Bug in Slingbox PL Remote

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:12 pm

I've been meaning to mention this for ages but kept forgetting. When I define a Custom Remote and produce a PL BIN upgrade, the Menu key on the generic remote never works and shows as being unallocated.

Is this just me or has anyone else seen this ?

Al

joe_candle · Post by **joe_candle** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:22 am

Same problem here. You are right

Post by **The Robman** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 2:44 pm

Sounds like the RDF has the wrong code for the MENU button

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:17 pm

Doesn't seem so, they both have Menu=33. And '33' is included in all the Protocols. So I think it must be something in the application of the RDF files to the finished remote. (Maybe the PLEncrypterDecrypter, whatever that is?)

I don't have a UK Slingbox to test at the moment, but as I recall a similar thing happens, but with the Exit key. It seems as though you can only use 3 out of 4 of the Guide/Exit/Info/Menu buttons.

Also, there are lots of 'oddities' with the RDF files:

1. They define lots of keys that don't appear in the Slingbox Generic Remotes.

2. They use slightly different names for the definitions than occur in the Buttons in RM so the AutoAssign only works for about 80% of keys.

3. The PL & RV RDF files define different numbers of devices.

4. The RV does the ButtonMaps in hex, the PL does them in decimal.

I would love to play around with them to standardise them and make them more relevant and remove this bug, but I have absolutely no idea how to do it

So far I can see that:

a. The [General] is obvious
b. The [Settings] is not used
c. The [Checksums] is probably important, but I don't know what it checks
d. The [Device Types][Device Abbreviations][DeviceTypeAlias] seem logical, although as I said before, for some reason the PL defines a lot more than the RV.
e. No idea what the [DeviceButtons] does
f. The [Buttons] seems obvious
g. The [ButtonMaps] obviously states the buttons to be used for each device type, although I am not sure of the relevance of the order or why some are in brackets.
h. No idea what the [DigitMaps] represents

So if anyone could shed some light on it I would be happy to play with them.

Al

Post by **The Robman** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:09 pm

IIRC, we got a list of the button codes from UEI for the JU chip and made that RDF, then we just cloned it for the other RDFs. I have recently got the button codes for the RV, PK and PL chips and am in the process of updating the RDFs.

Just FYI, just because the RDF says that a button code is 33 doesn't mean that it's true. If you're assigning a function to 33 and it's not turning up on the MENU button, that tends to confirm that it's not the right code.

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:18 am

Good, looking forward to the new ones then. If you need any help give me a shout.

As regards the MENU button, the code is probably correct as I think it works OK on the RV remote. It might actually be a bug in the Slingbox Firmware.

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:26 am

I just checked the docs and the two menu buttons didn't change between JU and PL, the "device menu" is 33 and the "source menu" is 34. But, what may have changed is how Sling use them, so if you're just using one of them, try using the other instead. If you've tried both and neither shows up on the virtual remote's MENU button, try assigning a function to every single button in the RDF and see if that causes something to show up on the button. If it does, it means the right keycode is in there, we just need to find out which one it is.

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:51 am

Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing here and I am not making a silly mistake, I have uploaded the RMDU file for my PVR at http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=6827. If you look at it you will see that I have allocated the function 'Timer' to the Menu button as well as allocating it to INPUT02.

If you build the PL file and put it into the Slingbox and check the Remote, on my systems the Menu button is shown as Unallocated.

Am I doing something wrong ?

Al

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:58 am

Try assigning it to "External" and "Setup" also (these are the buttons below the Record button in the list).

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:24 am

That's it, if you assign it to the Setup button it works.

Clever lad

Now I can't test it, as my only UK Slingbox got fried, but I think the same problem applies to the Exit key in the RV version. Any way you can see that without testing ?

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:15 am

Try using CANCEL instead of EXIT.

alanrichey · Post by **alanrichey** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:22 am

Sorry, can't test it, don't have an RV Slingbox any more

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:57 am

Alan, could you email me (rob1 at hifi-remote.com) the RDFs that you are using please, just so I can check them. Thanks.