GP-IR01BK MCE remote discrete on/off for Win7

[jeetkunejoe]

1. Device: Mediagate GP-IR01BK
2. Type of device: MCE (Windows Media Center)
3. Year: 2009
4. JP1/UEI Remote model: URC 8910
5. Do you have a JP1 cable? Yes
6. Still have original remote? Yes
7. Checked the file section? Yes
8. Checked Pronto file section (at R/C)? No
9. Partially working setup code? Yes
10. Learning remote question? No

Hi all,

I recently picked up the GP-IR01BK (primarily for the R6 receiver). I used the following file and all the IR codes worked beautifully in my 8910. (Thanks for putting it together, bone450)
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=5514

One thing that bugged me though was the lack of discrete on/off for the protocol. It would mess with the "All Devices Off" macro I created (When shutting down everything, PC would come out of sleep if already off). So I did some searching and found the following link:

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewt ... 67f1050849

From reading the link above, it would seem that the XBOX360 MCE uses a variation of R6 and it allows discrete on/off. I honestly got lost in the rest of the discussion when talking about hex values and such

But, the same thread points to a MSFT link that says the following in a chat:
"Windows Vista and Windows 7 Media Center support the RC6 protocol and we support discrete codes for On/Off as well as a generic Power toggle. I don't know about Media Center 2005. However it is up to the OEM remote control to decide what they will send. Same thing for Media Center Extender."

Finally, some Googling sent me to the following link:
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-R ... 426/page/3

It seems that Logitech has a MCE discrete on/off code for their Harmony remotes under the title "Windows Media Center SE".

So with this newfound information that discrete on/off was possible under Windows 7 for RC6 MCE receivers, I scoured the JP1 forums files section for all the MCE protocols I could find. I didn't find any with a discrete on/off.

So my question, is there a file out there I am missing? Is MCE discrete on/off possible, and a file hasn't been built/updated for it?

Thanks for any help!

[The Robman]

The second page of the Logitech thread has the codes themselves:

The primary hex codes are as follows:

Device Code: 128.3972 Function: 12 (0x0C,0x00,0x00,0x00, 0x03,0x82,0x00, \ ; Suspend)
0000 0073 0000 0022 0060 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0020 0030 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 09D0
Device Code: 128.3972 Function: 41 (0x29,0x00,0x00,0x00, 0x03,0x83,0x00, \ ; Discrete Power On)
0000 0073 0000 0020 0060 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0020 0030 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0020 0020 0020 0010 0010 0020 09E0
Device Code: 128.3972 Function: 42 (0x2A,0x00,0x00,0x00, 0x03,0x82,0x00, \ ; Discrete Power Off)
0000 0073 0000 0020 0060 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0020 0030 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0020 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 0020 0020 0020 0020 0020 0010 09D0

The command they call "suspend" is the regular power toggle, the other two are the discrete codes.

To add these to your upgrade, just add two new functions and give them OBCs 41 (on) and 42 (off). To make it easier for you, I have added them to the file that you are using.

[jeetkunejoe]

Thanks Robman! I love this forum!

[The Robman]

Once you've tested it, please confirm it the codes work.

[jeetkunejoe]

Sure thing, I'll test it out tonight and let you know the results.

[jeetkunejoe]

Tried it out and "discrete off" works perfectly. "Discrete on" doesn't bring the computer out of sleep though. In fact, with the Mediagate receiver, doesn't light up at all (like it does with other commands) when I send a macro with that "discrete on" command. Any help I can provide to diagnose this?

[The Robman]

Did you test the Discrete On button by itself, or just in a macro? If you only tested it in the macro, you should assign it to a physical button and test it by itself. It's possible that the button needs to be held for longer than it would be in a macro.

[cauer29]

Tried it out and "discrete off" works perfectly. "Discrete on" doesn't bring the computer out of sleep though. In fact, with the Mediagate receiver, doesn't light up at all (like it does with other commands) when I send a macro with that "discrete on" command. Any help I can provide to diagnose this?

Perhaps you have to configure the PC such that it keeps power on the USB port to which the receiver is connected? Then the receiver can wake the PC.

A.A.

[jeetkunejoe]

I tried it again this morning, by assigning the "discrete on","discrete off", and default "power" (suspend) to physical buttons.

