Extended Macros in the URCs 7980, 7880 and 7955

[Ed]

So, somehow, I created a macro on WatchTV awhile back, and, at some point, deleted it. RMIR v2.13.3 no longer shows it, but you saw it (and fixed it) in v2.13.4. I see it there now -- in the file I posted -- in v2.13.4 but not in v2.13.3. I'd like to just go ahead and delete it before I restart testing.

Please work now only with v2.13.4 and with the file I posted, not the one you posted, as v2.13.4 will corrupt the file you posted (and v2.13.3 will corrupt the file I posted). But with v2.13.4 and the file I posted, feel free to delete the macro on WatchTV and indeed make any other changes you wish.

Got it. Will proceed accordingly.

On your comment about the Bluetooth facility needing many attempts at connection, I am aware that this sometimes happens but I don't think I can do anything about it. The remote was not designed to connect with WCL or the dongle, only with UEI's own phone app, and I suspect there is some minor incompatibility that causes the connection problem. The main thing is that once connected, the connection seems to be reliable. I have found that if I have difficulty connecting, it helps to press Devices+Activity again even though the remote has been registered with RMIR. I don't know if you have tried that.

I understand. I only mentioned it on the off chance that it may have had something to do with the problems I had been experiencing. It's only a minor nuisance. I have not tried Devices+Activity, but I have pressed Search and then Connect (after the remote has already been found) and that sometimes works. I've also tried deregistering and reregistering the remote and found that helpful.

[Ed]

My testing is now going fairly well. I currently have 8 controlled global macros defined and two controlled DSMs defined on my TV device. My RMIR file is here.

My DSMs are bound to ch+ and ch- of the TV device. These buttons have no functions defined on them in the TV device file. Each of these DSMs traverses the TV's menu system (menu,OK,left, right,...,etc.) to either put captions on always (ch+) or not at all (ch-). The ch- DSM is "working", but the ch+ DSM is not.

When I press ch-, the TV device LED blinks as the steps in the macro are executed. If I press ch+ (still in the TV device), the LED does not blink. If I put a function on the TV's ch+ button in its device file and then press ch+, while in the TV device, the LED does not flash either. The remote behaves as if there is nothing assigned to the ch+ button. Could this be an RDF issue (just guessing)?

Once I get the DSM issue sorted, I'll begin focusing on the pause timings, so I can get things running as fast as possible. Some of my TV functions; e.g., "Menu", take longer to respond than others, so different commands may require different pause timings.

Although this remote suffers from limitations that are insurmountable without an extender, I'm optimistic that, with controlled, real-time, and controlled DSMs, it will function well for my setup.

[mathdon]

Ed, the problem with the controlled DSM on Ch+ seems to be that the buttons in it are all shifted keys (Shift-Menu, Shift-Up and so on) that don't have any signals on them. Did you have the Shift checkbox checked by mistake when you created them? If you press Shift-Menu (Magic then Menu) in the TV device then the LED flashes, as if there is no signal on a shifted key then it sends the unshifted one. This doesn't work in a macro. If there is no signal on a shifted key in a macro then it sends nothing. So the DSM is working as programmed, it is just sending a sequence of nothings!

[Ed]

Well heck, Graham! How silly of me!

All I can think of is that I hit the shift box by mistake on the first button (menu) in the macro and left it on as I entered the remaining buttons. I changed them to their unshifted counterparts and the macro works (really) now. Thanks for helping an absent-minded old-timer!

I actually thought I had done a test that would have partially exposed my mistake, but evidently I failed to carry it out correctly. I have observed that if, say, I'm the TV device and I press a button on the remote that has nothing assigned to it, then the TV LED does not blink. If I press a button that does have something, then it blinks, and presumably sends the signal(s) corresponding to the function(s) assigned.

In my setup, neither ch+ nor ch- have functions assigned in TV mode. So, as a test, I assigned a function to ch+ and uploaded the resulting image to the remote. When I pressed ch+ on the remote, in TV mode (I think!), the TV LED did not flash. That's when I decided to come back here again, hat in hand, looking for help. My guess is that I did not carry out the test properly and missed something somewhere.

Anyway, it works now so I'm back to fine-tuning the timings. I'm really liking these fast macros! I'm probably wrong, but it seems like my TV buffers IR commands in some cases, which makes fast macros even more effective.

[mathdon]

In my setup, neither ch+ nor ch- have functions assigned in TV mode. So, as a test, I assigned a function to ch+ and uploaded the resulting image to the remote. When I pressed ch+ on the remote, in TV mode (I think!), the TV LED did not flash.

You did the test correctly. A macro takes precedence over a function assigned to a key, so even though the macro you created sent nothing, that macro was performed in preference to your key assignment.

[Ed]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd stop by and note that I've finished setting up my 7880 for my system using RMIR V2.13.4. One quick note: before V2.13.4, RMIR would notify audibly when my remote disconnected. It doesn't do that anymore.

I've built controlled macros from scratch on several buttons, edited real-time (controlled) macros Graham set up for me, and I've built controlled DSMs as well. Although I set out to build controlled macros on the activity buttons, I decided not to in favor of the approach @eah123 used.

My TV requires more delay between commands from some commands -- typically menu commands -- than others, so the ability to vary pause times within a macro for different commands is very useful. For my setup, I used pause times of .3 for menu commands and .2 for other commands, and hold times of 0 for all commands.

With these new extended macros, this remote becomes a worthy competitor to my trusty OAR for my setup. The fast macros largely overcome the "slow macro" disadvantage of the OAR, but the OAR still feels better in my hand than the 7880.

Thanks again to Graham for discovering and supporting these capabilities.