Using a Mac on a CP 650

[Lindsay Morris]

Hi Forum,

Does anyone here use a Mac to communicate with a CP 650?? Where I volunteer (FM Community Radio) I have NO problems using either a Mac or a Win machine to access the various bits of gear we have.
I have just got hold of a CP650 for my home cinema and for the life of me I cannot get it to talk to the Mac Book I have anyone have experience using Macs??

[Marco Giustini]

Even Windows was fussy with the CP650, you might be out of luck with a mac!

Which macOS are you running? Is that ARM or Intel platform? You will need a Virtual Machine with Windows running but if you have an "M" machine, you can only run Windows 11 ARM on it (*). The CP650 app will be translated automatically to x86 but now you have several layers of translation and complexity which can spoil the result!

If you have an older Intel machine, it's more likely to make it work - still via a Virtual Machine but this time you can install a proper x86 version.

Now, before we all assume it's a mac issue, can you first confirm that your SERIAL adaptor is being liked by the CP650 setup software using an ACTUAL Windows machine? Windows 11 should work as well.

Many RS232 adaptors were not working with the 650, the one which should work is the USA-19HS from TrippLite, though I have encountered at least one which wasn't working on a JSD-80 (while my personal one did) so there might be multiple revisions of it.

Once you can confirm your RS232 adaptor can talk to the 650, then you can try on macOS. I can give that a go myself, I never really tried connecting to the 650 using my "M" Mac.

(*) I understand you can install an x86 Windows on an ARM Mac but I'm told it's going to be extremely slow! Remember: Windows 11 ARM will automatically translate x86 software. However, you CANNOT use x86 DRIVERS on an ARM windows machine. I don't see an ARM driver for the USA-19HS

[Marcel Birgelen]

Can you explain how you're trying to connect to the CP650? I usually don't have any issues sending TCP commands to the CP650, also not via a Mac. What you have to keep in mind that the TCP service is single-threaded and will only take one session at a time from a single remote host.

[Marco Giustini]

Marcel,
The 650 control app is serial only. Network on the 650 is only for basic commands, right?

[Marcel Birgelen]

Marcel,
The 650 control app is serial only. Network on the 650 is only for basic commands, right?

Network TCP commands take the same form as serial commands. Problem is, they're often unreliable, because of the single-threaded nature of the network stack on the CP650. If someone doesn't close their TCP connection, you cannot connect and you will not get your commands delivered. That's why I personally prefer to communicate via serial. Now, I usually also don't have problems communicating serially using a proper RS232 USB dongle on either Windows or Mac and using the proper connection settings.

But Lindsay didn't tell us what the exact problem is, only that there is a "connection issue".

[Marco Giustini]

\re we talking about the same processor, Marcel?

I'm not aware of a way to connect to a 650 via ethernet.

Screenshot 2026-08-27 124028.png

I've never considered the 650 could actually receive ethernet commands more than the ones shown in the manual - the 750 is another story, all commands you see in the "expert view" panel can be issues either serially or via network. You could build your own app with that in mind

PS: I can now confirm the USA-19HS does not work with ARM architecture. Neither macOS nor Windows 11 inside macOS can deal with it. Apparently an FTDI device is the solution but, once again, we need to find one which the 650 will like

[Leo Enticknap]

As others have noted, you can send API commands to a CP650 over Ethernet (unreilably, and if no other device has the port open), but you can't use the control app: that only communicates via RS232.

I don't know about Macs, but the CP650 control app works and connects OK on my dual boot Windows 11/Ubuntu (24.04 LTS) laptop when it's booted into Ubuntu and running through WINE with this adapter. If there is a Windows app emulator available for the Mac and it can communicate with USB devices plugged into it, it's worth giving it a try, I guess.

[Marco Giustini]

@Leo
Is yours an Apple silicon macbook or - as I suspect - and Intel Macbook? In the latter, any Windows x86 app and driver would work in a VM or (even better) in a dual-boot macOS/Windows environment.

macOS doesn't have an emulator - you can only install Windows inside a Virtual Machine.

Out of curiosity I've ordered an FTDI usb->RS232 adaptor which is supposed to be fully supported by ARM Operating Systems. I'll test the CP650 inside the Windows 11 ARM VM soon.

