Extron
Professional AV matrix switchers and room control — TCP/IP to KNX integration for boardrooms and meeting spaces.
Extron Electronics (Anaheim, California, founded 1983) designs and manufactures professional AV infrastructure products used in corporate boardrooms, university lecture theatres, hotel conference centres, and government facilities across Europe. Extron DTP (Digital Twisted Pair) matrix switchers extend HDMI/DP signals up to 100m over Cat6A cabling — the same structured cabling infrastructure used for KNX DALI gateway and IP cameras. Extron IPCP Pro (IP Link Control Processor) provides RS-232, RS-485, IR, relay, digital I/O, and Ethernet control — enabling TCP/IP-to-KNX bridging in meeting rooms where the AV system must activate KNX lighting scenes, lower blinds, and set HVAC to presentation temperature. Extron and KNX are complementary systems: Extron manages AV signal routing and display control, KNX manages the room environment — integration creates a single button press that configures both.
Role in our panels
How we use Extron
The standard AV+KNX integration path in a meeting room: Extron IPCP Pro 250 (or GlobalScripter controller) sends a TCP/IP command to the KNX IP Router (Weinzierl 770 or MDT KNX IP Router) on port 3671 as a KNXnet/IP tunnelling client. The Extron control script (Extron's SimpleScript or Python) sends the group address write command using the KNXnet/IP tunnelling protocol binary format. Example: presentation scene activation (from Extron touchpanel button Start Meeting) triggers IPCP Pro to send KNXnet/IP write to GA 1/5/0 (DPT 18.001, scene 2 = presentation), MDT lighting actuator activates scene 2 (focused light on presenter, reduced ambient, display backlighting off) simultaneously, Extron lowers electric blind via KNX GA 4/2/0 (DPT 5.001, 70% down), and HVAC setpoint is written to GA 3/1/1 (DPT 9.001, 21°C). The entire room transition happens on single button press from Extron TLP Pro touchpanel. Alternatively: Home Assistant on the LAN subscribes to Extron webhook events and forwards to KNX via xknx — an integration approach that avoids custom IPCP scripting.
KNX distribution panel for meeting room: standard KNX layout with MDT lighting actuator, MDT blind actuator, KNX thermostat input, KNX IP Router on building LAN. No special hardware needed for Extron integration — IPCP Pro accesses the standard KNXnet/IP API that all KNX IP routers expose. Extron to KNX data points needed: scene activation (DPT 18.001 scenes 1-8 for different room modes), blind position (DPT 5.001, 0-100%), HVAC setpoint (DPT 9.001, °C). Reverse integration: KNX room occupancy sensor (MDT presence detector) GA 1/1/5 (occupied = 1) via KNX binary output triggers contact closure, Extron IPCP digital input detects occupied, IPCP script auto-powers AV system for meeting start. This eliminates the separate room booking panel while keeping KNX as the occupancy detection source.
Used in these project types
Extron products
Key components we install
DTP CrossPoint 108 4K60 8x8 Matrix
8x8 HDMI 2.0 and DTP (Digital Twisted Pair) HDR matrix switcher, 4K60 4:4:4, up to 100m signal extension over Cat6A cabling. EDID management per input, 8 audio de-embedding outputs, RS-232 and Ethernet control. For KNX-integrated meeting rooms: IPCP Pro 250 controls source selection and display power via RS-232 while simultaneously triggering KNX lighting and blind scenes via TCP/IP — all from a single touchpanel button. DTP outputs use the same Cat6A infrastructure as KNX IP and structured data cabling.
IPCP Pro 250 IP Link Control Processor
ARM Cortex-A8 control processor with Ethernet, 4x RS-232, 4x relay output (dry contact), 4x digital I/O, 2x IR/serial ports. Supports Extron SimpleScript and Python 3 scripting for KNX TCP/IP bridge via KNXnet/IP tunnelling to port 3671. For meeting room AV+KNX integration: IPCP Pro 250 controls Extron DTP matrix via RS-232 and sends KNXnet/IP write telegrams to KNX IP Router for lighting/blind/HVAC scene changes. Relay outputs can also close dry contacts wired to KNX binary input module as an alternative to TCP/IP scripting.
