Black Box AC1032A-2 User manual

2 & 4-Port DVI Switch
March 2005
AC1032A-2
AC1032A-4
AC1032A-4
4-Channel
Order toll-free in the U.S. 24 hours, 7 A.M. Monday to midnight Friday: 877-877-BBOX
FREE technical support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: Call 724-746-5500 or fax [phone]
Mail order: Black Box Corporation, 1000 Park Drive, Lawrence, PA 15055-1018
Web site: www.blackbox.com • E-mail: [email protected]
CUSTOMER
SUPPORT
INFORMATION
AC1032A-2
2-Channel

DVI Switch
1
TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL
BLACK BOX and its logo are registered trademarks of Black Box
Corporation.
Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation.
SGI is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Sun and Sun Microsystems are registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,
Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be
the property of the trademark owners.

Model AC1032A-2 and AC1032-4
2
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
AND CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS
RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENTS
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with
the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio
communication. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A computing device in accordance with the specifications in
Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide
reasonable protection against such interference when the equipment is
operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in
a residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the user
at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be
necessary to correct the interference.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate
the equipment.
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio
noise emission from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference
Regulation of the Canadian Department of Communications.
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques
dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe
A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique publié
par le ministère des Communications du Canada.
EUROPEAN UNION DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
This product complies with the requirements of the European EMC
directive 89/336/EEC

DVI Switch
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Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM)
Electrical Safety Statement
INSTRUCCIONES DE SEGURIDAD
1. Todas las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser leídas
antes de que el aparato eléctrico sea operado.
2. Las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser guardadas para
referencia futura.
3. Todas las advertencias en el aparato eléctrico y en sus instrucciones de
operación deben ser respetadas.
4. Todas las instrucciones de operación y uso deben ser seguidas.
5. El aparato eléctrico no deberá ser usado cerca del agua—por ejemplo,
cerca de la tina de baño, lavabo, sótano mojado o cerca de una alberca,
etc.
6. El aparato eléctrico debe ser usado únicamente con carritos o pedestales
que sean recomendados por el fabricante.
7. El aparato eléctrico debe ser montado a la pared o al techo sólo como
sea recomendado por el fabricante.
8. Servicio—El usuario no debe intentar dar servicio al equipo eléctrico
más allá a lo descrito en las instrucciones de operación. Todo otro
servicio deberá ser referido a personal de servicio calificado.
9. El aparato eléctrico debe ser situado de tal manera que su posición no
interfiera su uso. La colocación del aparato eléctrico sobre una cama,
sofá, alfombra o superficie similar puede bloquea la ventilación, no se
debe colocar en libreros o gabinetes que impidan el flujo de aire por los
orificios de ventilación.
10. El equipo eléctrico deber ser situado fuera del alcance de fuentes de
calor como radiadores, registros de calor, estufas u otros aparatos
(incluyendo amplificadores) que producen calor.

Model AC1032A-2 and AC1032-4
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11. El aparato eléctrico deberá ser connectado a una fuente de poder sólo
del tipo descrito en el instructivo de operación, o como se indique en el
aparato.
12. Precaución debe ser tomada de tal manera que la tierra fisica y la
polarización del equipo no sea eliminada.
13. Los cables de la fuente de poder deben ser guiados de tal manera que no
sean pisados ni pellizcados por objetos colocados sobre o contra ellos,
poniendo particular atención a los contactos y receptáculos donde salen
del aparato.
14. El equipo eléctrico debe ser limpiado únicamente de acuerdo a las
recomendaciones del fabricante.
15. En caso de existir, una antena externa deberá ser localizada lejos de las
lineas de energia.
16. El cable de corriente deberá ser desconectado del cuando el equipo no
sea usado por un largo periodo de tiempo.
17. Cuidado debe ser tomado de tal manera que objectos liquidos no sean
derramados sobre la cubierta u orificios de ventilación.
18. Servicio por personal calificado deberá ser provisto cuando:
A: El cable de poder o el contacto ha sido dañado; u
B: Objectos han caído o líquido ha sido derramado dentro del aparato;
o
C: El aparato ha sido expuesto a la lluvia; o
D: El aparato parece no operar normalmente o muestra un cambio en su
desempeño;o
E: El aparato ha sido tirado o su cubierta ha sido dañada.

