Serial Communication is used to connect third-party hardware consoles to a Mac computer. This allows ProPresenter-Scoreboard to output to a physical (LED) scoreboard while scoring is controlled by the console. Should you run into an issue when connecting a Serial device to a Mac for ProPresenter Scoreboard, it is very easy to troubleshoot.

Step 1

The first step here is to make sure that an FTDI chipset adapter is what is used. Once this adapter is connected to the computer, you can connect your device to the computer and reboot the machine, and ProPresenter-Scoreboard should see the device on reboot.

Step 2

Once this is showing in ProPresenter-Scoreboard, save the configuration, choose "Connect" in the Communications window for your device. Try starting the clock to see if there is control from the device into ProPresenter-Scoreboard.

Step 3

Should there be no control in ProPresenter-Scoreboard, and the correct game type is selected on your hardware controller- there are apps that will test to see if serial communication is coming into the computer.

An app we have tested with in the past is CoolTerm, by apponic. This app allows you to see the data that is being sent from the hardware controller into the computer. To start with this app, download it and open it from the link above, and then navigate to the "Options" tab on the toolbar.

Then once here you should be able to select the correct Interface by choosing from the list in the "Port" dropdown. Selecting the same device shown in ProPresenter-Scoreboard, and then choosing "Okay" should bring you back to the main window. At this point you should be able to choose "Connect" from the toolbar, and you should immediately start seeing data. You should also notice that the receive "RX" button at the bottom right of the app is blinking when you receive data, as well as the "Connected" text at the bottom left.

Should you be getting data here, and your controls are not working in ProPresenter-Scoreboard, please reach out to our support team at contact.renewedvision.com, and we would be happy to assist here.