This article will guide you on setting up display control on your Atlona switcher. You will notice that an AT-OME-MS42 is used for demonstration in this article, but the general concepts will carry over between all the switchers with this feature.
*Note: Display control will get configured on the device that is closest to the display or projector that is being controlled. For instance: If the OME-EX-RX is being used with the OME-MS42, display control gets setup on the OME-MS42. But if you were to use the OME-SR21, display control would get set up on this scaling receiver.
Prerequisites:
Make sure the switcher is running the latest Firmware. You can find the latest firmware on the Product Page under the firmware tab. For our example OME-MS42, firmware and update instructions are found here: https://atlona.com/product/ome-ms42/#tab-firmware
Determine how you plan to control the display or projector. TCP/IP and RS232 are going to be preferred methods of control. If your display does not support either of these methods of control, CEC can be used as a last resort (*Note: CEC is typically only supported on Conusmer TV's and some commercial monitors). If you are unsure if your display or projector can be controlled with RS232 or IP, it's best to contact the manufacturer and ask for a third-party control API.
Locate the IP address of your switcher. All of our switchers come with DHCP enabled out of the box. If you have the switcher plugged into your DHCP-enabled network, the switcher will pull an IP address from the network. Use a network scanner tool to locate the IP address of your switcher and display if using IP as a control method. If you are unsure of how to use a network scanning tool, please consult your IT department for assistance.
If your network is not DHCP enabled, most of our switchers have a method for setting a default static IP address of 192.168.1.254. Consult the user manual found on the Product Page under the Resources Tab for the preferred method. For our example OME-MS42: https://atlona.com/product/ome-ms42/#tab-resources
Lastly, make sure your controlled device is wired up and ready to go. If you need assistance making an RS232 cable, please see this article.
Once you have all these prerequisites completed you are ready to proceed.
Step 1: Login to the Atlona switcher and click the Display Tab on the gray banner bar at the top.
This will take you to the Display Control page where you will select the Type of control that will be used and the Commands that will be used to control your display or projector.
Step 2: Select the Control Type that will be used. Options are RS232, IP, and CEC.
*Note: The OME-MS42 can control a display connected to the HDBaseT RS232 port or the Local RS232 port. This is a feature specific to the OME-MS42 and does not apply to other switchers.
Step 3: Set the RS232 or IP Parameters for the connected display or projector.
RS232:
Click the RS232 tab in the gray banner at the top of the page.
Locate the RS232 baud rate settings in the third-party control API document or User Manual for the display or projector.
RS232 over HDBaseT will set the baud rate for the HDBaseT port
RS232 Console will set the baud rate for the Local RS232 port. (*Note: When the Local RS232 port is used for display control, you are no longer able to control the switcher via RS232. This also means the ability to recover the IP address via RS232 is no longer available.)
TCP/IP:
Locate the TCP/IP Settings of Controlled Device box under the System Settings
If the display or projector requires a username and password before it can be controlled, set the IP Mode to Login and enter the Username and Password in the fields labeled accordingly.
Set the IP address of the Controlled Device and the TCP Port number that is used for control. This information is usually located in the third-party control API you received from the manufacturer.
CEC:
After CEC is selected from the dropdown menu, you'll notice that there is nothing else to configure. You can proceed directly to Step 5 and verify your controlled device is functional.
Step 4: Set the RS232/IP Commands of the Controlled Device
We have included the most common RS232 and TCP/IP display commands in the easy-to-use drop-down fields. First, select the Manufacturer, then select the Product (ie: Display or Projector), and lastly select the Model number of the display or projector.
Verify the commands in the ON, OFF, Volume, and Mute fields match the third-party API document you received from the manufacturer. If the commands selected do not match, you may modify the commands that are shown and then click Save at the bottom.
If the controlled device is not listed in the drop-down, you may modify the Generic commands with the commands from the third-party control API. *Note: Hex will need a delimiter of \x and a Carriage Return will be entered as \x0D.
Step 5:
If you have made it this far, you are almost done.
Verify the entered commands control your connected device. Press the Send button next to the command and your display or projector should act accordingly. You can also press the Display button on the front of the switcher and this should turn your Display on and off.
If it's working, then you are done...Congratulations! If not, don't fret, see the troubleshooting steps below.
Troubleshooting:
RS232:
If using RS232, you might need to flip the TX and RX pins (null) the serial cable. If this still does not work, the next step is to verify RS232 is enabled and the baud rate set in the switcher matches the baud rate settings on the controlled device.
Lastly, if display control is still not working, then we recommend using a program like Hercules or Putty to verify the commands selected actually control the connected device. You might need to circle back around with the manufacturer if you find the commands do not function.
You can also use this program to verify the commands being sent by the switcher match the commands from the third-party control API.
TCP/IP:
See this article on how to use Hercules to verify you can connect to the TCP Port. You can also enter the TCP/IP commands into Hercules to confirm the display or projector receives and processes the commands correctly.
CEC:
There are no troubleshooting steps for CEC. Since CEC functions over the HDMI cable, there is no way to verify the commands were received or processed.
Final Notes:
1.) If you are able to turn a display or projector off, but not back on, check for "Eco", "Green", or Power Saving settings in the menu of these devices. Usually, these settings need to be disabled as they will turn off the RS232, LAN, or HDMI ports when the display is powered off.
2.) If you are controlling a display or projector over an HDBaseT port, make sure this option is enabled in the menu settings of the controlled device. (A word of caution: Troubleshooting RS232 over HDBaseT is difficult because you are unable to connect HDBaseT to a program like Hercules or Putty and verify the commands getting sent are correct. We recommend having a compatible RX in hand while troubleshooting RS232 over HDBaseT.)