Sony XBR-xxxxxxx LCD Display

Upon installation of the display and the first time the driver is run, a manual "Powering On" of the display must be performed. Once the display and driver establish first contact the driver issues a "Standby Enable" command. This enables the display to power up through the RS-232 port. This may need to be performed again if the display loses power for an extended period of time.

Provides control and feedback for Sony XBR LCD Displays via RS-232. Version 1.0 of the driver was tested using a XBR-46HX909. Version 1.1 of the driver was tested using a XBR-46HX929. Version 1.2 was tested using a XBR-55X850C.

Release History

1.0 The initial release of the driver

1.1 Added C4 Special Sircs emulation and Status change response monitoring. Added Series Type selection in driver configuration. Added Mute State variable for HX929 Series mode use.

1.11 Added additional Special Sircs emulation commands from latest Sony protocol documentation.

Added additional information to Series Type configuration selection.

1.2 Added X8xxC selection to Series Type configuration.

Updated Software/Firmware requirements for Dynamic Driver capabilities.

RS-232 Connection

The RS-232 connection on the display should be connected with a null modem to the XP processor.

For X8xxC models with the 3.5mm stereo jack, the pinout of the jack is Tip/Pin2/RX, Ring/Pin3/TX, Sleeve/Pin5/GND.

The display defaults to a baud rate of 9600.

Driver Settings

Start Up Time - Determines the amount of time (in seconds) given to the driver for the display to warm up before commands can be sent. This does not change the length of start up for the display. The display start up time may change periodically, so it is recommended to enter the amount of time which is most reliable. Sony recommends a minimum of 20 seconds. The driver default setting is 30 seconds. Adjust higher if variable initialization is problematic (i.e. Power, Volume, Input, and/or Channel variables).

Series Type - Select the series type most compatible with the display being controlled. If the display supports C4/RS232 Special capabilities select the HX929 Series (enabling Control4/RS232 setting in the display's preferences menu is required). Refer to Sony documentation for the display's capabilities.

Driver Notes

The display does not return unsolicited feedback so the driver does not get sent information when the state of the display is changed outside of the driver. A poll every 30 seconds will however update the power state, volume, selected input, and current channel (if applicable). When using driver commands, feedback queries are sent for the command sent after the display acknowledges a successful command execution. If using a sustained driver command i.e. Volume Ramp, the feedback will update as it can while the volume is being ramped. If using the Set Volume command, the driver updates the Volume variable internally, and then gets the final volume update from the display when available.

The display only provides feedback for Power, Start Up, Volume/Mute* (DOES NOT SUPPORT MUTE STATE IN HX909 SERIES MODE), Input (DOES NOT INCLUDE INTERNET VIDEO), and Current Channel.

When tuning to a channel via the "Channel Numeric" commands, the "Enter" command must be issued last to execute the channel change. If 5 seconds pass without an "Enter" command after a "Channel Numeric" command is issued the channel change is cleared out and must be started over. If the channel being input was not the intended channel the "Clear" command clears out the buffer and the channel can be re-input. If the display cannot tune to the channel the "Channel Info" variable resets to the currently tuned channel.

Feedback responses while using IR Emulation Control can be slower than non-IR emulation commands.

Some commands available in the driver may not work with the display in use. Please test all commands programmed on the user interfaces before turning over to the end user. Directly from the Sony RS232 documentation - "“NETFLIX” and “SEN” is not available for all models."

Upon installation of the display and the first time the driver is run, a manual "Powering On" of the display must be performed. Once the display and driver establish first contact the driver issues a "Standby Enable" command. This enables the display to power up through the RS-232 port. This may need to be performed again if the display loses power for an extended period of time.