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Best Method to BLANK screen via Ethernet?? — Parallax Forums

Best Method to BLANK screen via Ethernet??

idleupidleup Posts: 46
edited 2006-07-05 17:05 in General Discussion
I am trying to find a way to remotely shut down a VGA connection between an XBOX 360 and an HDTV. This would be for pay for play type of application. User runs out of time, I want a remote computer to send a signal to a box that cuts the display signal off.

Anyone heard of something that can do this or give me direction on a VGA cut off circuit? I can add the ethernet control part myself if I have a VGA cutoff circuit.

Thanks,

Matt

Comments

  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2006-06-27 19:22
    Sorry, guy, that's WAY off-topic for this forum.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2006-06-27 19:26
    This thread is being moved from the·BASIC Stamp·Forum to the·Sandbox Forum.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • steve_bsteve_b Posts: 1,563
    edited 2006-06-27 21:15
    Anything you might come up with, that resides on the customers box, will be circumvented!!

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    ·

    Steve

    "Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
  • aalegadoaalegado Posts: 66
    edited 2006-06-30 07:11
    Would cutting the power to the HDTV be too extreme? APC makes a power-control unit that provides both terminal (via Telnet) and web-interfaces to control AC power outlets. It's a 1U, rack-mount device and supports several, separately controlled, AC outlets. If you had, for example, 8 stations set-up, you could remotely toggle the power to each station separately.

    This solution would not require any modification to any of the involved equipment and it pretty much plug-and-play.

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    I wouldn't connect that if I were you...
  • steve_bsteve_b Posts: 1,563
    edited 2006-06-30 12:01
    We have those same APC power units at work.
    You can't control them with a string....you have to actually log in to them and select the port you want to change and then affect the changes.
    Also, if this is something that resides at a persons residence....they could just unplug from that unit and plug in to their wall! :S

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    ·

    Steve

    "Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
  • idleupidleup Posts: 46
    edited 2006-06-30 16:45
    Cutting the power is a good idea. It would not reside at their residence, it is in a game center and all the connections are protected from the user. I recently saw a more reliable version of X-10 in a new product called INSTEON. with the appliance module you can cut the power.

    I still would be interested though in understanding how to cut VGA signal. I have also looked for something that does overlay on HDTV (using component video) and have found NOTHING. Something like the X-BOB is all I can find and all video overlay I have foudn is for composite video only. Is it really expensive or just really hard to create overlay on component video signals??



    - Matt
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2006-06-30 18:02
    There are switchboxes for sharing one display between two computers. Usually they switch a keyboard and mouse as well. Some of them use a pushbutton on top to force switching between the two computers. I think they use the sync signal or similar VGA pin to tell which computer is on. You could probably "hack" one to make it think that there were two computers there, but one with a blank screen and drive the pushbutton input with a photocoupler from the Stamp.

    You could use a Propellor Demo Board to generate the VGA for the second computer. You wouldn't even need the "pushbutton" input. The switchbox has a primary source and secondary source and switches to the secondary source if the primary one is off. Just have the Propellor turn off its VGA output when you want the game to appear and turn it on (with a message, even a fixed graphic) when the game is over.
  • steve_bsteve_b Posts: 1,563
    edited 2006-06-30 18:22
    Why don't you put a red beacon light above the game console (similar to what you see on slot machines at casino's).
    Set up a stamp to control a few of these and you have a computer send the serial data to the stamp that it then interprets and flashes a beacon to let the user know they're going to run out of time. When the time elapses then trip a relay to cut the power....get one of Bean's video overlay modules and drop a message saying "GOODBYE" (of course this would force you to use the composite video (not the Y,Pr,Pb).

    You could even get mean and drop the relay to their controller and force them to watch their character die!

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    ·

    Steve

    "Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
  • aalegadoaalegado Posts: 66
    edited 2006-07-01 18:33
    steve_b said...
    We have those same APC power units at work.
    You can't control them with a string....you have to actually log in to them and select the port you want to change and then affect the changes.
    Also, if this is something that resides at a persons residence....they could just unplug from that unit and plug in to their wall! :S

    String? Did I imply that in my post? Of course this would be controlled via a logged-in session, either Telnet or via the built-in web server. tongue.gif

    idleup actually has a lot of control over the physical installation of the equipment. I understood that from his initial description of the application that this was going to be a game center so that implies that all the critical connections are protected, either because they're tucked behind covers and/or glued/bolted onto the equipment so that casual disconnection could not be done without an attendant or desk clerk noticing the customer mucking about the equipment.

    I like Mike G's idea about using a Stamp to control a KVM to switch from the game console's VGA to a blank screen. You could actually have a single PC or dedicated black generator feeding into a VGA distribution amplifier and from that supply the "blank" VGA to the KVMs.

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    I wouldn't connect that if I were you...
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2006-07-01 18:43
    I want to push again for using a Propellor Demo Board to both generate the VGA message for "end of game" and to control the KVM. It's much cheaper than using another PC and certainly makes a fine "dedicated black generator". There are 8 unassigned I/O lines that could talk to an Ethernet to Serial adapter or most anything else and the demo board has a built-in USB-serial adapter that can be used for general communications when it's not needed for programming.
  • idleupidleup Posts: 46
    edited 2006-07-05 17:05
    Mike,

    You know more about the propeller demo board than I do but it doesnt looks like it can handle HDTV component output... is that true or false?



    - Matt
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