Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: USB converters with SDDS?

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Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 01-02-2005, 08:39 PM:

Hi all,

has anyone here had any luck with USB to Serial adapters talking to SDDS processors? Namely the 2000 series? I'm trying a Belkin F5U109 and no dice. It works with eveything else I have too which is really annoying (PDA's, car diagnostic interfaces, etc). Just won't fly with talking to the SDDS processor. Same machine using the real serial port works perfectly fine (Win2000). The issue is I need it to work on my laptop which of course only has USB. (replacing the laptop isn't an option right now).

As far as I can tell the Sony boxes don't do anything really special with the ports... they just send binary data at 57.6kbps, shouldn't be a problem for any port.

Thanks,
--Chris

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-02-2005, 09:11 PM:

I have used a Belkin USB/Serial adaptor with SDDS, Dolby and USL with no problems once I got the procedures all ironed out.

Can you use the same machine, adaptor and cable to hook up to one of the other processors?

(SDDS uses a null-modem cable as opposed to a regular serial cable. I used a null-modem adaptor to solve that problem and allow me to carry only one set of cables in my kit.)

As to making your particular hardware and OS work with the software and processor, I can't give you much advice unless you are using a Mac. I don't do Windows.

If you ARE using a Mac we can talk! [Smile]

Sometimes there's a trick or two you have to know to make Windows play nice with Mac OS. Microsoft goes out of its way to be incompatible with ANY other OS. (Not just Mac OS.) Every once in a while you have to grab Windows by the balls and bend it to your will.

Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 01-02-2005, 09:29 PM:

I havn't tried it on other processors, but using the onboard serial of my desktop computer it works fine... plug the USB adapter into my desktop it doesn't work.

Also, I've noticed that the USB/Serial adapter I have from Belkin is officially their 'PDA connectivity' one... I'm wondering if they did something different with this. I could try one of their official RS232 adapters. Or, I think I'll just get a pcmcia/rs232 adapter... many people have told me those were substantially better.

thanks,
--Chris

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-02-2005, 10:11 PM:

Some answers here.
In the meantime, there is also an XP/2000 version of the DFP-D2000 setup. The software as such will run under XP, but if you don't have the XP versions, neither the 2000 nor the 3000 setup will be able to communicate with the port. Then you also have to be able to map the port to one of the COMs available in the software communication setup.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-03-2005, 01:30 AM:

The software Michael talks about was added to the warehouse today. The link is on the front page (or the "manuals" section).

Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 01-03-2005, 08:49 AM:

Thanks,

I actualy had the XP/2k software, the old stuff won't run at all on 2k since it won't even see real com ports nevermind the USB stuff. [Smile]

I think it boils down to the USB/Serial adapter I've been using. One thing I noticed with everything else I use it with is that they essentially send ASCII text across the port and it all works... the Sony stuff is all binary.

thanks again,
--CHris

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-03-2005, 09:55 AM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Microsoft goes out of its way to be incompatible with ANY other OS. (Not just Mac OS.)

That's no joke. We had been running a Novell network for years with workstations running Win95, then Win98 OS, with nary a hiccup. Then we upgraded some of the same workstations from Win98 to WinXP. What took a Win 98 workstation literally an instant, for example, displaying a Netware drive or launching an application that resided on a network volume, now takes up to a full minute. But ask XP to talk to anything on an NT server, and it runs like lightening.

The only thing that tells me is that Windows XP was DESIGNED to run like crap on anything other than a Microsoft server product. And that is why the government should have thrown Mr. Gates' ugly butt in jail when they had the chance.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-03-2005, 10:03 AM:

I use the Keyspan adapter and it works with everything I have tried so far - SDDS, DTS, Dolby, Barco. It is not cheap but apparently good and it comes with a great configuration and testing tool. Maybe you can find it at an electronics store (it seems to be fairly popular, I bought mine at Fry's). Normally these let you return the product if it doesn't make you happy and you save the packaging.

Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 01-03-2005, 11:37 AM:

Cool, the keyspan is half the price of the pcmcia solutions I was looking at... plus it'll be nice to not tie up my only pcmcia slot since I usually have my TMobile wireless card in it.

On a side note, I saw mentioned in another thread a while back about hooking up the SDDS processor thru a Dolby processor, instead of the other way around so the Dolby box will do the EQ. Is there any way to do this on a CP200? My hack for doing other consumer digital formats was to use the mag lines in, using left extra/right extra to feed left/right surround which isn't the best solution... espicially considering I want to add Le/Re actual speakers. Anyone do this? I can't seem to find a way to feed in LSur/RSur into the CP200. (I don't have board schematics for the processor or control unit so that's been seriously hindering me finding a solution on my own... blech)

thanks,
--Chris

Posted by David Buckley (Member # 2600) on 01-03-2005, 02:15 PM:

In another of my lives there is a product set that is touchy about USB serial adapters, and the manufacturer recommends (almost insists!) on a particular USB/Serial device, the EasySync US232.

This adapter has never failed me on anything I've tried to connect to. I would recommend that unless the manufacturer of the thing you want to connect to specifically recommends something else, get the EasySync. It just works.

No affiliation with Easysync other than one of the thousands of certified CBus integrators who rely on these things to get the job done.

Posted by Charlie Frisby (Member # 2927) on 01-03-2005, 05:42 PM:

quote: Frank Angel

That's no joke. We had been running a Novell network for years with workstations running Win95, then Win98 OS, with nary a hiccup. Then we upgraded some of the same workstations from Win98 to WinXP. What took a Win 98 workstation literally an instant, for example, displaying a Netware drive or launching an application that resided on a network volume, now takes up to a full minute. But ask XP to talk to anything on an NT server, and it runs like lightening.

Just be glad you stayed away from ME. ME can single handedly kill Novell....KILL!!

Hopefully some day Mac will be more wide sperad in the US, or maybe even A Unix Gui OS will have the money to pay off a bunch of companies that will pre-install their OS. [fu]

Microsoft. Too bad we need you:(

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-03-2005, 06:43 PM:

I can second that the Keyspan USB adapter I have has been about as good as one could ask for. I have NOT tried it on a Sony processor but on a CP650, DA20 and a slew of other stuff...it is AOK.

As to PCMICA units...they are THE tanks of making it all compatible. For a real pesky installation I had with some DELLs dude only SocketCom PCMICA COM port adapters seemed to do the job...and a GREAT job they have done...it is like there isn't any adapter in the way.

Steve

Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 01-12-2005, 09:03 PM:

Just an FYI, I got a Keyspan USA-19HS in yesterday (USB to RS232) and it works great. Got it from PC Connection for about $35.

--Chris