Looking for Sony SRX Controller software / RM-PJ4K / RS-232 protocol for SRX-R105

[Agnes Leijon]

Our non-profit association has acquired a Sony SRX-R105. Unfortunately we did not receive the original installation CD, SRX Controller software, or the RM-PJ4K remote control.

The projector powers up enough to display the serial number and IP address on the side status display, but the status LED remains solid red and no image or lamp output appears. A Mac connected via DVI-to-HDMI detects the projector and reads its EDID correctly. Same with an older Windows laptop.

We have already:

• tested with multiple lamp modules,
• connected Ethernet (no response to ping),
• tried different resolutions and mirrored output,
• searched Sony support channels without success.

We are now looking for any of the following:

• SRX Controller installation CD / ISO / installer (most important)
• RM-PJ4K remote control
• RS-232C protocol manual for the SRX-105 / SRX-110 series
• Firmware files if they still exist

If anyone has archived copies from an old cinema installation, university, museum, or AV company, we would be extremely grateful for any help. Even a photo of the CD label or a screenshot of the software would be useful.

Thank you!

Location: Sweden

Note: we have already reached out to several Sony support instances, including Sony Pro support, but have not received any replies.

[Stefan Scholz]

You are actually interested in using this museum piece in a "production environment".
This is End of life/ End of service for nearly 2 decades. Sony Pro has discontinued the projection branch in 2020.
Even if I try, all I eventually have is the SRX controller software used with the SRX 220. I am not sure if this also worked with the 105/ 110 types.

You can try it if you like.

St

[Agnes Leijon]

You are actually interested in using this museum piece in a "production environment".
This is End of life/ End of service for nearly 2 decades. Sony Pro has discontinued the projection branch in 2020.
Even if I try, all I eventually have is the SRX controller software used with the SRX 220. I am not sure if this also worked with the 105/ 110 types.

You can try it if you like.

St

Thank you for your reply!

We are well aware that the SRX-R105 is long past end-of-life, and we don't expect Sony to provide any support. We're a non-profit cultural association in Sweden, and the projector was donated to us. We'd simply like to find out whether it can be brought back to life before giving up on it.

If the SRX-220 controller software is all you have, I'd still be very interested in trying it. Even if it turns out to be incompatible, it might tell us whether Sony kept a similar communication protocol between generations.

Were you involved in installing or servicing the SRX-105/110 series? If so, do you remember whether they required the controller software just to power on the projector, or would a working unit normally start and display an image without it?

Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

[Stefan Scholz]

I actually expect them to have kept the communication protocols over years and inbetween generations.
I have installed hundreds of Sony projectors over the years, but the 105-110 has been "legacy" even in 2009.
on my old 200X laptop running Win 7 I can see an SRX controller for the 220 (320) line of cinema projectors, and there is a version which includes "for T105-T110". So eventually we have found the version you need.
It certainly requires Win XP at max, and I doubt it runs on newer versions of Windoze. "Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 2 (excluding x64 editions)". "SRX Controller will NOT WORK ON MACINTOSH SYSTEMS!!!"

I was able to copy the installation files and upload them to an online drive. Link below.
srx_dijector_sw

The required user and password may be included in the documentation. I have not looked it up.

Try to use it, and hopefully it help.

St

[Marco Giustini]

Agnes,
I see the R105 features a Xenon lamp if not mistaken. I just want to double check you're aware of the risks involved in handling a Xenon bulb? Those require special attention, it's not something you can handle with free hands for your own safety.

[Agnes Leijon]

Agnes,
I see the R105 features a Xenon lamp if not mistaken. I just want to double check you're aware of the risks involved in handling a Xenon bulb? Those require special attention, it's not something you can handle with free hands for your own safety.

Thank you for the information, I was not aware. What are the risks, is it hazardous when broken, or even when in use? We even have two new spare ones that were apparently donated with the projector.

Since the organization has gone through a lot of changes over the years, we do not know who donated the projector and when, or what the plan was when it was donated.

[Marco Giustini]

Xenon lamps contained Xenon gas at high pressure even when cold. When hot, the pressure increases. Handling a xenon lamp must be done with heavy duty gloves, face mask and body protection. The lamp could explode at any time even when cold and even when not mishandled. The explosion will project Quartz shards everywhere. Without protection, it could be fatal.

Now, someone will say they never used any protection and they never had issues - good for them. But it takes one event to potentially affect your life and I feel it's not worth.

If your projector has a used Xenon lamp inside, chances are it's very old and it might have been through rough handling sooooo.... ideally you want to replace it before turning that thing on! But you don't even know if it's working. While the lamp is inside the projector, you should be properly shielded but please keep in mind the above if you're thinking of "taking a look inside".

The above is just a guideline, please don't take it as exhaustive instructions.

Random pic of a Xenon Safety gear below ? (I'd say the face mask is not suitable as it leaves your neck exposed)

200px-Safety_gear.jpg

[Agnes Leijon]

I actually expect them to have kept the communication protocols over years and inbetween generations.
I have installed hundreds of Sony projectors over the years, but the 105-110 has been "legacy" even in 2009.
on my old 200X laptop running Win 7 I can see an SRX controller for the 220 (320) line of cinema projectors, and there is a version which includes "for T105-T110". So eventually we have found the version you need.
It certainly requires Win XP at max, and I doubt it runs on newer versions of Windoze. "Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 2 (excluding x64 editions)". "SRX Controller will NOT WORK ON MACINTOSH SYSTEMS!!!"

I was able to copy the installation files and upload them to an online drive. Link below.
srx_dijector_sw

The required user and password may be included in the documentation. I have not looked it up.

