Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Integrating Nec NC 900 with Extron Control

This is topic Integrating Nec NC 900 with Extron Control in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=002380

Posted by William Stewart Lane (Member # 8937) on 08-03-2015, 07:45 AM:

Has anyone done this using Extron control and have there been any issues or lack of functionality?
Also has anyone installed both the 900 and the 1200 and are there pros and cons with either ( both) units?
We have also been told that NEC is not providing control info that Extron needs to build a driver for either MEC.
Any thoughts ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time!!!

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 08-03-2015, 09:06 PM:

One of the screening rooms I work at has an NEC interfaced with an Extron touch panel
control system which also controls the house and stage lights, curtain, masking and
a microphone mixer. ( ! )

I have control over projector power, dowser and all the macro settings from the touch panel.
The Xenon has to be turned on right at the side of the projector though, which is a
good idea since there's also a switch on the wall right there for the roof exhaust fan.

To answer one of your questions- - It works well, and I've never had any problems, other
than that I wish whoever programmed the touch-screen panel had put a little more space
between the dowser 'open-close' buttons and the projector power controls. It's easy to
'fat finger' the wrong one, and for that reason I keep a stylus hung next to the touch
screen and use that to issue commands.

As for your other question: I have no friggin' idea how they did it.

I don't know who installed and programmed the system, and I have very little documentation
on the Extron, nor do I have the software to get into the controller, or any passwords. ( ! )

I don't know how long the Extron retains memory in a power outage. The system is on a UPS,
but I have a feeling that if there's ever an extended power outage, and the Extron looses
all it's set-up configuration, I'm hosed. . .

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 08-04-2015, 04:15 AM:

The Extron memory certainly is not volatile, probably not even battery buffered, but flash. Extron configs are too complex to expose them to such precariousness.

Some DCI projectors use common remote control protocol with non-DCI projectors of the same manufacturer. If all fails, the protocol can be wiresharked between a server and projector. I can't believe a company like Extron has trouble with it!?

I programmed my own NC900C projector on/off sequence with some help from this forum.

http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=002010#000000

- Carsten

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 08-04-2015, 04:18 AM:

pls delete

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-04-2015, 07:05 AM:

You can certainly control the NEC serially with Extron MLC or GC controllers via commands you can manually enter and Exton allows for direct HEX inputs using the "%" prefex. If you want to use Ethernet you'd use a serial to Ethernet adapter such as those from Lantronix. With Extron's GCP stuff (came about about a year ago), one can also issue their own commands via Ethernet too.

As for the NEC command set...NEC has a published list (a rather extensive document too that pretty well describes all of the available commands, their hex strings and what the possible responses are. You'd have to provide Extron with that document for them to create a driver though they likely would need guidance as to what you would consider important on both monitoring and commands. Believe it or not, it has a rather extensive error code list that is monitorable and you could have an Extron controller to start emailing you if say a lamp went over hours and such or any one of several hundred other codes. The more extensive you have them make it, the longer the turn around and if they don't have a sample projector to test it on, it would be up to you to test it upon receipt.