Sony produces excellent TVs for commercial usage in Sports Bars and Restaurants.
myServer 6 provides easy integration into the control system for reliable control.
On newer Sony Web TVs, you need to enable "Use Sony Connected Apps"
Most newer Sony TVs support IP based control. But it is disabled by default. To enable:
- Navigate to the Settings of the display
- Select ‘Network’ settings
- Select ‘Home Network Setup’ setting
- Select ‘SIMPLE IP Control’ setting
- Enable IP Control
- Save.
Newer Sony IP controlled TVs communicate on port 20060
Older Sony TVs can be controlled via RS232. There will be either a DB-9 or a minijack depending on TV model. Both should use the same protocol so other than wiring differences, the myServer 6 Sony driver should support both.
When a serial controlled Sony TV is used with a matrix, the TV can be addressed using 1-99. The Sony Driver can then address the command that the appropriate TV will respond to. The TVs are wired with their "serial Out" jack wired to the next TV's "serial In" jack in a daisy chain. Only one serial com port is then needed for up to 99 TVs. If each TV is wired to the central equipment rack (and not daisy chained), then you will need a serial com port for each TV which adds additional hardware.
Some Sony TVs support an "Eco Mode". Turn this off as it will shut the TV down (or it's network connection) outside of the control of myServer.
Driver Installation:
Download the Sony TV driver from the myServer 6 Software Updater. The driver will self install.
Go to the Drivers section and select Configure for the Sony TV driver.
The supported commands are listed in the Commands drop down list.
The easiest way to add a TV to control is to enable External Control on the TV (if your TV supports it, select "Normal / Simple IP Control"), and then click the Discovery button in the driver. You will see in the driver myServer scanning all IP addresses on all active NIC (ethernet and Wifi ports) for any TVs that the driver should support. This will then auto add discovered TVs to the driver's list of configured TVs. Once added, you can edit the TV device's Alias Name for easy identification. For installations that have many TVs, use a logical naming convention like "TV1, TV2, TV3....". You should also name the TVs in the order they are to be displayed, which should also be the order the TVs are installed into the video matrix switch (if used).
Optionally, the AddTV command to add an Sony TV to the network.
Enter the Sony TV's IP address and MAC address and room name of the TV to control.
You can then run other commands like Mute or VolumeUp or Power Off. Note that some commands only work on some TVs and if the TV is in the context for that command.
Troubleshooting:
Do a full port scan sudo nmap -p- 192.168.0.40 without the -p- nmap only looks for a limited number of ports. You can also just look for the port sudo nmap -p 20060 192.168.0.40
Ensure security on TV settings is OFF.
Device type should be "TV".
The sony tv driver can emulate a video switcher when used in a modulated video distribution. This emulation is off by default and should remain off for all projects unless switching has to be done by changing channels on the TV. There is a toggle command in the driver to turn this capability on / off.
Tested to work on models (many) but at least:
A80K