Bizarre command repeat issue (1 Viewer)

[stevie_j_b]

What I believe Purg did was simply create a Program-specific set of commands within iMon for Notepad, setting all the keys on the Harmony to single keystrokes, as opposed to the Ctrl+Shift+H type we use in MediaPortal. Then, he opened Notepad, and started pressing them in many different combinations. Theoretically, if the Harmony causes this looping while using specific button presses (and to me, like others, this is Enter + Prev), Notepad would show exactly what is happening.

Purg then called the Harmony chaps, giving them this information, and they amended the problematic buttons to react in a different way. My feeling is the command-sending method Logitech applied to buttons 1-9 is different to the Select/Prev ones.

Actually, thinking along these lines, there is an extremely simple fault-finding method we can use... forget the logical layout of the Harmony, and instead go into iMon, then onto the Program settings for MediaPortal, and whereas you'll probably have something like 'Select = [RM200] Enter', change it to [RM200] 1 or something similar. Do the same with the Escape command, setting this to [RM200] 2. Now, we'll be using the direction keys to move the cursor, but buttons 1 and 2 to go in and out of menus. Then test to see if you can break it. If you can't, we've determined that the Select and Prev keys on the Harmony are different to the number pad ones, and THIS is what needs changing. We need commonality across the entire of the keypad, as there is no reason why they should react in differing ways... theoretically

Oh, and I also read that the Silverstone LC-16M commands were decent, although I tried the LC-20M and they failed miserably.

 

[fujistick]

Hi guys,

Ok, I've just spent the last couple of hours playing with my remotes, to prove what we already knew - that the Harmony One is the cause of the problems. Mapping all the buttons (in iMON Manager) to key presses in notepad for testing is a great idea and makes it very very quick and easy to see when things don't work. One thing I noticed, however, was that even though the number keys were given function shortcuts in iMON Manager, they are completely ignored and the number keys just type numbers.

For today's testing, I loaded onto my harmony 4 devices (3 new + 1 existing) which I can quickly switch between using the devices menu, plus I had my original iMON Pad remote. So I had:

• Original iMON Pad remote
• Harmony One device "SoundGraph iMon Pad Remote Controller" (this is what I've been using up to now)
• Harmony One device "Thermaltake DH-101" (This is the case I have)
• Harmony One device "Silverstone LC-16M"
• Harmony One device "Silverstone SST-LC20M"

Only one of them worked flawlessly. Yep, you guessed it, the original remote. All the others, i.e. everything on the harmony, had issues. I found the "SoundGraph iMon Pad Remote Controller" to be the best. On some of them, (can't remember which ones), I had to adjust the inter-key delay from 0ms to 300ms and the "responds to some commands either too many times or only occasionally" option under troubleshooting to 0 to stop it from repeating 5 or so times every key press.

After playing for a while, I found there was 2 types of "stuck repeating".

1. Sometimes (some remotes more often then others) pressing a button would repeat that key forever.
   • On some remotes, pressing the same button, or a different button would stop it repeating.
   • On other remotes, pressing the same key or most other keys wouldn't stop it repeating. However, if you pressed something like a number key, or the button on the original remote, it would stop.
   • I found this happens on the Enter, Escape, Backspace and Select/Space buttons. (On all the harmony devices)
2. If you pressed 2 buttons in quick succession, it would start repeating the second button.
   • This happens on all the harmony devices and happens every single time with the number keys. "Double click" one of the number buttons and it will be repeating. Guaranteed.

Other differences I've noticed are things like holding down a button to intentionally repeat it. e.g. if you hold down the Aspect/Zoom button on the original remote or the harmony SoundGraph device, it will repeat until you let go. Where as on the others, it just sends the button press once and that it.

A bit more googling shows that we're not alone with the iMON and Harmony One problems and that Logitech tech support have seen this before (Re: Fully working iMON VFD/PAD config? - Harmony Remotes - Programming - Logitech Forums)

So, enough stuffing around, i think it's time for me to get in contact with out friends at Logitech! Have you guys heard anything back yet?

 

[mobius1980]

Hi there,

thanks for the update... It is nice when you can narrow it down but as I'm sure your aware, there is probably not much more we can do from a user end.

I haven't heard back from Logitech and that was several days ago. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they are trying frantically to fix it (though I know this is just a pipe dream).

I will keep you up to date when I hear back though, what would this little support group be without constant updates???