DVI Switch
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Contents
1. Introduction ...............................................................................page 6
1.1 General ................................................................................page 6
1.2 Features ...............................................................................page 6
2. Installation .................................................................................page 7
3. Operation...................................................................................page 8
4. Troubleshooting.........................................................................page 9
4.1 Problem Solving FAQ..........................................................page 9
4.2 Calling Black Box..............................................................page 10
4.3 Shipping & Packaging........................................................page 10
5. Specifications...........................................................................page 11

Model AC1032A-2 and AC1032-4
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1. Introduction
1.1 General
The Black Box Model AC1032A-2 and Model AC1032-4 DVI
Switches allow routing of multiple DVI equipped devices (such as
PC’s) to a single DVI display (such as plasma or LCD screen). The
switchers support single-link, DVI-I (integrated Analog and/or Digital)
video signals at resolutions of up to 1280x1024. The DVI Switches
feature front panel switches and indicators for easy operation, plus they
have intelligence to switch to active video input when an input is
unplugged or there is no video present.
1.2 Features
•Clear & sharp image at resolution up to 1280x1024 (including
1080i).
•Supports both digital and analog DVI signals (DVI-I),
allowing you to connect or switch between a DVI equipped PC
and a VGA equipped one (In this case HD15 to DVI cable will
be necessary, and your DVI monitor should be able to support
DVI-I signal)
•Hot pluggable
•Auto skips over the powered off input (no video) and/or
unplugged cable
•Supports the DDC2 standard for all input ports
•Includes Universal (110-220 Vac) Power supply

DVI Switch
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2. Installation
1. Your package includes the Switcher box, a power supply and this
Manual. You need to purchase input cables for connection to your
video sources. Black Box sells high quality DVI cables and
adapters at various lengths.
2. Make sure the PCs , the switch, and the monitor are all turned off
3. Plug the monitor's cable into the DVI OUT port of the Switch
4. Plug male-to-male extension cables from PCs DVI ports to the
Switch
(A note about cables:ADVI-I cable has the analog pins
surrounding the ground blade. Since the Switch is DVI-I, its
connectors have all the sockets, and since most PCs have DVI-I
output connectors with all the pin sockets,you can use either a
DVI-D or a DVI-I cable to connect to your video source. However,
a DVI-D cable does not bring in the analog signals to the switch
and hence you will not be able to use an analog monitor on the
output.Furthermore, it does not make any difference if the cable is
Single or Dual Link. The Switch is Single-Link and you can
physically plug either a Dual or a Single Link cable into it)
Figure 1.
Example of DVI Cable Figure 2. Example of DVI-to-VGA Adapter
Figure 3.
Basic DVI Connector Types

Model AC1032A-2 and AC1032-4
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5. Plug the supplied power adapter to the unit
6. Turn on the monitor first. All red LEDs will flash back and forth
(telling you that the unit is searching for video on the inputs).
7. Turn on the PCs. The green LEDs turn on (telling you that the unit
sees a connection and valid signal on the inputs).
3. Operation
The LED’s indicate which input is selected and which inputs are
present. Simply press the switch next to the LEDs on any of the inputs
that have their green LEDs lit to select that input.
Note that you cannot select an input that is not preset or has no video
(the switch will not allow you). Furthermore, if you select an input that
has video and later that input is disconnected (or the Pc to which it was
plugged in is turned off), then the unit will select the next valid input.
Figure 4.
Setup Block Diagram

DVI Switch
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4. Troubleshooting
4.1 Problem Solving FAQ
1. What are the Cable Length Limitations?
The switcher cannot be used as an extender. Therefore it is best to
plug the output of the switch directly to the display device and use
input cables that are 5 meters (16 ft) maximum. In other words, try
to keep the total length of cablesfrom the video source to the box
and from the box to the monitor should not exceed 16 feet. At
longer distances you may experience video degradation. If you
cannot use shorter cables, try to turn the refresh rate and/or
resolution of the video signal lower.
2. What about HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content
Protection) in home entertainment systems?
The switcher is designed to primarily work with PC’s with DVI outputs.
If you want to use it in a Home-Theatre setup with DVI connections, it
may or may not work. The switchersdo not provide compatibility with
HDCP encoded video sources. For example if you have a DVD player
with DVI output, depending on the brand, or the DVD, it could enforce
HDCP content protection. If HDCP is not enforced, then the switcher
will function well, however if HDCP is enforced, then at best the DVD
player will output at 480p mode, and at worst it will not output any
video on its DVI output instead a message will be displayed to use
another output!.