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iRule - Page 69

post #2041 of 8408
3/30/11 at 12:49pm
Valdhor, thanks for the response! I think I will try the RS-232 route with a wired GC and a hub to split my incoming Cat5 cable. Wish me luck.
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post #2042 of 8408
3/30/11 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

Lets keep the discussion respectful but lively.

OK, I'll jump in.

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

Volume: My SO does not say "Please put the volume at -15 DB, -11 db is too loud' She just says "Please lower the volume it is too load". Similarly for mute, She just says "Please mute the system"

I agree. My SO does the same. BUT when we are watching a movie from the C-200 we know the best volume is X whilst the best volume for TV watching is Y. These may need to change slightly either up or down depending on the program material but with feedback I can set the exact volume.

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

STB's: Every STB I have come across has more than adequate on screen displays

Again, true. BUT what about the following scenario. My SO is watching a movie from the C-200. I know there is a game coming up that I'd like to record. If I switch the TV to the STB there is gonna be a fight. With feedback, I can see the upcoming shows and tell the STB to record the one I want.

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

AV processor or Receiver: Maybe it would be nice to know what the current decoder is and what sound field is being applied, but really once it is set up properly, that should not be required. I do trust good equipment to do what it supposed to do. All the AVP or AVR I have come across allow you to see exactly what is going on in some display on the device so if you need to check you can. However for average movie/TV watching it is always correct i.e. what I set it up to be. (in my experience). If the AVP is used to control an iPOD or play internet radio then see my comment below on music systems.

In this case I'd like to know if Zone 2 is on (Say in the back yard). I can see there is no-one in the back yard so can turn zone 2 off.

I'd also like to know that if I set a specific volume that the command actually made it and the receiver is set to that volume (Maybe I hit the wrong button and zone 2 is now on and set to that volume).


Anyway, my 2c. There are probably other things that I'd like but can't think of them right now.
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post #2043 of 8408
3/30/11 at 1:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

The following should start a lively discussion

In a theater (and I have been doing this for over 10 years in my current theater) I just do not see an over-riding need for feedback to the hand held device. After all you are in the theater and should be able to see what is going on and almost all devices will display on the main screen. Lets take some examples:

Volume: My SO does not say "Please put the volume at -15 DB, -11 db is too loud' She just says "Please lower the volume it is too load". Similarly for mute, She just says "Please mute the system"

STB's: Every STB I have come across has more than adequate on screen displays

BR Players: More than adequate on screen displays including complete info on some players as to what is going on (Tme, time left, current position, bit rate, etc.) I generally can remember what movie I am playing. If I am curious I just hit "info" look at it then "exit"

AV processor or Receiver: Maybe it would be nice to know what the current decoder is and what sound field is being applied, but really once it is set up properly, that should not be required. I do trust good equipment to do what it supposed to do. All the AVP or AVR I have come across allow you to see exactly what is going on in some display on the device so if you need to check you can. However for average movie/TV watching it is always correct i.e. what I set it up to be. (in my experience). If the AVP is used to control an iPOD or play internet radio then see my comment below on music systems.

My current user interface in the Theater is a Pronto PRO and the only feedback I put on the Pronto is when I request chapters while watching a BR or DVD. The chapter data comes back to the Pronto so I can select a chapter and send the player to that time point.

Now I am being a little facetious since the theater is controlled by a PC and there is a 20inch monitor flanking the main screen that does show complete system status (basically the status of the AVP. Nobody except maybe me ever looks at it, in fact my SO made me put in an option where it blanks itslef as she found it distracting and unnecessary

Now where music or Home Automation control is concerned that is a whole other story and full feedback to the hand held controller is absolutely necessary since there is no "central location" with a big display as there is in a Theater.

Lets keep the discussion respectful but lively.

I have a masking screen and the processor shows the volume and effects settings in the area that is masked when watching a 2:35 movie so if I want to see it I have to unmask the screen...Major pain....
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post #2044 of 8408
3/30/11 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrygordon View Post

... I just do not see an over-riding need for feedback to the hand held device. After all you are in the theater and should be able to see what is going on and almost all devices will display on the main screen. Lets take some examples:

Volume: My SO does not say "Please put the volume at -15 DB, -11 db is too loud' She just says "Please lower the volume it is too load". Similarly for mute, She just says "Please mute the system"

STB's: Every STB I have come across has more than adequate on screen displays

BR Players: More than adequate on screen displays including complete info on some players as to what is going on (Tme, time left, current position, bit rate, etc.) I generally can remember what movie I am playing. If I am curious I just hit "info" look at it then "exit"

I use RS-232 because I want to see the volume on the remote in my hand, plus time remaining in the movie and a few other things. I don't want to see ANY info at all on the big screen when watching a movie. I'm the one working the remote, and I don't want to keep disturbing other people who are watching by putting up strings of numbers over the picture at random intervals when they aren't expecting it.
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post #2045 of 8408
3/30/11 at 4:07pm
kirktsemaj99,

I undertsand your point, it is just that most folks are not like us. They want it as simple as possible. When watching a movie they want to be able to pause it and scan it in either direction. When it's too loud they want to be able to make it lower and vice versa.

