New way to get MCE Remote signals in EG (for Vista/Win7)

[Ronny]

What does it say in the log when the plugin starts?

---> Welcome to EventGhost <---
Autostart
Plugin: Microsoft MCE Remote - Vista/Win7
Main.OnInit
Main.OnInitAfterBoot

That's all

[stottle]

The plugin would complain if it couldn't connect to the service. So the problem is with the service somewhere. The service pushes messages to the Event log. Can you check Event Viewer for AlternateMceService messages in the log (In System or Application under Windows Logs). You can get to the log viewer thru Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> View Event Logs.

Anything in the logs that gives an idea of what isn't working?
Brett

[Ronny]

I Can't find anything in the logs.

If I add the action: "Test IR transmit capability" and push the button test, I get this in the log:

Microsoft MCE Remote - Vista/Win7: Test IR Transmit capability
IR Receiver is unplugged

So the IR receiver isn't found I think?

[stottle]

The service should be putting messages in the logs, especially if it fails to find the device. Can you check the logs again (maybe after a restart the service, so the entries are most recent)?

Brett

[krambriw]

Hi Brett,
I just installed this plugin for for first time and it was without any problem

Your plugin/service is targeted for IR receivers. Today I purchased a very nice MCE compatible remote but for RF (2.4 GHz). The USB dongle looks like a similar IR. I can run MCE and it seems to be "compatible"

http://www.topseed.com.tw/gptype.htm

The nice thing with RF is of course obvious, no need to have free sight (reach is approx 300 feet)

When I connect the device the following is shown in eg log

Code: Select all

19:50:06   System.DeviceAttached [u'\\\\?\\HID#VID_1784&PID_0004&MI_00#9&279ad25b&0&0000#{4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030}']
19:50:06   System.DeviceAttached [u'\\\\?\\HID#VID_1784&PID_0004&MI_01&Col01#9&1bd91ce&0&0000#{4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030}']
19:50:07   System.DeviceAttached [u'\\\\?\\HID#VID_1784&PID_0004&MI_01&Col02#9&1bd91ce&0&0001#{4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030}']
19:50:08   System.DeviceAttached [u'\\\\?\\HID#VID_1784&PID_0004&MI_01&Col03#9&1bd91ce&0&0002#{4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030}']
19:50:08   System.DeviceAttached [u'\\\\?\\HID#VID_1784&PID_0004&MI_01&Col04#9&1bd91ce&0&0003#{4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030}']

If I add the "Generic HID" plugin it works partially, i. e. some of the buttons show up in the log as events

I know I might ask for too much but would it be possible to extend your service to also capture messages from a USB device like this?

The HID name is "20:04:20 Plugin: HID: TopSeed Technology Corp. USB RF Combo Device "

Kind regards, Walter

[stottle]

Walter,

I took the old MCE code and turned it into a service. It uses a particular GUID for detect the device as an MCE remote. I don't know that it cares whether the device is IR or RF, but if it doesn't match the MCE GUID, I'm not sure what to do with it.

BTW, the GUID you listed ("4d1e55b2-f16f-11cf-88cb-001111000030") is for HID devices - makes sense that you can use HID to get some of the functionality. But unfortunately I don't think it will work with my service. As I said, I based my service on other people's code. So it may still be possible to get it to work, but I have no idea how.

Brett

[joshdorhyke]

Hello,

I believe this plugin will remove the OS handling of the MCE remote and only send the commands to EventGhost.

Is there a way to do both? Basically, I'd like to use the MCE receiver with a Harmony and I'd add other generic remote commands to my Harmony HTPC device as well as having the MCE ones. Then, I could use the MCE remote commands to control MCE and send the other commands to Eventghost for other purposes.

I've been playing with what I guess is the old MCE remote plug-in and I can do it there.

The MCE remote ties some nice funtions into MCE. A big one, for example, you can 1,2,3 tap the number buttons and MCE will interprete that as the letters when you're looking through media where a keyboard letter input is expected yet the number keys are used for numbers at other times. This is application integration that can't be replicated using Eventghost.

Peter

[Ronny]

The service should be putting messages in the logs, especially if it fails to find the device. Can you check the logs again (maybe after a restart the service, so the entries are most recent)?

