Hey all,
I had a Vista system with Happaugue PVR150MCE and Harmony 890 remote working for some time. Just used the supplied software and configured as necessary and everything worked. I didn't understand the inner workings but didn't need to then.
The system has been rebuilt with Win7x32 and HDHomerun instead of the Happaugue card. I am still using the MCE IR receiver that came with the Happaugue and the Harmony 890. Even though I was no longer using the supplied software I guess Win7 knew what to do with the IR receiver. Using the Media Center profile that is standard with the Harmony setup I was still blissfully ignorant of the inner workings but I could control Win7MC without issue.
Now I am playing with SageTV and Win7MC and wish to control both with the 890. Is this where I need EventGhost? I assume that my setup thus far has relied on some standard driver that Win7 supports natively? Can that be altered without using EventGhost?
Will installing EventGhost do anything initially to break what I have working now? I am hoping to install and then be able to see my current setup and make changes from there.
Sorry if all this sounds that I'm in over my head. I do tech support for a living but know very little in this area but am looking forward to learning more.
Thanks for any help,
James
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Newbie with MCE remote and EventGhost
Re: Newbie with MCE remote and EventGhost
Windows has a standard driver for MCE remotes, which is installed with the hardware (I'm most familiar with USB receivers, but I'm sure it works the same when you plug in the card). Those drivers work by turning IR signals into keypresses sent to the foreground window. So if you have Notepad.exe in the foreground, you can enter numbers by using the remote number keys. The windows apps respond "appropriately" to the key codes used.
So if you only use apps set up to work with these key codes, and you only want to control the foreground app, you are fine with the standard drivers.
Most people come to EG when they want to do more (either control different apps, or control other devices, or control an app that doesn't necessarily have focus).
I wrote the plugin for using MCE remotes in Vista/Win7 (the old plugin that comes with EG works best with XP). You can find it here.
Note, there is a distinct possibility it won't work with the Hauppage card. I've only tested with USB IR receivers. It could also show up as a HID device instead of an MCE receiver, in which case you'd need to use that plugin instead. It's a bit confusing, yes. But with a small community of developers doing this, we just can't test on the huge number of IR devices out there.
Aside from that warning, the plugin works by turning off the OS handling of the IR signals. I know it is inconvenient, but that's what Microsoft gave us. Either they handle the IR signals, or they don't. So in addition to the MCE remote plugin, I wrote an MCE plugin, that generates the key codes that the OS would have. A bit of a hack, but it works. You basically need to install EG plugins for each of the apps you want to control, so EG knows how to turn remote codes into the right message for each particular app.
Hope that helps,
Brett
So if you only use apps set up to work with these key codes, and you only want to control the foreground app, you are fine with the standard drivers.
Most people come to EG when they want to do more (either control different apps, or control other devices, or control an app that doesn't necessarily have focus).
I wrote the plugin for using MCE remotes in Vista/Win7 (the old plugin that comes with EG works best with XP). You can find it here.
Note, there is a distinct possibility it won't work with the Hauppage card. I've only tested with USB IR receivers. It could also show up as a HID device instead of an MCE receiver, in which case you'd need to use that plugin instead. It's a bit confusing, yes. But with a small community of developers doing this, we just can't test on the huge number of IR devices out there.
Aside from that warning, the plugin works by turning off the OS handling of the IR signals. I know it is inconvenient, but that's what Microsoft gave us. Either they handle the IR signals, or they don't. So in addition to the MCE remote plugin, I wrote an MCE plugin, that generates the key codes that the OS would have. A bit of a hack, but it works. You basically need to install EG plugins for each of the apps you want to control, so EG knows how to turn remote codes into the right message for each particular app.
Hope that helps,
Brett