Advice Required: Building a new Freeview PC-PVR (2 Viewers)

[groovybaby]

I have no experience of X10 remotes, but it looks as though MP1 would support an X10 remote.
-- from CyberSimian in the UK

The X10 remote, is the remote that I originally had with a very early Medion PC, eg:...
Medion RF Remote control: PN:20016398
Remote Control Receiver: PN:20016397
And similar to the one in your ebay picture, (X10 is on the bottom of the remotes label)

It seems to have a variety of Part Numbers, but they all seem to look the same, not sure if there's any difference between them. X10 is the name of the company that made/sold them.
As you have MP1 can you tell me the url that you would go to when you click the link in the 'Remote' setup screen, at: X10 Remotes

In this old post: How to get Medion (x10) remote working

@cyphermk seems to have got an X10 to work, but I'm not sure if that was on MP1 or 2?
And if he has got suitable drivers for my X10 & W10?

...If you prefer a simple life, I would suggest buying an MCE RC6 remote control and IR receiver.
They are fully supported by MP2.
-- from CyberSimian in the UK

That seems more difficult than it initially sounds, I've checked online, and there seems many variations of them, most are from China & USA, and the USA are more expensive, with expensive P&P, and few if any seem to say that they are compatible with W10?
Can you recommend any in particular?
Is there a feedback section on this forum where users can post their recommendations?

 

[CyberSimian]

can you tell me the url that you would go to when you click the link in the 'Remote' setup screen

This is the link in the MP1 config tool; it does not seem to exist any more:

http://ftp.x10.com/pub/applications/drivers/x10drivers_rf_all.exe

Can you recommend any in particular?

If you want a remote that can control multiple devices, Logitech "Harmony" and One-for-All are the popular choices. But these don't include an IR receiver, so you would need to purchase that separately. An HP (Hewlett-Packard) IR receiver from Ebay would be suitable.

If you want to purchase the remote and IR receiver as a package (to be sure that they will work together), Inteset is a good choice. But you can also buy a new HP remote and IR receiver from Ebay.

Other brands may be OK, but buying one of those is what I think the Americans call "a crap shoot".

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[joecrow]

And if he has got suitable drivers for my X10 & W10

Maybe this not sure if it is the right one for your part number but if the driver works even partially then you should be able to use the Input Devices option in MP2 Settings to map it to MP2 commands.

 

[groovybaby]

...If you want to purchase the remote and IR receiver as a package (to be sure that they will work together), Inteset is a good choice. But you can also buy a new HP remote and IR receiver from Ebay.
-- from CyberSimian in the UK

OK: Thanks for the recommendations, I've just ordered the last one you recommended, eg: A new [HP remote and IR receiver] from Ebay, so I I'll have to wait for that to arrive.

One cause of this is an incorrect setup for EPG grabbing. Basically the HTPC keeps repeatedly grabbing the EPG, and this prevents the system idling to sleep.

For DVB-T/T2, it is important that you follow the recommendations on this page in the Wiki. I cannot access the Wiki at the moment, but from memory:

• Select only one TV channel to grab from ("BBC1" or "BBC1 HD" recommended).
• Do not select any radio channels to grab from.
• Do not select "grab EPG only for channels on this transponder".
• Enable grabbing while idle.
• Disable grabbing while timeshifting or recording.
• Increase the time between grabs to 24 hours (= 1440 minutes).

In "PowerScheduler":

• Use the "EPG" tab to cause the HTPC to wake once per day at a time when it is not in use (04:00 hours, perhaps).
• Enable "prevent the HTPC sleeping while grabbing the EPG".

There are different ways of setting up EPG grabbing, that have different advantages and disadvantages. The suggestions above are intended to get something working. Once that has been achieved, you can consider whether you want to refine it to better suit your style of use.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

So last Sunday: After adjusting my settings to match your above suggestions, my HT went into the sleep-mode-automatically (SMA) OK, until (Wed) yesterday, eg:

While in the development stage, I shut-down my HT overnight, so I re-booted.
Then I tried my Medion remote, which didn't work.
Then I opened the MP Configuration, to see what I could find out relating to the remote setup, then I closed configuration, and waited for it to go into sleep-mode, but it failed to go into SMA, and I eventually had to put in sleep-mode-manually (SMM)

During the day, I tried it several time, but still it failed to go into SMA.
There were no actions pending, except the 'EPG grabbing' the next morning.

Today, I re-booted, then I waited for it to go into SMA, but again it failed.
There were no actions pending, except the 'EPG grabbing' the next morning.

So after several hours, I opened MP and set 2 programs to record later today.
Then I waited for it to go into SMA, which it then did.

So why is this happening?

Notes:

1: When it was failing to go into SMA:
I noticed that my SDD-light was blinking every few seconds, although there was no obvious actions occurring.

2: In your above PowerScheduler Settings, you said:

• Use the "EPG" tab to cause the HTPC to wake once per day at a time when it is not in use (04:00 hours, perhaps).
• Enable "prevent the HTPC sleeping while grabbing the EPG".

I could only get to those settings after entering Expert-Mode.
And re your last setting:
I couldn't find that exact wording, but I found this (which I ticked):
Do not put the computer to sleep while grabbing EPG

So was the correct?

Many thanks.

