Crestron Integration

CommandFusion iViewer can communicate with Crestron processors in a variety of ways:

• Using the SIMPL CrestronMobile symbol and the iViewer CrestronMobile module (documentation).
• Using the SIMPL XPanel symbol and the iViewer CIP module (documentation).
• iViewer Server SIMPL+ module, using the Control System protocol built into iViewer.

Documentation for each method is available on their respective GitHub repositories.

Each method has pros and cons, which have been discussed quite frequently on the CommandFusion Software Google Group.

In Summary:

• Pros
  • Uses the native CrestronMobile SIMPL symbol - familiar symbol to connect to your SIMPL programs.
  • Allows for flexible communication routing (filtering join ranges, multiple processors)
  • Supports the use of different text encodings via system properties for language character sets such as cyrillic via UTF-8 encoding.
• Cons
  • Relies in the CrestronMobile symbol protocol - if this was ever changed by Crestron, the module may stop working until it is updated to support any changes.
  • More complicated to setup

• Pros
  • Uses the native XPanel SIMPL symbol - familiar symbol to connect to your SIMPL programs.
  • Allows for flexible communication routing (filtering join ranges)
• Cons
  • Relies in the XPanel symbol protocol (CIP) - if this was ever changed by Crestron (unlikely), the module may stop working until it is updated to support any changes.
  • More complicated to setup

• Pros
  • Communication protocol natively built into iViewer, less overhead (No JavaScript required).
  • Very easy to integrate in guiDesigner - just define the connection properties in project properties and join changes propagate automatically.
• Cons
  • Relies on the TCP Server functionality in SIMPL+, which has been found to not be as reliable as the lower level access that native Crestron symbols provide.
  • Less flexibility in communications - Can only talk to a single processor at once, all joins will propagate (no way to limit join ranges).
  • All join types are cluttered into the SIMPL+ module, and you must edit the SIMPL+ code to increase/decrease the number of joins that can be used.
  • No text encoding support

Firstly, make sure you are using the latest version of iViewer 4 (not CF iViewer). If the problem persists - contact us via one of the options on our support page.