Contemporary Research 232-ATSC 4 User manual

4355 Excel Pkwy, Suite 600, Addison, TX, 75001
Phone: [phone] • Toll-Free: 888-972-2728 •Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected] •Website: www.crwww.com
Product Manual
232-ATSC 4
HDTV Tuner
August 6, 2015
S37 V2.06
HD V6.07

Contemporary Research 2 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
Table of Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Installation.............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Quick Front-panel Setup .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Channel Tuning –On-Screen menus ......................................................................................................................... 5
IR Menu Control...................................................................................................................................................... 5
Front Panel Setup ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Setup Menus .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Front-Panel Button Sequences.................................................................................................................................. 7
Web Pages............................................................................................................................................................... 8
HD2-RC IR Remote ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................................................... 10
Firmware Updates................................................................................................................................................. 12
On-Screen Menus.................................................................................................................................................. 14
Main Menu ............................................................................................................................................................14
Channel Menus ......................................................................................................................................................14
Caption Menus.......................................................................................................................................................16
V-Chip Settings Menus............................................................................................................................................16
Setup Menus .........................................................................................................................................................17
Pop-Up Menus .......................................................................................................................................................19
RS-232/Telnet Control Protocol........................................................................................................................... 20
Control Commands.................................................................................................................................................21
Terminal Communication Commands .......................................................................................................................23
HD2-RC Remote Emulation .....................................................................................................................................23
Response Strings .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Response Strings ...................................................................................................................................................24
Using USB as an RS-232 Port ............................................................................................................................... 25
RS-232 Cable Connections ................................................................................................................................... 26
Rack Mounting ...................................................................................................................................................... 27
RK2EZ Dual Rack Kit with Tie Bar Mounting..............................................................................................................27
RK1 Single Unit Rack Mount ....................................................................................................................................27
Specifications........................................................................................................................................................ 28
Physical.................................................................................................................................................................28
Front Panel............................................................................................................................................................28
Back Panel ............................................................................................................................................................28
Tuning ..................................................................................................................................................................29
Captioning.............................................................................................................................................................29
Includes ................................................................................................................................................................29
Options .................................................................................................................................................................29
Firmware...............................................................................................................................................................29
Trademarks ...........................................................................................................................................................29
Safety Instructions ............................................................................................................................................... 30
Limited Warranty .................................................................................................................................................. 31

Contemporary Research 3 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
Overview
The new 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner, our 4th-generation ATSC HDTV tuner, adds new capabilities to the
industry-standard 232-ATSC series. New features include tuning MPEG-4 programs, up to 1080p output, and
more efficient operation. The new tuner is fully compatible with control commands for previous models.
The integrator-friendly HDTV tuner is controllable with 2-way RS-232 and IP Telnet, as well as wireless and
wired IR commands. An onboard Web page enables remote Web control. A new menu-driven display
simplifies setup, and a front-panel USB port makes firmware updates a snap. The new compact enclosure
allows mounting of two tuners in a single rack space.
A universal TV tuner, the 232-ATSC 4 can receive both analog and digital MPEG-2/MPEG-4 channels, in
ATSC, NTSC, and clear QAM formats. Using an optional RF switcher, the tuner can switch between antenna
and cable feeds.
Tunes analog and digital channels in ATSC, NTSC, and clear QAM formats
Accepts MPEG-4 TV channels, as well as standard MPEG-2
Scales video output from 480p to 1080p
New –108op set to 60Hz for more universal applications, 1080i and 720p can be set to 60 or 59.94
Simulcasts from HDMI and composite video ports, as well as stereo, and digital coax and TOSlink
optical audio ports
Switches to RGBHV or Component output from front-panel settings, Web page or control commands
Dolby® 5.1 or PCM/Variable PCM digital audio formats for digital audio ports and HDMI
Front-panel text and on-screen menus for tuner setup
Web pages for remote setup and control
Supports dual Air/Cable tuning with optional RF switch
Analog and digital closed captioning
Internal scaler displays channels at selected resolution
Rack-mountable two across in 1RU
Full ASCII 2-way RS-232/USB commands, AMX, Crestron, and RTI modules available, discrete IR
commands
RS-232 can be daisy-chained to control up to 9 tuners from a single RS-232 port, or control any
number of tuners via IP
Update firmware via front-panel USB port (S37) and memory stick (HD firmware)
Meets RoHS and California energy-saving standards
Includes HD2-RC IR remote and 12 VDC power supply
Options for single and dual rack mounts, external RF-AB RF switch, also we can provide a PS-6-4Y
6A power supply that can power groups of up to 4 tuners at time of order.