AALA - That's our new group therapy name (Angry.At.Logitech.Anonymous). lol

 

[mobius1980]

WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!​

Ok, I just got the following email from Logitech...

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your recent inquiry about your

We apologize for any inconvenience you may be experiencing with your Harmony remote. We have added modified codes for "Enter" and "Escape" into the SoundGraph media center pc. Also, you did not include the login for you Harmony acccount and found login ID xxxxxxxx associated with your email address and made the changes here. Please udpate your Harmony and test these codes changes.

If you would like further information and other tips on customizing your remote please visit the FAQ portion of your Harmony member website. To access, Click “Support”, then click “FAQ” while logged in your harmony member page.

We hope that we were able to assist you in resolving this issue, however if you are still experiencing any difficulties with your Harmony Remote, please feel free to contact us again. Please click the link below for our support hours and contact information.

Support Hours and Contact Information

Regards,

Harmony Technical Support

And after all that, I did a fresh install of IMON manager, and so far I can jump around at lightening speed without any glitches.

Now before I get too a head of myself, I have been here before... "It's fixed, yay, lets play with it" only to find it buggers up so I will keep you posted over the next few days here and let you know how it goes.

My suggestion to anyone have this problem, get in touch with Logitech support, paste in the email I have put in the quote field above and ask them to do the same thing for you.

I will keep looking back here regardless of how successful this update goes to check up on your status. PM me if for some reason Logitech are not giving you the same results (each support staff member can act differently) and we'll try to get it sorted out.

Fingers crossed... My problem may be over. I hope Logitech support can offer you the same assistance.

 

[mobius1980]

Hey guys... Just wondering if any of you who had lodged a support ticket with Logitech have had the same luck I had. So far my remote has not crashed MP one since the fix... I think it is officially resolved from my end.

Post back if you have all had luck or not. If you all have some success I will have this thread closed down and have a proper "HOW TO" thread set up so that others can find the issue and fix much easier than we all found it.

Good luck and I hope to hear that you have all had some success.

If I don't hear back from any of you, for all your support during this error.

 

[stevie_j_b]

I'm glad you've had some luck!

I received an email back from Logitech saying they'd modified my raw versions of Escape and Enter to be button 'presses', which didn't work very well in the slightest. However, I also had some luck by finding this forum post on the AVForums.

Configuring Logitech Harmony + Antec iMon LCD + IR Receiver - AVForums.com

I followed it through last night, and it works perfectly! This guy has basically took the next step from what we'd determined, in removing the Enter and Escape commands from the equation. He's assigned every Harmony key to a random function on the iMon remote, and used that random function in the iMon manager to equate to a ctrl+letter combo. He's then used the Keyboard Input Plugin in Mediaportal to attribute these button combinations to a command or window.

I hadn't used the mod before, as I'd stuck with Shortcuter, but it's extremely powerful. Everything does what is expected, and the ability to select any combination of button presses for simple commands is superb. For example, i added one extra command to his setup which attributed ctrl+B to the Fullscreen key, which was mapped to the Previous button on the Harmony. I then set Ctrl+B to act as the 'Previous Menu' option in the plugin, and hey presto, Ctrl+B acts identically to Escape, without the multiple input problem.

If you are struggling, or you find other buttons on your remote play up (I used to struggle to get my 'F9' context menu to remain open), give this guide a go! The guide should be reposted here somewhere, as it's Mediaportal specific and gets round a problem that seems relatively common.

 

[fujistick]

Hi guys,

Good to hear you've had some success mobius1980! I've been very busy the last few days so have only lodged a support ticket with Logitech just minutes ago. Hopefully i'll have the same success you've had.

Thanks for the link stevie_j_b, that looks like a much better setup then my current Shortcuter configuration. As soon as i get my remote sorted with logitech, i'll be ditching Shortcuter and setting my system up like that with the KeyboardInputPlugin.

Update: Logitech have responded (in just under 5 hours) saying they have made some changes (they did not specify what) and have requested that I test them. I'll be doing just that tonight after work and will report back with the results.

 

[globaldonkey]

The problem, in my experience is definitely not related to any particular remote, but some levels of the iMON VFD firmware. I think 3rd party remotes probably just exacerbate the problem. These iMON USB devices behave very badly at times. For example, when you run dxdiag (which as part of its diagnostics, enumerates all the USB devices in the system) ocassionally, you can here the USB disconnect / reconnect tones. This is the iMON device barfing at being interogated. Also, you'll notice that minidisplay has an option to delay its startup for "problem USB devices". This is referring to the iMON VFD /receiver.

