LG produces excellent TVs for commercial usage in Sports Bars and Restaurants.
myServer 6 provides easy integration into the control system for reliable control.
Most new LG TVs support control via ethernet. We highly recommend you use Cat5 / 6 cable. This is the best strategy.
WiFi can also be used, but wireless technology is never as reliable as ethernet. But if it's really difficult to run wire, then you can use WiFi. Just know it won't be completely reliable. (NOTE: WOL will not work via WiFi if myServer is on ethernet so no Power On will work)
Some of the LG TVs can also be controlled via CEC. This can be used if there is only one ethernet wire to the TV (that will be used for Video, not for Control). But, CEC is not consistently applied by all TVs so it's hit and miss. The Video distribution method and components also has to support CEC.
RS232 (serial) is also possible to be supported. Some Video Matrices will send serial over the video cable.
And of course, most all TVs support Infrared...but that's the least reliable and most expensive to implement as it requires Infrared hardware and additional configuration labor. So, use one of the other methods.
So, if you are using Ethernet, the TVs need to be enabled for "External Control"
The problem is, there is no standard way to do this across TV brands, and across TV models. So the below is tips gleaned from figuring this out across many different models. Hopefully one of the methods works for yours!
On 2022+ Models in order to enable IP control of the TVs use the remote to do the following:
Settings / General / Network / Up / Down / 82888 Will enter Advanced settings mode. This works on all models.
On newer WebOS TVs, you need to enable "Use LG Connected Apps"
https://www.lg.com/eastafrica/support/product-help/CT20279003-1437126709035
Official LG documentation is scarce. Below are some methods that Allonis has used with success. There are slight differences in the methods. Try all.
Some newer LG TVs support IP based control. But it is disabled by default. To enable:
Method 1:
Use the TV’s IR remote to enter the TVs hidden menu as follows to enable IP control for the TV. Note that the LG Magic Remote can not be used. Instead, a non-magic remote or universal remote with LG TV codes must be used.
a. Power the TV ON and set the input to an unused source such as CATV.
b. Wait for the TV to display the “snow” no channel static on the screen and all other menus have disappeared.
c. Press and hold the Settings button (looks like a gear) on the TVs IR remote until the channel number is displayed on the TV then release the settings button.
d. Press 828 then the OK button to bring up the hidden IP Control Setup Menu.
e. Set IP Control to ON.
Method 2:
Network IP Control (For USA only)
How to turn on external control:
- Connect your TV to a wired or wireless network that myServer is also connected to.
- Navigate to the Live TV screen using the LG remote control.
- Display the Settings Menu onscreen
- Press and hold the (Settings) button on the LG remote control for at least 5 seconds on the Live TV screen. Once the Live TV channel banner appears on the screen, enter 828 and press the OK button to enter the ‘IP Control Setup’ menu. * The 3-digit password (default password: 828) can be changed using Password Change.
- After entering the ‘IP Control Setup’ menu, set the ‘Network IP Control’ submenu to ‘On’. You may see a reboot popup window will appear. Select ‘Yes’ to reboot your TV. * Set to 'Off' when the feature is not in use. Ensure you reboot even if you don't see the popup.
- Open a terminal program (e.g. putty, teraterm) on a computer and connect to your TV with your TV’s IP address through telnet service and the port number 9761 as shown below. ex) username : ~$ telnet 10.186.119.107 9761
- If the connection is successful, the following message will appear. Or if ‘NG’ appears when you press Enter, the connection has been established. Trying 10.186.119.107... Connected to 10.186.119.107. Escape character is ' ^ ] ' .
- Enter a command like the example shown below and press Enter. VOLUME_MUTE on
- If the command has been successfully entered, ‘OK’ will appear. If not, ‘NG’ will appear.
- To exit the program, enter ‘quit’ and press Enter. Then, the following message will appear. quit Connection closed by foreign host
- * Power ON through WOL(Wake On Lan) You can turn on the TV, after setting the ‘Mobile TV On’ submenu(Setting > Mobile TV On) to ‘On’ You can test WOL by installing the app related with WOL(Wake On Lan) through iOS or Google Play on your mobile phone.