Contemporary Research 4 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
Installation
There are 3 ways you can change the settings:
Front Panel. Press the SETUP button use the Up/Down buttons to move through menus,
Left/Right to change settings, then press SELECT to store the changes at each step.
oPress SETUP to access the front-panel menus
oUse the Up and Down arrows to step through each menu
oUse the Left and Right arrows to choose and option
oClick Select to save the change for each menu
IR. Use the included IR remote to turn on/off, scan for channels and access on-screen
menus. All the IR functions can be accessed from the front-panel buttons
Ethernet. Access the onboard Web pages. Helpful for remote access when system is fully
integrated with site Ethernet.
The front panel LCD shows the current channel and name, if the HD analog output is set to
RGBHV or YPbPr, resolution of the channel, and if it’s on Air or Cable.
Quick Front-panel Setup
RGB or Component out
Click the SETUP button, use Up or Down to HD Output menu, use Left or
Right keys to choose input, press SELECT to choose. HDMI is always active.
HD Resolution
Go to the next menu down, and cycle through the list of resolutions. Press
SELECT to choose. Note that our Component port supports 1080p –we’ve
found a number of TVs that support that resolution.
Air or Cable Tuning
Go to the next menu and select CATV, Air, IRC, HRC, or CATV Auto. Press
SELECT to choose. IRC has the same channel map as standard CATV, except
for 5 and 6. The HRC channel map uses completely different frequencies than
the others. CABLE AUTO looks at the first few channels to determine the right
format. If there are no channels between 2 and 6, you may have to set the
tuning mode manually.
Select Scan Mode
Page down a number of menus to the Scan Mode menu. The Left or Right
keys will select several options
Analog+Digital (standard full scan)
Digital –Delete Analog (scan for digital, delete any analog channels)
Digital –Keep Analog (scan for digital, but keep all analog channels)
Analog –Delete Digital (scan for analog, delete any digital channels)
Analog –Keep Digital (scan for analog, but keep all digital channels)
Once you do the next step, scan from the front-panel menu, the tuner will
always scan this way from the panel or on-screen menu –until you change the
mode later on.
Channel Scan
The next menu starts the Channel Scan, just press SELECT to start scanning.
You can watch the scan progress from a pop-up window on the video outputs
from the tuner. You can watch the scan process if the output of the tuner is fed
to a display. A Cable analog/digital scan will take 7 minutes, only digital 6
minutes (the analog scan is faster).

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Channel Tuning –On-Screen menus
IR Menu Control –use the IR remote’s red Menu button or click the blue front-panel Menu button to access on-screen
menus.
Scan Channels
Press the Blue MENU button, Channel, Auto Scan, then scan
mode - usually Cable Auto for cable, Air for off-air channels. The
tuner will automatically delete encrypted Cable programs. Wait for
the tuner to finish analog scanning; then it will re-scan channels for
digital. Press SELECT when tuning analog to skip to analog and skip
to a digital channel scan.
Audio
Press Blue MENU button, Setup, Digital Output, then Dolby, PCM
or PCM Variable. If you get a “motorboat” sound for digital sound,
switch to PCM.
Screen
Press Blue MENU button, Setup, Screen Format and select
between 4:3, 16:9 and Zoom options. Stores two different options
for digital and analog channels. Options vary in analog and digital,
and the channel itself may restrict your options. You can also use
the RATIO button on your remote.

