New MCE Remote Software

[devinteske]

SWEET! One more question:

When I am creating the RC profile in LMRKM, should I be teaching the software the IR codes for my STB RC? and am I correct in assuming that there is no reason to teach LMRKM either the MCE remote or the MediaMVP remote?

I'm guessing that the way that it works is:

1. Install LMRKM
2. Teach LMRKM the STB RC IR codes
3. Install Sage plugin with accompanying .ir device files

Is it that simple? I'm guessing that basically whenever Sage wants to change a channel (like when it's time to record a show when I'm away), Sage will invoke the plugin which will tell LMRKM (a service running in the background?) to emit the proper IR code, mimicking the STB Remote Control via the MCE IR Blaster?

Is all that correct? Sorry, some of this stuff can get confusing at times. I'm sure that once I actually set this up at least once, then I'll get better at understanding (the rather terse and complicated) process of "blasting" to STBs.

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

When I am creating the RC profile in LMRKM, should I be teaching the software the IR codes for my STB RC?

Yes, you'll create a IR device for your STB and you'll learn the STB RC.

and am I correct in assuming that there is no reason to teach LMRKM either the MCE remote or the MediaMVP remote?

Yes, there is no need to learn IR codes of MCE Remote / MediaMVP Remote.

I'm guessing that the way that it works is:

1. Install LMRKM
2. Teach LMRKM the STB RC IR codes
3. Install Sage plugin with accompanying .ir device files

Is it that simple?

Yes.

I'm guessing that basically whenever Sage wants to change a channel (like when it's time to record a show when I'm away), Sage will invoke the plugin which will tell LMRKM (a service running in the background?) to emit the proper IR code, mimicking the STB Remote Control via the MCE IR Blaster?

Correct. There is a LM RKM Blaster service installed (so you don't need to run the LM RKM GUI all the time, only for configuring the IR devices, especially if you do not operate the SageTV server with the MCE remote).

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

OK, so I've got LM RKM installed and running. However, even though I have the default XP drivers installed for my transmitter, LM RKM at the bottom left of the "Edit IR Device" window, it says "MCE Blaster is not available". Did I do something wrong? I went into the "More Options" and set the "blaster port to be used" to 1 (also tried switching blaster to port 2 and changing this to 2), but I get the same result.

The "Button IR Codes" section is greyed out.

I've also, before adding the IR Device, clicked on "Choose Blaster" and choe "MCE IR Blaster".

Not sure what's going on.

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

it says "MCE Blaster is not available". Did I do something wrong?

Nothing. You'll have to review the LM RKM log files, right click on the taskbar notification icon and choose "Open Config & Log folder".

Also, if MCE is available on your PC, you will have to disable all MCE Services.

You can also restart the PC it may helps.

I've also, before adding the IR Device, clicked on "Choose Blaster" and choe "MCE IR Blaster".

This is the right choice for XP MCE Blaster.

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

Reboot didn't help. Also tried changing the user account that the "LM RKM" service runs as (to administrator), no results. Verified that my MCE receiver is working properly (it is).

Just curious if I actually have an MCE receiver/blaster. In my device manager, I see for my receiver, "eHome Infrared Receiver". Is this correct? The driver information is thus:

Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Date: 7/1/2001
Driver Version: 5.1.2600.2180
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Publisher
Driver files: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\IrBus.sys
File Version: 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Device Instance Id: USB\VID_060&PID_031D\SM005ZHI
Hardware Ids: USB\Vid_0609&Pid_031d&Rev_0000
Firmware Revision: 00.00

Interestingly enough, the receiver itself appears to be of the "SMK" brand (as labeled on the underside). No model. The remote doesn't specifically say "Microsoft" on it, but it looks identical to the MCE remote. I got the receiver, remote and blaster all together with my Hauppauge PVR-150-MCE Kit, which I was lead to believe came with an official MCE remote, IR receiver and blaster.

I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work. I had limited success with Girder, but it was so complicated that I gave up. I'm really hoping that your method works, as a plugin to Sage seems like the best way to achieve what I need.

Thanks again for the help. Your fast responses are always appreciated.

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

Also tried changing the user account that the "LM RKM" service runs as (to administrator), no results.

