ExternalDisplay.xml - Send direct hexadecimal command

[Croog]

Hello,
is it possible to send direct hexadecimal command to VFD display by adding some string to ExternalDisplay.xml?

I have Noritake VFD and it has turned cursor on by default, and i need to turn it off. I found command 16H for it in specs, but I don't know, how can i send it to vfd..

I'm using noritake t-series plugin and LPT.

thx

[cybrmage]

It is not possible to embed HEX commands int the ExternalDisplay.xml file... The XML parser does not support non-printable control characters.

Normally... The solution would be to "fix" the Noritake T-series driver.... but it is an LCDHype driver, so that is easier said than done...

Fortunately, The other method is to have the ExternalDisplay driver send a "prefix character" before sending each line of characters that needs to be displayed...

Attached is a version of the ProcessPlugins.dll that has that modification.

To Install:

1) rename the ProcessPlugins.dll in your MediaPortal plugins/process directory to ProcessPlugins.dll.original.
2) extract the ProcessPlugins.dll in the archive to your MediaPortal plugins/process directory.
3) run configuration.exe
4) select plugins, scroll to the ExternalDisplay plugin, right click and select "Configuration"
5) Under "TextMode" you will find a new option called "Line Prefix". For this option, enter the hex value of the command byte that you want to send to the display (in your case 16). Leave this field blank to disable sending a prefix byte.
6) Click "OK" on the "ExternalDisplay Configuration" screen to commit the settings. click "OK" on the "MediaPortal: Setup" screen to save the settings and exit configuration.
7) run MediaPortal.

Let me know if this works for you...

Regards,
CybrMage

[Croog]

Thank you for help.

I know that update noritake driver could be solution, but i cant even register to lcdhype forum (admin didn't response) and also i read somewhere, that source codes for it was lost... :/

So I tried your method (that was fast update! ) and when i add for example "16", the cursor still remains turned on and random character is displayed on the first position of all lines (It change everytime, when I restart Mediaportal).

I tried also others commands, but with no success too. Just one experience: when I add word started by 0, random character isn't displayed.

I set Comm. delay to 20000 and record attached video, so you can see what exactly vfd doing, when I set prefix to 16.

[cybrmage]

It looks like it is expecting an escape code of some sort before the 0x16 command...

I'll have to try and find some specs for the display to make further progress... (LATER... after sleep!!) 8-}

Regards,
CybrMage

[Croog]

You can find specification in first post. Maybe this info can help too. LCDinfo is the only one program, which can turn cursor off..

[Croog]

I did little more research: It is possible to send hex data thru ExternalDisplay.xml. It is simple, put to string � , where 00 means hexadecimal word. When I send 16H to vfd by this method, there is same problem - it just display random character. According to this discussion, after command must be send software reset and wait for 100ms delay, i think...

[cybrmage]

Originally Posted by Croog

It is possible to send hex data thru ExternalDisplay.xml."

You are correct... The information I found on the XML parser was incorrect (used &x00... I stand corrected.

But, I did experiment with injecting the control code via XML (using a umlat character)... and the result wasn't acceptable... The "control" character scolled with the text... If the text was longer than the display width, the control character.. hence the code I added to "prefix" the text...

Originally Posted by Croog

after command must be send software reset and wait for 100ms delay, i think...

This means that the command will have to be sent during display initialization... Which means changes to the LCDHype wrapper... I'll see if I can get something coded for it....

Regards,
CybrMage

[Croog]

Thank you for your time. It would be great, if I can do reinicialize display with send some command data (e.g. set luminance of vfd) adding some strings to ExternalDisplay.xml..

I have one more problem. If I set TextComDelay to 40 (this value is used in lcdhype), display is flickering. When I change delay to 200, flickering is gone, BUT the more I increase delay value, my cpu is more loaded. With delay set to 200, I get 35-50% load of my CPU, just at start screen of mediaportal. I have Athlon XP 2500+ and Win Vista, so it's really weird. Where can be problem?