When I designed my system many many years ago I put the PC and monitor in it so I could have what you are pointing out. In those days it was the original Pronto remote. 2-way was unheard of and all control was via IR with a small number of AV manufacturers experimenting with RS232. My AV processor (Lexicon MC-1) always had RS232 so I could display the detailed info, but as time went on I found my self hardly ever even glancing at it. Does impress the guests though.
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post #2046 of 8408
3/30/11 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valdhor View Post

BUT what about the following scenario. My SO is watching a movie from the C-200. I know there is a game coming up that I'd like to record. If I switch the TV to the STB there is gonna be a fight. With feedback, I can see the upcoming shows and tell the STB to record the one I want.

I doubt very much that you will get that level of feedback anytime soon. It would be better if iOS had a more robust multitasking environment, so you could switch to an app, usually supplied by the cable company, that lets you control recording on your STB. I do this now with the Xfinity app, but Apple's app switching is somewhat cumbersome.
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post #2047 of 8408
3/30/11 at 4:58pm
Adam-Divine, Strongly recommend a switch in lieu of a hub.
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post #2048 of 8408
3/30/11 at 5:25pm
Those that have looked at my HT site will see I have five (5) 20in CRT monitors above the screen. This January I just added two 20in LCD screens below the screen as well. I can switch feeds to these as needed through an 8x8 VGA switch matrix. In addition to my audio and video test equipment, I am currently building two status computers to work with I-rule. These are old "obsolete by IT standards" rack mount blade PCs that will run my DOS based status programs with great ease and speed. I have graphics tools that can convert true type fonts to DOS compatible graphics drivers. I have these set up so that they can stay on or go blank after a timeout. The timeout is reset by any adjustment of an I-rule controller parameter. Why DOS? Well the entire hard disk capacity need only be a few MB - think flash card, no moving parts. Quick boot. No licensing fees as DOS is now open source freeware.

Even with two way coming, I will still use this system. My audio processor cannot overlay into HDMI. Many of my devices lack on screen menus anyway. Also this setup keep the main screen free of obstructions.

Sure it's not for most people but I rather like the "mission control" HT look. And don't forget I can blank all the extra monitors and then they disappear into the black screen wall.
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post #2049 of 8408
3/30/11 at 8:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kriktsemaj99 View Post

Did you create a Network type gateway (not HTTP or one of the other types)? There should be places to enter both the IP address and port number.

Ok kirk you were right. I changed it to Network instead of http, and it worked for only a couple of minutes and then stopped. I think there must be some setting specific to this Yamaha receiver that will keep it online. Any ideas?
Thanks
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post #2050 of 8408
3/30/11 at 9:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kriktsemaj99 View Post

You can create a new device in Builder and then add the codes one at a time (put them under Network codes, whether they are IP or RS232). Or you can put them all in a file using a text editor, then upload them all at once. There's a tutorial on doing this here.

If you want to experiment with both IP and RS232, create a difference device for each. Once you add all the codes you can share the device, although I would make sure it's pretty complete and tested before you share it. As soon as someone sees the shared device and starts using it, they won't get any new codes that you add unless they import it again, and then they'll have to redo all their buttons to use the new device (or at least that's way it used to work, although there was some talk of fixing this).

Edit: BTW I noticed that the RX-A2000 is supposed to close the TCP connection if it's been idle for a while (40 seconds I think), which may be a problem with iRule. Perhaps you can try this and see if it really does disconnect, and whether iRule automatically reconnects or doesn't (in the latter case commands will stop working, but if you go back to the list of panels and reenter the one for the receiver, it should reconnect again).

Hi Kirk, I noticed in this post you talked about losing the conection after 40 seconds. I think that is what is happening with my a2000. Any way to deal with this? Thanks for your help.
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post #2051 of 8408
3/30/11 at 9:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mborner View Post

I, too, had issues with HDMI 1, 2, and 3. You'll probably find that your discrete power off won't work either, or is it power on, I forget which one. I just stepped over to remote central and got the hex codes from there. I did not convert them to GC.
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin...hlight=SAMSUNG
There may be a little trial and error but you'll get it.

mborner,
Thanks. Hex codes from remotecentral for the Samsung worked flawlessly..great learning experience too.

I'm now having a problem controlling my 2nd generation apple tv. The codes from the iRule database don't work and neither do the hex codes uploaded by some users. I can't seem to find a complete list of hex codes on remotecentral either. I know the apple tv2 is getting some kind of code because the light flashes on the device when I press a button on my iphone to send the command..but I get no action. Does anyone have any ideas??