Don't do this.

Have you reviewed the LM RKM log files ?

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

The only thing resembling a log file in there was trace.txt (which is semi-Massive). What should I be looking for in the log file?

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

The only thing resembling a log file in there was trace.txt (which is semi-Massive). What should I be looking for in the log file?

You are not looking at the right place, the log files should be something like :

* svc_trace_20080428.log (one log file per day)
* trace_20080428.log

Just post them here.

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

Here's the contents of the file "svc_trace_20080427.log":

20080427 16:06:14.390 - Info - Blaster Service Initialized
20080427 16:06:26.453 - Info - Blaster Service Started
20080427 16:06:58.484 - Info - DeviceManager.Start()
20080427 16:06:58.531 - Info - Checking for USB device
20080427 16:07:22.015 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Sleeping....
20080427 16:07:24.015 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Retrying.
20080427 16:07:47.515 - Info - Timeout opening USB device.
20080427 16:07:47.515 - Warning - Unable to communicate with USB device: \\?\usb
#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}
20080427 16:11:45.296 - Info - DeviceManager.Stop()
20080427 16:11:45.296 - Info - Blaster Service Stopped
20080427 16:11:46.656 - Info - Blaster Service Initialized
20080427 16:11:46.750 - Info - DeviceManager.Start()
20080427 16:11:46.765 - Info - Checking for USB device
20080427 16:12:05.250 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Sleeping....
20080427 16:12:07.250 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Retrying.
20080427 16:12:25.718 - Info - Timeout opening USB device.
20080427 16:12:25.718 - Warning - Unable to communicate with USB device: \\?\usb
#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}
20080427 16:12:25.734 - Info - Blaster Service Started
20080427 16:15:56.640 - Info - DeviceManager.Stop()
20080427 16:15:56.640 - Info - Blaster Service Stopped
20080427 16:15:58.015 - Info - Blaster Service Initialized
20080427 16:15:58.125 - Info - DeviceManager.Start()
20080427 16:15:58.140 - Info - Checking for USB device
20080427 16:16:16.609 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Sleeping....
20080427 16:16:18.609 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Retrying.
20080427 16:16:37.078 - Info - Timeout opening USB device.
20080427 16:16:37.078 - Warning - Unable to communicate with USB device: \\?\usb
#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}
20080427 16:16:37.093 - Info - Blaster Service Started

Here's a link to the [longer] trace file (835 lines long):

trace_20080427.log

Hope this helps.

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

20080427 16:07:47.515 - Warning - Unable to communicate with USB device: \\?\usb
#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}

As the log says : LM RKM is not able to communicate with the IR Blaster. Allthough the device can be opened successfully it doesn't read/write properly from/to the device.

At this point you may want to:

* check that no other software is currently using the device (Windows Media Center Services must be disabled, Girder uninstalled)
* change the USB port the device is connected to.

When you test always :

1) Stop LM RKM Interface
2) Stop and Restart LM RKM Blaster Service
3) Start LM RKM Interface

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

I got down to the nitty gritty, using tools like Filemon and Regmon to track down the culprits. I stopped the "HID Input Service" and "SageTV Service", then un-plugged and re-plugged into a new slot.

Right off the bat, I noticed a couple things that might help others. Going into services.msc and starting the LM RKM service took a long time (because the service was trying to access the device that was busy). Over one minute for Windows to start the service.

To recap, I had the follow error in my svc_[DATE].log file:

20080427 18:16:42.640 - Info - Blaster Service Initialized
20080427 18:16:42.734 - Info - DeviceManager.Start()
20080427 18:16:42.750 - Info - Checking for USB device
20080427 18:17:06.203 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Sleeping....
20080427 18:17:08.203 - Info - Opening USB device failed.  Retrying.
20080427 18:17:31.656 - Info - Timeout opening USB device.
20080427 18:17:31.656 - Warning - Unable to communicate with USB device: \\?\usb#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}
20080427 18:17:31.687 - Info - Blaster Service Started

After disabling the services above (HID/Sage) and switching the USB port, the service took mere seconds for Windows to start. Afterward, you can see a successful start-up log entry (see below):

