There are a few steps you must take to ensure that DCS’ remote control feature is enabled. See the hardware requirements section of this application for further information on what's needed on the PC from which you will be running this application. These instructions presume a working knowledge of DCS and configuring DCS - if you are unsure of what to do, consult your DCS documentation or contact your DCS support staff.
Once all hardware requirements are met, including proper serial port cable connections, ensure that the DCS unit is set up in the following way:
| 1. | DCS must be running in Control Room mode (CR) to support audition features. DCS allows serial control only in CR mode. |
| 2. | If you are using a Production Room machine, use CMCF (DCS' configuration editor) to edit your CR.CFG configuration file. Ensure that: |
| a) | The node number assigned is the same as the one assigned in your PR.CFG file. |
| b) | The stations configured are the same as in the PR.CFG file. |
| c) | In the DCS Equipment section, select the menu item Remote Control and make sure that the serial control protocol version is set to v1.4 and that the Control Channel Initial State for Serial Channel is "Enabled". |
| d) | DCS Playline Display Mode must be set to Out1/Out2. Do not set the play line mode to Foreground/Background. |
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You may wish to simply open the PR.CFG file in CMCF and save it as CR.CFG to ensure all necessary basic settings are correct and then verify the settings for remote control and play line display mode.
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| 3. | You must configure DCS to accept serial data and tell it which serial port you are going to use. This is accomplished by setting a file name in the root directory of the DCS unit boot drive (C:\). You will find a file named _REMOT_1.OFF or _REMOT_2.OFF. One of these files needs to be renamed to _REMOT_x.ON, where the "x" value represents the COM port number to use. Typically, you'd use COM2: for serial control, as COM1: is used for an audio switcher, if present. DCS reacts to the presence of this file at startup and enables the COM port hardware on the DCS unit. |
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Only one COM port can be enabled on DCS for remote control. If both _REMOT_1.ON and _REMOT_2.ON exist, DCS will end up using the COM port for the file name last detected. Be sure that if both files exist, one is named .OFF to avoid unintended results.
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| 4. | If the machine you're using is in a production room or otherwise does not need to load a log, you'll also want to set DCS to not look for a log. This is done by checking the root directory of the DCS boot drive (C:\) for the presence of a file named _LOADLOG.ON. If found, rename the file to _LOADLOG.OFF (i.e., ren _LOADLOG.ON *.OFF). |
Once all of these settings are confirmed, you would launch DCS as normal, ensuring you use the command-line: DCSCR.
