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Problem Capturing HP Media Center PC Remote

DigiMeDigiMe Posts: 59
in AMX Technical Discussion
To any and everyone,

I am trying to capture the IR remote that comes with the HP Multimedia Center PC. It uses the RC6 protocol and I have not been able to capture any of the IR codes with the IRIS.

Thought that it may be using a dual carrier band. I ran into either a JVC or Philips DVD Player that used a dual carrier band which made it impossible to capture the IR codes.

If anyone has any success, please let me know.

(PS - I have seen the forum that provided information to control a HTPC using the MCE interface. Do to a lack of time and experimenting, I would prefer to use the IR method of control.)

Thanks for anyone who helps.

Jairo Martinez
AV Control System Programmer
Newcome Electronic Systems
Columbus, Ohio

Comments

  • yuriyuri Posts: 861
    just dont do it using IR...
    There are just too many options, including macro commands or "hidden" buttons.
    The ethernet way is not very hard and covers alot of the functionality.

    To answer your question:
    Have you tried using the "expert" function on the IRIS? I don't really know exactly how to enable that, but the method exists...
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    yuri wrote:
    just dont do it using IR...
    There are just too many options, including macro commands or "hidden" buttons.
    The ethernet way is not very hard and covers alot of the functionality.

    To answer your question:
    Have you tried using the "expert" function on the IRIS? I don't really know exactly how to enable that, but the method exists...

    There are four buttons on the front panel; I'm pretty sure it's a matter of holding down numbers 1 and 4 for about ten seconds. My experience with it, however, is it is a tad flaky. Some things captured in special mode work, others do not. But the fact you needed special mode in the first place shows you weren't dealing with "normal" IR anyway.

    I have to wonder if it's the same remote, but I have an HP remote that I purchased as a standalone unit for mouse and keyboard control. I had a heck of a time capturing it. The problem seemed to be that all of the keys had a very sensitive repeat mode (presumably for typematic functionality), and the IRIS had a hard time distinguishing where the end of the IR packet should be. To get a good capture, I wound up taking it apart, and shorting the circuit board under the buttons with a jumper; I could time that more consistently than with using the actual buttons, especially when it came to the cursor controls.

    I have had similar experiences with all sorts of IR keyboard type remotes. They are just really tough to capture with an IRIS. But, I discovered a trick that works really well: capture it in a Pronto, or some other learning remote, then capture that with the IRIS. You would think a $500 specialized tool would do a better job at capturing IR, but in some cases it simply doesn't, and whatever circuitry the learning remotes have works better. This is one of those cases.

    Yuri's advice is good too. Don't use IR unless you have to. Serial or Ethernet control is always better.
  • the8thstthe8thst Posts: 470
    If you are an RTI dealer you could try using the IR-Pro to capture the remote codes and then copy the hex into IrEdit.

    I have had alot more luck using the RTI capture device than the AMX capture box.
  • DigiMeDigiMe Posts: 59
    Followup With Capturing IR

    Thanks all for responding.

    I been doing so research about the RC6 IR Protocol. The site below seems to provide a helpful answer:

    http://www.sbprojects.com/knowledge/ir/rc6.htm

    It may be possible since this protocol uses "Bi-Phase Coding", that this may cause a problem when capturing. Of course, this is pure speculation since I have not really data to back that idea up.

    Since I do not know which IR protocols the IRIS supports or even if that matters, I am not to sure what to do. I did set the IRIS to "P4 - Disabled". In this mode, the IRIS does not require a "Verify" action. Of course it begs the question, did what I capture work.

    I have captured the HP Media Center PC remote control, but have not had the time to try it out. I will update this thread upon I have uploaded the IR driver and test it.

    I have included a image of the remote.

    The Pronto concept of capturing IR works great. I use a software based remote for my Dell Axim X30 2003se Mobile, which uses CCF files that I can create in the Pronto4 application. Then I can learn the IR commands from any given remote onto my Axim X30, and then take that file back into the Pronto4 application in which I can pull the HEX commands and paste then into the IREdit application.

    This application is only $15 and is available at: http://www.pdawin.com/

    HOWEVER - please read this statement from the website above (PDAWIN):

    "c) What type of IR codes I can enter to CCF file ?

    You can enter "Learn" and RC5 IR codes. TV remote controller does not work with entered RC6 IR codes end predefined devices codes in ProntoEdit software. If you want to use RC6.... IR codes just learn these codes with your PDA."

    Though it may not be the most coherent statement, I believe it to be a valid statement.

    Thanks for all you help,

    Jairo Martinez
    AV Control System Programmer
    Newcome Electronic Systems
    Columbus, Ohio
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