Contemporary Research 6 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
Front Panel Setup
Setup Menus
Press Setup to enter menus. Use Up and Down buttons to page through options, Left and Right buttons to
change settings. Press Select to enter the setting.
Menu
Options
Firmware
232-ATSC 4 VX.XX
To update the firmware, click Power and Setup while on this menu while
connected via USB. That will open up a file folder. Copy the file to the tuner
memory, the tuner installs the update itself. Press Left to return to normal
operation.
Also, when this menu is displayed, you can click the Right to view Bootloader
version, HD version, and DC voltage.
HD Output
RGBHV
YPbPr (Default)
HD Resolution
1080p
1080i (Default)
720p
480p
480i
Tune Mode
CATV (Default) - Switches tuner to Cable, sets Scan mode (See mode 6)
Off-Air - Switches tuner to Air, sets for Off-Air channel scan
IRC - Switches tuner to Cable, sets Scan mode
HRC - Switches tuner to Cable, sets Scan mode
Cable Auto - Switches tuner to Cable, sets Scan mode
Digital Audio
AC-3–Dolby 5.1
PCM (use this or Variable for audio through HDMI)
PCM Variable (Default)
Refresh Rate
1080p is now set to 60Hz
1080i and 720p can be set to 60 or 59.94 Hz
Baud Rate
300
600
1200
2400
4800
9600 (default)
19200
Unit Number
1-9, default is 1
Panel Lockout
None, Ch+Menu, Vol+Menu, Ch+Vol+Menu, Power, Setup, Menu, All,
Setup+Menu, Pwr+Setup+Menu
Backlight
Display brightness 1-10
LCD Contrast
Contrast 1-9
IR Receive
IR On, IR Off
Captions
On, Off (default)
Caption Mode
CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4
Text 1, Text1, Text3, Text4 (Text options rarely used)
Digital Captions
Service 1-6, Default is 1
Scan Mode
Sets how the tuner will scan the channels
Analog+Digital (standard full scan)
Digital –Delete Analog (scan for digital, delete any analog channels)
Digital –Keep Analog (scan for digital, but keep all analog channels)
Analog –Delete Digital (scan for analog, delete any digital channels)
Analog –Keep Digital (scan for analog, but keep all digital channels)
Channel Scan
Press Select
Starts the scan, follows the Tune Mode selection
Starts with analog channels, then digital. You can press Select to skip analog.
Overscan
Selects % overscan for all channels
0-9

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Menus
IP Configuration
Typical operation:
Press Setup to edit value, characters will flash
Use direction keys to change
Press Setup to save
IP Port
23
IP port for Telnet communication –Click or hold Up or Down to set.
Gateway
255.255.255.000
Quad address –Left/Right steps through each group, click Up or Down to step
one at a time, hold down to move faster.
Subnet Mask
255.255.255.0
Subnet has a limited range of combinations, so this function is simplified
Left/Right steps through each group, click Up or Down for options
IP Address
192.168.1.231
Left/Right steps through each group, click Up or Down to step one at a time, hold
down to move faster.
IP Mode
Selects Static (default) or DHCP IP modes
DHCP will select new address
IP Address will show change when you select DHCP
If you go back to Static, the address you defined in that mode will be set
MAC/SN
Shows network MAC address
Ex: 00:14:C8:09:13:BF
First 3 bytes is the CR MAC address, 02 designates 232-ATSC 4, and the last two
are the serial #.
Front-Panel Button Sequences
Pressing Up and Down keys toggles air/cable tuning
Pressing Left and Right keys toggles mute on/off
If the Setup key is locked out, pressing Setup and the Right key will unlock setup until the tuner
resets, and turn the tuner on if it is off (even if the Power button is locked)
Press Power and Up together when at Setup:Firmware menu to reset to default settings

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Web Pages
Control Page
Settings Page
The 232-ATSC 4 features Web pages accessible by any browser over IP. The Control page features a full
array of control options with interactive status feedback, including the native resolution of the program and
if no signal is present. The Settings page can change all aspects of tuner setup and operation. The name of
the tuner can be changed by clicking on the name at the top of the page.

