Options for IR Blasting?

[makryger]

I've been using IR Server Suite for the past several years to turn my audio receiver off and on. I have command prompt code that is triggered when the HTPC is turned off and on. But in recent weeks, the reliability of the blasting has gone down quite a bit. I'm not sure why, but using the original remote works fine with the receiver, using a different ir blaster cable has the same sporadic problem, and I'm not really able to switch out the eHome IR Transceiver, as IRSS is very picky with which systems it will be able to blast. So my question is whether there are any other IR Blasting utilities out there that people are familiar with? I'd like to avoid buying new hardware if possible.

[barnabas1969]

I had lots of problems with IR Server Suite. I tried getting help on the Media Portal forum, but the person who wrote IRSS is "retired", and support for it is very limited at best.

I switched to Event Ghost. It's an awesome product. There is a plugin that will allow you to use a standard MCE IR transceiver (blaster and receiver combo). See this thread.

The only problem I ran into is that the plugin mentioned above disables the MCE remote from sending commands directly to Media Center. There is a separate plugin to facilitate this, but it prevents you from doing a fast scroll through the guide. After some poking around in their code, I discovered that the means by which it was disabling the commands from being sent to Media Center was very simple, and a simple registry change allowed the commands to be sent directly to Media Center while also triggering events in Event Ghost. Details on the registry changes I made are here.

[makryger]

Great, thanks for the information. I actually already use eventghost, but I just use that to call the IRSS scripts at the proper time. Maybe consolidating in EG is the way to go. Just to confirm, can blasting be triggered without necessarily pushing a button on the MC remote? So can I create a script in EG to just send a particular IR signal out when a specific if-statement is satisfied?

With regards to MCE Remote, I use a Gyration RF remote, so it doesn't actually relay through the IR transceiver. I'd imagine it's more like a wireless logitech keyboard than an actual MC remote. You think I'll have to do the registry edits in that case?

[barnabas1969]

If your remote is recognized as a standard RC6 remote, you will need to do the registry edit. It's simple to test. Just install the plugin, and see if your remote still works in Media Center. If not, then apply the change to the registry.

EG is entirely event based. If you create a macro, and add an event to that macro, that event will trigger the macro. If you're already using EG to start the IRSS scripts, you should be able to simply edit your already-existing macros to add whatever actions you desire.

EG supports a variety of blasters. You can look on their website for supported devices.

[makryger]

One more question before I try installing this- does it have a learning function? The IR sequence I'd like to blast is not really related to any specific media center button combination.

[barnabas1969]

I believe it does, yes. And once you install that plugin (which should already be in your list of plugins in EG), EG's log will display the hex code for ANY infrared remote codes received by the transceiver. It's actually really cool. I use it for all kinds of stuff. For example, I've programmed my remote to send various codes from an Emerson TV (which I don't have in my living room). I use those codes to start Netflix, Hulu, Sleep Timer, control lights/fans, etc.

EG is amazing... and amazingly free.

[makryger]

Well, I tried EventGhost and the remote plug-in. Everything seems to do what I'd expect it to do, however for some reason, the IR code I'm feeding it from the original remote for my AV receiver isn't actually turning off the AV receiver once I transmit the code. The remote that came with the speakers has always had trouble learning; I was lucky to be able to get the code in for IRSS. But now I'm stuck. I'll try emailing logitech to see if they have a code for this speaker.

[barnabas1969]

When EG sends the code to the blaster, can you see it blinking? If the blaster doesn't have a visible-light indicator on it, you can point a digital camera (or camera phone) at it to see if the IR emitter is actually blinking.

After you confirm that it is blinking, the next step would be to get the correct code. You should be able to see the code in EG's log when you point the remote at the IR receiver and press the button.

[makryger]

Yes, it is blinking, and the audio receiver is even flashing as if its listening... but it doesn't turn off. The code I'm feeding it is directly from the window where it's learned, so it must be the code itself that is being incorrectly learned.

[barnabas1969]

Is there a place in IRSS where you can see the code you were using? Maybe you could just copy/paste.

[makryger]

Tried that... it also registers with my audio receiver, but doesn't turn off...

[barnabas1969]

When you look at EG's log, you should see the code when you press a button on the remote (you may need to un-check the box at the bottom of the window that says something about only displaying registered events).

Try watching the log as you repeatedly press the power button on the remote. Does the code change, or stay the same each time you press the button?