The "button control port" provides closed contacts to let simple buttons / pushbuttons act as a wired remote for stand-alone operation without a computer.

• "Make the DVD play a specific scene when the user presses a button."
• "Let us use ordinary pushbuttons for the Arrow and Enter keys."
• "Operate DVD changers for our massive video collection."

It can even send multiple commands (Macros) on your command. For example, with a numeric menu, Sony DVD players require the sequence followed by <ENTER>. The VC-16a does that automatically when your user presses your "doorbell" button.

• Simple Play
  • Play the "Attract Loop" until someone presses the button.
    Attract repeat is part of the DVD disc programming.
  • Play the important video scene, then return to the attract loop.

• Numbered Play
  • Play segment #'x' when presses the #'x' button.
    (Segments are menu items, numbered according to the disc authoring system.)
• Multiple Machine Control !
  • Control up to 12 machines simultaneously with additional IR emitter cables. Use our IR Breakout Box (special order) or use simple "Y" adapters.
  • The VC-16b sends the same command to all the machines simultaneously.
  • Officially, this is not a synchronizer, but our clients report good accuracy... typically less than 1/4-second between all machines. Best used in exhibits where several different videos play at the same time.

Preset Commands
Even though all 16 buttons are user-programmable, one has to start somewhere! There are currently 16 pre-programmed commands, one for each pair of contacts:

• General Navigation:
  Step Up(arrow up), Step Down, Step Left, Step Right, Enter/OK, Return, Previous, & Next.
  
• Numeric:
  1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

RS-232 Commands:

Your computer program can send BCD Commands via its serial port to control the VC-16a, which then controls the machine. Current commands for all machines are: Stop, Play, Fast Forward/ScanF, Rewind/ScanR, Pause, Step Fwd, Record, Slow Fwd, Next, Previous, Return, Enter, Up (Arrow), Down, Left, Right, Menu, Top Menu(Title), and the numerals 0-9. All BCD commands are 4-characters, terminated by Carriage Return, like PLAY. Host computer Baud Rate is 1200 - 38,400. Certain machines like the Pioneer DVD-7400 have additional commands like 'Go To Frame #'.

User-Defined 'Buttons' (You assign commands to buttons):

Each of the 16 buttons is user-programmable. You may assign any BCD RS-232 command to a button. For example, with a DVD-7400, button 1 can be 'STIL 12345;PLAY'. This makes the DVD go to frame #12345 and begin playing from there. After defining the command with your computer/serial connection, the command SAVE will burn the command into the VC-16as non-volatile Flash ROM. No battery backup required. Current VC-16as include User-Defined 'Buttons'. Because the firmware of the VC-16a is field-upgradable via a serial cable(provided) and a computer(not provided), every VC-16a in operation today can be upgraded to have user-defined buttons.

Multiple Unit Control: VC-16b

1. Send the Same Commands to All Machines
   We can supply an 'octopus' IR Emitter Cable Assembly to send the same commands to all machines. This is an inexpensive way to pseudo-sync several inexpensive players. This works well for short video segments because different machines will drift apart over a long time. For long-form videos that must be in exact frame sync, you should use a Pioneer DVD-7400, external 'black burst (CVBS) for sync, and a synchronizer.
   

2. Send Different Commands to Different Machines
   RS-232 Serial Control
   Each VC-16b controls one machine, and you can connect several VC-16b Controllers together for mulit-unit control from just one RS232 serial port on your computer. The VC-16b Serial ports are Daisy-Chained together and addressed with the DECK x command. Issue DECK 6 and all subsequent commands will be accepted only by the VC-16b that controls deck #6.
   

   Button Control of Multiple VC-16b Units
   A single pushbutton can be connected to more than one VC-16b Unit. Connect the Button to the pin for 'Button #1' on Unit #1 and connect that same button to the pin for 'Button #1' on Unit #2. The 'Button 1' commands on each of the Units may be diferent. One button press by your user makes each player perform different actions!

Custom Commands:
We didn't think of everything, but our customers do!. One client wanted to control other devices via our 8 TTL/GPI outputs. Another wanted 30 closed contact inputs. Enhancements and updates like this can be just an email away. Call BCD to get a quote on custom programming the 'buttons' for your specific application.

BCD VC-16b Supported Machines
Your choice of controlled-devices is growing all the time. These are machines we have tested in-house.
You specify the machine make/model when you order. If you change your mind, just download new Flash Firmware from our web site or we can email it to you. Click here for Supported Machines

Can't find your machine in this list? Click Contact BCD and tell us what you need.