20080427 18:27:52.062 - Info - Blaster Service Initialized
20080427 18:27:52.156 - Info - DeviceManager.Start()
20080427 18:27:52.171 - Info - Checking for USB device
20080427 18:27:52.265 - Info - Adding USB device: \\?\usb#vid_0609&pid_031d#sm005zhi#{7951772d-cd50-49b7-b103-2baac494fc57}
20080427 18:27:52.468 - Info - Blaster Service Started

Now, when you go back into the LM RKM menu (from double-clicking the icon in the Windows notification area) and go to edit your IR device, it says (happily), "MCE Blaster is ready". Instead of having a text-entry box under "More Options" for choosing your blaster number, there is a drop-down box with the following options:

- Device n*1 - Any emitters
- Device n*1 - Emiiter 'irport0'

This seems to be a bit confusing to me. Is it detecting that I have a blaster plugged into "irport0" (which I am guessing equates to blaster port number "1" on the receiver)?

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

there is a drop-down box with the following options:

- Device n*1 - Any emitters
- Device n*1 - Emiiter 'irport0'

This seems to be a bit confusing to me. Is it detecting that I have a blaster plugged into "irport0" (which I am guessing equates to blaster port number "1" on the receiver)?

Yes, normally the list box should only returns the actually connected IR ports (this does not always works though).

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

Took me a long time to figure out that you had to right-click on the IR device at the top and choose an option. Now that I'm there, the app tells me when I click "Learn" for Code 1, that I should point the RC at the Blaster (point it at the emitter? no, he must mean point it at the receiver). So I point my DISH Network VIP-222 Infrared RC at the receiver. Pressing all matter of buttons causes the receiver light to activate but nothing occurs within LM RKM (this is while the popup is showing waiting for you to press the button on the RC). So I press OK. Nothing appears in the box for "Code 1" (did it work?).

As a test, I then try with my MCE remote during the Learn process (just to see if I can get something to populate the "Code 1" field). I pressed "OK" on the MCE remote and (as my best guess is) something duplicated that keystroke (afterall, the MCE remote, for the most part is emitting keystroke commands) over and over. This was strange, but I looked a little further. Tried it with the left-arrow on my MCE remote, and it duplicated the left-arrow keystroke about thirty times before I dismissed it by hitting OK (strange, eh?).

I think I remember reading in a previous thread that there was a bug in the (latest?) code where it was suggested that you add the buttons, hit OK, and then re-open before learning?

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

the app tells me when I click "Learn" for Code 1, that I should point the RC at the Blaster (point it at the emitter? no, he must mean point it at the receiver). So I point my DISH Network VIP-222 Infrared RC at the receiver.

Yes you have to point it to the receiver, and very close to it.

As a test, I then try with my MCE remote during the Learn process

You shouldn't learn the MCE remote itself. If you have to (for testing purpose) use the red / blue / green / yellow button (if you don't have these, use Fast Forward or Skip Forward)

I think I remember reading in a previous thread that there was a bug in the (latest?) code where it was suggested that you add the buttons, hit OK, and then re-open before learning?

This was with version 4.0, version 4.1 fixed this problem.

[devinteske]

I've got it working (almost).

The "Learn Code" attribute didn't start receiving IR codes from my DISH VIP-222 remote control until I restarted the "HID Input Service". I will have to do some more digging around to see if (as I had suggested earlier) stopping this service, the SageTV service or both was the real solution to getting LM RKM to be able to access the USB device. It could be that LM RKM had to be have initial exclusive access to the device, but without the HID Input service, I wasn't able to learn any codes.

Once I started up the HID Input service, I could easily learn all the channel-change codes (0-9+Ok) in under 2 minutes.

I even got the SageTV plugin installed with the appropriate '.ir' files rather easily (using your online instructions found here).

I love the plugin, it makes managing the IR Blaster control for the Input Source within sage a snap! Just did as you described, removing the input source, re-adding my Hauppauge PVR-150-MCE as an input-source using LM RKM.