TLP Pro 1020M 10" Touchpanel
10-inch capacitive touchpanel with PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at), 1280x800 resolution, configurable via Extron GUI Designer for AV and KNX room control scenes. Mounts in 86mm flush electrical box — same depth as standard switch plate. Touchpanel communicates with IPCP Pro 250 via Extron proprietary protocol over LAN — button press events trigger IPCP scripts that include KNX telegrams. Buttons configurable for scene names: Board Meeting, Training, Video Call, Presentation. Does not communicate directly with KNX IP Router — requires IPCP Pro as intermediary.
SMP 351 Streaming Media Processor
H.264 and H.265 streaming encoder/decoder with HDMI input and IP output for lecture capture and digital signage alongside KNX room control. In lecture theatre installations: SMP 351 records presenter content for later viewing while IPCP Pro simultaneously manages KNX lighting scenes triggered by lecture start/end. HDMI input from Extron DTP matrix output, IP stream to campus recording server. Start-of-lecture button on TLP touchpanel triggers: SMP 351 recording start (via Extron API), KNX projector screen down, KNX lighting dim to presentation level.
NAV Pro E250 Network AV Encoder
1G Ethernet AV-over-IP encoder, HDMI 2.0 input, for large meeting room and conference centre AV distribution alongside KNX-controlled display switching. In multi-room conference centres: NAV Pro E250 encoders at each source (laptop docking, camera) distribute content over the building data network to NAV Pro decoders at each display — same IP infrastructure as KNX IP. IPCP Pro manages NAV routing (source to display assignment) via Extron NAV API while sending simultaneous KNX telegrams for room environment scenes.
Extron FAQ
How does Extron IPCP Pro communicate with KNX over TCP/IP?
The Extron IPCP Pro 250 supports TCP/IP sockets in both SimpleScript and Python. The IPCP Pro connects to the KNX IP Router (e.g. Weinzierl 770) on port 3671 as a KNXnet/IP tunnelling client. The KNXnet/IP tunnelling protocol uses a binary UDP/TCP packet format: a 6-byte header followed by the cEMI (common External Message Interface) frame containing the destination group address and DPT value. In Extron SimpleScript: define a TCP socket connection to the KNX IP router, construct the KNXnet/IP write telegram byte array manually (or use a pre-built Extron KNX module from the Extron Control Programmer), and send on each scene change event. Alternatively: use Home Assistant as a middleware layer — IPCP Pro sends an HTTP POST to HA webhook on scene change, HA xknx sends the KNX telegram. The HA approach is more maintainable and avoids proprietary byte-level KNXnet/IP scripting.
Can Extron touchpanels control KNX devices directly without a control processor?
No — Extron touchpanels (TLP Pro series) require an Extron control processor (IPCP Pro or GlobalViewer controller) to process logic and communicate with external systems. The TLP Pro touchpanel is a display device that sends button press events to the IPCP Pro via Extron's proprietary protocol — the IPCP Pro then executes the script that includes the KNX communication. There is no direct TCP/IP access from TLP Pro to KNX IP Router. Alternative: use a Crestron or Control4 control system that supports direct KNX drivers without a separate scripting layer, or use a KNX touch panel (Gira G1, Basalte Sentido) that natively integrates into KNX without a control processor.
Does Extron have any direct KNX driver or certified KNX integration?
Extron does not have a KNX Association-certified integration module — KNX integration relies on the customer scripting TCP/IP KNXnet/IP commands in Extron SimpleScript or Python (IPCP Pro supports Python 3). Extron's Solution Configurator database includes community-contributed KNX driver templates for IPCP Pro. However, for new installations PanelCraft recommends: use Home Assistant as the KNX integration middleware rather than IPCP scripting. HA runs on a small DIN-rail PC (Intel NUC or Raspberry Pi 5 in panel), provides a maintained xknx KNX integration, and can bridge Extron via HTTP webhooks or local MQTT. This approach is more maintainable when engineering staff change and avoids proprietary scripting knowledge lock-in.
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