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HTPC, Xbox, and Harmony Remote

post #1 of 20
1/18/13 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
For some reason my HTPC turns on when switching inputs from the Xbox activity. Meaning, if I have my Xbox activity active and then decide to watch tv (or any other activity), when switching to it my HTPC turns on.

I have the Xbox set up to only respond to Xbox remote commands in it's settings. I also set the harmony remote to use a separate power on and off command for both the Xbox and HTPC as I believe the power toggle command for the Xbox also powers on and off the HTPC. I also set the HTPC activity to be always on (doesn't turn off when switching inputs, etc.).

Anyone know how to fix this annoying issue?
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post #2 of 20
1/18/13 at 9:54pm
Here's my setup:
-Xbox 360 set only to respond to Xbox 360 remote commands
-Xbox 360 set up as an Xbox 360 game console in the Harmony software
-HTPC set up as Media Center SE in the Harmony software

The two devices don't interfere with each other at all. The only difference with my setup is I have my HTPC turn off when not in use.
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post #3 of 20
1/20/13 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
This is driving me crazy. I ran setup again by deleting my entire xbox activity and device. Set it up exactly as you have it and it will still power the HTPC on when switching from Xbox to Watch TV activity and I have no idea why.

I noticed that the Power on/off (toggle) of the Xbox "device" will turn on the HTPC, but not off. So I set the Harmony to use the separate "Power On" and Power Off" commands for the Xbox, but I still have the problem.

This doesn't happen for anyone else? Or, better yet, how it can be fixed?
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post #4 of 20
1/21/13 at 7:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shanndogg View Post

This is driving me crazy. I ran setup again by deleting my entire xbox activity and device. Set it up exactly as you have it and it will still power the HTPC on when switching from Xbox to Watch TV activity and I have no idea why.

I noticed that the Power on/off (toggle) of the Xbox "device" will turn on the HTPC, but not off. So I set the Harmony to use the separate "Power On" and Power Off" commands for the Xbox, but I still have the problem.

This doesn't happen for anyone else? Or, better yet, how it can be fixed?

What IR receiver are you using for your HTPC? Did you have any special drivers installed?

The HTPC should not turn on from Xbox 360 power commands with the standard drivers installed for MCE remotes.
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post #5 of 20
1/21/13 at 12:00pm
Did you already configure the media remote control setting on the XBOX?

I did this recently for a second XBOX so although I am remembering this off the top of my head the instructions should be pretty close.

On the XBOX 360 select "System Settings, in the "Console Settings." pick "Remote Control"
Then change the setting from "Both remotes" to "Xbox 360 Remote"
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post #6 of 20
1/22/13 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lockdown571 View Post

What IR receiver are you using for your HTPC? Did you have any special drivers installed?

The HTPC should not turn on from Xbox 360 power commands with the standard drivers installed for MCE remotes.

The IR receiver I am using came with a Rosewill RHRC-11001 Remote Control. It shows up in device manager as an eHome IR receiver. I did not install any drivers- just let Windows do it automatically.

Quote:
Originally Posted by user4avsforum View Post

Did you already configure the media remote control setting on the XBOX?

I did this recently for a second XBOX so although I am remembering this off the top of my head the instructions should be pretty close.

On the XBOX 360 select "System Settings, in the "Console Settings." pick "Remote Control"
Then change the setting from "Both remotes" to "Xbox 360 Remote"
Quote:
Originally Posted by lockdown571 View Post

What IR receiver are you using for your HTPC? Did you have any special drivers installed?

The HTPC should not turn on from Xbox 360 power commands with the standard drivers installed for MCE remotes.

Yes, I set this up right away on my Xbox as I was aware that the Xbox has the option to respond to "both remotes" or just the Xbox remote. But, I am actually having the opposite problem where my HTPC is responding to the Xbox remote commands- well, only power on specifically.
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post #7 of 20
1/22/13 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shanndogg View Post

But, I am actually having the opposite problem where my HTPC is responding to the Xbox remote commands- well, only power on specifically.

 

When you switch Activities (away from the Xbox) are you powering off the Xbox? Just to be certain you might want to unplug the network cable on the Xbox to verify it isn't sending a magic packet (the Activity is set to turn on the Xbox) that wakes up the PC. Or you could unplug the PC's sensor... for testing. If you bypass the Harmony Activity by doing the commands manually with the remote does it still turn on... you should be able to duplicate it manually to see what step is causing the issue.

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post #8 of 20
1/23/13 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles R View Post

When you switch Activities (away from the Xbox) are you powering off the Xbox? Just to be certain you might want to unplug the network cable on the Xbox to verify it isn't sending a magic packet (the Activity is set to turn on the Xbox) that wakes up the PC. Or you could unplug the PC's sensor... for testing. If you bypass the Harmony Activity by doing the commands manually with the remote does it still turn on... you should be able to duplicate it manually to see what step is causing the issue.

