It came as a pleasant surprise recently to see AV professionals commenting in a forum state a preference for commercial monitors with RS-232 over alternative consumer models lacking RS-232.
Here at Digital View we have made great use of RS-232 over the years and continue to do so with standardized command sets and various utilities, for example:
– All our media players can be fully controlled by RS-232 commands and can equally send out RS-232 to other devices. This can be data or instructions and allows for remote device monitoring and control. In addition powerful and innovative interactive systems can be created.
– The DV LCD interface controller range has a significant RS-232 command set giving access to the extensive range of functions available.
It can sometimes be hard to explain the possible benefits to users, it is a bit like the rather unhelpful ‘your imagination is the limit’ promotional line – indeed, that is the challenge. One of the more common uses we see is to make custom button sets so a single button executes a number of commands. Another is for communication of monitoring data and our own DisplayMark digital signage display and temperature monitor is a good example.
At times it has looked like RS-232 was going away, certainly seeing it vanish from the consumer market was ominous. It is reassuring the professionals still understand and seek the benefits.
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