Getting HD200 to control local TV/Display

[MrFusion]

Hi,

I have a number of HD200s running off a headless SageTV server.

What I would like to be able to do is only use the Sage remote, and create a setup whereby each HD200 controls its local TV/Display.

That is, for example, when someone sits down, they pick up the Sage remote, press power, the HD200 powers up, turns on the TV, selects the right input, etc.

Probably the neatest solution would be to use a USB IR blaster plugged into the HD200...

Or what about controlling directly through HDMI..?!?

Anyone done something like this???

If not, what about similar (ie, use of something like girder etc)??

Going one step further, I reckon it would be really cool if the HD200 could be used as a generic IR receiver which acts upon commands it recognises, but which sends all commands somewhere else (ie: SageTV server) for further processing / control (ie to girder, internal API, or similar).

The key being that control is localised (ie: "the system" knows you are using a remote in room A, and acts accordingly).

Anyone else think this would be useful?


Thanks!

[GKusnick]

The HD200 already does send IR commands to the SageTV server for processing. In extender mode, the UI executes on the server, and that's where the commands are interpreted. So in principle it shouldn't be hard to create a plugin that runs on the server and responds to certain commands by (for instance) issuing X10 commands to control appliances or whatever. There's a whole group of people using Sage as a front end for their home automation systems.

That said, it seems like the simplest solution to your particular problem of powering the TV on and off is to replace the Sage remote with a universal remote that has that feature built in.

[MrFusion]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

The HD200 already does send IR commands to the SageTV server for processing. In extender mode, the UI executes on the server, and that's where the commands are interpreted. So in principle it shouldn't be hard to create a plugin that runs on the server and responds to certain commands by (for instance) issuing X10 commands to control appliances or whatever.

Hmm... interesting. I wonder, does the HD200 only send commands it 'understands' back (ie "UP", "PLAY", "STOP"), and does it send power events, or does it send "everything" it 'sees' back (ie some form of bitstring, raw IR command codes, or similar)?

Might lead to some interesting applications -- ie: use your satellite remote in the lounge, point it at the HD200, which then pipes back to server, which then controls the sat box in your "server room"

Anyone know where I can find out more?

There's a whole group of people using Sage as a front end for their home automation systems.

I didn't realise. Will have to find out more. Sounds like this could be the answer (ie -- hook into the HD200 power events at the server, and use these to drive an IR blaster / serial command / etc).

VERY curious to see if Sage could implement HDMI commands!!

Also, really interested in how to get the right context back to server (ie: which room / HD200 received a command).

That said, it seems like the simplest solution to your particular problem of powering the TV on and off is to replace the Sage remote with a universal remote that has that feature built in.

That's what I thought of first. But it somehow seems soooo wrong --

• I like the sage remote
• 90 - 100% of the tech I need is already there -- seems very wasteful to buy the HD200, then need to buy another remote
• Increases the overall cost by a pretty significant percentage
• Much greater pain-in-the-arse factor
• Providing these sorts of functions would make the HD200 soooo much more attractive & competetive if they were baked in

Anyway, thanks for your response!

[Tikker]

or just buy tv's in the future that have "auto-source"

my westinghouse works this way

whenever it detects a new video source firing up, it automatically powers up (if it's off) and changes to the new input

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by MrFusion

That's what I thought of first. But it somehow seems soooo wrong --

• I like the sage remote
• 90 - 100% of the tech I need is already there -- seems very wasteful to buy the HD200, then need to buy another remote
• Increases the overall cost by a pretty significant percentage
• Much greater pain-in-the-arse factor
• Providing these sorts of functions would make the HD200 soooo much more attractive & competetive if they were baked in

Anyway, thanks for your response!

The thing that's been missing here is that the HD200 provides no way of outputting IR in the room it's in. So while you could get the commands back to the server, the Sage system provides no way to get responses back out to the room.

So you're going to have to buy something either way, either a remote, or an IR repeater/blaster setup.

[gplasky]

I have Harmony remotes in every room. Various models from the 532, 880 to a T1000. This is all you need to completely do wht you want. I have it turning on the TV, set it for HDMI, turn on the HD200, turn on the stereo receiver, set that to TV input, optical, 5.1 surround and turn volume up to 10. Different rooms, different devices but it is push one button for the wife to do. The setup took all of 15-20 minutes with the remote, a PC and the Internet.

Gerry

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by gplasky

... and turn volume up to 10.

How do you do that, set the AVR to a specific volume?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by stanger89

How do you do that, set the AVR to a specific volume?

Yes. (Think of it as a macro)

Gerry

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Yes. (Think of it as a macro)

Gerry

But I mean how, just "down, down, down, down, (to get to 0) then up x10"?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by stanger89

But I mean how, just "down, down, down, down, (to get to 0) then up x10"?

Yah, Sorry. It will support whatever the receiver is capable of. Since the receiver I have only supports VolumeUp and VolumeDown (same for VolumeCenter and VolumeRear) I'm stuck with volume up x 10. Some of the newer receivers will accept a numerical input and the Harmony will take advantage of those commands.

Gerry

[stanger89]

yeah I was curious if you came up with something clever. I've kind of wanted to have volume "presets" on my SSP, but I can't do that with a remote, need to get something that can do serial control

[briands]

Isn't HDMI capable of control signals?

[stanger89]

HDMI-CEC? Yeah, that's something (now that I've got a new LCD ) that I've been thinking would be quite cool

But it's optional.

[MrFusion]

Controlling through HDMI was certainly one of the options I was hoping for. Can the HD200 hardware do this?

Insofar as IR is concerned, it would be great if a) you could use a UIRT or similar on the HD200, and b) use whatever generic blaster(s) in the "server room".

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by MrFusion

Controlling through HDMI was certainly one of the options I was hoping for. Can the HD200 hardware do this?

AFAIK there's nothing in the Sage API for it, which would mean Sage would need to add HDMI-CEC support to the HD200 firmware at the very least (it's unclear to me if HDMI-CEC requires special support in the hardware/chip too or not).