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HD2-RC IR Remote
The HD2-RC IR Remote included with the 232-ATSC 4 can be used to setup the tuner and for daily
operation. All of the functions on the remote have equivalent commands in RS-232, Ethernet, and Wired IR
formats. In addition, the 232-ATSC 4 front panel buttons can perform Power, Channel, and Volume control.
Power
Turns tuner on and off. Discrete on and off IR commands are
available as well.
Volume Control
Use the Vol+, Vol- and Mute buttons.
Channel Selection
The key change in digital tuning is the need to add a dash (-) and
number after the traditional channel number. Analog channels are
accessed using XX-0, digital channels using XX-1 (or -2, -3, etc).
Ch+, Ch- and PrevCh can be used to access and recall channels.
Menu Operation
Press Menu to access the on-screen menus.
Use the directional Arrows, Select and Exit to navigate the
menus.
List displays the list of all channels, arrow keys add/remove
channels, set Favorite Channel list
Exit steps backwards out of menus
Enter selects menu choice
Special Functions
CC steps through available closed-captioning options
Audio selects audio and SAP modes
Signal displays channel signal level
Ratio steps through aspect ratios, options depend on
channel and output types
Info launches on-screen information window
A/C selects Air or Cable tuning
Fav Displays list of favorite channels
Guide displays on-screen Guide
Features of many of the Special Function commands depend on
whether the current channel is analog or digital.
Tip: The output rules behave differently for digital and analog
channels. When you set up the tuner, use the RATIO button to set
image output for a digital channel, then tune to an analog channel
and set that to 16:9 or 4:3. The same rule applies to the
Menu/Setup/Screen Format menus. Set for analog and digital.

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Troubleshooting
TUNING CABLE CHANNELS
Tip: The 232-ATSC 4 will skip encrypted channels automatically when you activate a channel scan
Tip: You can skip scanning analog channels by pressing Select after you start the scan.
Symptom: Channel ID is in XX-XX form, not cable box Guide form
Cable boxes translate the actual channel #s into a virtual Channel Guide, using channels 2 –900, or
more.
The actual (physical) channels have IDs in XXX-XX form, just like off-air channels. Non-cable HDTV
tuners like the ATSC or LCD TVs don’t provide Guide features, so the channels will be displayed in
their native, physical major-minor channel form.
Some cable companies are using a useful format –the cable channels will have a single virtual
channel that is the same as the Guide, and local TV channels may use the same virtual major-minor
listing as the off-air channel.
Some cable franchisees have a listing by physical channel, many do not. You can press the INFO
button on the HD2-RC remote to view the channel name.
COMPONENT OR RGB VIDEO
Symptom: No Component or RGB Video
The RGB and Component outputs are switchable, and the tuner ships set to RGB. Use Front Panel Menus to
switch the HD analog video to Component or RGB.
Some monitors and TVs can’t handle HD resolutions, only traditional VGA settings. Consult the display’s
manual –a listing of resolutions is usually towards the back of the manual. Try 1080p, 720p, or 480i9
If the display can’t handle any setting, use HDMI or Component, or use a small scaler, such as the TV One
C2-400, 1T-VS-624, or similar than can accept an HD RGB signal and convert to a PC resolution.
Symptom: Scan or “fluttery” lines at top of video, usually on an analog channel
Use the Overscan menu to crop the video a bit. What you’re seeing is the data (captioning) portion of the
video. Adding a bit more overscan will eliminate the lines at the top.
POWER/ NO VIDEO or AUDIO
Symptom: Tuner cycles power and LEDs
Power supply is not providing enough amps of power (1 A or more). If you’re replacing an old CR analog
tuner, the old power supply is 500 mA, and will cause the “power cycle” effect. Use the power supply that
came with the tuner, or call to order a new one. Voltage range should be 11-14 VDC.
Symptom: Tuner appears to be on, channel display is lit, but unresponsive, no video/audio out
When the tuner turns on, it will display Voltage Low or Voltage High if there is power problem.
Go to the Setup: Firmware menu and click the Right key to display the exact voltage.
Symptom: Tuner stays locked at Power On text
Reload the S37 firmware again (see Alternate Update note at the end of the System Firmware section on
page 9). Call CR Support (888-972-2728) to get the right firmware version for your tuner.

