Product Manual Display Express Display Express PC Display Express Software Version 5.8.0, DX Update Version 5.8.
Table of Contents Display Express Software Installation .................................................................................................... 4 What’s new in version 5.8.0/5.8.1 ................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Display Express Service ...............
Schedule - Control ....................................................................................................................................... 31 Schedule - Edit ............................................................................................................................................ 32 Schedule Modes ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Schedule Preset ........................
Display Express Software Installation What’s new in version 5.8.0/5.8.1 Custom Panel Header You can now create a custom panel header for control panels. Introduction Display Express is now available in two forms, an installation CD for Windows XP Pro. Windows 7 Pro PCs and Server 2003 servers, and preinstalled in a rack-mount PC.
Windows Firewall Exceptions for Display Express If LAN or WAN configuration is selected during installation, three firewall exceptions will be created: Display Express TCP, TCP port 2728, (local area network or any computer) Display Express UDP, UDP port 2728, (local area network or any computer) http://localhost/DX, TCP port 80, (local area or any computer). Server Operation Presently, Display Express has been tested for installation on Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 7 Pro, 32and 64-bit.
Setup Tips for all Display Express Applications Your installation will go well if you keep a few key facts in mind. If you don’t understand a bullet point, read the rest of the manual or call CR Support. Controller Installation Create a spreadsheet and divide the system into Zones before you begin. Otherwise, you’ll need to change the controller addresses later on. Pre-test display control on at least one controller and display before starting.
Head End Installation In most applications, the Display Express PC will be installed adjacent to a Contemporary Research ICC-HE Head End or ICE-HE Ethernet Head End. Both can receive commands via RS-232 and insert the commands into the RF system as a small control channel between TV channels 4 and 5. Instructions for connecting the DX PC to the ICEHE Ethernet Head End over IP are included on the next page. Additional instructions are included in the ICE-HE Head End manual.
Ethernet Control The ICE-HE typically communicates over a network using a static IP address, and is shipped set to a default address: IP Address: 192.168.1.251 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 Gateway Address: 000.000.000.000 Odds are, at least the IP address will change when the ICE-HE is connected to the client’s network.
Display Zones Display Express assigns control to three entities: All Zones – All displays respond to a single command Zones – All displays within one of 15 Zones respond to a single command Single Display – Sends command to one display address When you design your Display Express system, arrange your display addresses into one of the 15 zones. This allows you to control a group of displays as if they were one display.
DX Find Contemporary Research offers an app to find Display Express servers, called DX Find. This application can be downloaded from Download or Home pages at www.crwww.com. When launched, DX Find will find all the Display Express Web servers in your network. Simply double-click on the desired server row (or click the Bring Up Web Page button) to display the Web pages from that server. You can also find Display Express applications outside your network with the Add IP Addresses tab.
Display Express Home Page Display Express manages displays via Web pages accessed from the local Display Express PC, any computer on the network, or remotely from a distant location. The pages are compatible with IE7-9, FireFox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari browsers. Tip: Don’t use the back or forward buttons on the browser – that will leave the server, but you can usually refresh to get back, but you’ll lose the data you entered if you haven’t saved the info.
Local Access (Within LAN) On the PC that has Display Express installed, Click on the Display Express icon on the desktop, or launch a browser and enter http://localhost/DX/. From other computers on the LAN, you can: Install DX Find on the PC – it will locate Display Express for you (available at the bottom of CRwww.com home page.
Setup – Options The Setup Options pages define how Display Express connects to the system Head End and basic channel tuning operation. Head End Communication Sets the form of communication to an ICC-HE or ICE-HE Head End. The ICC-HE communicates via RS-232, while the ICE-HE can handle data via Ethernet and RS-232. The RS-232 baud rate is normally set to 19,200. With Version 3.5, the user can specify up to four ICE-HE Ethernet Head Ends.
Panel Page Header You can customize the header for control panels by creating a header of your own design. The parameters are: Create a graphic that is 775 pixels high x 77 pixels wide. Format can be JPEG, PNG, or GIF.
Setup - Users We’ve talked about this tool in the Panels section, primarily concerning setup of Panels Users. This page can also be used to create System Administrators and System users, similar to past versions of DX.
Setup – Name Displays and Zones In this section, you can create names for Zones and individual display controllers. Changing Zone Names The names of the Zones can be changed here. It’s useful to start the text with the Zone number to remember which Zone the name represents. The list will always be sorted by the numeric order of the actual Zones. Display Names When you need to control specific displays, it’s easier to find them by name.
Setup – Groups The Display Groups enables creation of free-form Groups of displays.
Setup – Name Channels DX can now create a list of TV channels, so you can now tune by name, rather than having to remember the number of the channel. Editing is simple. Just add the Label (Name) of the channel, select HDTV or NTSC, enter the number, and Save. You can go back and modify the channel – handy when the cable company changes channel locations.
Web Panels - Control, List, and TV Control Panels Control Panel All Preset List TV Control Panel The Control page offers three ways to access Presets: Control Panels – Select from the Default or any number of custom control panels. The Administrator and System User can choose any panel created for any user. TV Panels – Select a Zone, Group, or specific TV to change channels, inputs, volume or power. All Presets. Sends a saved Preset group of commands to displays.