Before I got serious about HTPC a few years ago and brought a proper case, I used to run the external iMON station, which never had a problem with repeating keys. As soon as I got my Silverstone case with the iMON VFD / IR receiver in it, the repeating key problem started, and I've never found a solution for it. And yes I am using an iMON pad - no 3rd party remotes. I also had lots of problems with getting cybrdisplay / minidisplay to work with this receiver. One day, Soundgraph released 7.4 of their driver, and all of sudden, Minidisplay worked after I upgraded. Other people, with different firmware version, had no problem getting cybrdisplay or minidisplay working. Those settings posted on the AVS forum for minidisplay would never work with my firmware.

So all in all, I think these receivers / displays and their drivers are pretty crappy. It's not an open API, so writing your own driver for them is very hit and miss.

What I think has solved the problem is that you have basically re-mapped the iMON receiver to simulate different keys to the standard ones, and then mapped those keys into MP functions. As pointed out above, CTRL-B (for some inexplicable reason probably only known to Soundgraph) must be less susceptible than ESC to being mis-interpreted as "press and hold" instead of "press and release".

I tend to agree that the most common keys that repeat are enter and esc (probably because you use them the most), so I'll give this fix a go.

 

[stevie_j_b]

These iMON USB devices behave very badly at times. For example, when you run dxdiag (which as part of its diagnostics, enumerates all the USB devices in the system) ocassionally, you can here the USB disconnect / reconnect tones. This is the iMON device barfing at being interogated.

So that's what it was... I was playing with XPadder a couple of days ago and it just wasn't having it. The software worked fine, but I had the disconnect/reconnect tones roughly once every 15s, coupled with the flashing VFD display. I had to give up with that! Thinking long term it's quite a shame, as it seems to be one of the better pad -> keyboard converters out there.

Anyway, I had the dreaded sticking key issue yesterday for the first time in days, and it was on the number keys that are (as far as I know) impossible to remap. It's not too bad though, I only use the keys for predictive text input on Moving Pictures, and unless I actually want to break the damn thing I can just press them slower! The number keys don't seem to react how 'Menu' did, which would send multiple commands irrespective of the single button press, but if I insist on the rapid input of a particular number key I can happily break it. Slowing down isn't too much of a burden.

So yes, for now, I'm content. The iMon sucks completely, but hey, it's kinda working for what I need it for. Another forum member who has been posting via PM wants to use his Harmony/iMon combo for controlling other Windows applications, and if this is your aim then I just can't see the results being even slightly satisfactory.

It's a shame you can't find those Microsoft USB IR receivers for love nor (reasonable) money, and I daren't take the chance on some of the other keypress emulating variants. Screw that though, I don't want to spend money on something I shouldn't need to - The Dark Knight Blu-Ray isn't going to buy itself, is it?

 

[fujistick]

Ok, an update. (I know it's been a while).

After logitech made some changes to my account, I tried updating my remote but there were errors. (Updating Remote Configuration Error -> This problem must be resolved before you can update the remote. Missing infrared command "Open/Close" for device "HTPC".) This command used to exist but didn't anymore, so I learnt it and tried updating again. Same error but for command "Yellow". Looking at the device they modified, it looks like they have replaced it with a different one with slightly different command names. For instance "Yellow" used to exist, but is now called "Yellow/MyTV".

Suspecting that some of my old activities were still referencing the old names and that support staff had forgot to update them, I removed all my old activities and tried to update the remote. Same problem, so I went through and essentially learned duplicates for the commands it winged about until I could update my remote. Success!

The repeating forever problem is gone for all keys! (I did give them a comprehensive list of problems with each key.) There's still a few things I'd like to tweek, but essentially the major problems are gone.

I've now loaded on the KeyboardInputPlugin and it works ok. For me it does throw an exception and crash MediaPortal if you press a button that isn't mapped, but if you add a mapping for it, it works ok. I haven't searched to see if anyone else has that problem or if there is a solution yet as once the buttons in iMON Manager are mapped, it's not a big problem for me. If i get time, i might even fire up the KeyboardInputPlugin source code (i'm a developer by day) and try and find and fix the problem myself (obviously giving back any bug fixes i find).

So in short, my problem with repeating button presses is solved. Thanks everyone, hope you've all had the same success.