QLab 4 Scripting Control for an Eiki LC-XL100 Projector

[Herr_Sprecker]

Greetings all! Would like to see if there are any script-knowledgable people out there who could help me.

I am running a MacBook Pro with QLab 4 installed, full license bundle. Using a network port, it is linked to a network switch. Also connected to the switch are 3 EIKI LC-XL100 projectors. If you are unfamiliar with these projectors, they're fairly old machines, about 5.5k lumens each. They feature a network port for control via Telnet, PJ Network Management, and web-based control using a web browser. I have each projector set to a static IP address.

By opening a web browser and opening a tab to the specific IP addresses for the projectors, I have access to the web-based control interface. Most of the projector functions can be controlled from here, including power on/off and opening/closing the shutter. Under most circumstances, this control system will do most of what we need to do.

However, I'm hoping perhaps there is a way through either the Network cues or Script cues in QLab that I could create a cue that would, as an example, close the shutters of all 3 projectors at once. I'm not up on scripting language, and would not really know what to use as a sequence here.

The projectors accept RS-232 commands, but it does not appear to receive them through the network port. I thought perhaps Telnet as a means of such control, but on a Mac that may involve an elaborate opening/closing of Terminal windows, not completely sure.

A website I looked up indicated

 

[Jay Ashworth]

With a little work, you should be able to extract from the status/control web pages of the projectors what the GET/POST URLs are that execute the various commands for things like SHUTTER CLOSE/OPEN, and bake those into QLab script fragments. It's the approach I take with things that *have* web interfaces; it's good cause PJ is very long in the tooth these days.

 

[ruinexplorer]

The model of those projectors I used didn't have a network port (it's been awhile since I had my hands on one). I'm wondering if an Ethernet to RS232 cable adapter might work. That's how I have had to update some older equipment that didn't have RJ45 jacks

 

[Herr_Sprecker]

Not being up on scripting, would anyone have a resource on online guide I could tap into that could explain how to script the get/post url code? That's what I need assistance with.

These projectors do have the network port, wish they did more than just html and PJ. I don't know that I can get my hands on an ethernet to RS232 adapter in the timeframe before I need to get this functionality working, hoping there is a scripting answer.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Pull up the webpage with the control buttons on it in a browser.

View Source.

You should see some BUTTON tags in the page source, with labels that you'll see on the actual page, like so:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/button

Somewhere around there -- it's hard to be too specific cause there are 42 ways to do it -- you'll see a URL that has the projector IP in it, and that URL will be the command that tells the projector to, say, unshutter.

Alternatively, you can hit F12 in (Firefox) and choose Network and All or HTML and when you click the button, I *think* you will see the whole URL you need.

Then you put that URL into a Network cue in a script on a licensed QLab (4 or better, I think), and when you call it, you'll get what you want. There are some holes here since I've only watched it done, not done it myself, but this should get you more than halfway there. Hopefully your projector has a static IP, since DHCP will make this unduly difficult.

 

[Herr_Sprecker]

I greatly appreciate this assistance. I've attached an image of the web interface for the projector, it consists of a dropdown for on/off and a Set button, along with the html code:

So, because it's a dropdown and THEN a button push, does that change the configuration significantly? The power on/off control is a little more straightforward, individual buttons in this case.

The QLab 4 Network cue only seems to send UDP, OSC or QLab commands, looks like I would still have to use a Script cue to accomplish this?

 

[Malabaristo]

Normally I would say Telnet would be easier to implement than the web interface, but when I tried that with a similar vintage (but different model) Eiki projector not too long ago, it behaved oddly... mostly just inconsistent timing between when the command was sent and when it actually responded. My solution was to go RS-232 using a cheap converter like this one. That was way more responsive and consistent.

If you want to figure out the web interface, the easiest approach might just be to monitor with Wireshark what gets sent when you hit that "Set" button.

 

[Gage]

There are also reasonably priced rs232 over IP solutions that you may want to consider.

 

[Herr_Sprecker]

I do appreciate the suggestions of RS232 over ethernet. Unfortunately I'm not able to get that equipment for this particular rig, and the ethernet port on the projector itself doesn't listen to RS232 commands, so I'm kind of stuck with the web interface method right now.

 

[TimMc]

Did you contact Sam @ Qlab? They have wonderful support.