Scenario: PC in awake state
"Discrete off" --> PC sleeps. Receiver activity
"Power" --> PC sleeps. Receiver activity

Scenario: PC in sleep state
"Discrete on" --> Nothing. No receiver activity
"Power" --> PC comes out of sleep. Receiver activity.

It seems there's something about the "Power" code that's getting the PC out of sleep (and the receiver recognizes), that isn't in the "Discrete on" code.

[The Robman]

Maybe they got the code wrong for discrete on. Looking at the list of known OBCs for this device, I see that there are the following gaps in the range:

40 thru 70 (discrete on and off are 41 and 42)
75 thru 79
95 and up

So, if I were you, I would make some dummy upgrades that include all of the gap OBCs and then test them when the unit is off to see if any of them turn it on. Actually, I just did that for you. Try pasting the following upgrade into IR.exe, it's formatted for the URC-8910:

Upgrade Code 0 = 6F DA (Cable/2010) GP-IR02BK test (KM v9.21 beta3)
2A 00 FE FE FE FF E2 80 0F 04 28 29 2A 2B 2C 2D
2E 2F 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 3A 3E 40 41 42 43
44 3C 3D 3F 4F 5F 3B 45 46 4B 4C 4D 4E 39 38 60
62 61
End

Then assign it to a device button and test every button, including the volume buttons, so make sure that VPT is turned off in this device mode. If you find a button that works, let me know what it is and I'll tell you the OBC.

[jeetkunejoe]

So I loaded the dummy upgrade (thanks for putting it together) and tried all the buttons (VPT was off) while my computer was in sleep mode. No receiver activity or anything while holding down each button for 2 seconds. So I manually took the machine out of sleep and then tried the buttons to see what they would do. I got receiver activity for all the dummy buttons you programmed. Not all the buttons did something, but a few did:

Up: Load Extras Gallery of MCE
Down: Loaded Main MCE menu with "Extras" highlighted
2: Put computer into sleep
Info: Opened up "Shared Libraries" under Recorded TV

Looks like discrete on wasn't among those dummy entries...

[cauer29]

So I loaded the dummy upgrade (thanks for putting it together) and tried all the buttons (VPT was off) while my computer was in sleep mode. No receiver activity or anything while holding down each button for 2 seconds. So I manually took the machine out of sleep and then tried the buttons to see what they would do. I got receiver activity for all the dummy buttons you programmed. Not all the buttons did something, but a few did:

Up: Load Extras Gallery of MCE
Down: Loaded Main MCE menu with "Extras" highlighted
2: Put computer into sleep
Info: Opened up "Shared Libraries" under Recorded TV

Looks like discrete on wasn't among those dummy entries...

Maybe it's restating the obvious here, but the 0x29 and 0x2A codes work with genuine Microsoft receiving equipment (both Xbox360 and MCE) and the discrete on doesn't work with this AVS Gear GP-IR01BK receiver, yet the power toggle 0x0C does wake the PC. So....use the power toggle for on and use discrete off for off. What am I missing here?

A.A.

[The Robman]

So....use the power toggle for on and use discrete off for off. What am I missing here?

That's what he'll probably have to do, but it's not ideal. The whole point of discrete on/off codes is that you can put them in macros without needing to worry about whether the device is already on or off. If he uses the power toggle in a macro where he really wanted discrete on, and the device is on, it will turn it off.

The work around is to use discrete off followed by power toggle as a simulated discrete on, but if the device is on, this will cause a brief power off followed by a power on.

[cauer29]

So....use the power toggle for on and use discrete off for off. What am I missing here?

That's what he'll probably have to do, but it's not ideal. The whole point of discrete on/off codes is that you can put them in macros without needing to worry about whether the device is already on or off. If he uses the power toggle in a macro where he really wanted discrete on, and the device is on, it will turn it off.

The work around is to use discrete off followed by power toggle as a simulated discrete on, but if the device is on, this will cause a brief power off followed by a power on.

Ok, I got it now. I wasn't thinking about a macro blindly sending out the power toggle in lieu of discrete on. I was just thinking about manual button presses.

A.A.

[jeetkunejoe]

I'll try setting up my macro with the sequence you mentioned Robman. Thank you both for you time and effort on this.