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Here's receivers that allow bidirectional serial control

post #1 of 82
11/13/05 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
[Updated on 10/24/06]
List of audio stuff that has bidirectional serial control.

There's obvoiusly many more specs that really differentiate them, there's stuff on here from $500-$5000. The point is that they're all serial controllable by your HTPC and CQC. If you're sick of guessing if there's no sound b/c the stereo is off, muted, or just real low, then use one of those packages to pop up a status window at will [i.e., press the info button on your remote].

All prices are MSRP, and items are linked to the best page I could find.

Yamaha
RX-V1500, 120W x 7.1, 2 Zone . $850
RX-V1600, 3zone, 120w x 7, $1100
RX-V2500, 130w x 7.1, 2 Zone, $1100
RX-V2600, 130w x 7, 3 zone, $1400
RX-V4600, 3 Zone, 130w x 7.1, $1900
RX-Z1, 130w x 6 + 45w x 2, 2zone(?hard to tell?), $2800


Denon
AVR-2105: 2 zone, 90w x 7.1, $650
AVR-2106: 2 zone, 100w x 7.1, $700
AVR-2805: 2 zone, 100w x 7.1, $900
AVR-2807:
AVR-3805: 3 zone, 110w x 7.1, $1200 (I have this one, it's awesome)
AVR-3806 3 zone, 120w x 7.1, $1300
AVR-4306: Also has TCPIP
AVR-4802
AVR-4806: 130w x 7.1, 3 Zone, $3500. Also has TCPIP
AVR-5800
AVR-5803
AVR-5805: 170w x 10.1, 4 Zone, $6000. Also has TCPIP



Pioneer [this is their elite series]:
VSX-52TX: 2 Zone, 110w x 7.1, $1000
VSX-72TXV: 3 Zone, 130w x 7.1, $1400
VSX-54TX: 2 Zone, 110w x 7.1, $1500
VSX-74TXVi: 3 Zone, 140w x 7.1, $1700
VSX-56TXi: 2 Zone, 110w x 7.1, $1700
VSX-59TXi: 2 Zone, 160w x 7.1, $4500. Has WMA/MP3/WAV playback via USB.

Onkyo
TX-NR1000, 150w x 7.1, 3 Zone, $5000

Anthem
AVM-20, 3 Zone/4 path, $3200
Anthem AVM-30, 3 Zone/4 path, $3000
AVM-50, out shortly
Statement D1, 3Zone/4Path, $5000
Statement D2, out shortly

Sony
STRDA3000ES, 2 Zone, 150w x 7.1, $450 Street [seems to be on clearance, so MSRP of $1000 is misleading]

NAD
T762
T763, 2Zone, 100w x 6.1, $1395
T773, 2Zone, 110w x 7.1, $1800

Harman Kardon
AVR-635, 75w x 7.1, $1300 (street is MUCH lower)
AVR435: 65w x 7.1, $1000. (not positive this is controllable, but there is an RS232 port)

Rotel
RSX-1056, 75w x 5.1, $1299
RSX-1067, 100w x 7.1, $2200

Arcam
Arcam AV8

Theta
Casablanca
Dreadnaught

Lexicon
DC-2
MC-1
MC-12

Outlaw
990

Sherwood
P-965

Xantech
ZPR68-10

Integra (Onkyo's high-end division)
All Integra receivers.
DTR-4.6, 90w x 5.1
DTR-5.6, 90w x 7.1
DTR-6.6, 105w x 7.1
DTR-7.6, 105w x 7.1
And also these, but there's too dang many for me to link to. DTC-7, DTC-9.1 V2, DTC-9.4, DTR-4.5, DTR-4.6-J, DTR-5.2, DTR-5.3, DTR-5.4, DTR-5.5, DTR-5.6-J, DTR-6.2, DTR-6.3, DTR-6.4, DTR-6.5,DTR-6.6-J, DTR-7.1, DTR-7.2, DTR-7.3, DTR-7.4, DTR-7.6-J, DTR-8.2, DTR-8.3, DTR-8.4, DTR-9.1, DTR-10.5, DTX-7, RDC-7, RDC-7 V2, RDC-7.1, TX-DS787, TX-DS797, TX-DS898, TX-DS989, TX-DS989 V2, TX-NA900, TX-NA1000, TX-NR900, TX-NR901, TX-NR1000, TX-NR5000E, TX-SR702, TX-SR703, TX-SR703-J, TX-SR803, TX-SR803-J,

