Help Pls! I need to send multiple commands to satellite box

[steven017]

I've searched high and low and I can't seem to figure this out. What I need to do is send multiple commands to change channels on my satellite box. I have already created an IR file with all the relevant ir codes from satellite box remote.

Here's the detail.

1) I have a satellite box with two bands, A and B. The A band has channels between 100 and 372 that I wish to tune. The B band has channels between 722 and 755 that I wish to tune. I am using USB-UIRT and can tune the channels using the default configuration in Sagetv. By this, I mean I can change channels if the band is set on the satellite box,　but I cannot change bands from within Sagetv. This basically means that the PVR value of my box is limited as I cannot schedule shows to record on different bands. So, I would like to know if there is a way to do this. If so, could someone point me in the right direction?

2) Further complicating my setup, the default language of my broadcast is Japanese. I would like to be able to tune into the secondary language. I have already determined a key sequence that will work in all circumstances, but I'm not sure how to make this work with USB-UIRT and Sagetv. I have tried putting the sequence in the first line of my ir file, but only the first two are picked up--they are used as the confirm and prefix codes, respectively. Is there a way to do this?

Is this stuff possible or am I dreaming?

Steve

[Alfiegerner]

Hi Steve,

I've no experience with USB UIRT - hopefully someone else will come along to advise you with your queries.

Are there are any other methods of changing channels on this box, i.e. HTTP GET or POST? I had a similar setup and requirements once using a Dreambox which had a webserver and site built into it to allow you to change channels, stream etc. I was able to use the ExeTunerPlugin to perform HTTP requests to change channel and make various other commands.

Just a thought,
Alex

[steven017]

Hi Alfiegerner,

I appreciate the suggestion, but unfortunately my box is a bit older. It's pretty basic, so my only real option with it is to use an ir blaster. That's why I chose USB-UIRT.

Steve

[CollinR]

You may be hosed, this is a very odd senario.


EDIT:

If you have a reliable string then you can try EventGhost but I have never used it to watch for SageTV channel change requests. I know it can be done though, you might search for Girder as the two applications are similar.

[mlapaglia]

use this, it allows you to put commands in front of whatever sagetv sends to the blaster. it also works in vista 32 and 64 bit flavors.

http://www.lmgestion.net/

more specifically http://www.lmgestion.net/@en-us/4/22/60/article.asp

[steven017]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have been playing around with EventGhost and I tried LM Remote Key. However, I couldn't get either to work for me. My problem with EventGhost is that I can't figure out how to trigger the macro to change the channel. Somehow, EventGhost must be called or detect an event to launch the macro. LM Remote Key just didn't work. It produced an error after I set up my remote. Something about Vista, although I'm running XP.

Now the good news. I HAVE got my channels changing between the two bands, and the solution was dead simple. I changed my physical channel numbers so that they were prefixed with the band code and lengthened the time the codes are sent (ex. A321 and B722). Of course, I had configured the discreet codes for the remote in advance.

So, now all that's left is to configure the other stuff--setting the language.

Does anyone know how to append more than just ENTER or OK to the end of a command? Is this possible?

EDIT:
I just realized I've already got my answer. I think I should be able to name each remote command with one letter and then append it as needed to the channel number. That should call the proper commands when I choose a channel. It can't be this easy, and it may not be, but... I'll update this after I've tried it.

Steve

[steven017]

Thank you all for your help. It really made me think. But as is often the case, the simplest solution was the answer.

Appending single digit letters representing the different buttons I needed to press to change the language to the physical channel number executed the correct sequence of button pushes to accomplish my goal. All I can say is wow.

For any who are interested, here's a recap of what I did and how I did it.

I wanted 2 things:

1) Change between two tuner bands -- A and B.
2) Execute an arbitrary sequence of button pushes each time I tuned into certain channels.

How I accomplished it:

1) Prefixed the Physical Channel Number with the code from my IR file represent the button to select the proper tuner band, in this case A or B. So, for channel 360 on tuner band A, I prefixed 360 with A (A360).

2) Appended the sequence of codes I needed from my IR file to the Physical Channel Number. I think the codes should all be one digit, so that's what I did. I just renamed all the required remote codes for my satellite dish to single digit letters. So, for example, ENTER was V and UP was X. I ended up appending TZVXWVYVT to my Physical Channel Number.

My resulting Physical Channel Numbers look pretty odd (A360TZVXWVYVT for channel 360), but it accomplishes my goals. Also, these numbers are not visible as the Logical Channel Numbers are what you actually see.

That's pretty much it.

Steve

[ke6guj]

Sweet that you figured out.

Luckily I don't need to do any like that, but it is nice to know that it is possible.