Edit - I heard back from iRule support on my issue. They suggested I unpair my apple tv remote. Did so tonight and everything works now.
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post #2052 of 8408
3/31/11 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Goff View Post

I doubt very much that you will get that level of feedback anytime soon. It would be better if iOS had a more robust multitasking environment, so you could switch to an app, usually supplied by the cable company, that lets you control recording on your STB. I do this now with the Xfinity app, but Apple's app switching is somewhat cumbersome.

Well, I was kinda talking to the future here. The DirecTV iPad app can do this now. If they can do it, so can iRule. Of course, DirectTV would need to release an API for recording (there already is one for other functions) and I keep hoping that one day they will.
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post #2053 of 8408
3/31/11 at 6:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by anmg View Post

Ok kirk you were right. I changed it to Network instead of http, and it worked for only a couple of minutes and then stopped. I think there must be some setting specific to this Yamaha receiver that will keep it online. Any ideas?

There's no setting in the receiver, and according to the doc it disconnects after 40 seconds without commands (Yamaha really should have made this an option).

With the current version of iRule, you will need to reenter the panel to make it reconnect (go to panels and select the appropriate panel again, and you should see the "connecting to gateways" message).

Itai said that iRule v2.0 will include an option to send commands periodically in the background to keep the connection alive. Until then I don't think there's anything else you can do.

Another good option for iRule would simply be to reconnect automatically on any button press if the connection was closed. This would allow better sharing of devices by two or more copies of iRule. Sending keep-alive commands will solve the problem for a single remote, but by keeping the connection alive it will prevent others from connecting (I believe Yamaha, like some other manufacturers, only allows one connection at a time).
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post #2054 of 8408
3/31/11 at 7:25am
I agree with kisrktsemaj99. Whenever I do TCP work I always check to see if the connection is still open when I start to send a sequence. If the connection is not open I do whatever is required to reconnect. If iRule did that a lot of issues might disappear, but I suspect other issues would then pop up. the overhead of the check should be small, but the overhead of the re-connect might not be, but will be better than not ebeing able to send data. Perhaps this mode of operation should be under the control of an option setting
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post #2055 of 8408
3/31/11 at 9:52am
Thanks for your help kirk and barry. I guess I will just go ir with the Yamaha until version 2.
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post #2056 of 8408
3/31/11 at 11:25am
I've encountered some puzzling iRule iPad behavior. Global Cache helped me with HDMI controller codes (1-5 plus right and left). I tested all of them successfully in iTest (I'm running a Mac). I changed the port to #3 and each command functions perfectly in iTest. I created a device and under devices in iRule along with the Global Cache codes for each button including the correct port number. I created a panel with the numbers 1-5 abs right and left.

The IR buds all work (they changed the switch numbers under iTest). I synced iRule on the Mac after assigning the HDMI switch to the #3 iTach gateway port #3. When I try to change the switch nothing happens. So I went into iRule and copied the GC codes directly from the lower left window and dropped them in iTest. The command works perfectly! Go figure.

- The iTach functions normally
- The IR buds work properly under iTest
- All the codes move the switches properly under iTest
- The HDMI switch is correctly attached to the correct port

I don't expect anyone to know the cause, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks, Rich
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post #2057 of 8408
3/31/11 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by anmg View Post

Hi Kirk, I noticed in this post you talked about losing the conection after 40 seconds. I think that is what is happening with my a2000. Any way to deal with this? Thanks for your help.

We are including the ability to have an entrance run in a loop in the next release. The idea is that if you want to keep your connection available on the Yamaha you can send a command (they recommend the version check command for this) and run it every 30 seconds for example.

This will solve the disconnect issue for your Yamaha.
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post #2058 of 8408
3/31/11 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Gibson View Post

I've encountered some puzzling iRule iPad behavior. Global Cache helped me with HDMI controller codes (1-5 plus right and left). I tested all of them successfully in iTest (I'm running a Mac). I changed the port to #3 and each command functions perfectly in iTest. I created a device and under devices in iRule along with the Global Cache codes for each button including the correct port number. I created a panel with the numbers 1-5 abs right and left.

The IR buds all work (they changed the switch numbers under iTest). I synced iRule on the Mac after assigning the HDMI switch to the #3 iTach gateway port #3. When I try to change the switch nothing happens. So I went into iRule and copied the GC codes directly from the lower left window and dropped them in iTest. The command works perfectly! Go figure.

- The iTach functions normally
- The IR buds work properly under iTest
- All the codes move the switches properly under iTest
- The HDMI switch is correctly attached to the correct port

I don't expect anyone to know the cause, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks, Rich

If you have the command available we can see what is the issue. I suspect that what you are pasting into the data field is not exactly what we need.

