HOWTO: IRTrans & Harmony 555 Remote (1 Viewer)

Domini0n

Portal Pro
July 21, 2008
130
7
Problem:

Hi,

I've been trying, for two days now, to get my Logitech Harmony 555 remote to work with the IRTrans reciever from my OrigenAE S14V case. I followed all instructions in the MP manual and read almost every post on this forum I could find on the subject. Currently the remote only has the arrow keys, OK button and the Info button working.

So what I did so far is:
- made a harmony555.rem file and learned it all my keys.
- changed the remote name in MP config under IRTrans to harmony555.
- selected the IRTrans as my remote in MP config.
- removed the entries mention in MP manual from the apps.cfg. (I had the problem of it skipping a line)
- in the apps.cfg I changed all the default [remote]mediacenter into [remote]harmony555 (also tried it at default settings)
- made all the names in the harmony555.rem file the same as the names in the MP remote mapping section. (I did this as I thought it might communicate by name)
- copied the IRTrans mediacenter.xml and changed it to IRTrans harmony555.xml

To my knowledge these are all the settings people tell me to change in order to make it all work. But it doesn't work yet. The problem I think is that there has to be something else that tells MP what IRTrans is telling it. By that I mean for example:

- When I press Stop IRTrans has this code in it's .rem file and is named [Stop].
- MP has Stop also in it's mappinglist as Stop, but there is no way for me to link the two, other than the name.
I think the problem is in the link between the two programs, do I for example need to make a file that converts the IRTrans received information to a keystroke?

At the beginning the remotes arrow keys, OK and Info button worked out of the box. All the changes that I made so far has changed nothing. Also the Stop button is working, but not doing what it needs to do. It made my HTPC hang in between sleepmode and awake and the screen turns to black. Also the power to my USB front hub goes out, but the PC powerled does not change to orange (which means it off or at sleep).

I would really like some help as two days of trying is really starting to frustrate me.
 

Domini0n

Portal Pro
July 21, 2008
130
7
Solution

Solution:

I got it to work with the default mediacenter.rem file from IRTrans and the original software from OrigenAE. But I do believe it will work with the newer versions of IRTrans that can be downloaded from IRTrans.de, but haven't tried that yet. For the people that might run into the same problem as me I will write a short guide on how to get it working.

IRTrans & Harmony 555 Remote HOWTO Guide:
NOTE:
As I mentioned above this guide will only show how to get a Logitech Harmony 555 and IRTrans to work with MediaPortal with the
default mediacenter.rem file. It is possible to make your own *.rem file, but as of now I didn't get this to work properly. If there is anyone that did get it to work, you are of course free to share the information for anyone desiring to make their own *.rem files.

1. Programming the Logitech Harmony 555
This part is not that difficult as the Logitech software already has the working IR codes for MediaPortal software in it's database. At the time of writing this little guide I use Logitech Harmony Remote Software v7.5.0.10. and installed all the software on my mediacenter PC which runs Windows Vista Business x64.

Steps:
1) Go to the 'Devices' tab at the top of the Harmony Remote Software
2) At the top left corner click on 'Add device'
3) In the first drop-down select 'Computer' and then 'Media Center'
4) Then in the second drop-down select 'MediaPortal'
5) And under Model write down 'MediaPortal'
6) Click 'next' at the bottom right hand to finish the adding process.

You have now added a MediaPortal device to your Harmony Remote Software, but it still needs to be uploaded to your remote. So connect your remote and press the big yellow button at the top right corner saying 'Update remote'. Follow the instructions on the screen.

2. IRTrans installation
Download the IRTrans software for either IRTrans.com or the supplier of your receiver. The software from OrigenAE and IRTrans are the same, only the installation screen looks different and IRTrans is more up to date. To prevent any troubles use the software that came with your receiver.

1) Run the IRTrans setup
2) Click 'Next' until you reach the section where you can select the Options to install
3) You need to install: 'IRTrans Server', 'IRTrans GUI Client', 'IRTrans Batch/ASCII Client', 'USB Driver', 'Documentation' and 'Plugins/API's' for the use with miniDisplay plugin from MediaPortal.
4) Click next until you reach the point where it asks for the type of receiver you own.
5) Select your receiver (in my OrigenAE S14V it is the USB OEM version).
6) Select to copy IRTranstray to the startup folder (DO NOT install it as a service as I have not tested it with this method)
7) Click 'Next' until setup has finished.

Now you will see at the 'Device Manager' from Windows that the IRTrans USB Driver has still not been installed. That is because the drivers are only extracted during setup and not installed. So right click on the 'IRTrans USB GmbH' device and select update driver. Choose to manually install the driver and browse to the IRTrans folder located in *:\Program Files. Let setup search the IRTrans folder and it will find a USB driver and install it.

3. Setup IRTrans to Power ON and OFF your HTPC
Check to see if the IRTranstray is showing in the taskbar, if not than launch it from the startmenu. You need to have IRTranstray running before you can continue. If you use the files from post #3 you will not need to do these steps.

1) Open the IRTrans GUI Client
2) From the top menu select 'Mode'
3) Then select the first option named 'Device Status'

You will now see the following window:
00016jhj.jpg


4) At the bottom you see the option for PowerON Remote/Command and the PowerOFF Remote/Command. The first box (PowerON) will contain the name of the *.rem file we use, in our case you fill in 'mediacenter' (without the quotes). Do the same for PowerOFF.
5) The second box is the name of the IR code as stored in the mediacenter.rem file. You can find these files in *:\Program Files\IRTrans\remotes. In our case we will fill in the name 'power' (without the quotes). Do this for PowerON as well as PowerOFF.
6) To store these settings click on 'Set mode'

You should now be able to turn your mediacenter ON and OFF with your Logitech Harmony 555 remote.

4. Configure MediaPortal
Open the MediaPortal configuration window and open it in the 'Advanced mode'. If you're not in the advanced mode, at the top right corner you can switch.

1) In the tree-menu go to the 'Remote' section.
2) Take the last tab named 'IRTrans'
3) Check the 'Use IRTrans receiver'
4) Make sure that the port is still at 21000
5) Also check, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, that the box 'Remote model' says 'mediacenter' (this is again the name of the *.rem file)
6) Click OK to close the configuration screen of MediaPortal and save the settings.

Now you are able to use the remote in MediaPortal, that is if everything above went according to plan.

5. Help!! My remote commands get executed twice!
If you use the files from post #3 you will not need to do these steps. Otherwise this is a known thing to happen and the solution can be found in the MediaPortal Manual. (Scroll to the bottom)

Hope this helps someone with a similar problem.

Greatings,
Domini0n
 

Domini0n

Portal Pro
July 21, 2008
130
7
Correct files

Files:

Here are the files I use to make the IRTrans receiver work with MediaPortal.
These files make step 3 and 5 obsolete as these files are the outcome of those actions.

Files included in the .rar:
apps.cfg - This file makes sure your remote commands don't get executed twice
mediacenter.rem - The file with all the IR codes in it
switches.cfg - The file with the PowerON and PowerOFF settings

These files all go in *:\Program Files\IRTrans\remotes
You can only start using the files after you have rebooted the IRTrans Server.

If you still need help you can ofcourse PM me.

Greatings,
Domini0n
 

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