What's the BEST remote for use with SageTV ?

[sudipto]

Thanks for the reply, jphhughes ! So it is not me alone.

I actually tried 4 different remotes from 4 different devices and Sage thinks the Left/Right/Up/Down buttons from all 4 are the same. It is almost impossible that all 16 of these buttons are emitting the same code, so yes, I would agree this is some kind of a problem in how Sage is interpreting the received code.

Does anyone know any program for the IRMan that will dump out on the screen the numeric code received from the remote ?

[justme]

sudipto,
Just to be safe are you using the beta? If so there is a bug with the USB-UIRT(it may effect IRman too) learning in the Sage2.0.10-12 betas. See this beta thread for one example. My MX500 and other remotes work fine with 1.4 and the USB-UIRT. Just trying to eliminate the beta from this.

[olyar15]

If you want to use the IRMan, I suggest going through Girder, then use the Sage GML file for it. Yes, Girder is a bit confusing at first, but the flexibility more than makes up for it. Especially if you use your HTPC for more than just Sage. Then you can use your remote and IRMan to control other programs.

[jphhughes]

olyar15, advise is worth considering. I had some issue with usbuirt and used girder to figure them our. I did have to do a quick up to speed with girder. Download girder install the IRMAN plugin. Gider will then let you learn each button on the remote and shows its operating frequency and codes.

[sudipto]

justme: Yes, I am using the latest beta (2.0.12). Thanks for mentioning that ! I don't feel quite so dumb now

olyar15 and jphhughes: Thanks for your suggestion about Girder ! I have thought of using Girder many times and the potential steep learning curve have always kept me away from it (plus almost everytime I have been able to find an easier way around to do what I needed to do ) ... but now it finally seems time to give up and bite the bullet !

Does Girder work with the Sage 2 beta ? I think I saw a post or two here sometime back that mentioned some issues with Girder not working ? If that is the case, then I won't be able to take the plunge right away.

[justme]

sudipto,
Glad to be of help, I'm trying to be a good Mod. This is my first time.

Girder works fine with Sage2. It's just that some of the class names changed. This caused some of the sendmessage commands in people's GML files to not work. Just updating the GML to reflect Sage2's new class names fixes that issue. The Sage2 app should be stable enough by now that you shouldn't have to worry about future betas changing the class names. So I'd definitely say take the plunge, if you want to.

PS:Please report the bug, if you haven't already. I reported it back during the second(.11) beta, but I guess it was too late to add a fix for the .12 beta. Hopefully a fix will make it into the next release. The more that post the more likely it is Jeff will work on it first.

[jphhughes]

Just as infor. I am not using the 2.0 Beta. I am using the current release and still have the problem. So I will explore it further to see if I can determine a workaround.

[sudipto]

justme: Congratulations on your 'promotion' I didn't notice that you are a mod now until you mentioned it ... you'll do a great job ... I am sure about it

I did not report the bug yet since I wasn't sure if it was something wrong with the code or if it was something I was doing wrong. But now that I know, I will report the bug.

You mentioned that just updating the GML file to match the new Sage class names will make it work. Is the updated GML file available somewhere ? Otherwise, where can I get a list of the new Sage class names to use ?

[justme]

jphhughes,
That's interesting. I know from posts by Jon Rhees that Sage uses the same learning process for the USB-UIRT as girder does. I think the general IR learning bug with Sage2 is a simple failure to pass/store the codes properly in the STV(new SageUI) file. This should be easy to fix. I wonder if Sage uses the same driver(learning technics) for the IRman that Girder uses. From looking at the way the codes are stored for sending(the .IR files) and the way they are stored for recieving/control(sage.properties). It appears that Sage is doing some form of compression on the codes it uses for recieve/control. At the very least it's a different format than used by Sage for storing IR codes for transmission. This may be where your problem is coming from. I'll keep an eye out for anything that may help.

sudipto,
Thanks, for the confidence. As for Girder I've been like you trying to avoid it if possible. But I have been watching the threads. If I were you I'd look for some posts by salsbst. I'll also do some searching to see if I can find the thread that talked about the class change. But with my luck you'll find it before I do.

[justme]

stupidto,
This thread should help you out with the new class names. It also has a complete list of Sage's available commands for Girder's SendMessage control method.

Hope this helps to get you started.

[olyar15]

stupidto, just re-read your post. Have you tried using another device to send IR commands? I actually had a similar problem with my MX-700. It seems that for certain devices, the IR codes are so similar, the IRMan can't seem to tell them apart. One nice thing about Girder is that you can see a hexadecimal representation of the IR code it is seeing. So, try a different device to see if you can get appropriate IR codes.

[SuperG]

Snapstream's Firefly remote looks promising.

I'm very curious to see how it would play with Sage.

[davey_fl]

thanks justme. Do you know how to change the code in the remote? I know how to set it for tvs, but I don't know how to change it for the "sat" position..

davey

[Cayars]

Originally posted by SuperG
Snapstream's Firefly remote looks promising.