However, both within SageTV and within the LM RKM "Edit IR Device" menu (using the "Test Channel" option), I can only get the emitter to work with single digits. The second digit of the channel doesn't get emitted or is not received properly (timing?). For example, when using "32" for the test channel, the STB receives "3" but not the "2". Currently, I have the following settings for my IR device:

Command issued before changing channel: #500
Command issued after changing channel: Ok
Delay between IR codes (msecs): 200
Duration of IR codes (msecs): 20

The 500 msec delay occurs before channel change, then "3" is emitted, the 2 never gets emitted and then Ok is sent. The channel does indeed change to channel 3. Just as when doing a test within LM RKM, SageTV will change the channel using the plugin, though for example, changing to channel 92 puts me on channel 9.

Can you help me to get this working?

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

I can only get the emitter to work with single digits. The second digit of the channel doesn't get emitted or is not received properly (timing?). For example, when using "32" for the test channel, the STB receives "3" but not the "2". Currently, I have the following settings for my IR device:

Command issued before changing channel: #500
Command issued after changing channel: Ok
Delay between IR codes (msecs): 200
Duration of IR codes (msecs): 20

The 500 msec delay occurs before channel change, then "3" is emitted, the 2 never gets emitted and then Ok is sent. The channel does indeed change to channel 3. Just as when doing a test within LM RKM, SageTV will change the channel using the plugin, though for example, changing to channel 92 puts me on channel 9.

The delays as well as re-learning the buttons are the key of reliability. I would first try to increase the duration of the blast (from 20 ms up to 100 ms).

Then I would change the delay between IR codes from 50 up to 500 ms.

To test, always use the "Test Channel Change" feature within the IR device editor (instead of using SageTV). If you then have problems within SageTV you'll know that you just have to increase the "before channel change" delay (from 500 ms up to 1000 ms).

Also it me be a pain in the *ss, relearing the codes could improve things. When you have troubles like this the learning process should be :

* Learn a button (IR Code 1 and IR Code 2), by pressing just a little on your original remote (just if you were using the remote to change channel on your STB)
* Test the learned button right away (right click on the button and choose "Test Button"), do 5 or more test in a row and verify that the STB received the code correctly (you may also notice a pattern, something like, if you make a test just after another one it don't work etc... this can help you figure out the delays).
* If the tests are not always successfull, relearn the button but this time press a little longer on the original remote button.
* Repeat the whole process until the 5 tests are always successfull.

Regards,
Stéphane.

[devinteske]

Why is there a "Code 1" and "Code 2"?

Also, does LM RKM repeat the IR code for the duration of the blasted keypress? I'm assuming yes, but one question is, if so, does the "Delay between commands" apply to the repeating of the individual IR codes? or is it only the delay between each identifying keypress?

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by devinteske

Why is there a "Code 1" and "Code 2"?

Because some device use debounce IR codes. So for these devices LM RKM needs to alternate Code 1 and Code 2 for every other key press.

Also, does LM RKM repeat the IR code for the duration of the blasted keypress?

No, the blaster does it (this is the "duration" option when you click on the "More Options" button).

if so, does the "Delay between commands" apply to the repeating of the individual IR codes? or is it only the delay between each identifying keypress?

No the "Delay between commands" apply only to individual buttons. (For channel 12, there is a delay between 1 and 2, and between 2 and Ok)

Regards,
Stéphane.

[johnnyfive]

I have LM RKM working with my Sage and can change channels through my MCE Blaster. I won't be using a remote as I will be viewing my SageTV through the placeshifter.

If I press a button combination in Sage is there anyway LM RKM can detect the button press and run a Menu button infrared code to my STB.

Kind of like a virtual remote using keys?? TIA

[StephaneM]

Originally Posted by johnnyfive

If I press a button combination in Sage is there anyway LM RKM can detect the button press and run a Menu button infrared code to my STB.

There is not "legacy" way to do it (LM Remote KeyMap does not have yet any remoting facilities : such as install LM RKM on your Placeshifter client to "use" the blaster on the LM RKM installed on SageTV Server).

Though, it may be possible to use the LM RKM COM Interface to make use of the blaster from SageTV.

You can review the documentation on my Web Site on how to use the COM Interface through a simple VB Script, then maybe there is a way to launch this script from SageTV...

Regards,
Stéphane.