New HDMI-CEC plugin

[hotbuddha]

Pleased to announce that changes have been completed to for the plugin to fully support Panasonic TV's and HTS's (Home Theater Systems). All features including power on/off, volume synchronization (to from TV and Amp), and TV remote control of the HTPC are certified. Certification had already been performed on Samsung, Sony and LG by myself personally.

There has also been some positive feedback from customers with Hitachi, Philips, Sharp and Toshiba equipment but I have not certified myself. If anyone out there is using the RCAware PC-CEC plugin with any of these (or other) manufacturers and has tested everything I would love to hear your feedback or help you with any issues.

Thanks!

[hotbuddha]

Pleased to announce that changes have been completed to for the plugin to fully support Panasonic TV's and HTS's (Home Theater Systems). All features including power on/off, volume synchronization (to from TV and Amp), and TV remote control of the HTPC are certified. Certification had already been performed on Samsung, Sony and LG by myself personally.

There has also been some positive feedback from customers with Hitachi, Philips, Sharp and Toshiba equipment but I have not certified myself. If anyone out there is using the RCAware PC-CEC plugin with any of these (or other) manufacturers and has tested everything I would love to hear your feedback or help you with any issues.

Thanks!

[zian]

hottbuddha,
Thanks for the update and the work your doing with/for EG users.

But...
Do you really need to post the same content to three topics in three diffrent catagories?
Wouldnt one suffice?

Btw...
The "related" hdmi-cec topic in Event Ghost News has been moved and may also soon be merged.

[hotbuddha]

Sorry just not sure where someone might be looking. Really I should just have put this into Plugin Support so if you wanted to remove the others I understand. Good to see someone pitch in, think the only other moderate I had seen for some time was Pako. Thanks for the support!

[zian]

No problem hotbuddha.
Thanks.

[eatmeimadanish]

Where exactly can I get my hands on the plugin... my download link has expired from the main RCaware site.

Derek

[hotbuddha]

Derek I sent you an email with the my latest code which includes some stuff for Philips as well. Let me know how it works out for you. Thanks.

[eatmeimadanish]

Update, I freakin love this device. Its possibilities are endless. The new plugin works great and I am humming along.

[zian]

http://shop.rcaware.com/Software_c3.htm
"PC-CEC Download
 RCAware Software Download
(and Conversion for Rainshadow Tech HDMI-CEC to USB Bridge´╗┐´╗┐ Owners)
$19.99"

$20 for an EventGhost Plugin?

[krambriw]

Will be very interesting to see a good explanation.

On one hand, I assume the stuff (the plugin) is useless without the related HW. I believe it is more up to the customers that purchased the device. So this case drills more down to the principals.

Even more annoying, I think, is if you look at the demo videos, without the complete free EventGhost and other plugins we created with tears & blood, the thing wouldn't fly.

I would expect some generous donations from this corner the day we need to improve our cash balance to keep up the services...

Walter

[zian]

I'd like to get a doo-hickey (hardware) that can do the USB to HDMI-CEC.
I'd also like the software to go along with it... Included.

[hotbuddha]

Don't mean to offend anyone, I know this is a sensitive point for those who spent a considerable amount of spare time on a project without expectation of payment. I certainly do value EventGhost and all the work the community has done for it, it totally rocks. Once I do my books and taxes for the year and see if there is any profit I will make some kind of a donation but I would not expect too much, I am by no means getting rich off of this.

The $20 is for the device driver I packaged and communications library I coded for it which is dual licensed alongside the plugin in the installation program. Without it the device would not have sleep/wake, hot plugging and would be very unstable (serial drivers from MS are crud). My early development was using the EG serial plugin, it was not working well for this device and I almost scrapped the project and device even for my own use. Spending several months of my own spare time working the lower level communications just to make the device usable within any application (to my satisfaction at least, maybe others are fine with an unstable POS) I think should be principally OK to charge for, I hope you agree... but I know at the least it is legally OK to do so.

Please just because I also happen to be the guy that wrote 4,500 lines of Python code to integrate into EG and that I released under GNU free for use and re-use do not penalize me for charging for the non-EG non-GNU work I did. As you said, CEC always requires hardware so any CEC plugin would be completely unusable without it anyway therefore it is going to cost users something. In this case the HW was not very usable for any application including EG without the work I put in to improve it with a native driver. As a value added reseller of the hardware (and in the case of the software only sales link you pointed out, the enhanced interface to it) why would you treat me any different than the original manufacturer who certainly is working for profit?

Now I know there have been those to even contributed drivers and interfaces to EG for free. Perhaps they had no interest in starting a viable business selling hardware and software solutions, but I do. I work with the manufacturer as a VAR to improve his firmware. This is a little above and beyond the work of a hobbyist. Yes I have developed a very nice solution on top of your freeware and yes I charge money for that hardware and the interface to it, but please don't hate me for loving EG.

[zian]

The $20 is for the device driver I packaged and communications library I coded for it which is dual licensed alongside the plugin in the installation program. Without it the device would not have sleep/wake, hot plugging and would be very unstable (serial drivers from MS are crud). My early development was using the EG serial plugin, it was not working well for this device and I almost scrapped the project and device even for my own use. Spending several months of my own spare time working the lower level communications just to make the device usable within any application (to my satisfaction at least, maybe others are fine with an unstable POS) I think should be principally OK to charge for, I hope you agree...

I do.

That said... When I buy the doo-hickey, soon I hope, can I be a lifetime "Quality Assurance" tester of your plugin?

[krambriw]

I am by no means getting rich off of this

Well, why do you think we are here?

why would you treat me any different than the original manufacturer who certainly is working for profit?

Because you base your solution on something a community has worked hard for without any profit thinking.

Perhaps they had no interest in starting a viable business selling hardware and software solutions, but I do

Yeah, all the rest of us are of course very happy to work for free and see somebody making a business out of it for themselves.

Your confirmed understanding that this community is driven by hard working engaged members and therefore needs a little financial support from time to time to survive is appreciated.

Best regards, Walter

[Bigert]

I have donated money and I will donate again.
When I have come a little bit longer in my project, I will present it at the forum if its good enough.

Is it not how its supposed to work?

Keep up the good work everybody, who is willing to share.