Pioneer DVD-204 User Manual

Instruction Manual

Models DVD-204 and DVD-212

Control Units for Pioneer DVD Players

New with Version 2.03
On-Screen Programming

See Addendum at back of this manual

Issued Febrary 2002
Revised May 2003

Museum
Technology
Source, Inc.

323 Andover Street
Wilmington Massachusetts 01887
phone [phone]

978.657.3898

fax [phone]

[e-mail]
www.museumtech.com

SETUP SHEET

DVD-204 AND DVD-212 CONTROL UNITS

FOR USE WITH PIONEER DVD PLAYERS

Introduction:

The DVD-204 and DVD-212 are controllers for use with the Pioneer DVD-7200 and DVD-7400 Industrial DVD
Players. The DVD-204 and DVD-212 are identical except for the number of selection pushbuttons: 4 vs 12.

Typically, the controller is mounted out of sight in close proximity to the DVD player. Activation is by means of

pushbuttons mounted on the exhibit surface, where they are accessible to the viewing public.

When pushed, each pushbutton will cause the Pioneer DVD player to play a particular video selection. When a
selection is not playing in response to a button push, the DVD-204 / 212 can be set to play another selection to
serve as an attract loop. Pushing any button will interrupt the attract loop and the unit will immediately begin play­ing the new selection.

Typical Installation showing Controller, Pushbuttons, Player and
Monitor. Power connections not shown.

Connection to the external pushbuttons is made via standard telephone RJ-11 modular connectors. Two of the 4 wires
(Green and Red) are used to start the selection, while the other two wires (Yellow and Black) provide 12 volts DC to illu­minate the pushbutton lamp.

Connection to the Pioneer DVD player is via the supplied cable, with a 3 pin DIN circular connector on one end, and a
15 pin male “D” connector on the Pioneer end. Communication between the controller and the player is RS-232 serial
data at 9600 Baud.

Prior to final installation, two steps must be taken: setting up the Pioneer player, and programming the DVD-204 or
DVD-212 with the desired frame numbers or chapters taken from the DVD disc being used.

Pioneer DVD Setup:

It is necessary to configure the Pioneer DVD player to work in this application. As shipped from Pioneer, the factory
default settings need to be changed. This settings are all in the Pioneer’s Advanced Setup menu. It would be a good
idea to review the Pioneer manual for more detail, however, the basic technique to to hold down the SETUP button on
the Pioneer remote control until the following menu appears on the screen. Use the UP and DOWN buttons to scroll
through the menu, and use the RIGHT and LEFT buttons to change a setting. Press ENTER to save the settings.

Remove the DVD disc from the player before changing the settings. If the disc is in, the settings will not be
saved. Keep in mind that the DVD-204 or DVD-212 will not work until the Pioneer player is configured. For

instance, the DVD-204/212 operate at 9600 Baud, while Pioneer’s factory default setting is 4800 Baud. Here are the
required settings:

Settings for the Pioneer 7200 (not in production as of Feb. 2000) are basically the same as for the 7400. To access the
7200’s menu, hold down the MENU button on the remote control. Settings are as follows:

ADV SETUP page 1 /2

WEEKLY TIMER OFF
POWER ON START T00:C00
TITLE PLAY MODE SINGLE
REPEAT MODE OFF
BAUD RATE 9600bps
TRAY LOCK OFF
BLACKBOARD LOCK OFF
STACK MODE OSD ON
REV STEP/REV PLAY VOBU

ADV SETUP page 2 /2

PLAYER CONTROL PANEL SELECTABLE
SETUP LOCK (MOUSE) ON
EXTERNAL OPTION SW STANDARD
SYNCH OUT (DURING SQ) ON
EXTERNAL SYNC OFF
AV SYNC COMPENSATE ON

Settings for Pioneer 7400 DVD Player

MENU PAGE 1 /2

WEEKLY TIMER OFF
POWER ON START T01:C01
TITLE PLAY MODE SINGLE
REPEAT MODE OFF
BAUD RATE 9600bps
TRAY LOCK OFF
STILL MODE FIELD
D.R. COMP OFF

MENU PAGE 2 / 2

MARK FRAME SQUELCH OFF
SQUELCH DURING SEARCH ON
SYNC OUT (DURING SQ) ON
STACK MODE OSD OFF

Settings for Pioneer 7200 DVD Player

Preparing for Programming:

Reviewing the DVD Disc:

Connect the Pioneer player to the video monitor such that the DVD disc may be viewed normally. Place the disc
in the player and press the Play button, either on the player itself or on the Pioneer remote control. Press the
DISPLAY button. Pressing the DISPLAY button a second time should display the frame number count. Scan
through the disc, writing down the starting and ending frame numbers for each desired selection. If an attract loop
is to be used, make note of the start and stop frame numbers also. These numbers will be assigned to the but­tons on the DVD-204/DVD-212.

If no video is to be played between button pushes, locate a frame of black and make a note of the number. This

will be entered as a still frame. These numbers will be assigned to the buttons on the DVD-204/DVD-212.

