Cuing from posts here and there, it looks like a custom Dish remote protocol is going to have to be added to the detection algorithms for IR Remote Server to be able to use incoming Dish-specific button presses as triggers in Translator. It seems that and-81 has a real job now; I'm going to assume nobody else is working on this since the last check-in against Input Service was November.
I'm going to outline here my plan to move forward in adding the Dish protocol, so if anybody out there can point me in a better direction please post here or send me a PM. I don't know much about the specifics of IR protocols but I am familiar with C# so I'm approaching this from a reverse-engineering standpoint.
Again, I'm sort of doing this blind so I wanted to post here as I get started in case I missed something obvious like a "How to Detect Your Custom Remote" tutorial.
My motivation for this is that the [SAT, TV, DVD, AUX] mode buttons at the top of any recent Dish remote not only change the internal mode of the remote but also send unique IR patterns. Dish software uses these codes to display a bouncing "Press SAT to control your satellite receiver" message. I want to harness these signals in Translator to automatically change my TV and tuner inputs, turning my "free" remote into a virtual activity-based model. Also, it should be fun!
Cheers,
rymo
I'm going to outline here my plan to move forward in adding the Dish protocol, so if anybody out there can point me in a better direction please post here or send me a PM. I don't know much about the specifics of IR protocols but I am familiar with C# so I'm approaching this from a reverse-engineering standpoint.
- Create a baseline: use IR File Tool to record a large subset of buttons of one or more well-known remotes (I'll plan to use an MCE remote and also probably a Sony TV remote)
- Observe detection: my baseline remotes are already recognized by the "Attempt decode" function in IR File Tool, so I will see how the C# is handling those incoming patterns (within the Detect*** methods of IrDecoder?)
- Compare remotes: compare .IR files from my Dish remote to the baseline, attempt to find a similar pattern
- Adapt detection: copy-paste-modify one of the existing Detect methods?
Again, I'm sort of doing this blind so I wanted to post here as I get started in case I missed something obvious like a "How to Detect Your Custom Remote" tutorial.
My motivation for this is that the [SAT, TV, DVD, AUX] mode buttons at the top of any recent Dish remote not only change the internal mode of the remote but also send unique IR patterns. Dish software uses these codes to display a bouncing "Press SAT to control your satellite receiver" message. I want to harness these signals in Translator to automatically change my TV and tuner inputs, turning my "free" remote into a virtual activity-based model. Also, it should be fun!
Cheers,
rymo