Russound
CAV6.6, 6zone/6source, 20w x 12, $1300 just for receiver (no keypads)

Nuvo
Concerto, 6source/8zone, 40w x 12, $7000 includes 6 keypads
Essentia, 6source/6zone, 25w x 12, $2000 includes 6 keypads

Parasound
New Classic 7100
Halo C1
Halo C2

Krell
Krell HTS 7.1 processor
Krell KCT Stereo pre-amp

B&K
B&K CT-600
B&K HD-6
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post #2 of 82
11/13/05 at 5:37pm
I believe the Anthem AVM-20, AVM-30, AVM-50, Statement D1 and Statement D2 (AVM-50/D2 not out yet) do/will
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post #3 of 82
11/13/05 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stanger89 View Post

I believe the Anthem AVM-20, AVM-30, AVM-50, Statement D1 and Statement D2 (AVM-50/D2 not out yet) do/will

Yikes; considering the cheapest of that bunch is still $3XXX, i'd want it to come with a bikini model to hook it up to my system.

But yes, they're serial controllable, i'll put those on the master list.
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post #4 of 82
11/13/05 at 8:00pm
We use Sony ES and NAD receiver processors both with rs232 control.
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post #5 of 82
11/14/05 at 12:07am
So if one had one of these receivers and girder, could it be controlled for things like volume and surround modes etc. How about volume presets of some sort? For things like jumping to say 0db reference when a movie starts.

This would be useful when gear is out of sight.
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post #6 of 82
11/14/05 at 7:11am
I have a Denon 3803 that I'm controlling serially with Girder. Yes you can control volume, surround mode, etc. You can create Girder scripts that preset everything. The bidirectional aspect lets you get information from the receiver. So, for example, you can determine the surround setting of the receiver when it's powered on and display that information. That way if you manually change a setting on the receiver (i.e. volume, input, etc.) , the HTPC will still know what it's set to.
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post #7 of 82
11/14/05 at 7:45am
Lexicon pre/pros all have serial control. I control my MC-1 with Meedio running the RS232 plugin.
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post #8 of 82
11/14/05 at 10:33am
Denon:
AVR-5800 - Serial
AVR-5803 - Serial
AVR-5805 - Serial/TCPIP
AVR-4802 - Serial
AVR-4806 - Serial/TCPIP
AVR-4306 - Serial/TCPIP
AVR-3803 - Serial
AVR-3806 - Serial
AVR-2803 - Serial
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post #9 of 82
11/14/05 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tukkis View Post

So if one had one of these receivers and girder, could it be controlled for things like volume and surround modes etc. How about volume presets of some sort? For things like jumping to say 0db reference when a movie starts.

This would be useful when gear is out of sight.

Yep, that's the theory. I went down this route as all my equipment is in the next room. I opted go a bit nicer, and get CQC to create custom screens with exactly what I want, where I want. I'm currently hooking it up to my MX800 RF/IR remote so that when I press the "info" button, it'll pop up a screen with the info.

Here's 2 samples.

This was my first one that I did in my first 2 hours with the package, before I knew anything about CQC. It's pretty ugly, but you get the point. I can display any receiver status I want, and put buttons on it to change at will. [ie., switch from stereo to 5.1 for movies vs music]

I can also setup actions so that on a button click, it sets volume to a set level. You mentioned 0db



Here's my 2nd one. i started down an "art meets HTPC" UI. Again, this is mid-flight, so not totally done. The green & red buttons on the bottom right flip color and text from "Turn L/R on" to "Turn L/R off" based on the state of the receiver.

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post #10 of 82
11/14/05 at 12:38pm
The Pioneer VSX-59TXi supports bi-directional serial control. I've never used it, but did get a document on the protocol from Pioneer's web site.
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post #11 of 82
11/14/05 at 1:14pm
They don't aggressively advertise it as such, but I'm 90% certain the HK 635 (and probably 435) support bi-directional control over their RS-232 port.
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post #12 of 82
11/14/05 at 1:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sensibull View Post

That don't aggressively advertise it as such, but I'm 90% certain the HK 635 (and probably 435) support bi-directional control over their RS-232 port.

