Q-SYS NovaStar VX Series Driver

[1.2.0-beta] — 2026-11-03

Added

• Address on the Connection tab. The Device box shows the controller's IP address and port, so each instance in a design can be identified. It is also an output pin (Device~Address) for use on a UCI.

• A VX Pro on the VX1000 setting is named. When the controller's Mode ID is one known to be a VX Pro and the Model property is VX400 / VX600 / VX1000, the Connection tab reads "Connected - this is a VX Pro: set the Model property", and the log says the same.

• The Connection tab notes when the TCP Port property is not the port NovaStar documents for the selected model. Changing Model to a VX Pro leaves TCP Port at 5200; the VX Pro series uses 15200.

Fixed

• Command buttons respond to wired triggers and scripts. Reconnect, Normal, Freeze, FTB, Test Pattern Apply, Set Primary, Set Backup, Preset Load and Preset Save are now Trigger buttons, as in our other plugins. Up to 1.1.0 they acted only when their value went true, which a click in the plugin does. A Trigger wired to the pin, or a script's :Trigger(), does not, so those presses did nothing.
• One bad reply no longer spoils every poll after it. When a reply did not arrive whole within the timeout, 1.1.0 kept its bytes and read them as the start of the next reply. The log then showed a timeout, a "refused" reply and a one-byte framing skip on every poll. The incomplete bytes are now dropped at the timeout.

Added

• Diagnostics in the log without debug settings. The log now records the plugin version, model, controller address, port and debug settings at startup, and every button press. It also records every write with the controller's answer, the controller's ModeID, the first reply to each read, and a summary of counts every 60 polls. For anything refused, late, misframed or incomplete, it logs the bytes that were sent and received. Debug Log Data still adds the bytes of every poll.
• "Connection: Connected" is logged when the connection changes, not on every poll.

Beta: the VX Pro support below has not yet been run on a VX Pro controller.

Added

• VX Pro series support. A new Model property selects the controller: VX400 / VX600 / VX1000, VX400 Pro / VX600 Pro / VX1000 Pro, or VX2000 Pro. The VX Pro series uses a different command set from the VX1000 for display mode, test patterns, layer source switching and saving presets, so on a VX Pro the 1.0.0 plugin could change brightness and little else. With a VX Pro model selected, every control uses the VX Pro commands (NovaStar VX Pro Series Control Protocol V1.0.5, which requires controller firmware V1.2.0).
• On a VX Pro model:
  • Layer sources list that model's inputs (HDMI 1–3, SDI, OPT 1-1/1-2 and USB on the VX400/600/1000 Pro; DP, HDMI 1–7, SDI, OPT 1-1/1-2 and USB on the VX2000 Pro).
  • The test pattern list is the VX Pro's own 22 patterns, plus Off.
  • The input status rows are labelled in the order the controller reports its inputs.
  • Redundancy Mode is read from the controller on every poll (Independent, Primary or Backup). The VX Pro protocol has no command to switch primary and backup, so those buttons are not shown.
• A command the controller refuses is now logged, naming the command. On the VX1000 setting the message suggests checking the Model property, since the VX1000's display, test-pattern and layer commands do not work on a VX Pro.
• When the controller does not answer, or cannot be reached, on a port other than the one NovaStar documents for the selected model, the log says which port that is: 5200 for the VX400/VX600/VX1000, 15200 for the VX Pro series.

Fixed

• Set Primary and Set Backup never changed the mode on a VX1000. The third of the three frames went to the wrong register, which the controller refuses.

Note

• Existing designs keep the VX400 / VX600 / VX1000 model and behave exactly as before, apart from the Set Primary / Set Backup fix.
• VX Pro support was built from NovaStar's VX Pro protocol document and tested against an emulator of it. It has not yet been run on a VX Pro controller.
• After choosing a VX Pro model, set TCP Port to 15200 (NovaStar's documented port for the VX Pro series) unless your controller is configured differently.

Initial Release

Latest beta release