semi-mute macro?

TheShanMan · Post by **TheShanMan** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:45 pm

Sometimes during commercials I don't really want to mute, but just turn down the volume by like 10db. I tried setting up a macro to do 10 vol downs and played around with inserting pauses between each down, but I couldn't seem to find an acceptably fast macro that consistently resulted in -10db (sometimes it would be -9, or -8, etc). Of course I'd also like to do a corresponding +10db macro.

Has this been done before? Does anyone have suggestions for making a satisfactory macro for this that I perhaps haven't thought to try? I'm guessing not - that there really is just one way to do it, but I thought I'd throw it out there before giving up on what seems like a cool idea to me.

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:12 am

What setup code or upgrade are you using to work this device? Depending on which protocol it uses, if it were me I would probably write a special version of the protocol that sends a pre-determined number of repeats of the VOL- signal (and also the same pre-determined number of VOL+ signals for when the show comes back.

TheShanMan · Post by **TheShanMan** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:35 am

Well it's a "Yamaha HTR-5550 Receiver" (using the km file from the files section) with a 9910+extender.

It hadn't occurred to me that it could be done with a special protocol, so I'm glad I asked. How hard is it to make a special protocol? I might have to investigate that.

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:16 am

Please provide a link to files in cases like this as it saves the person helping you from having to search for the file. For the benefit of others, here's the link...

https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... ile_id=570

This device uses the NEC1 protocol (with a device code of 122), so creating a custom exec for it shouldn't be too difficult.

To do this you would use Protocol Builder. The first step would be to create an executor that sends the regular NEC1 signal (you don't want to mess with the official NEC executor as it's got alot of extra stuff in it), then you would need to add some logic that would fix the number of repeats to a set amount whenever the right trigger is found.

What can you use as a trigger? Well, looking at the OBCs in this upgrade, I see that like alot of NEC upgrades, bit5 is always zero (ie, OBC ranges 32-63, 96-127, 160-191 and 224-255 are unused). So, new logic could be added so that whenever bit5 is set, the code would first zero out that bit and then set the fixed number of repeats to a fixed value (which would have to be determined by testing).

Now that I've described what needs to be done, it might be more than you think you can do yourself, but if you want to try to proceed there are a couple of experts here that can help (mainly John Fine and myself). It might be easier to just have one of us do it though. If I get time over the weekend, I will try to write it myself.

jetskier · Post by **jetskier** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:52 am

You still wait through commercials?

I've found myself using one of my 3 DVRs to record the show and watch it later so I can do it in 2/3s the time by skipping the commercials. If I want to watch a show live, I usually set it to record and come back to it 20-30 minutes after the start. That buys enough time to fast forward to the commercials and allows me to get other things done around the house in that buffer time.

My young children have forced this in my household. I don't know how I survived without my DVR's before.

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:07 am

jetskier wrote:I don't know how I survived without my DVR's before.

I'm with you on that one, I haven't seen a commercial since December 1999 (except for when we have to watch live TV on vacation or something).

Post by **ElizabethD** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:15 pm

Ok you two, we get the point about DVRs

and being modern and all that

Another use is switching from digital to analog and back where change of volume level by about 10db is needed and who has space for 20 bytes or more?
Still another is to drop the volume quickly when someone want to speak.

If a protocol is built in (and I'm thinking Panasonic Combo where I need it), it would now have to be in the upgrade space would it not?

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:48 pm

The new protocol would be an upgrade, regardless.

jetskier · Post by **jetskier** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:07 pm

ElizabethD wrote:Ok you two, we get the point about DVRs and being modern and all that

Still another is to drop the volume quickly when someone wants to speak.

I can't resist....I hit pause 8)

TheShanMan · Post by **TheShanMan** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:30 pm

OK - to set the record straight, I do NOT watch commercials - I have a series 1 tivo. Unfortunately I can't tivo online radio

, so I have to live with commercials there.

Thanks Robman! I won't complain a bit if you feel motivated to build it, but if you decide not to, I'll give it a try.

Post by **The Robman** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:47 am

OK, I've written a protocol that should do what you want, but I haven't tested it yet. I expect that it will generate the right signals, but I'm not sure that the extended repeat part will work.

Anyway, to test it, go ahead and create your upgrade in the normal manner, except in the "Parm (hex)" cell in KM you can enter the number of repeats that you want to send. Remember this is a hex value, so enter 2 digits (eg, 08 rather than 8) and for numbers greater than 9 use hex (eg, enter 0A rather than 10).

To make a button send the extended signal, just add 32 to it's OBC

When you copy the upgrade over to IR, you need to manually check the "Protocol > FF" check box.

Upgrade protocol 0 = 01 5A (S3C8+) NEC hacked (PB v3.12)
43 8B 31 8B 12 E5 4D 08 08 01 18 01 06 01 18 03
39 D2 DC 11 94 08 B6 20 01 18 06 37 15 06 E4 03
0D 56 06 FB 8D 01 46
End

Here's the PB file if you're curious.
https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=3745

TheShanMan · Post by **TheShanMan** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 4:53 pm

I am anxious to try it out. But please excuse my ignorance here: Do I create a new RCVR device based on my existing one, but only having buttons mapped for the vol+ and vol-, and then assign this special device as an alternate device (not my normal RCVR device)? I'm guessing so since I wouldn't want the "repeat" param to apply to ALL my receiver commands, right?

Just making sure I'm on the right track.

Thanks Robman for your help. Greatly appreciated!

Post by **The Robman** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:50 pm

Open your existing receiver upgrade in KM or RM, then make a couple of changes...

1) Add 32 to the OBC of any button that you want to have the extended repeat
2) Enter the repeat value in the "Parm (hex)" field
3) Then, after you've copied the upgrade over to IR.exe, check the "Protocol > FF" box.
4) Finally, add the protocol code that I posted earlier.

If it works, the regular buttons will continue to function as they did before and the buttons that you added 32 to, will have the long repeat.

Like I said, I haven't had a chance to test this myself yet, so there's several things that could go wrong. For starters, the exec might not generate the correct NEC1 signal and even if it does, the forced repeat function might not work.

TheShanMan · Post by **TheShanMan** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:49 pm

KM doesn't want me to modify the OBC fields - it says the cell is a protected/read-only cell. Am I supposed to unprotect the worksheet (doesn't seem like the right thing) or am I missing something?

Post by **The Robman** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 8:58 pm

Which version of KM are you using?