Contemporary Research 11 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
HDMI
Symptom: No Video or Signal
Most monitors accept HDMI in the RGB and Component color space, but there are exceptions. Try
switching from RGB to Component.
Switch between 1080p, 720p and 1080i, or down to 480P or 480i for old DVI sets.
Symptom: No audio or fluttering sound in display speakers connected via HDMI
Change ATSC digital audio to PCM or PCM variable (not all displays accept Dolby 5.1)
Symptom: Scan or “fluttery” lines at top of video, usually on an analog channel
Use the Overscan menu to crop the video a bit. What you’re seeing is the data (captioning) portion of the
video. Adding a bit more overscan will eliminate the lines at the top.
Composite Video
Symptom: Composite video out has small image in 16:9 setting, analog channels
For a 4:3 set, tune to an analog channel and press RATIO on the remote or Setup: Screen Format
on onscreen menu to set to 16:9. Image will fill left to right, you’ll always have a black band top and
bottom.
Set to 4:3 if you’re only feeding video to 4:3 TVs.
Set output ratio on a digital channel as well - this a different setting than for analog channels.
If the tuner is used for 16:9 displays and analog TVs, choose the best setting for the widescreen,
and the NTSC will have to be a compromise. Most of the time, setting the RATIO while tuned to an
analog channel and again for a digital channel will provide the best result.
IR Control
Symptom: IR remote won’t control tuner
Hold down IR remote Select, press 9, and release both. Front-panel setting should be IR On. In addition,
check if the remote works when the lights are off. Some energy-saving fluorescent lights produce
interference at our IR frequency (57 Hz). Try to cover the IR sensor so the lights don’t affect operation, or
add the IR-RXC External IR Sensor. It’s easier to hide and tilt the sensor to help with reception, and you can
try Select and 4 to use the lower IR frequency (the RXC has both types of sensors).
Captioning on Video Outputs
Symptom: Video out does not include captioning data
The 232-ATSC 4 provides on-screen captioning on all ports. No captioning data is carried on any HD port
(HDMI, RGB, and Component standards do not support carrying captioning data). However, the composite
video output does carry Line 21 captioning data when tuned to either an analog or digital channel.

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Firmware Updates
System Firmware
The system firmware (S37) is the most common type of update. It’s a small file and doesn’t take too long to
update.
Update to the latest S37 file before updating HD Load.
Download the firmware from the 232-ATSC 4 Product page
oBrowse to www.crwww.com
oSelect Products, then choose the 232-ATSC 4
oSelect the Downloads tab and download the latest firmware
oOpen the ZIP folder
Connect your PC to the USB port of the 232-ATSC 4.
Select the red Setup button on the ATSC front panel, then go to the Setup: Firmware setting
Click Setup and Power together –a file folder will open on your desktop and the front panel of the
tuner will display Firmware Loader
Copy and paste or drag the file into the folder
The front panel will show File Loading, then Copying Image.
When the process is complete, the display will change to Firmware Loader
Press the Left to exit the mode, no need to exit Setup or reset power
If you get false error messages such as “File too large” - it’s a USB driver issue. Solutions include using a
different PC, update the USB driver, or reboot the PC and try again.
Alternate Update: Older firmware may have a glitch in the start-up sequence and the tuner is locked to the
Power On text. The alternate access is to unplug DC power, hold down the Up and Down buttons while you
reconnect DC power. A file folder will open on your desktop and the front panel of the tuner will display
Firmware Loader.
USB memory stick
Go to the Setup/Firmware menu, press the right arrow twice to see if your version is current or not
Requires S3 firmware V2.02 or higher
Memory formatted as FAT, FAT16, or FAT32, not NTFS
Download and copy the file HD4_V6xx.rom to root of a memory stick. Make sure that it is the only
*.rom file on the root of the stick.
Place USB memory stick in the back USB port of the 232-ATSC 4.
Power on tuner.
Press Setup, then select the Firmware menu. Press the right arrow twice to display the current
HD Version. Press both SETUP and POWER buttons at the same time. The update takes about one
minute.
If the update is corrupted, (power loss or uplugging memory stick during update), the board will have to be
updated via the HD Load program through the RS-232 serial port. Instructions on the following page.
Firmware Versions
S37 V2.06 Allows selection of 1080i/720p to 60 or 59.94 Hz, 1080p is set to 60 Hz
HD HD4_V607.rom Enables 60/59.94 Hz for 1080i/720p, sets 1080p to 60 Hz

