR Command Window Figure 16: Creating the IR Commands 2.
Port Mapping 8 Port Mapping The Port Manager window defines the ports on the Room Controller (see section 2) and lets you write a description and assign a default driver for each port. For example, if the Kramer VP-724xl Presentation Switcher/Scaler is connected to the RC-8IR via the RS-232_2 port, you can change the description next to that port to “Kramer Switcher” and assign the switcher/scaler driver to this port 1.
Port Mapping Figure 19: The Port Manager Window Table 4: The Port Manager Window Features Port The Item Description Lists the number of ports available for the selected machine Description Type a description of the port Settings For serial ports, press the white area to open the serial Settings window and define the baud rate and parity For Ethernet ports, press the white area to open the Ethernet Settings window and define the IP address and TCP port Default Driver Press the white area to open the
Port Mapping After clicking the Update button, the Port default driver box displays the new updated port default driver, as illustrated in Figure 21: Figure 21: Updating the Port Default Driver The Port Manager window, illustrated in Figure 22, shows the default driver set for the RS485 port, as well as the default driver and description set previously for the RS232_2 port .
The Kramer RC Configuration Main Window 9 The Kramer RC Configuration Main Window Once the drivers are imported and the ports are defined, use the Kramer RC Configuration main window to assign a sequence of commands (the macro) for each RC button.
The Kramer RC Configuration Main Window # 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Feature Front Panel Tab Function Shows the layout of the RC buttons according to the device type selected, with the labels on the button. Click to Select a button to configure, modify, read, or delete its macro.
The Kramer RC Configuration Main Window # Feature Button Macro Area 13 Button Macro Display Box New Command Button Duplicate Command Button Delete Command Button Button 14 15 16 Button RC command Area Function Displays the macro RC commands’ Description, Delay and Port in sequence.
Creating a Macro Figure 24: Event Macros Tab Figure 25: Using the Toggle 1-2-3-4 Behavior 10 Creating a Macro A macro includes a sequence of commands assigned to a selected button on the RC device These commands can be derived from: • Relay Open and Close commands • The driver files of the peripheral devices that are to be controlled by the RC device • IR remote control transmitters, via the IR Learner feature 1 To create a sequence of commands: 1.
Creating a Macro Figure 26: Selecting a Button to Write a Macro 2. Click the New button in the Button Macro area: Figure 27: Creating a New Command 3. Select a port1 from the drop-down box (for example, the RS-232_1 Port). The default driver appears. 4. Select the required Vendor, Device and Revision from the appropriate dropdown box, and then select a command from the Driver command dropdown box and write its description.
Creating a Macro Figure 28: Selecting the Port You can update the default driver for this port by clicking the Update button beside the Port default driver box (see section 8) 5. Click the up or down arrow to save the command to the macro. 6. Repeat this process to add new commands. Click Duplicate to duplicate the command and delete a command by clicking the Delete button. 7.
Creating a Macro 10.1 Labeling the Buttons For your convenience, you can label the buttons in the Front Panel keypad tab area, as illustrated in the example in Figure 30. Figure 30: Labeling the RC Buttons To label a button: 1. Open the Kramer RC Configuration main window. 2. Select a button. 3.
Creating a Macro 10.2 Adding Commands to the Macro Each room controller includes a different set of commands, as defined in Table 1. The following sections describe how to write a new command for the different ports. 10.2.1 A Relay Command – Turn Lights ON To write a relay command on an RC button (for example, turn the lights on), do the following: 1. Open the Kramer RC Configuration main window. 2. Select a button from the RC buttons layout. The button turns green. 3.
Creating a Macro 10.2.2 The Driver Command – Switch a DVD Player to the Projector This section applies to Serial (RS-232, RS-485) and ETH commands, as well as the VP-23RC (internal) command, specific to the VP-23RC machine. To add a Driver command to a macro (for example, to switch the DVD player to the projector 1), do the following: 1. Open the Kramer RC Configuration main window. 2. Select a button from the RC buttons layout and label it “DVD”. 3. Click the New button (in the Macro area). 4.
Creating a Macro Figure 33: Switch a DVD to the Projector Command 33
Creating a Macro 10.2.3 The IR Command –Audio Follows Video in a Matrix Switcher To add an IR command to the macro, do the following: 1. Open the Kramer RC Configuration window. 2. Select the RC button to which you want to add the command. 3. In the Description text box, type the new command’s description (for example, Audio Follows Video). 4. From the Port drop down box, select the desired IR port1 (for example, IR_1). 5. From the Command drop down box, select the relevant command (for example, AFV).
Creating a Macro 10.2.4 The Self Command The self command is used to change the toggle state of another button. The example in Figure 35 shows the front panel tab of an RC-8IR device: Figure 35: Self Command Front Panel Setting Button 3 and button 7 are labeled DVD and VCR respectively. Buttons 5 and 6 are labeled Play and Stop respectively, their behavior is set to 2 toggle states and the Automatic Advance box is not checked.
