06-09-2020, 09:44 AM
Finally getting around to documenting my system and am started with my TV set up. I had a unique set of circumstances.
Not enough sources to warrant an HDMI matrix
I only have three TV's in my house which have three sources each: AppleTV, COAX (OTA Antenna), and Camera feed via HDMI. I have the potential to add additional two TV's at which point I may consider going to JustAddPower which will make things much less complicated and will allow me to prune my set up.
Three TV's of two different Samsung Business Signage Display types (2 x ME46B's and 1x ME55C) that use the Multiple Display Control (MDC) Protocol over RS232
My spouse's office was doing a tech refresh and I was able to pick up all three TV's for $600. They are really nice, but they were a pain to integrate. While the MDC Protocol is nice, only the Business Signage Displays use it. So, if/when I get another, regular Samsung TV, I'll have some retrofitting to do.
The ME46B's do not support all MDC Protocol commands. Same for the ME55C. So, for my CQC TV driver only Channel Up, Channel Down, Power On/Off, PIP On/Off, PIP Source Selection, TV Source Selection, and On Screen Display were added. All other commands that I use had to be done via IR (cursor up/down/left/righ, cursor select, numbers, info, exit, and previous channel).
Non-Business TV's use Ex-Link over RS232 and I have a spreadsheet that has over 100 commands.
The TV's also do not have an optical audio out, only a 3.5mm stereo out port. This meant I had to get a 3.5mm stereo to RCA cable to connect the audio out from the TV to an RCA to optical audio out connector which then plugged in to the SONOS PLAYBAR. Again, moving to a standard Samsung TV would allow me to remove this item and have the optical audio out from the TV go directly to the PLAYBAR.
I wanted a high end remote control
I had previously used the Harmony remote and it was a piece of junk. I moved to RTI T1-B+ remotes. Best remotes I have ever owned. The beauty of these remotes is that you can control anything with them. All you do is create the command mapping and the code whatever you want into the action editor.
All buttons from the remote are learned by the CQC RTI serial driver. The command that the remote sends out is the same as the name of the mapped action you see here. I did this to keep them organized.
![[Image: Capture.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/bmMkZmN/Capture.jpg)
I made/make extensive use of Global Actions. If the remote is in AppleTV mode and the Menu button is pressed, all the mapped action does is call the Global Action. This way, if I ever change anything downstream of the remote, I won't have to change code in a bunch of places.
![[Image: Capture.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/b1c2m1b/Capture.jpg)
Here is a hybrid diagram. For this setup, I have a main RTI Serial Driver and Global Cache Driver for the XP-6 processor and remote setup, and to control my NVR via IR. For each TV location, I have a TV Driver (tells the Global Cache how to talk to the TV), a Global Cache Driver (Serial and IR to TV), and a SONOS Driver (for the TV volume).
Not enough sources to warrant an HDMI matrix
I only have three TV's in my house which have three sources each: AppleTV, COAX (OTA Antenna), and Camera feed via HDMI. I have the potential to add additional two TV's at which point I may consider going to JustAddPower which will make things much less complicated and will allow me to prune my set up.
Three TV's of two different Samsung Business Signage Display types (2 x ME46B's and 1x ME55C) that use the Multiple Display Control (MDC) Protocol over RS232
My spouse's office was doing a tech refresh and I was able to pick up all three TV's for $600. They are really nice, but they were a pain to integrate. While the MDC Protocol is nice, only the Business Signage Displays use it. So, if/when I get another, regular Samsung TV, I'll have some retrofitting to do.
The ME46B's do not support all MDC Protocol commands. Same for the ME55C. So, for my CQC TV driver only Channel Up, Channel Down, Power On/Off, PIP On/Off, PIP Source Selection, TV Source Selection, and On Screen Display were added. All other commands that I use had to be done via IR (cursor up/down/left/righ, cursor select, numbers, info, exit, and previous channel).
Non-Business TV's use Ex-Link over RS232 and I have a spreadsheet that has over 100 commands.
The TV's also do not have an optical audio out, only a 3.5mm stereo out port. This meant I had to get a 3.5mm stereo to RCA cable to connect the audio out from the TV to an RCA to optical audio out connector which then plugged in to the SONOS PLAYBAR. Again, moving to a standard Samsung TV would allow me to remove this item and have the optical audio out from the TV go directly to the PLAYBAR.
I wanted a high end remote control
I had previously used the Harmony remote and it was a piece of junk. I moved to RTI T1-B+ remotes. Best remotes I have ever owned. The beauty of these remotes is that you can control anything with them. All you do is create the command mapping and the code whatever you want into the action editor.
All buttons from the remote are learned by the CQC RTI serial driver. The command that the remote sends out is the same as the name of the mapped action you see here. I did this to keep them organized.
![[Image: Capture.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/bmMkZmN/Capture.jpg)
I made/make extensive use of Global Actions. If the remote is in AppleTV mode and the Menu button is pressed, all the mapped action does is call the Global Action. This way, if I ever change anything downstream of the remote, I won't have to change code in a bunch of places.
![[Image: Capture.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/b1c2m1b/Capture.jpg)
Here is a hybrid diagram. For this setup, I have a main RTI Serial Driver and Global Cache Driver for the XP-6 processor and remote setup, and to control my NVR via IR. For each TV location, I have a TV Driver (tells the Global Cache how to talk to the TV), a Global Cache Driver (Serial and IR to TV), and a SONOS Driver (for the TV volume).
![[Image: TV.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/F5FwqcL/TV.gif)