Brett

Sorry for the late reply. Everything works now like a charm!

I started with a clean install of windows 7 ultimate x64.
I tried the remote, nothing worked, but the red led on the receiver was flashing. The drivers where installed correctly.
So I thought, what could be the problem? So I grabbed some new batteries and placed them in the remote. And... it worked! So probably that was the only problem the whole time

So the next thing I would do is setting up EG. I installed EG, loaded my old config file (using the Microsoft MCE plugin, so not the one for vista/W7) and it worked!
I have disabled UAC. Don't know if it otherwise works.

The only need to use the new plugin for vista/w7 is for transmitting? And UAC don't have to be disabled anymore?

Thanks for all the help!

[stottle]

Sorry for the late reply. Everything works now like a charm!

Glad you got it working!

The only need to use the new plugin for vista/w7 is for transmitting? And UAC don't have to be disabled anymore?

The old plugin wouldn't work on Vista/Win7 unless UAC was disabled and the user account was an Admin account. By making this version run as a service, it will work on any account and you don't need to disable UAC. Also, the transmit works (don't think it was ever really functional in the old plugin) and EG does the decoding, so EG can respond to non-MCE remotes codes instead of just MCE ones.

Brett

[Ronny]

The old plugin wouldn't work on Vista/Win7 unless UAC was disabled and the user account was an Admin account. By making this version run as a service, it will work on any account and you don't need to disable UAC. Also, the transmit works (don't think it was ever really functional in the old plugin) and EG does the decoding, so EG can respond to non-MCE remotes codes instead of just MCE ones.

The new plugin works too!
But the learn/transmit part still doesn't work for me .
I don't know what the problem is, I tried several remotes/devices.

Anyone who has the same problem? And maybe a solution?

[Mordred]

Stottle, your new plugin is awesome, but I'm having a few problems on my new Win7 HTPC.

First off, I'm using a Vista MCE remote and receiver model number GP-IR02BK. I'm not sure if the receiver is overly sensitive or what, but since switching to your driver, it seems that sunlight and the CFL bulbs in the overhead lights are generating enough IR to make the red LED come on, on the receiver. When this happens it often takes multiple key presses to get EventGhost to recognize the commands properly. In the Log, I'll start seeing bogus garbage commands, like this:

MceRemote.Unknown.16AAAEEFFAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEFFBFFEBFFEEFEBFC

They start getting longer and longer, until I get a REALLY long one and then the plugin crashes. I don't know if there is some way to increase the command buffer so that this doesn't happen, or whether there's a way to somehow lower the sensitivity (which I doubt) but it gets very annoying.

Now, this wouldn't be a total dealbreaker except for the fact that there's no way to stop the plugin and restart it without rebooting. Is there a reason the service can't be stopped, or is it just not working currently (or does it work for other people)?

[stottle]

@mordred-

I will take a look the next time I'm in the code.

It sounds, though, like you have extreme conditions around the IR Receiver. I would see if there is a place you can put it to not get hit by as much light. I can only react to what the receiver sees - if it has a ton of noise I would imagine continued problems with events that I can't do much about....

Brett

[Mordred]

Yeah, I've tried positioning the receiver as far back as I can, but it still manages to get hit with reflective light from somewhere. It's not consistent though. Some times it will work fine with lights on in the room, other times I receive bogus commands at night when all the lights are off except for the kitchen lights (which are 30 feet away off to the side). Here's what happens when it crashes:

MceRemote.Unknown.2FFFFFFFFFF...<SNIP>...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFB8
MceRemote.Unknown.BABFFAEEFBBFAFEA8
MCE_Vista: MceIr pipe is not available, app doesn't seem to be running
Will continue to try to connect to MceIr
Message = The system cannot find the file specified.

I probably snipped out 10k 'F's in the middle. Had no idea the string was that long. Maybe buffer size isn't an issue and maybe there's someway to ignore that kind of input? Is there anyway to stop/restart the service?

[stottle]

In terms of restarting the service, you can open Task Manager and hit the Services tab. You may be able to restart the service (AlternateMCEService) from there by right-clicking. If not, click the Services... button at the bottom right and restart from that window.

Brett

[Mordred]

Thanks, I didn't think of trying that since EventGhost couldn't start/connect to it. It worked fine though.