Will ParaLED work with USB to Parallel Adapter?

[LewE]

I need to add something like ParaLED supports but unfortunately my PC does not have parallel or serial ports. Will ParaLED work if I use a USB to Parallel adapter cable like this one from Cables to Go?
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?ca...sku=16899#
Unfortunately, last week I was doing some housekeeping and threw out all my serial and parallel cables so I can't just add a parallel card to the PC.

[ElihuRozen]

I can't answer your question, but if you do decide to go this route, there is a cheaper one here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27180
I've used this store in the past. They are not fast since it is shipped from Hong Kong, but they are cheap at only $6.00 with free shipping.

[LewE]

I too had found some less expensive sites to purchase a similar cable. My biggest concern is whether it will appear transparently to the ParaLED utility the same as a parallel port. My gut feel is that it will but it would be nice to hear from someone who might have some experience with it.

It's been a while since I've owned a computer with a parallel port. Both parallel and serial ports have pretty much been replaced by USB or firewire.

[ryanmc]

i have a couple usb to parallel adapters and they dont work with paraled. not to say all wouldnt. these were specifically called "usb to parallel printer adapters" and they work for printing only. if you do try one and it works please post back id be interested in one that would work.

[LewE]

i have a couple usb to parallel adapters and they dont work with paraled. not to say all wouldnt. these were specifically called "usb to parallel printer adapters" and they work for printing only. if you do try one and it works please post back id be interested in one that would work.

Thaty's discouraging. I was about to buy the components (except the usb to parallel part) tomorrow to build the device.

In checking up on a few USB to Parallel adapters from various sources, I checked the users' reviews and so far found that the people who wanted to use those cables for interfacing to something other than a printer found the cables didn't work. I'll keep checking different sources and see if anyone has interfaced with something other than a printer.

Can you say why they didn't work?

Was it the voltages weren't presented to the LEDs?

Was it that the commands from paraled weren't passed to the LEDs?

[ryanmc]

the trouble seemed to be the driver installs as a usb print device instead of a usb adapter that adds a parallel port. the leds all gow dim and if i remember right since it was a print device and not parallel port i couldnt even set the port rite. there are some that should work though, port replicators and i/o cards but they cost more from what i see.

[LewE]

the trouble seemed to be the driver installs as a usb print device instead of a usb adapter that adds a parallel port. the leds all gow dim and if i remember right since it was a print device and not parallel port i couldnt even set the port rite. there are some that should work though, port replicators and i/o cards but they cost more from what i see.

In looking at several brands of USB-Parallel adapters I came across the explanation below.

I did find one that sounded promising (if you want I can go back thorugh my notes and find which product that was) but rather than take a flyer on something that may not work I rechecked my available motherboard slots and found that since I had replaced two of my earlier PCI cards with a single PCI Express card I had available PCI slots so I am going to go with a true parallel port.

Although most users might consider the ParaLED output to be mere convenience, for my setup it will be crucial. I just switched to Verizon FIOS from analog cable. I have three of my tuners configured to capture ClearQAM local broadcast channels. I use the Verizon DVR to record all cable channels. This is less than desirable because the Verizon box has very little disk on it so can only store minimal amount of recorded programs.

I am going to share a Standard Defniition box between a TV at my desk and one capture card. The LEDs will let me know when the SD card is recording so I know I can not change the channel on the STB. Other times I will use the STB to pick programs to output to the TV.

Thanks for your in preventing me from wasting money on the USB approach.

It's too bad there isn't an equivalent approach to ParaLED using the more available USB or Firewire outputs.

[ryanmc]

i used paraled for the same thing i used a bunch of red leds for my tuners and a green one for when recording from stb. then my usb vfd broke and i had to make it a parallel vfd instead so i lost my lpt1 port to the vfd. i have no free pci slots though so i cant go the card route yet.

[LewE]

i used paraled for the same thing i used a bunch of red leds for my tuners and a green one for when recording from stb. then my usb vfd broke and i had to make it a parallel vfd instead so i lost my lpt1 port to the vfd. i have no free pci slots though so i cant go the card route yet.

What brand/model USB to parallel converter did you use?

[JonnyCam]

you could see if your motherboard has a serial header, or comms headerr and use http://slicksolutions.eu/ledsdriver.shtml

It adds a bit of functionality, and you could use paraled to parse the recordngs file still. (as this program is really made for WMC)