Devices and Drivers

How to add AV equipment to your project, test connectivity, and manage drivers.

See Getting Started if you haven’t installed OpenAVC yet.

Adding a Device

Use the search box at the top of the device list to filter by name, ID, or driver.

Click Devices in the sidebar
Click Add Device
Select a driver from the dropdown (e.g., “PJLink Class 1 Projector”)
Enter a Device ID (e.g., projector_main). This is the name used in macros and scripts, so keep it short and descriptive.
Enter a display name (e.g., “Main Projector”). This is what appears in the UI.
Configure connection settings (host, port, etc.). Defaults are pre-filled from the driver.
Click Add

The Device ID is permanent and referenced everywhere. Choose a convention and stick with it. Common patterns:

Convention	Example
`type_location`	`projector_main`, `display_lobby`
`type_number`	`projector_1`, `switcher_1`
`room_type`	`br201_projector`, `br201_switcher`

Testing Commands

After adding a device, click it in the device list to open the detail panel:

Connection status: green dot = connected, red dot = disconnected
Live state: real-time values for all state variables (power, input, etc.)
Command testing: select a command from the dropdown, fill any parameters, click Send
Raw log: see the bytes sent and received for debugging

Always test commands here before using them in macros. This confirms the device is responding and the driver is parsing responses correctly.

Device State

Every device exposes state variables at device.<id>.<property>. Examples:

device.projector_main.power: “off”, “on”, “warming”, “cooling”
device.projector_main.input: “hdmi1”, “hdmi2”, “vga1”
device.projector_main.lamp_hours: integer
device.switcher_1.input_1_output: “1”, “2”, “3”
device.dsp_1.mic_1_mute: true, false

These state keys are the building blocks of your system. They appear in UI bindings, macros, triggers, and scripts. You do not need to memorize them. The IDE provides autocomplete and pickers everywhere a state key is needed.

Device Management

The device detail panel includes several management actions:

Group/Location. Assign a group or location label to organize devices in the list (e.g., “Board Room”, “Lobby”).
Enable/Disable. Temporarily disable a device without removing it from the project. Disabled devices do not connect or poll.
Test Connection. Test network reachability (ping/TCP connect) without using the driver, useful for diagnosing network issues.
Reconnect. Force an immediate reconnect attempt on a disconnected device.
Duplicate. Create a copy of the device with a new ID, pre-filled with the same driver and settings.
Device Log. Filtered log view showing only activity for the selected device (commands sent, responses received, errors).

Device Settings

Some devices have configurable values that live on the hardware itself, things like NDI source name, device hostname, tally mode, or video format. These are different from connection config (which is stored in the project file).

If a driver defines device settings, they appear in a Device Settings section in the device detail panel:

Each setting shows its current value (read from the device via polling), label, and help text
Click a setting to edit it. The new value is pushed directly to the device.
If the device is offline, settings are queued as “pending” and automatically applied when the device reconnects
Settings marked as setup in the driver are prompted when you first add the device to the project

Bulk Operations

Select multiple devices using the checkboxes in the device list to perform batch operations: enable, disable, or delete several devices at once.

Driver Library

The Driver Library is inside the Devices view. Click Devices in the sidebar, then select the Drivers tab at the top. It has three sub-tabs: Installed, Create, and Browse Community.

Installed Tab

The Installed tab shows all drivers available on this system. This includes default drivers that ship with OpenAVC and any community or custom drivers you have installed.

The left panel lists all registered drivers. Click a driver to see its details:

Overview. What the driver controls and which devices it supports.
Setup instructions. Step-by-step guide for connecting and configuring the device.
Configuration. The settings you need to provide (IP address, port, display ID, etc.).
Commands. All available commands with descriptions.
State variables. What state the driver exposes (power, volume, input, etc.).
Uninstall. Remove the driver from the system (disabled if a device in the current project uses it).

Create Tab

Build custom drivers without code using the visual editor:

General. Name, manufacturer, model, category, description.
Transport. TCP, serial, or HTTP connection settings (port, baud rate, auth, etc.).
Commands. Define commands with send strings and parameter substitution.
Responses. Regex-based response parsing to extract state from device replies.
Polling. Automatic status queries on a timer (power, input, lamp hours).
State Variables. Declare what state the driver exposes with types and defaults.
Import/Export. Save as .avcdriver file for sharing or backup.

For most IP-controlled devices with a documented protocol, the Driver Builder can produce a working driver in 15-30 minutes. For serial devices, set the transport to serial and define the baud rate, data bits, and stop bits in the Transport tab.

See Creating Drivers for the complete driver development guide covering all three methods: no-code YAML definitions, the visual Driver Builder, and Python driver classes.

Browse Community Tab

Search and install drivers from the community driver library:

Click the Browse Community tab
Search by manufacturer, model, or category
Click a driver card to see full details (description, protocols, ports, transport)
Click Install for one-click download and installation
The driver is immediately available in the Installed tab and the Add Device dropdown

Available categories include projectors, displays, matrix switchers, DSPs, cameras, lighting, and more. If a driver does not exist for your equipment, you can build one.

Uninstalling Drivers

To remove a driver you no longer need:

Open the Installed tab in Driver Library
Click the driver in the left panel
Scroll to the bottom and click Uninstall Driver

You cannot uninstall a driver while a device in the project is using it. Remove the device first, then uninstall the driver. You can always reinstall from Browse Community.

Device Discovery

The Discovery panel is inside the Devices view. Click Devices in the sidebar, then select the Discovery tab. It scans your network for AV devices and helps you add them to your project without manually entering IP addresses and driver settings.

Running a Scan

Click Devices in the sidebar, then select the Discovery tab
Select the subnet(s) to scan (auto-detected from your network interfaces)
Click Start Scan

The scan runs through several phases: ping sweep, port scanning, protocol probes, passive discovery (mDNS/SSDP), SNMP queries, and hostname resolution. Progress is shown in real time.

Working with Results

Each discovered device shows:

IP address and hostname (if resolved)
Manufacturer (from MAC address OUI lookup)
Open ports and detected protocols
Suggested driver with a confidence score
Device details from protocol responses (model, firmware, etc.)

Click a device card to see full details. If a matching driver is found:

Click Add to Project to add the device with pre-filled driver and config
If the driver is a community driver you haven’t installed, click Install & Add to install the driver and add the device in one step

Scan Options

SNMP. Enable SNMP v2c queries for richer device identification (community string configurable).
Gentle Mode. Reduces scan aggressiveness for sensitive networks.
Extra Subnets. Add subnets beyond the auto-detected ones.
Export. Download scan results as a text report.