I'm very curious to see how it would play with Sage.

It works.

Carlo

[jphhughes]

I was successful in setting up a remote to work with Sage TV after all my initial problems. The remote is a UEI universal remote model URC 8011. I believe the key to success was using the Cable button (which has a built in setup code of 0476 which is for a General Instruments box) this code is allows use of most of the keys required by Sage. These would be the numeric keys, the transport keys, and the menu keys (up/down etc). Unfortunately I accomplished this through trial and error. However it is safe to say that a cable function on a remote would most likely offer more keys then say TV function. Unfortunately you cannot see the button codes that are available for each setup code unless you have a Jp1 compatible remote, if you do then you can actually create/build your own code with all the necessary button assignments.

[justme]

Do you know how to change the code in the remote?

On my AT&T box it has a help screen that goes right tru all the codes for different devices. It's under Setup>settings> Tivo DVR Setup>Remote something. I only have one volume code punched thru to both switch positions. Since I use my Amp for all volume control I've never tried different codes for each switch position. Sadly as jphhughes says you can't really know what the codes are until you try them. I'd maybe spend a little time on it(if I was you) and then if I didn't get the behavior I was after I'd move on to Girder. It comes down to how you want to spend your time.

Best of luck.

[sudipto]

Originally posted by olyar15
stupidto, just re-read your post. Have you tried using another device to send IR commands? I actually had a similar problem with my MX-700. It seems that for certain devices, the IR codes are so similar, the IRMan can't seem to tell them apart. One nice thing about Girder is that you can see a hexadecimal representation of the IR code it is seeing. So, try a different device to see if you can get appropriate IR codes.

olyar15: I did not try a different device in the MX-500, but I did try multiple other remotes all of which had left/right/up/down directional buttons, and Sage couldn't distinguish the left/right/up/down signal from each other for any of these remotes. If I could find at least one remote whose directional buttons worked with IRMan/Sage, I could easily teach those commands to the directional buttons to MX-500 in "Sage" mode.

I am not sure if the problem is with IRMan or with Sage. I will try Girder to actually see what code IRMan "thinks" it has received, and if Girder can show the codes as different, then the problem probably lies within Sage.

[justme]

If I could find at least one remote whose directional buttons worked with IRMan/Sage

Not that this is a fix, but a possible workaround. If it's just the directional codes that are being confused then you could use any 5 buttons(numeric,ff,etc) from an unused remote to teach to the MX500 directional controls. Once these were taught to the MX500's directional controls you could then teach Sage these codes from the MX500.

[AJ Bertelson]

I am debating between remotes rite now.
Mx500
Harmony659
Pronto TSU3000

I am using a remote wonder rite now with girder. The thing I like about this combo is that I can use the remote for all applications. Without having to navigate through menus.

How customizable is the MX500? Can I label the screens to what I want? Can I hook it up to a PC and design menus for it?


I tried a pronto once and I am not sure if I like the touch screen. How is it using touchscreens. Do you have to clean them alot?

Does anyone have any experience using a harmony 659 at all?

[justme]

How customizable is the MX500?

It's a fully IR learning capable remote, so beside the built in code base you can teach any remote code you like. Even the hard buttons can be taught different codes.

Can I label the screens to what I want?

Yes, each label can be 5 characters long. I personally like the fact that is uses LCD labels for the hard buttons beside of the LCD. I didn't like the lack of feedback I had with my Sony RM2100(almost entirely LCD based olnly 4 hard buttons)

Can I hook it up to a PC and design menus for it?

No, You would need to get one of the higher end MX units to even be able to connect it to the PC(excluding a user built device/software called an IRclone). And even with the higher end models I don't believe you can add custome style characters like symbols.

Does anyone have any experience using a harmony 659 at all?

Just a little(10 days). I sent it back because I hated the transport controls being located at the bottom of the remote and I found out a new model was coming out soon. I was also not too fond of the internet setup, but that is not that big of a deal. Since once it's setup you don't need to worry about that part. If you are interested in the 659 I would suggest waiting until Harmony releases the 688. It's basically the 659 designed with PVR funstionality in mind. It's design isn't finalized yet to my knowleadge. It's a little radical/futuristic looking but I think it will be fine when it's released. The Harmony is much nicer in your hand.

In the end if you want a new remote now... I said that if PVR is one of the main things you do go MX500. If you feel the remote's feel in your hand is the most important go for a Harmony. Especially if you can wait a little til the 688 comes out. I think it will be the best of both worlds. I plan on buying one to test out when it's released. I personally wouldn't use a pronto since I hate the lack of feedback on LCD based remotes. The closest I've come to a pronto is running a pronto remote simulator software on my PocketPC. It's very pretty but not great for feedback.IMO

PS:I can post links to some pictures of these different remotes if you like. I even found a link to the second revision of the 688. Let me know if you want me to post them. The first three(MX500/659/688-1) are at remotecentral.com and the last one(688-2) is on a private users site.