Third method:
Before anything, you need to enable Network IP Control, which is very easy:
- Open the "All Settings" menu on the TV
- Using the remote arrows, navigate to "Connection"
- Quickly, press
82888using the remote numeric buttons - Note the MAC IP addresses for reference and library configuration
- Turn "Network IP Control" on
- Click "Generate Keycode", and take note of the 8 characters code displayed on the message for reference and library configuration. You can generate a new code at any time
- If you want to be able to turn the TV on, turn "Wake On LAN" on
Older LG TVs can be controlled via RS232. There will be either a DB-9 or a minijack depending on TV model. Both should use the same protocol so other than wiring differences, the myServer 6 LG driver should support both.
When a serial controlled LG TV is used with a matrix, the TV can be addressed using 1-99. The LG Driver can then address the command that the appropriate TV will respond to. The TVs are wired with their "serial Out" jack wired to the next TV's "serial In" jack in a daisy chain. Only one serial com port is then needed for up to 99 TVs. If each TV is wired to the central equipment rack (and not daisy chained), then you will need a serial com port for each TV which adds additional hardware.
Alternative instructions to enable External Control:
Before anything, you need to enable Network IP Control, which is very easy:
- Open the "All Settings" menu on the TV
- Using the remote arrows, navigate to "Connection". For some TVs, this may say "Network" instead.
- Quickly, press 82888 using the remote numeric buttons
- Note the MAC IP addresses for reference and library configuration
- Turn "Network IP Control" on
- Click "Generate Keycode", and take note of the 8 characters code displayed on the message for reference and library configuration. You can generate a new code at any time. Letters must be capitalized.
- If you want to be able to turn the TV on, turn "Wake On LAN" on. By default, the WOL magic packet is sent to 255.255.255.255 but you can change this if you have a complex network setup using static ARP across subnets.
Driver Installation (Only applies if you are doing the myServer 6 configuration. Typically Allonis does this for commercial installations):
There are different generations of LG TVs and how they are controlled.
If port 9761 is open (to the LG TVs IP address), then use the older, serial over IP driver.
From a command line (on the same network as the LG TV) type: nmap <<ip address of the LG TV>>
Download the LGTV driver from the myServer 6 Software Updater. The driver will self install.
Go to the Drivers section and select Configure for the LGTV driver.
The supported commands are listed in the Commands drop down list.
The easiest way to add a TV to control is to enable External Control on the TV, and then click the Discovery button in the driver. You will see in the driver myServer scanning all IP addresses on all active NIC (ethernet and Wifi ports) for any TVs that the driver should support. This will then auto add discovered TVs to the driver's list of configured TVs. Once added, you can edit the TV device's Alias Name for easy identification. For installations that have many TVs, use a logical naming convention like "TV1, TV2, TV3....". You should also name the TVs in the order they are to be displayed, which should also be the order the TVs are installed into the video matrix switch (if used).
Optionally, use the AddTV command to add an LG TV to the network.
Enter the LG TV's IP address and MAC address and room name of the TV to control.
Run the Pair command for the TV in the Driver (click on the TV on the bottom left of the Driver configuration) to control to requests an authentication token from the TV. You should see a popup message on the TV. Accept the connection using the LG provided handheld remote control. You should only need to Pair once, unless the tokens are removed from the TV using the TV setup menu. The Auth token should show up in the TV configuration Row (top right).
You can then run other commands like Mute or VolumeUp or Power Off. Note that some commands only work on some TVs and if the TV is in the context for that command.
To control power to individual LG TVs in the Sportsbar template:
Add to the api call on the scroller object in myDesigner 6:
/api/getpowercontrols?driver=samsungtizen,lgwebos (omit samsungtizen if only LG TVs are used)
Some LG TVs support flipping the display upside down. This can be useful for 2x2 video walls for the TVs on the top row so that the power LED isn't exposed inbetween the two rows of TVs.
States you need the "Service Remote" and push the "ADJ" button and use password 0413 to get to the Service Menu. Tool Option 5. Mirror Mode.
Here is a link to another option that doesn't require the Service Remote:
"Use the TV's own web browser from the Home screen.
Navigate to http ://webosapp.club/instart and/or http ://webosapp.club/ezadjust
Your TV will prompt you to accept the connection from the browser.
At the password prompt enter 0413"