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HD Load Processor Firmware
This firmware process updates the HD processor in the 232-ATSC 4; it’s a much larger file and uses a
different set of steps for updating.
Download the new version of HD Load from the website. The .exe file will save the firmware to a
folder in C:/CR Temp when you click OK on the pop-up window.
Connect an RS-232 null modem cable from your Windows PC to the RS-232 input on the back of the
tuner. The data rate of the update is too fast to use the USB connection on the front of the tuner.
Remove the 12 VDC cable from the back of the tuner.
Go to the CR Temp folder and run HDLOAD.exe app.
Change the Configuration Model to SupraHD. Do this first, keep Data Type as Application
Select the COM port you’re using from the pull-down list at Connection. Don’t select Enable
Dynamic 2X Speed. On some PCs, you may need to go to Control Panel/System/Hardware
manager, right-click the COM port, and select Update Driver.
Under the File option, browse to select the ATSC4_Vxxx.raw file.
Click the Connect button below Configuration.
Click the Start button to begin the download process
Hold down both Volume (Left + Right) buttons and connect DC power. The front-panel display
will flash and show HD LOAD, to show it is in the Processor Download mode.
The Download Progress bar and Message box will keep you up to date on progress. If you have
difficulty downloading, try updating the driver for the USB adapter, use a different adapter, or retry
the process a few times.
The Message text will tell you when the process is complete. Close HD Loader reset DC power to the
tuner.
You can check the firmware update version by selecting SETUP, click Up to show the
Setup:Firmware menu, press right twice to see the HD version.

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On-Screen Menus
Main Menu
Selects sub-menus.
Arrow keys highlight option
Select (or Enter) chooses option
Menu steps back or exits menus
Exit exits all menus
Some options are only available if you are currently
tuned to an analog or digital channel
Channel Menus
Sub-Menu for Channels offers options for:
Channel Auto-Scan
Favorite Channel Selection
Add/Delete Channels
Fine Tune (If tuned to an analog channel)
Signal Strength Meter
Auto-Scan
Starts scan of analog and digital channels for:
Air –looks for NTSC and ATSC channels
Cable Auto –looks for analog and digital QAM cable
channels, as well as all frequency plans
Cable STD - standard cable spacing
Cable HRC –HRC cable spacing
Cable IRC –IRC cable spacing
Tip:
Normally, use Auto. Most cable channels will be in standard
frequencies. If all the channels tune in STD but channels 5
and 6, scan for IRC. If few channels can be found, scan for
HRC.

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Favorite Channels
Menu is also displayed from the List command, selects
channels advanced by the FAV favorite channel command.
Use the Up, Down keys to move through the list, press Select
to add a channel to Favorites.
Channel Add/Delete
This menu can add or delete a channel accessed from Channel
Up and Down.
You can tune to a channel you want to delete, then press
Menu/Channel/Add-Delete. Press Select to delete the channel.
You can also keep the page on screen as you step through
channels, adding and deleting as desired. If the channel has a
good signal, it will be displayed in the background.
Note that HDTV channels are broadcast on UHF frequencies.
The Add/Delete will show the name of the digital channel, as
well as the actual UHF channel used for broadcasting.
You can delete one of a digital channel’s sub-channels without
affecting the others.
Signal Strength
This page also displays from the Signal remote command. The
graphic shows the current signal strength, and changes in real
time. This allows you to monitor the strength of a channel as
you adjust the antenna for best reception.

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Caption Menus
This menu accesses captioning features:
On/Off –turn captions on/off –other options are not
available if captions are off.
Analog Mode - CC 1-4 and Text 1-4
Digital Mode –Service 1-6
Digital Font Options
Size –Standard (15 pixels), Large (21 pixels), or
Small (11 pixels)
Style –1-6
Color –8 shade of background, foreground and
edge colors
Opacity –foreground and background
Edge –6 style options
Version displays current version of tuner firmware
V-Chip Settings Menus
Manages access to programming for US and Canadian
standards.
The default PIN number for access is 0000 (four zeros.
Change PIN
Enter and confirm new PIN for access.

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US Rating
Use arrows and Select functions to select level of Movie and TV
rating allowed.
Canada Rating
Use arrows and Select functions to select level of Movie and TV
rating allowed.
Setup Menus
This series of menus select the options for tuner operation:
Screen Format –16:9 or 4:3
NOTE: Set when tuned to a digital channel, again when
tuned to an analog channel –these are two different
settings! You can use RATIO on the remote –does the
same setting.
Time
Sound Settings
Video Noise Reduction - On/Off (if tuned to analog)
Set to On –helps to clean up analog channels
Menu Language –English, Spanish, French

