The state of IR Blasting in Win7

[stagecrew]

So, I've gotten things set up fantastically, and my wife loves the set up, I just have one issue: If I use the alternate service plugin, I can get the MCE IR blaster to turn off the TV. Unfortunately, with the alternate service plugin for Win 7, I get a lot of double presses and junk input from my TV (It overloads the IR sensor for 5 minutes when it first turns on.) and it makes the remote mostly useless. If I use the default plugin, things work fantastically: it goes where I want, and repeats when I want it to. Unfortunately, I can't get it to blast IR. It freezes when I try to learn the code, and if I use the code from the other plugin, it does nothing.

Is there a small app that will put out the one IR code I want? Or another plugin? Or a fix for the default plugin? I'm on Win7 x64, using an HP MCE receiver through eventghost to control a combo of MCE & XBMC.

Thanks!
- Derek

[stottle]

Turning on the TV creates 5 minutes of IR "noise" that locks up the plugin?

Does moving the IR sensor away from the TV help?

Brett

[stagecrew]

I assume so, because covering the receiver with my hand fixes it. I assume that turning on the TV introduces a lot of new IR, and the receiver/software just isn't ready for it.

It looks like this, and the IR receiving light stays on solid until I cover the receiver, or let it sit for 5~ minutes.

Code: Select all

MceRemote.Unknown.5A4BBA42ABAAEEBF0EAE43FEBAE8
MceRemote.Unknown.16EEEEEEBBBFFBBFBEFFBEFFBBFBABFFAFFBBFEFBFEEFFFAFEFBFEEFFEEFFABFFBA42FFFAC
MceRemote.Unknown.58
MceRemote.Unknown.178
MceRemote.Unknown.5FC
MceRemote.Unknown.12F8
MceRemote.Unknown.5C
MceRemote.Unknown.48
MceRemote.Unknown.5C
MceRemote.Unknown.16C
MceRemote.Unknown.178
[snip]

[User]

Had the same problems with the MCE Receiver, now i use USB-UIRT and everything works perfectly.

[stagecrew]

I find it hard to believe that the only option is new hardware. Isn't there a program that is simply for blasting with an MCE receiver? Or even a way to blast from the command line? I do have one idea involving the alternate service, I'll post here if it is successful.

[stagecrew]

Ok, I found a work-around.
If you have both plugins enabled, and the alternative service set to "manual" in the control panel, you can manually enable the service when you need to blast, and disable it again when you need to use the remote.
Obviously, this is hacky. Since my only IR blasting need is to turn on & off my tv, it works fine for me.
I check for the power button, enable the service (through a batch file that says "sc start alternatemceirservice") wait 5 seconds, blast power, and then immediately disable the service ("sc stop alternatemceirservice") .. In minor testing this works.

Time will tell if it is reliable, but so far it beats getting up just to turn the tv off. (Which, in turn, is easier than finding the tv remote.)

Cheers!
- Derek

[stottle]

You are dealing with a hardware issue, not a software issue. If the hardware is detecting noise when the TV is turned on, you end up with complex logic in the software to decide if the IR is real or not. That is difficult to do. The old plugin gets around this because it only accepts specific codes, while my plugin processes any IR and tries to decode it. I consider that a feature, not a bug. Most likely the old plugin won't detect real IR signals when the TV is turned on, but it doesn't produce a lot of garbage.

I still go back to my original question, can't you move the IR receiver someplace to mitigate the interference? That seems like the simplest solution.

Brett

[stagecrew]

Brett,
The IR noise I get from the TV is annoying, but incidental. Actually, it does cause problems with the old plugin too. It doesn't generate any log info, but it does cause the receiver to be unresponsive for five minutes.
The problem with the new plugin that I have is not the garbage IR. The problem I have with the new plugin is frequent (every other keypress) double presses. Probably because my remote is pulsing multiple signals for the same button. The problem with this is, I get multiple presses when I don't want it, and don't get a continuous press when I want it (scrolling, etc.) it all amounts to just feeling like it isn't working right.
I've tried putting the receiver in different places, but I think that the problem is that the room is so small that the receiver is picking up IR bouncing off the back wall, not direct transmission.

- Derek

[stottle]

The problem with this is, I get multiple presses when I don't want it, and don't get a continuous press when I want it (scrolling, etc.) it all amounts to just feeling like it isn't working right.

Sorry, I latched onto the freezes part of your post, not the multiple results part. For one of the buttons that doesn't work, what event to you get from the old plugin, and what two events do you get from the new plugin? Also, is this the standard MCE remote or are you using something like a harmony? A few more details about your hardware would help.

Thanks,
Brett

[stagecrew]

For the old plugin, I get:
MceRemote.Down

For the new plugin, I simply get:
MceRemote.Mce.Down
twice.

Is there any way to capture exactly what is being received?

[stottle]

If you open the __init__.py file (in plugins/MceRemote_Vista directory) in a text editor, there should be a line

Code: Select all

if self.CodeValid(self.result):

There's a commented line (#hub.PrintNotice...). Removing the "#" will uncomment the line and print the timings to the log.

Are there unknown events between the two Down events? If not, you should get an enduring event, not two separate events. The only expected exception is that there is a timeout to detect a button being held and a button being pressed, then released, then pressed a 2nd time.

Brett