 

[groovybaby]

And if he has got suitable drivers for my X10 & W10

Maybe this not sure if it is the right one for your part number but if the driver works even partially then you should be able to use the Input Devices option in MP2 Settings to map it to MP2 commands.

Thanks for the link, unfortunately, you have to give your CC-details before they will let you download it free.
Which I didn't pursue, as I'm very suspicious of those requests.
But thank you for trying, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[CyberSimian]

Then I tried my Medion remote, which didn't work ... I closed configuration, and waited for it to go into sleep-mode, but it failed to go into SMA, and I eventually had to put in sleep-mode-manually (SMM)

It is not immediately obvious what the explanation is. Here are a couple of possibilities that may explain what you have observed:

(1) Did you unplug the Medion RF receiver? A PC can go to sleep only if all devices installed or connected to it are defined in their respective config files as being capable of sleep. If a device lacks drivers, Windows will not know whether that device can sleep correctly, so Windows will refuse to sleep.

(2) There is a subtlety relating to the sleep timer. If you specify a sleep time of (say) 15 minutes, the system will sleep after 15 minutes of user inactivity (assuming not recording). Now consider these two cases:

(a) A recording for a 30-minute programme starts one minute before you press the SLEEP button on the remote control (or click "Sleep" in the "Start" button power menu). The system transitions to "away mode", which means that the recording continues, but the screen is blanked (no video output). The recording finishes after 30 minutes, but there has been no user activity for 29 minutes. Now 29 minutes exceeds 15 minutes, so the system sleeps immediately the recording stops.

(b) A recording finishes one minute after you press the SLEEP button on the remote (or click "Sleep" on...). Now although the system is not doing anything that prevents sleep (not recording), there has not been 15 minutes since the last user activity. So the system will continue running in away mode for 14 minutes, and then it will sleep (after 15 minutes of user inactivity). So subjectively it will seem that the system is refusing to sleep, but all that has happened is that 15-minutes of user inactivity has not yet passed.

Clearly, if you specified a 30-minute sleep time, the system may seem to run for up to 30 minutes before it sleeps. You can manually sleep the system, and if it is not recording it will sleep immediately. But if it is recording, the effect described above will apply.

You might think that specifying a very short sleep time would avoid this. Well, maybe. If you specified a sleep time of (say) one minute, the system would appear to sleep within one minute of a recording finishing, whatever the circumstances (you would not notice the effect described above). But with a one-minute sleep time you run the risk of the system sleeping when you don't want it to (e.g when live TV or video playback is paused and you have left the room to make a cup of coffee).

In MP1 there is a config setting in the "Startup and Resume Settings" section of "MP Config" that will prevent sleep if MP is not on the "Home" panel. However, I don't know whether MP2 has an equivalent setting . @joecrow may know.

I could only get to those settings after entering Expert-Mode.

Sorry about that; I had forgotten that I use "PowerScheduler" in "Expert" mode.

I couldn't find that exact wording, but I found this (which I ticked):
Do not put the computer to sleep while grabbing EPG

Yes, that is correct.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[CyberSimian]

Thanks for the link, unfortunately, you have to give your CC-details before they will let you download it free.
Which I didn't pursue, as I'm very suspicious of those requests.

Me too.

In fact, I never download drivers from any of the numerous driver-aggregating sites on the web, as you never know what free gifts are included with the driver (i.e malware ). I only download drivers from the manufacturer's web site. (I have not yet found myself in your situation of wanting to use a device from a defunct manufacturer.)

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[groovybaby]

Thanks @CyberSimian

Yes, I take your points.
So to clarify my previous post.

I had set my SM to 5min.
And I had removed the Medion Receiver etc, from the PC.

In my last post I said:
'Today, I re-booted, then I waited for it to go into SMA, but again it failed.
There were no actions pending, except the 'EPG grabbing' the next morning.

So after several hours, I opened MP and set 2 programs to record later today.
Then I waited for it to go into SMA, which it then did. '

So I booted and did nothing, and waited for it to go into SMA, but after hours it did not go into SMA.
Then I opened MP, set 2 programs, closed MP, and after 5min, it went into SMA.

 

[CyberSimian]

So I booted and did nothing, and waited for it to go into SMA, but after hours it did not go into SMA.
Then I opened MP, set 2 programs, closed MP, and after 5min, it went into SMA.

Interesting. I have not seen anyone report that, but it may be because most people who use "TV Server" to record TV always have several programmes scheduled to record.

I cannot think of any MP-related explanation or setting that may affect this, and because it is "PowerScheduler" in "TV Server", I think that MP2 would behave to same as MP1.

I don't use separate client systems -- I have only one client which is on the same system as "TV Server". If you are trying to setup separate clients, there may be some interaction there (but that is merely speculation).

Maybe someone else has some ideas?

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[groovybaby]

Help @CyberSimian
My HTPC has been shut down for the last 2 days.
I've just powered on, to set some recordings, (for 2100 tonight !) and there's no programs listed in the the TV-guide, except for BBC1.
Is this normal?

If I leave it on, will it populate the guide, if so how long will that take?
I set it up to grab as you suggested in your earlier reply, in the early hours on BBC1 (& while idle: for 10min every 24hrs)

UPDATE: It's been on 1hr now, and nothing has been added to the TV-Guide !

Thanks