You two guys picked a fine time to go on vacation and leave all of us waiting.

I can hardly wait until next week. I picked up a used MCE remote/transceiver a couple of months ago and until now, I've had no use for it.

Thanks guys!

With HIP it is possibile to define mutiple commands with any key press and so if you select a module via a button on the remote (or via the HIP Control window), this will be possible.  HIP can also detect what application is running and change the key assignments accordingly, but if these modules are not standalone applications, HIP will not be able to tell that the application has changed.

We will know more once we have a working example which should be very soon now.

Peter

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Peter (BTMI)

Click here for HIP, the free alternative to control your PC via remote control

So, say I want to use the MCE remote to control my media center system, and to turn on/off the power on my TV. This is the software that will let me do it?

And what hardware will I need? Just the IR reciever that comes with the MCE Remote and the IR emitters that plug into it?

Yes...(no other hardware is necessary)

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Peter (BTMI)

Click here for HIP, the free alternative to control your PC via remote control

How about software? If I install your driver for the remote, how do i specify what button plays the recorded IR file? And when? For example, I want the button labled "TV" (and dosen't appear to do anything by default) on the top left of the MC remote to turn the power on/off for my TV, how to I teach it to do this, will your driver allow me to specify/modify button behavior?

the TV button your are reffering to is one of three buttons that can programmed on the remote. the other two the VOL UP and VOL DOWN. See the little manual that comes with it. It doesnt require any software on your computer to be able to use that button.

http://oem.microsoft.com/static/Worldwide/file/MCE_Remote_Manual.pdf

Not directly related to your effort but You two guys seem to be the only remote/blaster experts around so I really need your help on this.

The mce remote is refusing to learn the codes for my STB. It blinks, it reacts to the number press but just refuses to learn, staying on '1'. However, I know of another user with the same STB who got around the problem by first training his UNiversal remote and then use the MCE to learn from the universal remote.

Thus, is there a way I can have him pass me the remote references/codes in his registry/ini files that I can cut-paste into mine so that I can control my STB? This should be possible but I have no idea where to look as I ain't a MS programmer..

YOur remote-guruness appreciated.

 

 

java_guru, unless you are referring to using the IR blasters to send the IR signal to your set-top box (which i dont think you are) what you are asking is simply not possible.

The remotes learning capability has no relation what so ever to the receiver or the computer and unless im sorely mistaken, there are no files stored on the computer relating to the codes the remotes themselves are programmed with.

Have you followed the link i placed above to the MCE remote manual and followed all the steps as outlined there?

IF however you are talking about the codes we able to record useing the MCE receiver you should be able to get someone elses data file. But BMTI(Peter) is the authority on that one..

Cheers

I don't know about being a IR guru, as this is virtually impossible with no standards in IR land - every implementation is different.

For example, some STB's I have seen have problems accepting IR from "learning" remotes as they send not 1 IR command but several (which may be your problem).  Your friend's solution may be the best as the Universal Remote he purchased may be sending a different (but compatible) IR stream which can be recognised by the remote and teh STB - and so I would borrow his universal remote!

When we have this library in place, all of the IR commands will be saved in individual files that could easily be copied from computer to computer.  I am not sure how MCE stores the pre-built IR commands, but they must exist somewhere on the PC (but I have no idea where) unless they are stored in the ROM of the remote.

Sorry I cannot help you....

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Peter (BTMI)

Click here for HIP, the free alternative to control your PC via remote control

good point.

i remember now that i had to 'stab' the buttons quickly to get it to learn the codes well. just experiment with the time you press the buttons and see how you go.

also there is a newsgroup over on the MS site for MCE and there is a thread about the remote over there too. check that out. thats where i got the link to the manual from. sorry i can post a link to it right now.

cheers

I'm back from ski holiday... and also back on MCE IR blasters !

What about your holiday Peter ? I hope you had a good time as I did !

Meanwhile I've just built a small app (a very hardcoded one ! just for fun...) which :
- get IR inputs from MCE remote
- on TV power key : turns my TV on/off & select DVI input then turns my receiver on/off & selects HTPC optical input
- volume +/- / mute are also blasted to my receiver
- other keys are used to control WinDVD6
... and everything works fine !

But you were right about blasters placement : I had to stick them directly ON the IR receivers to make it work everytime.

Any news (or help needed) about MCEIR plugin for your BTMI software ?

Glad to see you are back in one piece (and yes, the holiday was long overdue and very hard to leave!!)

I should have the MCEIR access in HIP finished by the end of the week (just trying to juggle about 10 projects)...

More news soon.

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Peter (BTMI)

Click here for HIP, the free alternative to control your PC via remote control

thx guys for trying to figure out my problem. 

 

I believe the ir codes appropriate for the STB would reside somewhere in my friend's MCE. Just don't know where to look. Hoping someone can discover it over time.

 

The learning sequence is indeed fickle. I can actually trigger it to sometimes learn 1 or 2 digits by forcing errors or pressing qucikly....but this seems to be very arbitary.