Satellite / Stb Control?

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pjn
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Post by pjn »

I'm considering using ChrisTV for an upcoming HTPC I will be building and have some questions on using it:

1. Can ChrisTV be configured to change the stations of an external STB connected to the PC (will be hopefully via SVideo). I have now tried ChrisTV yet, so maybe the feature is already in there. I'm currently using ShowShifter and it allows you to associate a command line with each channel. I then wrote a simple command line program which allows me to control it via a RedRat3 device. This would be a very simple addition I think to make to your program.

2. Following up from the last question, is it possible to create multiple channels where each of them use the SVideo connection on the Tuner card. AFAIK Windows Media Center does not allow this and this is one of the reasons I am looking at using ChrisTV (as well as its support for DScaler plus all the other great features). The only difference between all of these channels would of course be the command line which each of them use. Again seems like it would be realatively easy to add with a big payoff if added.
dnhunt
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Post by dnhunt »

I'd second the ability to do this. I am interested in using Chris TV Agent, my USB-UIRT, and my Satellite Receiver for recording my shows.

I would like Chris TV's Schedule Agent to have an additional value for entering the satellite channel I want to change to for each timer. Then, when the timer goes off and scheduler kicks in to start recording, it would send a signal (maybe via Girder) through my usb-uirt to change the satellite channel to that value and then record the show via the SVID2 input that the satellite is tied to on my capture card. Having channels setup for a tuner card works well, but in my case, since I have only a capture card, the channels do not accomplish anything for me. Adding in the ability for the channels to be transmitted by Chris TV through any IR transmitter (ie. usb-uirt) to control an external receiver would be great. To keep it simple, just integrate this functionality in with Girder and have Chris TV call Girder to do it.

Currently I have to setup agent to start the recording, and then go into my satellites receiver and setup a second timer for it to auto tune that channel at the same time. If I forget to do either of these timers, then my recording is shot and I miss the show. Not much fun.

See what you can do about getting Chris TV the ability to externally control satellite boxes to make this easier!
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Chris
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Post by Chris »

@pjn,
ChrisTV has the option to add an Svideo/Composite input as a channel. So you can add as many inputs as you want.
Regarding execute option, when should this happen, on channel change ?

@dnhunt,
Please give more details on how do you want ChrisTV to control Girder and what girder plugins do you use.
dnhunt
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Post by dnhunt »

Chris @ Jan 27 2006, 18:12 wrote: @dnhunt,
Please give more details on how do you want ChrisTV to control Girder and what girder plugins do you use.
Currently, I my computer is setup with a capture card (PMS PDI Deluxe Capture Card) that has no tuner in it. The capture card does have multiple inputs of which I have my Expressvu satellite receiver's video output plugged into SVID2 of the capture card. Within ChrisTV, I have it setup to capture my satellite signal off this input. Since no tuner is being used, I have to manually change the channel right now with the receiver remote.

What I would like is for ChrisTV's Agent to have a new input for holding the desired channel with each scheduled recording. ChrisTV should start a recording as well as send the desired satellite channel to Girder who would then transmit it via my USB-UIRT out to my satellite receiver. This accomplishes the same thing as the tuner functionality within ChrisTV but works for capture cards without tuners.

I do not have much experience with Girder so I can't get into details of how it would fit together, but I am assuming that Girder could be setup to see the request from ChrisTV, and then transmit through the USB-UIRT I have hooked up to my computer the correct satellite channel IR signal that ChrisTV sent it. In short hand, I would like to have ChrisTV send the channel to Girder, who would then send the correct IR signal to change my satellite receiver to that channel.

Right now I am playing around with getting NetRemote and Girder setup on my system to allow me to use my PDA as a remote, so I will know what I need in the near future. As of now, you probably know more about Girder then I do so I can't tell you much more than what I've listed above. Is this enough, or do you need more details? If so, then once I figure out Girder and how it works, then I'll respond with better Girder/ChrisTV requirements to accomplish this.
andb
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Joined: 31 Dec 2006, 15:54

Post by andb »

dnhunt @ Jan 29 2006, 08:23 wrote: I do not have much experience with Girder so I can't get into details of how it would fit together, but I am assuming that Girder could be setup to see the request from ChrisTV, and then transmit through the USB-UIRT I have hooked up to my computer the correct satellite channel IR signal that ChrisTV sent it.  In short hand, I would like to have ChrisTV send the channel to Girder, who would then send the correct IR signal to change my satellite receiver to that channel.
I figured out that Girder is not needed for that. B)
USB-UIRT developer prepared nice small (and free!) program uutx.exe which can transmit the IR codes for you.

http://www.usbuirt.com/uutx_0_3.zip

You can learn the IR codes with:

http://www.usbuirt.com/lrnhelper_0_0_2.zip

So what we ONLY need from Chris-TV is the ability to run predefined command (e.g. bat file with series of uutx calls) at the begining of the scheduled event.

The batch file would look like e.g.:


uutx -fdefinedcodes.txt key1
uutx -fdefinedcodes.txt key2
uutx -fdefinedcodes.txt enter

to send 12<Enter> to the eg. cable set top box.
andb
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Post by andb »

Chris @ Jan 27 2006, 17:13 wrote: @pjn,
ChrisTV has the option to add an Svideo/Composite input as a channel. So you can add as many inputs as you want.
Regarding execute option, when should this happen, on channel change ?
Yep, each channel change would require to run predefined command which would make eg. USB-UIRT to transmit IR codes to the external device.

Also another concept is possible - use events for communication between Chris TV and Girder. Like with SAGE TV, which is capable of receiving events from Girder using EXETunerPlugin. There's quite a lot of discussion about it on SAGETV forum.
andb
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Joined: 31 Dec 2006, 15:54

Post by andb »

andb @ Feb 10 2007, 17:04 wrote:
dnhunt @ Jan 29 2006, 08:23 wrote:
I figured out that Girder is not needed for that. B)
USB-UIRT developer prepared nice small (and free!) program uutx.exe which can transmit the IR codes for you.

So what we ONLY need from Chris-TV is the ability to run predefined command (e.g. bat file with series of uutx calls) at the begining of the scheduled event.
Actually some weeks after I wrote that: yep, simply adding to the scheduler the option to run predefined command (eg. batch file) with channel_number as an argument would be just fine. Chris - what do you think now, when 5.01 is out?
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