Using Snell Wilcox CVR400D and CVR600AD with Windows GUI Software

Snell & Wilcox had a bespoken TCP/IP and COM/USB networking tool for managing the CVR400/CVR600 series of Kudos+Plus Timebase Corrector and Frame Synchronizers

I finally got a copy of the RollCall Lite software to install and work with the USB ports on the CVR400D and CVR600AD

The trick lay in the versions and history.

RollCall Lite was a slightly stripped down of the full suite of network management tools minus things like their Logging server. It was free for download, but since it came from either 1998/1999 or 2003/2004 there aren't a lot of copies left on the internet.

The PDF documentation manuals also suffered from being written probably by people overly familiar with the software and less with communicating information to other people. Many terms are left poorly or completely undefined and its assumed the reader knows the context.. mostly it comes up as gibberish and ends abruptly.

The key was reading a small portion of a subnote that referred to difficulty Upgrading from Version 3.x to Version 4.x

Version 3.x seemed to be written for an older Windows platform, perhaps as old as 98SE or ME

Version 4.x seemed to be written for a newer Windows platform using Java

Version 3.x relied upon a separate service that monitored and managed the USB port and surfaced it in Device Drivers as a virtual COMM port, but also as a TCP/IP service on port 2059 - this separate service was called - RollTop and was a separate install and start up.

Version 4.x was a Java applet and program called RollCall Control Panel, this started up and searched for services on TCP/IP port, including the local workstation, and if told to search port 2059 it would find any device connected over the USB port.

It could then be configured to source the device templates (control panels) from the device and build a control panel within the Java application RollCall Control Panel.

The caveat of this however is that although the RollCall install warns you need Java JRE 1.6 or later, only Java JRE 1.7 actually works - the behavior with 1.6 is a blank window that never populates or builds with controls and through an obscure SWING AWT error message in the error.log file

Using a Matrox MXO2 Dock with Windows 7 32 bit Thunderbolt 3 laptop

I was quite surprised to find this was even possible.

I believe the Matrox MXO2 Thunderbolt 2 Dock came out in 2010 and was directly targeted for the Apple Mac OSX 10.6 market.

But after installing and activating Windows 7 x32 on an HP Folio G1 laptop with a USB3/Thunderbolt 3 port, and using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.

At first the MXO2 Dock powered up green, but the OS could not see it.

So I had to install the HP sp85610.exe package - Intel Thunderbolt 3 Secure Connect Utility

It detected the Matrox MXO2 "knocking" on the PCI buses door, and I changed the answer from Block to Allow.. and suddenly PCI bridges and device drivers started installing.

When it was done the only device it couldn't find a driver for was the Broadcom Extreme Gigabit Ethernet port of the Dock.

I hunted around by PCI VEN and DEV to find the HP Broadcom 17 sp82011.exe package had that driver and installed it.. it was a universal installer so it brought along a lot of peripheral management software and installed a 32 device driver for the Ethernet port.. and it detected the network and setup the adapter.

So now its fully functional.

I tested both the USB 2 high speed ports.

I tested the USB3 super speed port.

I tested the HDMI port and could extend or replicate the Intel 515 display on an external monitor.

I tested the Ethernet port.

 All work as expected.

I'm really curious to see if the Matrox MXO2 capture devices like the mini, mini-max and LE can also be used through the proprietary PCI "host" port on this dock to avoid using the ugly little black host to Thunderbolt 2 boxes, or the PCIexpress card or the PCIe PC card.

It just seems a more future proof way of using the old capture devices on newer hardware.. even if it has to be with Windows 7 - Flashboot provides a way of installing Windows 7 even on newer hardware without a CSM compatibility bios extension with a UEFI shim to support ancient bios legacy calls for the startup screen and bsod windows.

I assume this will work for Windows 7 x64 but its a guess.. a 32 bit install was a little older and closer to what was more common at the dawn of the Vista and Win7 age.

GPD P2Max Firefox right Click Crashes Browser

When running Windows 7 x64 on a GPD P2Max handbook computer. Right clicking on anything in a Firefox browser page of YouTube videos and sidebar links.

Resulted in a Blank White or Hollow Blank Black box about the size of a Context menu. It cannot be cancelled or removed and eventually the entire Browser crashes. Any currently playifeatureng videos continue to play but all other browser controls are unresponsive. A popup dialog box appears after crashing asking what to do close browser?

Solution: Disable the Firefox Hardware Acceleration feature.

Tools menu > Settings 

Use the Find Search box .. type Hardware

Under Performance "expand" and uncheck