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Screen Format
Selects between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. The Ratio
command can also adjust the settings.
4:3 Display offers three options for 16:9 video: 16:9,
4:3 (stretched vertically), and Zoom (cropped sides)
16:9 Display offers three options for 4:3 video: 4:3
(small centered), 16:9 (stretched horizontally), and
Zoom (stretched vertically and horizontally) –or 4:3
and 16:9 if the video is 16:9
Time
Sets time settings for:
Daylight Saving –Select and choose on or off
Note –The DST trigger comes from the broadcast
stations, and may not be in sync with the new US
standards. Use On/Off or time zone to offset time
Time Zone –Select local time Zone
Time Zone
Use left-right cursors to select the time zone, Select enters the
current zone.
Sound
Selects a variety of options, each is only active when you are
currently tuned into an analog or digital channel:
Analog MTS –Mono, Stereo, SAP (same as Audio)
Multi-Track –English, French, Spanish
Digital Out –AC-3 (Dolby 5.1), PCM, or variable-level
PCM. Set to PCM when using audio through the HDMI
connection –most displays cannot decode AC-3 (Dolby
5.1).
Auto Volume –On or off

Contemporary Research 19 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
Pop-Up Menus
Info
Activated from Info command.
Channel –Analog or digital, Mode, Name
Time –current time and date
Program –Times and name (if digital)
Details –Resolution, Audio Mode, Captions, Rating
Guide
Shows the day’s programming guide for current station. Use
Up or Down arrows to move through Guide.

Contemporary Research 20 232-ATSC 4 HDTV Tuner
RS-232/Telnet Control Protocol
Overview
The 232-ATSC 4 full duplex RS-232/Telnet protocol enables a system programmer to control all TV Tuner
functions as well as monitor TV Tuner status. All commands are sent as ASCII strings. No delays between
characters or commands are required, as data is interrupt driven and buffered.
The 3 status groups are: Channel/Source Select, Audio Levels/Mode and Front Panel. The Power button-
function status from the 232-ATSC 4 front panel has been grouped with the Channel/Source for simplicity in
the most common modes of operation. Each of the groups has one ASCII status response string containing
all of the status data for that group. The current status string of a group is sent from the 232-ATSC+
whenever a valid command for that group is received by the 232-ATSC 4 RS-232 port or front panel. A
group's status may be requested at any time via the RS-232 port. Status of all 3 groups is sent at power up.
The format of each group's status response string remains the same always.
Up to 9 232-ATSC 4 units may be cabled together and addressed for individual control from a single RS-232
port. Each 232-ATSC+ is assigned a unique unit code.
Communications parameters (Front Panel Mode 1) are 300 to 19200 baud, 8 data bits, No parity, and 1 stop
bit. Factory default is 9600 baud, Unit#1.
All settings are saved to NVRAM in the 232-ATSC 4.
The tuner will accept non-standard RS-232 control such as voltage that swings from 0 to +5 VDC, commonly
found when IR ports are used to send RS-232 commands.
General protocol specifications
Characters in command strings to the 232-ATSC 4 are common ASCII keyboard characters.
Command strings sent to the 232-ATSC 4 begin with the ASCII > (greater than symbol) as an 'Attention'
character and end with carriage return - ASCII CR, Hex $0D, or keyboard Enter - as an 'End-of-command'
character.
Responses from the 232-ATSC 4 begin with the ASCII < (less than symbol) as an 'Attention' character and
end with a carriage return followed by line feed an ASCII LF or Hex $0A as 'End-of-command' characters.
A carriage return is required at the end of each command and is assumed in all examples.
Command String Structure
[Attention] (Unit#) [Command] (Parameters) [Return]
Attention Single character (>) starts the string
Unit# The Unit# is expressed as an ASCII 0-9 when used in multiple tuner applications.
To address all units, use a Unit # of 0 (Zero)
No unit number will default to Unit#1
Command A two-character command
Parameters Added attributes to some commands
Return A carriage return ends the command string, you may use ASCII CR, Hex $0D, or keyboard
‘Enter’ in programming. For simplicity, the programming examples in the manual will not
show the ‘CR’ – so remember, you’ll need to add it in your control code.
Command and Status Response
Commands can be sent back to back at any time without any delay. To allow for rapid, multiple commands,
status responses are intentionally delayed by about 125mS, sending the most current status in response to
control commands or user actions.