If chapters are being used, make a note of the desired chapter numbers. Keep in mind when using chapters that
there must be one more chapter on the disc than will actually be played. This is because of the Pioneer com­mand protocol. For example, to play chapter 3, the player is instructed to seek to the beginning of chapter 3, and
play to the beginning of chapter 4. Hence, there must always be an extra chapter at the end. If your disc does
not have this, then use the frame mode of addressing.

In preparing the disc, a minimium of “authoring” is required. No commands should be encoded on the disc. All
control functions are taken care of by the DVD-204/DVD-212. Problems arise if a disc has been authored to
“have a mind of its own”; in other words to have been set up such that the disc may be accessed, using the
remote control, via a title screen. In this case all the “intelligence” resides in the DVD-204/212. Discs that are
authored to play on their own will frequently present will conflicts as to who is in charge.

Configuring the computer used for programming:

Double click on the Hypertrm.exe icon. The program will open with a New Connection dialog box, with the instruction to
enter a name and select an icon. Enter a name of your choosing, such as DVD-204, or the name of the product you are
about to program. Choice of icon is immaterial. Click OK.

The next dialog box will ask for a phone number. Go to the 4thbox down, CONNECT USING, and select DIRECT TO
COM1. (This assumes that COM port 1 is free on your machine, sometimes the internal modem occupies this position.
If this is the case, select COM2). Click OK

The next dialog box is entitled PORT SETTINGS. Use the following settings:

Baud Rate 9600
Data Bits 8
Parity None
Stop Bits 1
Flow Control None

.
Click OK. The main screen will appear, and at the bottom left the message “Connected” will appear.

Connect the PC-9 programming cable from the 9 pin COM port on the back of the PC to the 5 pin circular connector on
the back of the Museum Technology product. Make sure power is connected. Press the red PROGRAM button on the
back of the Museum Technology control unit; the red LED should illuminate, and the programming menu should appear
on the computer screen.

Trouble Shooting:

In virtually all cases, problems may be traced to having the wrong COM port selected. If the computer has more than
one 9 pin connector on the back, try the other one.

If gibberish appears, this is generally due to having the wrong baud rate selected.

Keep in mind that the Museum Technology box just sends the main menu immediately after the red PROGRAM button
has been pushed; to get the main menu again, merely press the RESET button and then the PROGRAM button.

If any changes are made in Hyperterminal, they will not take effect until a disconnect has been made, and a reconnec­tion established. To do disconnect, click on the icon of a phone off the hook. The message on the lower left of the
screen will now say Disconnected. Reconnect by clicking on the icon of the phone on hook.

Programming the DVD-204 /DVD-212

Once communication has been established between the PC and the DVD-204 / DVD-212 it is a simple matter to type in
the frame or chapter numbers, as well as to set the desired options. Please refer to the following programming example
for the available commands and settings. In this example, what appears on the computer screen is on the left side of
the page in courier while the description is on the right.

Museum Technology Source, Inc.

DVD Controller model DVD-204
Player: Pioneer DVD-V7200/7400

Firmware version 1.22

(C)2000 Museum Technology Source Inc.

For further information contact:

Museum Technology Source Inc.
323 Andover Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
Phone: [phone] or [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

———- Main Menu ———­A = select address mode (FRAME, CHAPTER, or

CHAPTER start/FRAME end)
B = view or edit a Button’s selection
I = view or edit the Idle selection
T = Test the buttons and lamps
O = go to Options menu

Please choose a command: A
Current addressing mode is: CHAPTER.
Would you like to change this (Y/N)? Yes

C = CHAPTER
F = FRAME
S = CHAPTER start, FRAME end

Please choose a command: F
— Resetting Defaults —
*** Programming: done ***
Current addressing mode is: FRAME.

———- Main Menu ———­A = select address mode (FRAME, CHAPTER, or

CHAPTER start/FRAME end)
B = view or edit a Button’s selection
I = view or edit the Idle selection
T = Test the buttons and lamps
O = go to Options menu

Please choose a command: B
Which button’s selection do you want to

view or edit?
Button 1 plays from frame 1000 to frame 1100.
Do you want to change this (Y/N)? Yes

Enter the start FRAME for the button

and press RETURN: 12
Enter the end FRAME for the button

and press RETURN: 600

*** Programming: done ***

Programming Example

DVD-204 / DVD-212

Pressing the red “Program” button on the back
of the DVD-204 / DVD-212 will cause this
main menu to appear

Units are shipped set to work with Chapters. In
this instance, we wish to use Frame Numbers,
hence typing A will allow us to select Frame mode by typing
F. In general Frame mode offers the most versatility. In the
following examples frame numbers will be used. If the disc
has been prepared with Chapters, they may also be used.
Chapter Start / Frame end is primarily used with the older
Pioneer 7200 players, which were much slower seeking
frames than chapters. The Pioneer 7400 model overcame
this issue.

Selecting Chapter

, Frame, or

Chapter Start/Frame End

Having already determined by Start and Stop frame num­bers for each selection, it is a simple matter to enter them.
Type B for the Button Menu, then type the number of the
Button you wish to program.

Enter the Start frame number and press enter on the key­board. Then type the Stop frame and press Enter again.
The new frame numbers are displayed.

In this example frame 12 is entered as the new Start frame,
while from 600 is the new stop frame.

Programming the Buttons