Controller recommendation for simple AV project

[sthull1]

Hi. Our church is assembling a simple AV system for use during services. The system will have two projectors and a 46" LCD displaying song lyrics, etc. for the congregation. A laptop will be the source for all of the content. The projectors have IR, RS232 and Ethernet connectivity. The TV just has IR.

I'd like to find a simple way of assuring the projectors and LCD TV are 'off' or 'on'. I was thinking about putting two switches on the wall. One saying 'on/off' that was monitored by a simple controller (such as an ADI Ocelot) and another that might say 'day/night'. The first swtich would turn on/off the displays and the second would set the projectors to their 'economy mode' when they are used during the evening when no ambient light is pouring through the windows.

I don't want to spend $2K on a controll system for this limited scope, so what would you suggest? I'm a bit worried about IR remotes simply because they can be 'lost', dropped, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Scott

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Something based on this comes to mind: http://www.tauntek.com/irmimic-learning-ir...transmitter.htm

and possibly an IR repeater.

The IR repeater emitters can effectively block anything that isn't being repeated.

A glitch would be to make sure the on and off commands are not toggle.

You mentioned foolproof, so you may have to "detect" whether a device is on.

Let's assume a VERY simplistic case:
ON/Off, three devices.

Mount one of these gizmo's in fron of the IR detectors of each device in their own case. Each programmed with an ON and OFF command for each device.


So a push of an On button, connects the ON's of all of the gizmo's together. Similarly with the OFF.

Not quite understanding how one gets to economy mode. Is this a toggle button? If so, you would have three push buttons, ON, OFF, economy.

If you needed anything fancier, then use something like a smart relay from Idec.

Interfacing to a Remote control that does macros's is yet another way. I can show you an interface that works very well, but it would be based on programming a learning remote. It's an easy interface to connect ot the keys of the remote.

Just some thoughts for brainstorming.

Laptops and smart relays come to mind. The Application and time spent for programming might not be worth it.

If you really needed to execute another command like standby/on, then one might have to execute the standby macro AFTER the unit is turned on.

The remote would effectively be disabled because the windows are covered.

Ir repeaters, could be a bit more troublesome, but still reasonable say:

You placed one of these boxes with an attached IR emitter as well. SO, now, you have 3 emitters. You could place the receiver at anyplace convienient to allow the remotes to work separately.


The smart relay mode you could add a light sensor and have ess control yet. Just on/off, but you might have to know if the projectors are on.