I just checked the website - the 635 does support it. The HK site doesn't say anything about the 435, but there is a serial port and other websites claim it works.

I put it on the list.
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post #13 of 82
11/14/05 at 1:57pm
It would be fantastic if people already harnessing this feature would share their Girder command group(s). Frankly, that program frightens me.
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post #14 of 82
11/14/05 at 2:16pm
I've been controlling my Rotel RSX-1055 via serial connection with Girder. The serial configuration file I created is on the promixis website (http://www.promixis.com/downloads.php -- filter for Girder / Serial Setting... and don't believe that the name of the author is accurate )

There are also many other rotel products which can be controlled with some slight tweaks to the above girder file (ie. RSX-1066, RSX-1056, RSX-1068, RSX-1098, etc.)

Eiffel
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post #15 of 82
11/14/05 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sensibull View Post

It would be fantastic if people already harnessing this feature would share their Girder command group(s). Frankly, that program frightens me.

My issue with Girder was that unidirectional control is nice, but it's not easy to display the status in an attractive, user-friendly format. Basic serial control and return of status is not enough (for me). Plus, try integrating it with NetRemote - i ran away screaming.

My biggest issue with putting my Denon in my closet was that I couldn't tell if there was no sound b/c the thing was off, muted, volume was down, or it was set to the wrong source.

That's one of the biggest reasons I switched to CQC; it's basically girder, netremote, and homeseer all rolled into one. Once 1.5 comes out, it'll be myHTPC/MainLobby/Xlobby stuff to boot. The screen painting to display the status you want is just soooo easy. Plus now I can control zWave lights & drapes, soon my aprilaire thermostat, so that I control everything I want. I won't use a single UI for that, rather multiple so it's scenario based. [i.e., what do i want to do when i'm going to watch a movie? lights, stereo, TV, ...]
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post #16 of 82
11/14/05 at 2:32pm
Girder can definitely do much more than unidirectional control... For instance, I have set up a VFD display to 'mirror' what's showing on my receiver's display in real time.

My receiver and my projector are controlled automatically based on what application is running (i.e., when the AccessDTV application grabs focus, the receiver switches to SPDIF 2, and the projector turns itself on -if it wasn't already on- and sets itself to the right input and resolution based on the settings in the AccessDTV application). Application switching can happen any way I want (keyboard, remote, mouse, etc.), and the hardware configuration is *mostly* transparent to the end user (you still need to indicate what screen to output my Meedio menus on, for instance)

This did require some work in Girder, but such level of integration will be difficult to achieve with any system, as it is highly customized and system dependent (Crestrons also struggle with this )
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post #17 of 82
11/14/05 at 3:25pm
are any of these compatible with MCE?
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post #18 of 82
11/15/05 at 12:57am
Ok so it sounds fairly easy to control the various settings. Is it easy to find codes for each receiver?

Whats everyone using for remotes?
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post #19 of 82
11/15/05 at 8:10am
Thread Starter 
You need a driver for either CQC or Girder. Which receiver do you have?

Re:Remotes - if you use an IRMan or USB-UIRT, it's irrelevant; just set it up to perform whatever action you want, use the software's "learn iR code" fxnlty, and then tie them together inside the software.
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post #20 of 82
11/15/05 at 6:29pm
Quote:


You need a driver for either CQC or Girder. Which receiver do you have?

I'm looking at getting one of the denons.

Quote:


Re:Remotes - if you use an IRMan or USB-UIRT, it's irrelevant; just set it up to perform whatever action you want, use the software's "learn iR code" fxnlty, and then tie them together inside the software.

I'm running girder at the moment with a Tira IR unit. I have a harmony remote programmed to various commands.

It sounds like it should just be a matter of mapping the receiver commands to buttons on the remote like you would for any other software on girder.

Can the receivers serial codes be d/l from a source?
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post #21 of 82
11/15/05 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
I believe the girder forum has the Denon driver already, which has all the codes you'll need.
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post #22 of 82
11/15/05 at 7:23pm
Quote:


I believe the girder forum has the Denon driver already, which has all the codes you'll need.

