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How to use PTZ keyboard (which is External PTZ Module) and LILIN PIH-931D as an example

Note: This is an old article transiterated from this location. For informative purpose only. There is no guarantee any part of this will work on currently updated software and shall not be construed as a specification of the software.

Configuration Dialog

To use external PTZ module, configure it in System Configuration dialog. Most security keyboards require 2 ports to work. One for DVR control and one for PTZ control. External PTZ module and Aux Module are for different ports. Parameters are explained as following.

 

Mode

disabled

 

 

SerialPort

Extra parameters must be configured in tab SerialPort.

 

BF-430

IPAddress, IPPort, SessionPwd must be entered corerctly.

IPAddress

 

For BF-430.

IPPort

 

For BF-430.

SessionPwd

 

For BF-430. Leave blank if password is not required.

ControllerID

 

Currently not used.

DVR_ID

 

NVR handles the commands only when keyboard is in DVR mode and set to this ID.

PbCAM_ID

 

Keyboard(stick) controls playback when keyboard is in CAM mode and set to this ID.

DPtzCAM_ID

 

Keyboard(stick) controls digital PTZ.

PtzCAM_ID

 

Keyboard(stick) controls analogue PTZ.

DVRProtocol

 

Protocol of the keyboard. Keyboard also need to be configured. DVR and CAM modes may use different protocols.

 

 

 

Configure SerialPort

 

COMPort

Check COM port number in Device Manager of Windows.

BaudRate

Depends on the keyboard configuration.

COMBuffer

 

BitsPerByte

Usually 8.

StopBits

Usually 1.

Parity

Usually None.

FlowControl

Usually Xon/Xoff.

 

 

Configure LILIN Keyboard (PIH-931D)

Connect PIH-931D to computer

DVR and IN must be connected to 2 different COM ports.

 

Set protocols in NVR

For DVR port, protocol is LilinD.

For PTZ port(IN), protocol is MLP2.

 

Set protocol on PIH-931D

PTZ protocol must be set to MLP2(PIH-7601/7602/7610 PIH-7622).

If it's set properly, "MLP2" is shown on LED screen when moving stick in  PTZ mode.

 

Operations of LILIN Keyboard (PIH-931D)

PTZ(CAM) Mode

To enter this mode, press SHIFT then press CAM.

To change ID, press number keys then press CAM.

In PTZ mode, stick can be used for PTZ, digital PTZ, or playback.

 

RIGHT

fast forward

LEFT

fast backward

DOWN

seek forward

UP

seek backward

 

DVR Mode

To enter this mode, press SHIFT then press DVR.

To change ID, press number keys then press DVR.

To change focused player, press number keys then press ENT.

 

Pause player

Show live video

Manual recording

Fast backward (press multiple times to increase speed)

Fast forward (press multiple times to increase speed)

Stop player

Step backward

Step forward

Change layout

Change layout

Change layout

Change layout

 

 

Troubleshooting and Testing Keyboard Connectivity

Due to the transient nature of serial-based communication, it could be difficult to diagnose connectivity problem until your configuration is completely correct. Therefore our system offer a keyboard debug tool that might aid the process of connection setup:

Invoke Player Control Panel to see the keyboard debug tool:

Debug box  for primary  port

Debug box for auxiliary (Aux)  port

 

The content in the debug box illustrate the current state and suggest actions as below:

Debug Box Content

Description

Suggested Actions

INIT

Port initialization is not completed, most likely due to configuration error.

Check to see if COM port name is correctly specified. Also check to see the specified COM port is not currently in use.

OK, <N1>, <N2>

Port is connected. <N1> is the number of bytes received. <N2> is the number of meaningful commands parsed.

Port connectivity is established. Try to perform operations on the keyboard. Then observe:

  • If <N1> keeps at zero, it means nothing is received. Check the physical connectivity.
  • If <N1> increases, it means some data is received. Check <N2>. If <N2> keeps at zero, it means the data received is not meaningful to the parser. Check to see if COM port settings and keyboard protocol (DVRProtocol) are correctly configured.
  • If <N2> increases, it means meaningful command packets has been parsed. With correct input sequence, you should be able to use keyboard.

Example Setup

This example uses two external devices, as illustrated as below:

Device

Device Outlook

Description

USB-RS232 Cable

This cable, when connected with proper drivers installed, creates a COM port on your PC. You can use Windows Driver Manager to see which COM port it connects to.

RS232-485 Converter

This device converts RS-232 protocol to RS-485 protocol bidirectionally. If used in conjunction with USB-RS232 cable, you can connect a RS-485 device to a PC.

 

Connect the devices as the block-diagram illustrated below:

 

 

This should create two COM ports on your PC. You should be able to see what COM ports they use in Windows Device Manager. (To invoke Device Manager, use Start Menu=>Run=>"devmgmt.msc"). Suppose the two COM ports are COM3, and COM4.

Note: The COM3 and COM4 illustrated above is only an assumption. COM port numbers are dynamically assigned when the cable plug-ins to your computer. You must check the actual settings according to what your Device Manager shows. Since the two keyboard ports are not the same, you must connect two ports separately and distinguish them carefully.

 

Open "Cfg. Console" dialog. Enter following information to the "External PTZ module" node:

Mode

SerialPort

DVR_ID

1

DVRProtocol

LilinD

(Change to SerialPort tab

and enter following)

COMPort

COM3

BaudRate

9600

COMBuffer

2048

BitsPerByte

8

StopBits

1

Parity

None

FlowControl

Xon/Xoff

Enter following information to the "Aux module" node:

Mode

SerialPort

PbCAM_ID

1

DPtzCAM_ID

2

PtzCAM_ID

3

DVRProtocol

MLP2

(Change to SerialPort tab

and enter following)

COMPort

COM4

BaudRate

9600

COMBuffer

2048

BitsPerByte

8

StopBits

1

Parity

None

FlowControl

Xon/Xoff

 

Use the "Debug tool" illustrated in previous section to see if data is coming in and commands is being parsed. If the <N2> is increasing then congratulation the keyboard is successfully connected to your computer with following configuration.

  • Camera ID "1" correspond to playback operation on selected player of the console.
  • Camera ID "2" correspond to digital-PTZ operation on selected player of the console.
  • Camera ID "3" correspond to motor-based PTZ (if feature available) operation on selected player of the console.
  • DVR ID "1" correspond to the NVR console operations.