Most PL2303 USB to DB-9 connectors on the market use male USB type A to male DB-9 connections for example, a popular high-quality cable already available is the Sabrent CB-RS232, shown below. Luckily the solutions were not that difficult, they just required a lot of cable testing.įirst, displays typically used the male connector of DB-9 for RS232 input. It works on most operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, right out of the box without any additional driver installation necessary.ĭuring testing with Enplug’s first system, two major hardware issues were identified. The PL2303 converts USB to an RS-232 serial interface that is available globally and is relatively low-cost. Since their hardware only had USB ports and no serial they designed the system to use the Prolific PL2303 chipset. Early TestingĪs I began my research, I found that in around 2018 Enplug had experimented with having RS-232 control from their devices. The control is fully customizable and can also be used for television control based on conference room booking or building occupancy. The return on investment is several million dollars for WeWork by turning the televisions off at night and on weekends. The result is that Enplug and Mersive Solstice Pod devices are capable of controlling the televisions they are connected to (as long as the television has RS-232) and the software handling the control is completely open to design by the teams responsible for controlling the televisions. In total everything took a little over a year to complete.ģ Types of RS-232 Input (Source: LG MFL69843813) Enplug and Mersive each had to develop their software, I had to develop custom hardware and control software, and it all had to be deployed. This gave me an idea to use the devices to control the televisions with a simple, low-cost USB to RS-232 cable. These devices are network accessible with an API, have USB connectors, have relatively powerful hardware, and have software developed entirely in-house. WeWork uses Enplug devices for digital signage and Mersive Solstice Pods for conference room screen sharing. Commercial (and some consumer) displays almost always have some form of RS-232 port on them for control. In commercial and corporate environments, most displays have some form of hardware behind them for digital signage or conference room screen-sharing. Costs are usually around $80 to $150 per display and have to be managed on some type of proprietary system. TV control typically requires external hardware that uses an additional data port, power outlet, and some type of custom programming.
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