Control Panels – Control Panel Editing To create the Control pages, click on Setup, then Panels. That brings up the setup Panel page. As with other editing functions in DX, you can: Create a new panel Edit an existing panel Copy an existing panel (handy when pages are only slightly different or use a similar layout) Formatting You can select a layout of up to 25 rows and 4 columns. Click Change Layout once you selected the rows and columns you want. Next, click the Font Size.
Control Panels - TV Panel Editing Creating TV Control panels is similar to Control Panels, the difference is you are defining buttons that represent a Zone, Group, or individual TV. As with other editing functions in DX, you can: Create a new panel Edit an existing panel Copy an existing panel (handy when pages are only slightly different or use a similar layout) Formatting You can select a layout of up to 25 rows and 3 columns. Click Change Layout once you selected the rows and columns you want.
Control Panels – Assigning Users to Panels This page can be used to create login names and passwords for Administrators and Users with System-wide access. DX 5.0 features a new class of users – Panel Users. This class of users can only access custom control panels when they login to the server. A System admin or System user can create and see all the control pages, as well as Presets, Schedules, and System features.
Presets – Macros A totally new feature to Display Express, this option is actually brought forward from the older IC Commander software. Macros contain the same control option used in creating basic Presets. The difference is that you can now save the group of commands by name, and reuse them in making Presets – this saves having to re-enter them when you create Presets. To start, select: Create New Macro – Clears values in the Macro fields.
Presets– Edit The Display Edit page offers the ability to create, copy, or edit new display control Presets. Display Express assigns control Presets to three entities: Editing Modes Create New Preset – Clears values in the Preset fields. Edit Existing Preset – Fills in the values from the selected Preset. Change and Save. Copy Existing Preset – Copies the values from the selected Preset. Change and Save.
Macros or Commands Use Macro – Choose from a list of named control commands Use Commands – Enter commands from list below Add or change values to an existing or new Preset. Parameters that are checked on the left will be sent, those unchecked will not be saved or sent. You can start with selecting a Macro, then change one or two of the options in the Command window. The values in the original Macro won’t be changed. Name – Enter a name for a new or copied Preset.
The chart below covers the most common commands that can be sent via the Special Commands tool. Many more are available from the product manual or product page at www.crwww.com. Some commands can be sent with no other information, such as P1 for Power On. Most other commands need an added parameter, such as volume level or control type.
Presets – Advanced Presets Most Presets will be created as a single command, as shown on the previous page. In version 3.0 and above, you can also create a multi-step preset. There are several key applications to this feature: Creating a “Matrix” Preset This type of multi-step preset can create an array of displays and channels. For example, a sports bar may want to set up a group of displays to present a pattern of channels.
If you want to create the array with Commands alone, click Use Commands and Show Commands in the Macro section and enter the commands as needed. Editing is seamless between Macros and Commands. When you use a Macro, all the values are shown in the row. You can switch to Commands and change one value, such as Volume, without needing to change the macro. In that case, the Macro name will go away, but all the values from the macro will be kept.
Presets – System This section allows you create a System Preset that can back up or restore all system data. You can schedule an automatic backup as with any Control Preset, choosing a cycle, dates and times. You can also perform a manual backup or restore, just click the Do Now button, or Save the preset, and launch the process as with any other Preset. Within the Preset, you can: Backup System to a default or custom name.
External Presets This is a feature requested by our integrators and clients. Imagine a facility that has many displays controlled over RF, but also has a number of video projectors controlled by Extron units. With External Presets, you can now send commands to the Extron controllers over IP, managing the projectors using Display Express presets and scheduling. External Presets can be included in any control panel or scheduled, just like any standard Preset.
Schedule - Control The Schedule Control page launches Events by date or recurring cycle. Events are similar to Presets, but include an assigned date, cycle, and time. Schedule displays the list of Events by date and time.
Schedule - Edit The Schedule Edit page creates a database of Events. DX now allows you to create multiple Schedules, so you can have one list for daily operation, and others for holidays or special events. Schedule Modes Create New Schedule – Allows creation of a new Schedule, clears values in data Edit Existing Schedule – Fills in the values of the selected Schedule. Change and Save. Copy Existing Schedule – Copies the values of the selected Schedule. Change and Save.
Alerts - Control The Alerts Control page will display a group of up to 45 buttons a user can click to launch a saved Alert. The Alerts Edit page defines the name and actions in the alerts.
Alerts - Edit The Alerts Edit page functions the same way as scheduling Events. However, Alerts behave differently than Events or Presets. When an Alert is sent, the iC-Net controllers will save their current power and channel settings. When an Alert ends, the controllers will return displays to their saved setting. Editing Modes Create New Alert – Clears values in Alert fields. Edit Existing Alert – Fills in the values of the Alert command. Change and Save.
Telnet Commands As integrators have asked for tools to interact with Display Express from custom control systems, we have added several Telnet commands to our software. More commands will be added on request from our users and control partners. Commands are case-insensitive, so upper or lower case may be used. Precede all commands with ‘]’. Command ? EF EN ID ServerInfo SendPreset StartAlert StopAlert Quit Description Displays all DX TCP commands. Echo off Echo on Information on DX.
End User License Agreement Display Express Software The product is protected by Federal Copyright Law. Contemporary Research retains the title to and ownership of the Product. You are licensed to use this Product on the following terms and conditions: LICENSE - The licensee is defined as the individual or company utilizing the Software Product. Contemporary Research hereby grants the licensee a nonexclusive license authorizing the licensee to use the enclosed Product on one computer at a time.