Try to use it, and hopefully it help.

St

Interesting, so it was considered legacy already 3-4 years after it was released?

Thank you for the software, I will try it when I have found up an old WinXP laptop that I probably have at home.

I was aware that the software will not work on a Mac. I am just not used to projectors that need any special software at all. Anything I used for the last decade is just plug and play I was kind of hoping a remote could be enough, but that seems equally hard to find, at least the original model

Any idea what I could use the projector (and/or lamps) for if we cannot get it to work? Just hazardous waste?

[Leo Enticknap]

Another issue with xenon arc bulbs is that "new, old stock" ones (i.e. lamps that have not been used, but were manufactured many years ago and have been in storage ever since) may have started to depressurize as the seals at either end of the bulb degrade over time. If the depressurization is slight, the symptom will be a flicker when the lamp is running. If it's severe, the lamp won't strike at all. For this reason, the major manufacturers typically warranty their lamps for a given number of hours or two years from the purchase date, whichever comes first. So unless the two new spares donated with the projector were manufactured relatively recently, don't rely on them being usable.

In practice and in my experience, installing a lamp less than five years from its manufacture date and finding it to be flickery is almost unknown. The one time I did was with one that had only been made three months prior, and so that one was a manufacturing defect rather than age-related. But beyond five years, in my experience, it's a crap shoot. They may be perfectly OK, they may be NFG, they may be flickery out of the box, or they may be OK for a few hundred hours, but not for the full warranty hours that they're supposed to be OK for.

But this is a very minor issue compared to the safety precautions needed when handling these things, that Marco describes. You will need a full face visor, a ballistic jacket, and a pair of safety gloves. I would also strongly suggest that you try to find someone who can train you in the lamp swapout procedure rather than just rely on YouTube videos or AI chatbots to figure out how it's done.

[Marco Giustini]

the lamp must be properly disposed. It must be exploded before it's disposed. Usually the process is to put it back into its box (which gives protection), smash it (while protected) and then it can be disposed as special waste (Quartz + tungsten, check with your local laws). Xenon is an inert gas and won't pollute the environment.

But, again, you'll need protection to remove it.

What matters is that the projector is not disposed "as is" as someone might find it, open it, handle the lamp and get injured.

You'll find that cinema projectors - or PRO projectors - are far from being "plug and play" I'm afraid ?

[Leo Enticknap]

In the USA, LTI offers a free recycling service for used xenon lamps. You simply ship lamps to them, unexploded, in their original packaging. I don't know if they are willing to take on the shipping cost for international customers, but it can't hurt to ask. Their factory is only a 2-3 mile detour from my drive between home and LA area service calls, and so I'll drop a few in to them every few weeks. I'd much rather do that than risk exploding bits of quartz exiting a box at high velocity.

[Marco Giustini]

I remember I learnt how dangerous xenon lamps were many years ago: a, small, used lamp, stored in its box and plastic case, fell from vertical position to horizontal. There was a loud POP; when I opened the box, the plastic case was shattered. Then is when I learnt to treat those lamps with respect!

Leo, I can only imagine the paperwork required to ship a pressurised Xenon lamp abroad! I'm sure Agnes can find a cinema company willing to do that for them in Sweden!

[Ryan Gallagher]

For those of us who have handled them off and on our whole careers it feels very routine. But the abundance of caution is justified for new folks, at minimum the necessary PPE.

I recently intentionally popped some very small spotlight versions prepping them for disposal. They were in their explosive plastic shield, dropped a small sledge hammer on them from waist height while wearing protective gear anyway. One of them sounded like a gunshot going off. Some of our local spotlight operators have had that experience while running a show, luckily the lamp house provides the protection to the operator then, but didn't stop them from destroying half the internals of the lamp house.

[Leo Enticknap]

I'm sure Agnes can find a cinema company willing to do that for them in Sweden!

At the time LTI started their program, they claimed that it was the only one of its kind in the world, and that they had developed a process to recover the xenon gas from used lamps and reuse it. I suppose that even if you don't recover the gas, you can still recycle the quartz, tungsten, and whatever metal is used for the end caps. But i don't know of any other lamp manufacturer or vendor that offers to take back used ones. If they did, they would probably wrap 'em, smash 'em and trash 'em, just like you or I would.

[Stefan Scholz]

Interesting, so it was considered legacy already 3-4 years after it was released?

Thank you for the software, I will try it when I have found up an old WinXP laptop that I probably have at home.

I was aware that the software will not work on a Mac. I am just not used to projectors that need any special software at all. Anything I used for the last decade is just plug and play I was kind of hoping a remote could be enough, but that seems equally hard to find, at least the original model

Any idea what I could use the projector (and/or lamps) for if we cannot get it to work? Just hazardous waste?

It was a try in the cinema business, and only a few appeared as R 105-110 units.
This used a complex media player, that came with a storage server, Show Management Server, Switch, etc., all in different rack mount appliances for the cinema version.
Withdrawn shortly after. AFAIK some were used in commercial applications for simulation and projection in other fields.
Contrast wasn't great on these, image uniformity, stability also. And the efficiency wasn't really great.
It eventually has a DVI input, which not necessairily support HDMI over DVI, or only some 1.0 standard, making it difficult to play encrypted content.

At the time 20 years ago a control software connected over a serial management port was pretty much standard on mot equipment in a professional domain. Integrated web servers are fairly new.

You should just try to set it up. Install the software, try to connect, and see what it does. The lenses had a very narrow zoom range, but from the optical quality they were outstanding. Way better than those on the cinema versions.


Where are you located in Sweden? It's also on the baltic coast like I am, but there can be many miles in between.