For Global Cache IR commands you need to only use the portion of the command that begins with the frequency.
38000,1,1,342,170,22,20,20,22,20,22,20,22,63,22,20,22,63,22, 20,22,63,22,63,22,63,22,63,22,1767,342,84,21,760
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post #2059 of 8408
3/31/11 at 5:13pm
We are moving our web host tonight and our site will experience some downtime during the migration.

Please note that the iRule Builder is not affected by this transition and is available at http://builder.iruleathome.com
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post #2060 of 8408
3/31/11 at 5:17pm
iTai,
How about the thought of checking connection state on every send, and if not open, then opening it prior to the send, or does the iPad not let you do such a thing.
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post #2061 of 8408
3/31/11 at 7:32pm
Anyone know how I can make a button not transparent even if there is no action assigned to it?
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post #2062 of 8408
3/31/11 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by doctornick View Post

To help anyone who is trying to use Plex 9 with the Plex 9 HTTP commands from the builder there are a couple of things I have found you need to do. In each network code you need to change the IP address from the current 192.168.1.120 to that of your Mac's IP address. You then need to create a HTTP gateway and use port 32400. Eg under the address tab enter IP of your mac followed by the port number 192.168.1.100:32400.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Thanks for the help. I've just gotten Plex 9 working on a Mac Mini with iRule and struggled a little with the various Plex postings so I'm going to attempt to spell it out a little more clearly.

1. There is a device named "Plex 9 http" in the User area.

2. The full command that can be tested from a browser window looks like this:
http://192.168.0.xx:32400/system/pla...igation/moveUp
Where both IP addresses are the Plex server.

3. The HTTP Gateway looks like this:http://192.168.0.xx:32400

4. The device commands look like this:
system/players/192.168.0.xx/navigation/moveUp

Update: The full command URL is being corrupted by the forum sw, but you can piece it together with 3. and 4.
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post #2063 of 8408
4/1/11 at 3:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by anmg View Post

Anyone know how I can make a button not transparent even if there is no action assigned to it?

Just add a delay.

________
Axel
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post #2064 of 8408
4/1/11 at 5:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by anmg View Post

Anyone know how I can make a button not transparent even if there is no action assigned to it?

Yes, drag and drop it into the background layer as just an image. Your other option is to assign something benign like a delay to a button that will not execute a command.
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post #2065 of 8408
4/1/11 at 8:04am
I'm enjoying iRule and just got my Itach today. I've got the basics working but something is puzzling me on the interface builder.

If I want to replicate my Humax Foxsat remote I'd like a grid of say 6 x 4 (24) buttons. But if I set up a grid that size when I drag the buttons over from the images column on the RHS the buttons are enormous and do not autoscale down to fit the grid and I can only fit about 3 buttons per row.

How do I either get the buttons to autoscale or set them to about 25% of the current scale?
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post #2066 of 8408
4/1/11 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rarem View Post

I'm enjoying iRule and just got my Itach today. I've got the basics working but something is puzzling me on the interface builder.

If I want to replicate my Humax Foxsat remote I'd like a grid of say 6 x 4 (24) buttons. But if I set up a grid that size when I drag the buttons over from the images column on the RHS the buttons are enormous and do not autoscale down to fit the grid and I can only fit about 3 buttons per row.

How do I either get the buttons to autoscale or set them to about 25% of the current scale?

Unfortunately, the buttons do not autoscale. If you want different ones or different sizes you will need to create them off-line (e.g. Photoshop) and then import them.
_____
Axel
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post #2067 of 8408
4/1/11 at 8:41am
Thanks for the reply Axel.

That's a shame - seems like a rather fundamental piece of functionality!
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post #2068 of 8408
4/1/11 at 9:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rarem View Post

Thanks for the reply Axel.

That's a shame - seems like a rather fundamental piece of functionality!

While it is unfortunate, I would not consider it 'fundamental'.

One could also see it from a different angle: being able to import your own buttons is a very powerful feature of iRule. In my case I used the predefined buttons only as a starting point and made most of the buttons I wanted myself. As usual YMMV .
_____
Axel
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post #2069 of 8408
4/1/11 at 9:36am
Yes these things always depend on your viewpoint but to me it seems a bit ridiculous to have to manually resize all buttons if all you want to do is change your grid size.

Anyway guess I better get busy with Photoshop! Is there an easy way to get access to the whole set of transport and number buttons to batch resize them or (let me guess) do I have to manually drag them out the program one by one?
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post #2070 of 8408
4/1/11 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rarem View Post

Yes these things always depend on your viewpoint but to me it seems a bit ridiculous to have to manually resize all buttons if all you want to do is change your grid size.

Anyway guess I better get busy with Photoshop! Is there an easy way to get access to the whole set of transport and number buttons to batch resize them or (let me guess) do I have to manually drag them out the program one by one?

This may help.
____
Axel
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