Sony EBS-SP10 Manuel

SP-TUNE User Manual 

 

16

The internal software of SP-TUNE (the firmware) can be updated. This may be necessary to fix 

errors corrected in the newer releases of the firmware, or to enhance functionality. The similar procedure 
is used to update the “logo picture” that can be shown by SP-TUNE for a predefined time after power on. 

For the update procedure the serial port of the SP-TUNE must be connected to the RS-232 (“COM”) 

port of a PC-compatible personal computer, running MS-Windows 98, 2k, or XP operating system. For 
this purpose a special cable, connecting the proper pins of 26-pin Plasma Display connector to COM port 
pins is required. 

The picture loading and firmware update  
Note that normally the serial port of SP-TUNE is used to control Plasma Display. In order for the 

port to be used for PC interface purposes, the serial Display control must be disabled. 

 

 

 

1.  Connect the SP-TUNE to PC using a 9pin-to-9pin RS232 null cable. Connect the power supply. 
2.  Switch the SP-TUNE on;  
3.  Use the supplied SPLdr.Exe utility to upload firmware or logo picture. This utility is Win32 

command line (console) application. It can be run from within any application allowing to 
specify command line (the simplest example is Windows Start\Run dialog. The command line 
syntax is: 

 

SPLdr.Exe <port_number> <filename> 

 

where  

<port_number> is a COM port number to which the SP-TUNE is connected (1-based, 

that is, for COM1 this number is 1). 

<filename> is the path and name of the file to be uploaded. Must be either *.BMP file 

(bitmap) or *.DLD (SP-TUNE firmware) file. 

 

  Example command line to load new bitmap file is: 
 

SPLdr.Exe 1 logo1.bmp 

 
  In this case the COM1 port is used and the new logo file to be uploaded is “logo1.bmp” located in 
the current directory. If the SPLdr application or the file to be uploaded is not located in the current 
directory, full file path can be pre-pended to the respective file name. 
  When uploading the file, SP-TuneLdr.Exe outputs the current load percentage and other state 
messages to console, along with error messages. 

After the successful update the SP-TUNE firmware is restarted automatically.  
 
If the loaded firmware image is not valid (its header or checksum do not match the expected), this 

firmware will not be loaded upon startup. Instead, the control will remain in bootblock, which will 
wait for the new firmware image to be uploaded. This is indicated by LEDs “alternate” blinking 
low/high/low/etc. 
 
 
File format for logo picture BMP file 
 

SPLdr.Exe supports conversion and loading of standard 24-bit unpacked RGB MS *.BMP files. The 

recommended picture size is 852x480 pixels (width is 852 pixels, height is 480 pixels).