SONY CONTROL-S JACKS
| Control-S jacks are found on a number of Sony Beta VCRs. They are always located on the back in one of the three variations shown above. Control-S is a one-way communication system developed by Sony. The "S" stands for Slave. A designation commonly used when one device controls another. The language used is made up in bundles of 8 (8-bit) bytes that form a code. It is the same IR code used for Sony remotes. The bytes are being sent over a cable. It is called LANC, for Local ApplicatioN Control bus. One of the most common ways to use Control-S is for synchronized editing. On Betas with the SYNCRO-EDIT feature, it will control the starting of a connected unit(s) during editing. To make this happen, a mini cable is plugged into the Control-S OUT jack of the player and in the recorders Control-S IN jack. The VCRs manual should be consulted for the precise connection. To start both together, synchro-edit must be selected on the player. It is placed in pause at the starting point of the desired scene to be sent to the recorder. The recorder is then placed in record pause at the desired entry point. Pressing pause on the player will then start both machines at the same time. This is an accurate way to synchronize both units, and it eliminates having to push two pause buttons at once. Convenient too because the units don't have to be right next to each other. Some Betas with Control-S have in and out jacks like the example on the left above. These units can send as well as receive. The others just receive. Another use for Control-S is to centralize functions of several devices that have the jack. When you link units together, only one of them needs to receive the IR remote commands to control them all. Controlled devices can be as far away as the cables will allow. Control-S can also be used with stand-alone editors like the RM-E100V or RM-E80. Pioneer had a system similar to this called Control SR on their VX-50 and VX-90; both models were made for them by Sony. It was added to regular Control-S for a total of four control jacks to pick from. Another interface called Control-L uses the same code with similar possibilities but has added wiring for power and switching. Some Sony devices have sockets that will accept both Control-L and ©Misterßetamax go to homepage |