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

joecrow

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  • August 9, 2012
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    BUT my system doesn't start-up or shut down automatically, so why, what am I missing ?
    If you take a look at the first page of the Power Scheduler, see screen shot below, the "Next Wakeup Time" shown in green should be the time of the next recording or scheduled EPG grab if you have set things up correctly. "Standby Prevented by" marked in red will indicate if anything currently would stop the system going to sleep.

    psched.jpg
     

    groovybaby

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    If you take a look at the first page of the Power Scheduler, see screen shot below, the "Next Wakeup Time" shown in green should be the time of the next recording or scheduled EPG grab if you have set things up correctly. "Standby Prevented by" marked in red will indicate if anything currently would stop the system going to sleep.

    View attachment 207234

    Hi @CyberSimian & @joecrow

    Well I'm not having much luck with the Power Scheduler.

    @joecrow I have checked the 'General' window settings you show in your image,
    eg: TV Server Configuration < Plugins < PowerScheduler < General
    which I had set to: HTPC / 5 min

    Wakeup / Standby Status
    There are no comments shown, except: Standby is handled by: Windows


    I've tried booting from cold, then leaving it to go into sleep-mode:
    But the time it takes varies enormously, from 5 or 6 min, to over an hour or never, basically you give up and put it into sleep-mode manually.

    So is there any kind of log that would record events that would prevent sleep-mode?

    Any idea why?

    Many thanks
     

    CyberSimian

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    I've tried booting from cold, then leaving it to go into sleep-mode:
    But the time it takes varies enormously, from 5 or 6 min, to over an hour or never,
    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
    -
     

    joecrow

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    So is there any kind of log that would record events that would prevent sleep-mode?
    You can run Command Prompt (Admin) and type the command "powercfg/systemsleepdiagnostics" (without the quotes) which will produce an html document with a bunch of info. about sleep which may indicate where the problem lies but after looking at one for my Desktop PC, where I only ever allow the display to sleep on idle, I have no idea how to interpret it what I see.:unsure:
    I definitely suggest you follow the advice from @CyberSimian first.
     

    groovybaby

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    Installing The Remote

    I've just dug out my:
    Medion RF Remote control: PN:20016398
    Remote Control Receiver: PN:20016397

    I originally had this with a very early Medion PC.
    It unused, I've plugged it in, but naturally it needs drivers.
    Do you have a Wiki for this?
    Does anyone have the correct W10 drivers?
     

    CyberSimian

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    Medion RF Remote control: PN:20016398
    Remote Control Receiver: PN:20016397
    I originally had this with a very early Medion PC.
    It unused, I've plugged it in, but naturally it needs drivers.
    If this was provided with your Medion PC, it was presumably intended to work with Windows Media Center. If so, it may be possible to get it to work with MP.

    My guess is that it appears to the operating system as a keyboard. If this is the case, you don't need any drivers -- the ones in Windows are already the correct ones. To check this, open Windows "Device Manager" and expand the several sections relating to keyboards, mice, HID devices, etc. Look for a device that is marked as non-functioning. If you don't find a non-functioning device, it means that the drivers in Windows are OK for your remote.

    If your remote appears as a keyboard device, the various buttons will be sending keyboard shortcuts for Windows Media Center. The problem here is that only some of those keyboard shortcuts are the same as MP keyboard shortcuts :cry:. To check this, start MP using your mouse, and then try the UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, and OK buttons on the remote. These should be common to WMC and MP, and so should work in MP. If they do...

    I think that you will need to try the "Centarea HID" support pack to see if it works with your remote. Read this thread, and download the support pack from the first post in that thread. Read the file "Centarea HID.txt" contained in the support pack.

    From looking at images on the web (e.g. the one on this ebay page), your Medion remote seems to have more buttons than most remotes. This may mean that some of the more unusual buttons won't work, but hopefully the common buttons will.

    I have often wondered whether the "Centarea HID" would work with remotes other than the Ortek/Hama; now we shall find out whether it works with the Medion. :)

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    groovybaby

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    If this was provided with your Medion PC, it was presumably intended to work with Windows Media Center. If so, it may be possible to get it to work with MP.

    My guess is that it appears to the operating system as a keyboard. If this is the case, you don't need any drivers -- the ones in Windows are already the correct ones. To check this, open Windows "Device Manager" and expand the several sections relating to keyboards, mice, HID devices, etc. Look for a device that is marked as non-functioning. If you don't find a non-functioning device, it means that the drivers in Windows are OK for your remote...

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK

    When I plug in the receiver into the USB socket:

    1: This device appears in the Device Manager, as: Other Devices < USB Receiver

    Clicking on: USB Receiver
    opens the properties box, that says: Driver not installed.
    There are no compatible drivers for this device
    Clicking on: Update Driver < Search for Drivers
    Windows could not find any drivers for your device

    2: And no other new devices appear, relating to keyboards, mice, HID devices, etc.
     

    CyberSimian

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    Clicking on: USB Receiver opens the properties box, that says: Driver not installed. There are no compatible drivers for this device
    That is disappointing :(. I think it means that you will not be able to use that particular remote control (unless someone knows where to find a suitable driver).

    You will probably need to purchase a new remote control plus receiver. The type that is suitable is described as an MCE RC6 remote control ("MCE" stands for Windows "Media Center Edition" -- the first version of Windows that contained WMC). The remote and receiver are often sold togther, although the remote can in some cases be of "indifferent" quality (poor layout of buttons, or poor manufacturing quality).

    If you purchase the receiver alone, and it is an IR receiver, you can use a universal programmable remote control made by a different manufacturer, such as Logitech Harmony remotes, or One-for-All remotes. Both of these have a pre-defined code set for MCE RC6, and will work with a compatible IR receiver.

    You can often buy MCE RC6 IR receivers on Ebay, and they generally don't wear out (no moving parts). Unlike remote controls, which have a limited lifetime before the buttons start to become inoperative. For this reason I would never buy a used remote control from Ebay (although a "new and unused" remote control would be OK).

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    groovybaby

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    This MP1 page shows an X10 setup screen:
    has a link to a driver download (that had expired back then)
    Is this setup page and link not available in MP2?

    BTW: I've just translated the German guide that came with my X10 which says:
    Note: This wireless remote control set only controls
    the program Power Cinema on your PC. So this
    works, the following conditions must be met:

    1: The PC must be started.
    2: Windows® XP must be fully loaded.
    3: The server software is installed *.
    4: The program Power Cinema is installed *.
    5: The receiver is connected to a USB port.

    * In the delivery condition these conditions are given

    The necessary driver software is already installed on your PC. The driver
    is part of Power Cinema and is installed with this program.
     
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    CyberSimian

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    This MP1 page shows an X10 setup screen
    I have no experience of X10 remotes, but it looks as though MP1 would support an X10 remote. (y)

    Unfortunately, you are using MP2, which (I think) does not support X10 remotes. But you will need an MP2 expert to confirm or deny this. @morpheus_xx ?

    As regards a driver, you would need to search the internet for one (for Windows 10, I think?). Is there such a thing as an X10 forum somewhere? They might be able to suggest where a driver could be obtained.

    If you prefer a simple life, I would suggest buying an MCE RC6 remote control and IR receiver. They are fully supported by MP2. (y)

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

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