Re: Control A1(II) for 200-disc DVD DVP-CX850D

Colby,

I just picked up a DVP-CX850D yesterday. It has two S-LINK ports on the back:

1) S-LINK / CONTROL S IN

2) MEGA CONTROL

Also of note: The DVD changer does not have a command mode switch (i.e., CD1, CD2, CD3 switch that is on SONY CD changers).

The CONTROL S port is not bi-directional. The User's Manual only shows one use for the CONTROL-S, connecting it to an S-LINK port to a (SONY, I assume) TV, to "control the CD/DVD player from the TV" (?).

The MEGA CONTROL must be CONTROL A1, since the User Manual shows it connected to a CONTROL A1 port of any SONY CD changer (5/50/200/300 discs).

I tried connecting the MEGA CONTROL port to an S-LINK port on the s-linke. CDJ did not recognize anything connected to that port. I'm wondering if CDJ requires a special device code file to recognize a DVD player. (I couldn't find any DVD device files for SONY on the Nirvis website; Couldn't figure out how to generate one either.)

To get the DVD changer to control another CD changer using the MEGA CONTROL feature, you have to connect the MEGA CONTROL port to a CONTROL A1 port on the CD changer to be controlled (the slaved player). The command mode switch on the slaved player must be set to CD3. The User Manual says to not connect anything to the second CONTROL A1 port on the slaved player.

To activate the MEGA CONTROL, select MEGA CONTROL on either the remote or the DVD player. If the DVD changer recognizes the CD changer (command mode has to be set to CD3), the DVD changer displays "MEGA CONTROL" for a few seconds, then displays the current track number and disc number of the loaded disc of the slaved CD changer. You can then use the DVD remote to control to control the slaved changer.

If the MEGA control port on the DVD changer is connected to any CONTROL A1 port other than a SONY CD changer with the command mode set to CD3, selection of MEGA CONTROL on the DVD changer results in the DVD changer displaying "NO CONNECT".

I next tried monitoring the output of the MEGA CONTROL port using the CDJ S-linke data window using the MEGA CONTROL setup described above, with the second CONTROL A1 port of the slaved CD changer connected to a S-LINK port on the s-linke. When CDJ is turned on, the slaved changer is recognized and CDJ can control it (data is displayed in the CDJ s-linke data viewer window). Now the bad news. When DVD MEGA CONTROL is engaged, only the slaved CD changer can be controlled (TV output of the DVD changer displays the "Sony DVD Player" screen, which is like a blue sky with clouds, with "Sony DVD Player" at the bottom of the screen; An attempt to activate any DVD function on the remote or the changer results in the following message displayed on the TV: "Second player useable now only."). When the DVD MEGA CONTROL is OFF, and the DVD player is operated (from the remote or the DVD changer itself), the MEGA CONTROL port appears to be innactive, since no data is trapped by the CDJ s-linke data viewer.

My conclusion is: "Houston, I think we have a problem!"

Regards,