[Marcel Birgelen]

If I remember correctly, the Ethernet connector is to the right of the RS232 Serial port. I'm not aware of any versions without this port. Most use the RS232 port for remote control, also because of the flakiness of the Ethernet implementation. If you run an nmap or similar port scan on the IP of the machine, you run a serious risk of it dying on you...

\re we talking about the same processor, Marcel?
I'm not aware of a way to connect to a 650 via ethernet.

Like Leo noticed, the CP650 setup app doesn't work via Ethernet, although I'm pretty sure they could make it work if they really wanted to.

Likely the more popular virtualization software package for Mac is Parallels Desktop, which supports running Intel x86 software on Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 and later). It's not free though.

[Leo Enticknap]

The only non-native Windows environment I've run the CP650 app on is Ubuntu (see above). I don't like Apple's "walled garden" policy and inflated prices for everything: I don't own a Mac and don't intend ever to. Between them, Windows and a Linux-based desktop OS can do everything I need to. If there were ever a version of Q-Sys Designer for Linux and a Microsoft Office equivalent that is as good as Office, which will not run glitch free within WINE (Windows Emulator for Linux), I would be able to ditch Windows. But Open Office and Libre Office just aren't, and I have tried them extensively. All the cinema-specific Windows apps I use also work well in WINE, with the exceptions of the app for the USL convergence camera (but a modern cellphone on a tripod is as good as that anyways, so it would be no great loss) and Q-Sys Designer.

[Marcel Birgelen]

The reason for me to use Mac is simply because I didn't want the hassle of keeping my Windows system running and Linux still misses some of the tools I unfortunately need for everyday work. The gap is closing, so my next notebook might be a Linux notebook. I've been an avid Linux and FreeBSD user for about 30 years now, but I primarily use it on server systems. While I love the freedom of choice, I sometimes think that the Linux desktop suffers under too much choice.

[Marco Giustini]

Sorry Leo, I misread your message about a Mac.

If I remember correctly, the Ethernet connector is to the right of the RS232 Serial port. I'm not aware of any versions without this port.

I think we're on different pages. When I say "I'm not aware of a way to connect to a 650 via ethernet." I mean "I'm not aware of a way to connect the setup software to a 650 via ethernet." This is what the OP is talking about, right?


Marcel,
Even Parallels Desktop discourage you from running x86 Windows! The below is from the official KB

I honestly feel an RS232 adaptor which comes with its own x86 proprietary driver in an x86 VM run on ARM architecture is not worth the effort!


SCR-20260827-pndl-2.png

[Marcel Birgelen]

Marco, I have no clue what the OP is talking about, that's why I asked. There is no mention of Setup Software. So, anything we think to deduce from the rather cryptic information is pure speculation, until we get an answer.

Emulating an x86 running Windows on an ARM CPU will never be fast. But, we're not talking about an advanced piece of software here compared to modern standards... Heck, it communicates over RS232 serial after all... It's more like emulating a NES game on a PS5...

[Marco Giustini]

Marco, I have no clue what the OP is talking about, that's why I asked. There is no mention of Setup Software. So, anything we think to deduce from the rather cryptic information is pure speculation, until we get an answer.

Fair enough, my vote is that they're trying to use the setup software to access the 650 to set it up We shall see!

Emulating an x86 running Windows on an ARM CPU will never be fast. But, we're not talking about an advanced piece of software here for modern standards... Heck, it communicates over RS232 serial after all... It's more like emulating a NES game on a PS5...

No but... did yo read the KB I posted? 7 minutes to boot, unresponsive, "use one app at the time". I honestly don't think x86 Windows is an option to even consider.
ARM compatible RS232 adaptors do exist and - surprisingly - Microsoft's x86 translation is pretty good in Windows 11 ARM (drivers excluded) so I think the 650 setup software can work ok.

[Marcel Birgelen]

No but... did yo read the KB I posted? 7 minutes to boot, unresponsive, "use one app at the time". I honestly don't think x86 Windows is an option to even consider.
ARM compatible RS232 adaptors do exist and - surprisingly - Microsoft's x86 translation is pretty good in Windows 11 ARM (drivers excluded) so I think the 650 setup software can work ok.

I'm running it myself for a limited set of old Windows tools and it's slow, still pretty buggy and certainly not something you want to spend the entire day doing, but on my M3 Max it boots within a minute or two and a half. And no, you're not going to run the latest Windows games this way, but for something like the Dolby Setup software it's just about fine.