Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DSS200 and Jnior 310

This is topic DSS200 and Jnior 310 - solved! in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 06-25-2012, 12:11 PM:

Can the Jnior be controlled via TCP/IP on the projection network in a DSS200 system? Dolby support says you use serial control but that sounds a bit unreal. The other servers I've used (Doremi and GDC) use TCP/IP, and I've never tried serial control with the Jnior... doing the login seems a bit difficult in particular. I have a call in to Integ, waiting for a callback from Rick.

Update: All settled (I hope), but I wonder why Dolby can't let a Jnior use TCP/IP.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-26-2012, 06:13 AM:

It isn't specific to the Junior...Dolby, for whatever reason, has not opened up their Ethernet port for automation use except by NA10 or by those that want to learn their API. I agree, it would be great if they could allow the user/installer to create commands via Ethernet rather than having to run RS232. Then again...RS232 is a more reliable communication medium as it is one-to-one without address and communication conflicts.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-26-2012, 11:50 AM:

Well, by any means, that's a huge con for the Dolby servers.

- Carsten

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 06-27-2012, 06:19 AM:

I don't know that it's a big deal. If it works, there's no huge problem. I think Dolby has taken an Apple-ish approach, where the system is designed so you can't get "under the hood" easily... but generally does work. One example is that projector or sound processor cues don't exist until the devices are hooked up: ie until you have a CP750 networked to the server there is no way to see any CP750 control cues. Connect one and voila! there they are.
Once you set up serial control cues for a Jnior or whatever - and you do have to set it up, there is no preloaded library - it looks like you can save them to an xml file and transfer them to another DSS200. The Jnior has to be reprogrammed for serial control as well: it will not work with a DSS200 "out of the box", making a Jnior replacement a bit complicated.
In my opinion Doremi is more user-friendly with non-proprietary network protocols and preloaded libraries for common devices.
We haven't had any problems with automation control over the network.
But, then again, I don't want to play in Apple's walled garden either.