Download the Send PJLink actor for Isadora 3 from our Plugins Page
The Send PJLink actor allows you to send commands to a projector using the industry-standard PJLink protocol. Using this plugin you can turn the projector on or off, close or open its shutter, and more. The most popular commands are listed in the 'command' input popup menu (right-click the input to see the popup). For more unusual commands, you can set the command input to 'custom' and enter the PJLink command of your choice into the 'custom cmd' input.
If anything is unclear about these instructions, or if you have any problems using it, please let us know by making a post in the forum. One of our team, or one of the members of our awesome community, will be there to help.
Requirements
To use the PJLink actor, you need a PJLink compatible projector and a TCP/IP (Ethernet or WiFi) connection between your computer and the projector. We recommend a physical connection (Ethernet) over WiFi if you want to be 100% sure your commands will always get to the projector!
Instructions:
If you've used PJLink before, then you probably don't need to read these instructions. (Though we've included a few tips that even experts may not know.) Just enter set the 'ip-address' and 'password' of the Send PJLink actor and start sending commands.
If you are new to PJLink, please read on below to fully understand how to use the Send PJLink actor.
Whether you are an expert or a newbie, we *strongly* suggest getting a downloading of the official PJLink Specification: Go to https://pjlink.jbmia.or.jp/english, click the "Downloading" tab and look for the heading 1-1.PJLink Specifications to download this PDF.
Important Note: The IP Port for PJLink is Almost Always 4352!
According to the PJLink Specification, the default IP Port used for PJLink is 4352. The menus/user interfaces on some projectors (notably Panasonic) might lead you to believe that you can change the PJLink port number. But our experience and user feedback indicate this is almost never the case. Always try 4352 first!
STEP 1: Install the Plugin
Download the plugin package (.zip), unzip it, and follow the instructions in "READ ME - Installation.rtf" to install the plugin.
STEP 2: Get on the Same Network
First you need to ensure that your computer and the projector are on the same network connection – usually by connecting both to the same Ethernet router.
STEP 3: Get the IP Address, Port and Password for Your Projector
Then you need to find out your projector's IP Address, which you will need to discover by looking through the projector's menus. Please refer to your projector's manual to find out how to see its IP Address.
IP Addresses always have an IP Port number too, but most often this will already be set to the default port for PJLink which is 4352. We currently do not know of any projectors that allow you to change this port.
**PRO TIP** The menu/user interface for Panasonic projectors are especially confusing on this point. They show a port number that defaults to 1024 in the same section where you'll see the IP Address – but this is not the PJLink port number! It is used for sending "pseudo" serial commands over the network As far as we know, you can't change the PJLink port on Panasonic projectors!
Finally, PJLink projectors are often password protected. You will usually find the PJLink password in the same menu as the projector's IP Address. You will not be able to communicate with your projector if you do not have the correct password.
STEP 4: Find Out What Commands Your Projector Supports
A given projector usually offers only a subset of the many PJLink commands that are available. The commands your projector supports are usually found in the projector's manual. Please find and read this list of supported commands so that you won't be frustrated trying to send a command that your projector doesn't understand.
STEP 5: Use the PJLink actor
Enter the projector IP Address into the 'ip-address' input of the Send PJLink actor and the password into the 'password' input. (If your projector is *not* password-protected, then leave the 'password' input empty.) If for some reason the IP Port for PJLink on the projector is not 4352 (not common!) then enter this number into the 'port' input.
Right-click the input box to the left of the word 'command' to see all the available commands. To test your projector, choose a command that you found during step 3. For example, if your projector supports it, you can try closing the shutter by selecting the 'video (shutter) and audio mute (AVMT 31)' command.
If the projector succeeds in executing your command, you'll see the 'response' output change to 'OK'. If there is some kind of error, then you might see something like 'ERR2' in the response field.
The meaning of these responses is different for each command you might send. The commands and responses are all documented in the PJLink specification PDF we pointed you to above.
If the projector IP Address or IP Port is wrong, or if it is not on the same network as your computer, you will likely see the 'error' output change to something like 'connection error 64' or something similar. If everything is working well, the 'error' output should always be empty.
Once you've selected a command, click the '-' to the left of the 'send' input to send the command to the projector. If you've followed all the steps above, the command you just sent should be executed by the projector.
STEP 6: Send Custom PJLink Commands (Optional / Advanced)
If the PJLink command you want to send is not in the list we've offered in the PJLink actor, then you'll have to enter it yourself. First, look up the command in the PJLink Specification we pointed you too earlier. You'll see it listed something like this 'INF1 ?' in the documentation. Fully formatting looks like:
%1INF1(SP)?(CR)
where (SP) means space and (CR) means carriage return.
This particular command is described as "Manufacture name information query" in the specification. It is part of the PJlink class 1 specification, and this is why the command begins with '%1' if it where part of the class 2 specification if would begin with '%2'. To send this query using the Send PJLink actor, you would choose 'custom' from the 'command' pop up menu, and then enter this text into the 'custom cmd' input:
%1INF1 ?
(Note that there is a single space after the '1' before the '?')
You don't have to enter the carriage return – the actor always sends this special character at the end of any command you specify.
If your projector responds to this command, and you click the 'send' trigger, the manufacturer's name for your projector should show up at the 'response' output.