Harmony 650 with USBUIRT Receiver (2 Viewers)

catch22

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  • May 28, 2006
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    Hi
    I have a Harmony Remote 650 model and a USB-UIRT IR receiver and I would like to get all the functionality of using a remote with Mediaportal working correctly. Specifically I'd like to be able to import mappings that for example when I'm in fullscreen TV and I press the guide button I get to see the mini-epg whereas if i'm in the home screen and I press the guide I get taken straight to the TV-EPG guide etc.

    If I try to use the Mapping functionality under the HID tab in Remotes and Input devices and have clicked use generic HID device I only get to see Consumer/ConsumerControl or WindowsMediaCenterRemoteControl/WindowsMediaCenterRemoteControl or GenericDesktopCOntrols/Gamepad I dont see how I learn the command from my remote. I'm lacking some steps in my knowledge here I think.

    The alternative is using something like EventGhost to have button presses on my remote translated to a keypress or keypress combination but then how do I do the contextual mappings if I only have a limited set of keystrokes being sent.

    It all seems like a lot of work to setup and I'm assuming people and done this before but I cant put all the pieces together and all the information seems like a few years old and I don't know if the information is still applicable. Should I be using the IR suite for example what is the best practices these days for remote controlling MePo

    Thanks all in advance
     

    CyberSimian

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  • June 10, 2013
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    I would like to get all the functionality of using a remote with Mediaportal working correctly.
    There are probably several different solutions that would enable you to get the functionality that you want. Which is best for you depends on:

    (1) How much time you are willing to devote to getting it setup as you want.
    (2) How much money you are willing to spend buying new equipment.

    If it were me, I would probably opt for the simplest solution:

    (1) Buy a true WMC RC6 USB IR receiver.
    (2) Setup the Harmony to use the WMC command set.
    (3) Use the HID customisation to get the panel-dependent button mappings that you want.

    But that may not be the right solution for you.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    Stéphane Lenclud

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  • April 29, 2013
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    If you do want to stick to your USBUIRT hardware you could try this installer which a pre-release of MP1.16.
    It comes with brand new support for HID Keyboard, that should allow you to do your mapping the way you want it.
    It could be quite some work though. If you do go through with it please provide us with the resulting configuration that we could add in the next MP release as USBUIRT profile.
    Search those forum for the HID Demo as it could help you understand which keys is your IR receiver sending to the system.
     

    catch22

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  • May 28, 2006
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    OK I dont mind doing the work it would be nice to contribute something to the MePo community after all this time. What is the work to be done do I just need to track down the code's being sent by my remote? I did a search for HID demo but couldn't get going on it. A helping hand to get me started would be appreciated.
     

    Stéphane Lenclud

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  • April 29, 2013
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    Otherwise just check out the HID Keyboard thread linked above after installing the version of MP also linked above.
    Be aware though you will need time and patience to get things done, this is a pre-release MP verison.
    Though admittedly it should work just fine already.
    • Use HID Demo to figure out which keys are sent by your hardware.
    • If HID Demo does not register any keys then we are in trouble and need to figure this out before going further.
    • Update mapping from MP1 HID configuration to match the default USBUIRT settings as seen in HID Demo.

    HID Demo screenshot:
    upload_2016-10-21_15-43-43.png
     

    catch22

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  • May 28, 2006
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    Hi
    I installed the HID demo and sure enough the USBUIRT doesn't show up in the devices list.
    upload_2016-10-23_0-57-13.png

    If i'm to go the IRSS route how do I go about doing that and have the nice mappings I'm after?
    Cheers
    --- Post updated ---
    On a somewhat related note I have a Logitech Rumblepad 2 that I'd like use in HID mapping. It currently works but it would be really nice to have one of the buttons (mode) act like a shift ie Toggle Layer. I can see the scan code when I press the mode button but how do I get it to show up as a button in the HID mapping?
     

    Stéphane Lenclud

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    I'm 95% sure that the USB-UIRT's receiver is not HID compliant. If I'm right, it won't work in the HID demo.
    That could well be the case.

    doesn't show up in the devices list.
    It does not have to show up directly in the device list.
    Did you get some activity in the Messages tab when using your USB-UIRT?

    I can see the scan code when I press the mode button but how do I get it to show up as a button in the HID mapping?
    You may have to edit the XML file yourself if it's not already there.
     

    mm1352000

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    If i'm to go the IRSS route how do I go about doing that and have the nice mappings I'm after?
    I haven't personally used IRSS for that, so I don't know for certain that you can. However it does have quite a powerful input mapping mechanism which appears to be able to trigger different actions depending on certain conditions (including the current window/location). Therefore I think it's probably well worth a try. You haven't got much to lose. ;)

    Note that if you do decide to try IRSS:
    1. Make sure that you disable MP's standard USB-UIRT handler before installing. Only one program can use/control the USB-UIRT at any given time.
    2. Install the version from -->here<--. The standard version is not compatible with the latest MP releases.
    3. During installation, make sure you choose to install the MPControl plugin. You need that plugin. There's no way to get it after installing other than to uninstall and reinstall.
    4. Within IRSS Input Service config you'll need to enable the USB-UIRT device plugin. Aside from that, I think all the config that you'll be interested in (remote learning, mapping, macros etc.) will be found in MP Config -> plugins -> MPControl plugin config.
     

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