Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe

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Offline 7604timo

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Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe
« on: January 13, 2012, 09:26:21 AM »
Hi Everyone,

Has anyone installed Linux on a Samsung 460pxn MagicNet X display?

More specifically, has anyone installed Linux *and* got it to shut the monitor down properly?

I've got Linux installed OK, wake-on-lan works too (which is nice), but when I shut linux down (/sbin/poweroff), the display stays on whilst the embedded PC turns off.

I know with these embedded PCs there are sometimes digital IO lines which can be used to, say, turn a monitor on/off, but I don't know how the Samsung MagicNet X software is doing it.

Any ideas?

Cheers, Tim.

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Offline Bill Coral

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Re: Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2012, 11:21:10 AM »
I think you may need to RS232 codes from Samsung. I am not sure how you will send the codes to the screen, I assume you have experience on this as you send a command to the PC to shutdown though the network.

Are you really using your own digital signage on the PXn through Linux? Impressive!

Bill

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Offline 7604timo

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Re: Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2012, 10:06:57 PM »
Yes, I've been using Tiny Core Linux to boot the PXn displays via a USB stick to test it out before I install it on the internal SSD. I've got Tiny Core Linux to boot straight into Opera web browser in kiosk mode and pointed it at an apache/php web server on our LAN. I can wake-on-lan the displays and send a 'poweroff' command to linux remotely, but the last piece in the plan is to shut the monitor down properly..

I've recently discovered 'xibo', some open source signage software which looks brilliant, and may go with that instead as there's no point in me reinventing something already done very well..

I still have the same problem though: shutting down the PXn's display.

More investigation has revealed that only Samsung's MagicNetX software can shut the monitor down. If I manually shut down WinXPe the display's backlight stays on (just like linux). I've discovered (in Windows Device Manager) that there's an i2c chip registered with a special Samsung driver. I reckon this is the thing that links the IR remote control and the monitor power to/from the embedded PC.

Linux also detects a Samsung SMBus chip, which looks promising. There must be a way of interrogating the SMBus chip using some linux i2c tools and seeing what happens, but I've got to learn how to do it first  :)  And then, if I want to stick with xibo, I've got to make it work in WinXPe.

If only there were a command switch to MagicNetX which shut down the display instead of running it :(

Anyone got any ideas?

Tim

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Offline Grahamtenorio

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Re: Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2012, 06:03:18 AM »
I still have the same problem though: shutting down the PXn's display.

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Offline PSimon23

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Re: Installing Linux on a Samsung 460pxn instead of Win XPe
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2012, 02:39:49 PM »
I decided to give a hand and sent a post into social bookmarks. I hope the popularity will rise in.