Yep I just d/l the serial driver and the gml group file for one of the denon receivers. Seems pretty straight foward.
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post #23 of 82
11/15/05 at 7:31pm
Quote:


Girder can definitely do much more than unidirectional control... For instance, I have set up a VFD display to 'mirror' what's showing on my receiver's display in real time.

Is VFD a girder plugin?
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post #24 of 82
11/15/05 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tukkis View Post

Yep I just d/l the serial driver and the gml group file for one of the denon receivers. Seems pretty straight foward.

Make sure you get one that matches your Denon.

for example, i have a denon 3805. It's different from the 3803 in that it allows half-integer volume [70.5], which is messaged to the receiver differently than the 3803, which only allows integer volumes.
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post #25 of 82
11/15/05 at 7:48pm
Quote:


Make sure you get one that matches your Denon.

for example, i have a denon 3805. It's different from the 3803 in that it allows half-integer volume [70.5], which is messaged to the receiver differently than the 3803, which only allows integer volumes.

I haven't decided on a receiver yet but it gives me an idea on how it works.

How do you jump to a specific volume level? I see there's a TO command in the volume group. Can i just type in say MV<-10> in the send data portion and it will go to -10db or is something else needed?
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post #26 of 82
11/15/05 at 8:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tukkis View Post

I haven't decided on a receiver yet but it gives me an idea on how it works.

How do you jump to a specific volume level? I see there's a TO command in the volume group. Can i just type in say MV<-10> in the send data portion and it will go to -10db or is something else needed?

To be honest, I have no idea; I use CQC, which has a pretty front-end for me to do all that stuff. I just tell it to set the denon to -67 and it takes care of the rest. Makes my life much easier when I don't have to learn the serial protocol myself :-)

i took a few screen shots & put into my photo gallery if you want to see that.
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post #27 of 82
11/19/05 at 5:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tukkis View Post

Is VFD a girder plugin?

... Not, not really.

There are plugins which work with many standard LCDs or VFDs (serial or parallel ones), but you'll have some work to do in Girder to translate the information send by the receiver into something that can be displayed meaningfully on the display.

For instance, each time something changes on the display of my Rotel receiver, it sends the text last displayed, and a set of flags (bits on/off) over the serial interface to tell if some indicators (dts, EX, RDBS, etc.) are lit. I have built a girder script which decodes these indicators and displays them either as characters or graphic symbols.

Some other receivers can be a little bit more challenging to monitor, as one has to poll them for each individual piece of information ('Are you on?','What is volume level?','What source is being used?', etc.). Doing all of this polling every second or so increases traffic over the serial interface, but is certainly doable (alternatively, if your receiver is stored away in a closet, there is no need to monitor in real time such changes as noone is going to turn the volume knob on it...)

Eiffel
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post #28 of 82
11/20/05 at 3:49am
Quote:


... Not, not really.

There are plugins which work with many standard LCDs or VFDs (serial or parallel ones), but you'll have some work to do in Girder to translate the information send by the receiver into something that can be displayed meaningfully on the display.

For instance, each time something changes on the display of my Rotel receiver, it sends the text last displayed, and a set of flags (bits on/off) over the serial interface to tell if some indicators (dts, EX, RDBS, etc.) are lit. I have built a girder script which decodes these indicators and displays them either as characters or graphic symbols.

Some other receivers can be a little bit more challenging to monitor, as one has to poll them for each individual piece of information ('Are you on?','What is volume level?','What source is being used?', etc.). Doing all of this polling every second or so increases traffic over the serial interface, but is certainly doable (alternatively, if your receiver is stored away in a closet, there is no need to monitor in real time such changes as noone is going to turn the volume knob on it...)

Eiffel

Thanks for the reply.

As the receiver will be in the closet I'll just start with basic serial intergration and add more if I need it.
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post #29 of 82
11/20/05 at 6:12am
Hate to ask, but this serial control is for intergreation into a HTPC?
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post #30 of 82
11/20/05 at 6:34am
videobruce,

Serial control provides a way for PCs (and other systems such as crestrons, etc.) to control external devices (receivers amongst others). This can work in an HTPC context, or simply for controlling traditional AV devices in an integrated way.

There are significant benefits of serial communication over using Infrared: communication is more reliable and it is possible to check the status of the equipment controlled (i.e., did a specific command have the desired impact? is the receiver muted or not? is it turned on?)
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