matt376 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 I am in the process of getting bids on installation of a Control4 system and have a question about one of the items that turned up on one of the bids. They stated that I needed to use one of my Cat6 cables to run an IR signal from the control unit over to the TV. I was assuming they meant to use the Cat6 as an extender with some sort of IR converter on each end, but I looked on the back of my Pany and there is no auxiliary IR input however there is a 232 serial port. Can anyone tell me how the control4 HC800 will communicate directly with the TV? As it stands I have 4 Cat6 cables and 1 HDMI running behind the TV over to an A/V cabinet that will house the local Denon Receiver, Apple TV, PS3, XBox 360, Wii and Control4 HC800. From there I have another 4 Cat6 cables running into our media closet in the basement that will house our network, the 8-zone amplifier and multi-tuner. On a side note... based on my brief description of the setup, is there any reason to have more than one (if any at all) Analog Audio Cables (RCA Cable) running from the A/V cabinet next to the TV down the media closet in the basement?Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wezst Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 The CAT6 cable will be used to extend the infra-red output from the HC-800, so the the actual emitter can be fixed to the front of your television. The Control4 remote control has no infra-red output, so the only way for the television to recieve an infra-red command is directly from the HC-800, through that cable. The analogue cables to the media closest will be so audio outputs from the HC-800 can connect to the amplifier in the basement. I asusme you must be using a NAS drive or other such network enabled storage for your music, and this will be streamed over the network, through the HC-800, and to the Amplifier, to feed the rest of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wezst Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 PS Although you can use RS-232 for command of the Panasonic TV from the HC-800, in their infinite wisdom I understand Panasonic decided not to supply RS-232 commands for some of the basic functions, such as Guide (!), so I don't think many dealers use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt376 Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Thanks for the reply and the information. Do you happen to know of any brands/makers of the IR extender that utilizes the Cat6? I'm curious about options and cost. THx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 You don't necessarily need some sort of widget extender do you? I don't and I send IR from a controller in the basement up two stories. I use coax though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSDave Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 i have always used the RS232 on the VT series panels. Usually a tv like that just needs a descrete on and off command when paired with an AV receiver. Depending on how long of a run you need you could just run a RS232 or if not, use one of the cat6 cables with RJ45 to DB9 adapters to use RS232. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVHomeInstalls Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 If you plan to use Panasonic's VieraCast (Netflix & other apps) from the VT you will also need optical audio out back to the closet and plugged into receiver. I don't think the RS232 driver will have VieraCast button, so IR again would be the best solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wppinell Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I own a 65VT30 and wrote a serial driver. Please let me know and I will share it will you. The TV was supplied with a sheet of the serial commands. The VieraCast command is supported in my driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_ Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I use the extenders from monoprice. They have served me very well so far. The single CAT6 cable one is expensive but it does HDMI, IR and Ethernet. Other options will do HDMI but use 2 CAT5e/6 cables and you will need additional cables to pull IR/ethernet, etc.http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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