Creating a Macro When creating a macro for the DVD button, the self command can change the toggle state of the Play and Stop button so that the "Play" and "Stop" buttons will transmit an IR signal based on whether the DVD or the VCR are selected. To add a self command to the macro, do the following: 1. Open the Kramer RC Configuration window. 2. Select the RC button (for example, DVD) to which you want to add the self command. 3.
Creating a Macro 10.3 Connecting via the ETHERNET You can connect the RC device via the Ethernet, using a crossover cable (see section 10.3.1) for direct connection to the PC or a straight through cable (see section 10.3.2) for connection via a network hub or network router. 10.3.1 Connecting the ETHERNET Port Directly to a PC (Crossover Cable) You can connect the Ethernet port of the RC device to the Ethernet port on your PC, via a crossover cable with RJ-45 connectors.
Creating a Macro 7. Click OK. Figure 38: Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties Window 8. Connect the power to your RC controller. The front panel buttons on the RC illuminate in order, one after the other. If the buttons do not respond, check that the power cable is connected correctly at both sides and that the PROGRAM DIP-switch on the rear panel is OFF. 9. Connect the Ethernet crossover cable to your PC and to the RC. Check that the LEDs on the Ethernet port blink, indicating an active connection.
Creating a Macro Figure 39: Local Area Connection Properties Window 5. Click the Configure… button and select the Advanced tab: Figure 40: The Advanced Tab 6. Under Property, select “Link Speed & Duplex1”. 7. If the connection speed (appearing under Value) is set to Auto Detect, change it to a manual value of, for example, “100Mb Full Duplex” (or less), as illustrated in Figure 41.
Creating a Macro Figure 41: Selecting Manual Link Speed 8. Click OK. 9. Reconnect the power to your RC controller, and check that the buttons now illuminate in order. 10. Connect the Ethernet crossover cable to your PC and to the RC. Check that the LEDs on the Ethernet port blink, indicating an active connection. 10.3.
The Kramer RC Configuration Menus 11 The Kramer RC Configuration Menus This section describes the Kramer RC Configuration menus. 11.
The Kramer RC Configuration Menus 11.
The Kramer RC Configuration Menus 11.4.1 The Discover Command The Device Selection dialog box detects RC devices via the Ethernet. To discover any connected devices, do the following: 1. Open the Device menu and click Discover1. The Device Selection window opens (see Figure 46). 2. The Device Selection window lists the device found, and its IP number. Select the device and then click OK. Table 10: Device Selection Dialog Box Feature MAX.
The Kramer RC Configuration Menus 11.
Assigning the Macros to the RC Device 12 Assigning the Macros to the RC Device Once your configuration is ready, you can save it by clicking the save configuration button in the File menu and then connecting the RC device to the PC (see section 6) and writing the configuration to the device. 12.1 Saving a Configuration To save a configuration, do the following: 1. Click the ”Read Configuration” button to download the configuration of the RC device. 2. From the File menu, select Save Configuration….
Installation of the RC System 13 Installation of the RC System After connecting the RC system components, connect a 12V DC power supply to the terminal block connector, taking care that polarity is correct.
Installation of the RC System 13.2 Connecting the RS-485 Port Figure 51 shows how to connect the RS-485 terminal block connector Figure 51: RS-485 Port Wiring 13.3 Connecting the Relays Figure 52 shows how to connect the relays. To Room Items Figure 52: Relay Wiring On each 3-pole terminal block connector, connect either: C to NO, or C to NC.
Ethernet Flash Memory Upgrade 13.4 Connecting the IR Emitter Figure 53 shows how to connect the IR emitter 1. The white striped side connects to IR OUT, the black side connects to the Ground, and the LED Emitter Shell is affixed to the IR sensor window with the adhesive layer. Figure 53: IR Emitter Wiring NOTE: The dual IR emitter emits a weaker IR signal that may not be detected by some devices 13.5 Inserting the Button Labels To insert a button label, do the following: 1.
Ethernet Flash Memory Upgrade 14.1 Uploading the Applet 1 After upgrading a unit's firmware, the Java Applet has to be manually re-uploaded to preserve remote access via a Web-browser. The Java Applet data file can be found on the disc or on our Web site at http://www.kramerelectronics.com. To upload the applet to the unit via the Kramer RC Configuration: Follow these steps to install the Web Applet: 1. Connect RC device to your PC through computer networking: 2.
The UDP Protocol 15 The UDP Protocol The RC device has a UDP protocol for some basic functions. Send the commands to the IP address of the RC device to UDP port 2243. Please note that all commands consist of bytes in hex format.