Yes, I am powering off the Xbox when switching activities. You may be on to something with the magic packet as I looked further into my Xbox settings and saw that it was connected to one of my PC's via WMC. I have since disconnected it and have not experienced the problem since. Let's hope this was the solution, if not I will post back.
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post #9 of 20
1/29/13 at 10:34pm
Thread Starter 
Looks like I spoke too soon. The HTPC turned on again when switching from Xbox activity to "Watch TV" activity.

I have now unplugged the IR receiver from the HTPC to see if that is the culprit.
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post #10 of 20
2/16/13 at 11:35am
Thread Starter 
Update: after unplugging the eHome IR Receiver for the last two weeks, the HTPC would not power on at all unless I manually turned it on. Thus, the problem has nothing to do with the network connection/magic packets.

Immediately, after I plugged the IR receiver back into the HTPC and then turned off the Xbox activity, the HTPC powered on. So the problem is definitely with the IR receiver picking up the "power off" signal from the Xbox command as a "power on" for the HTPC.

To further test, I switched to devices -> Xbox 360 on the Harmony One remote so I could use the Power Toggle and separate Power On and Off commands. The Xbox "Power On" command did not affect the HTPC, but the "Power Toggle" and "Power Off" Xbox command will sometimes turn on the HTPC... WTH. Yes, I did say sometimes as this happens roughly 1 out of every 7 times I press the remote commands. At no time did any of the remote commands power off the HTPC, only on.

This makes no sense to me how an Xbox Power Toggle and Power Off command can *sometimes* power on my HTPC. Obviously, there are those that this does not happen to, so what do you think is the solution to my problem?
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post #11 of 20
2/16/13 at 1:27pm
Get an Adesso/Ortek remote and dongle. It won't respond to MCE protocol at all and will give you independent control. My guess is your current dongle does a wake event from any MCE signal. The ortek dongle also works fine with any universal and has a full set of WMC commands.

Changing the address on your PC might help, but you'd have to somehow teach you universal the new command set.
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post #12 of 20
2/17/13 at 4:44pm
Same problem as Shanndogg and thanks for the suggestion of buying a different brand mdavej. Might have to come to that to save on frustration!
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post #13 of 20
2/22/13 at 3:11pm
What about troubleshooting the Harmony through the "Did that solve the problem?" dialog (the "assistant", on my 650)? I vaguely remember that it can adjust the signal to avoid interference between devices.
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post #14 of 20
2/25/13 at 5:00am
I tried that troubleshooting method you suggested. No luck -- it didn't seem to make a permanent change.
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post #15 of 20
2/25/13 at 7:55am

So you want your HTPC to remain OFF all the time?  And when I say "off" I mean not sleeping, instead: shutdown.

 

Perhaps I'm not following your issue.  Do you want to control your HTPC at all?  HOW do you want the MCE remote to control it?  YES, the default power button is a power cycle function that will do as your PC has been configured... is the power button set to SLEEP or SHUTDOWN?  How about your BIOS - is it set to support sleep modes?  S3, S4 ?  How about your power profile, is it set to go into SLEEP, Hibernate... ???

 

You ask why sometimes... I have a Nettop that will respond sometimes and an A6-3500 that is absolute!  Of course I'm using a Harmony i300 which adds to the confusion. 

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post #16 of 20
2/25/13 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmunson View Post

I tried that troubleshooting method you suggested. No luck -- it didn't seem to make a permanent change.

I believe you have to go through it a few times, until it adjusts sufficiently, however cannot recommend this with high confidence.

Another option is to "learn" the commands from the two respective devices' remotes, in the hope that they differ more than the ones provided from the Harmony database.
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post #17 of 20
4/5/13 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
Here's an update:

I ordered the ARC-1100 and so far it has not turned on my HTPC from the Xbox "power toggle" or "power off" commands. But, it doesn't have some of the functions I really wanted that the MCE receiver offers (mouse commands from Harmony One remote, Windows start key, alt + function key, etc.). So I ordered the HP IR receiver most seem to recommend. And... same problem as the Rosewill.... Turn the Xbox off, the HTPC turns on...

It would seem that MCE receivers either respond to the Xbox power toggle and off commands, or Harmony is sending an "incorrect" Xbox power command that somehow turns on a computer using an MCE IR receiver.

What I don't understand is it seems some people are not having this problem using the same type of equipment I have (and nmunson). Hoping someone can offer updated insight.
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post #18 of 20
4/5/13 at 1:17pm
Learn the mouse commands.
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post #19 of 20
4/6/13 at 7:06am
Well my issue is that my XBOX turns on whenever I use the remote to turn wake my CPU out of sleep.
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post #20 of 20
4/6/13 at 7:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stamina1914 View Post

Well my issue is that my XBOX turns on whenever I use the remote to turn wake my CPU out of sleep.


there is a setting on the Xbox to make it not respond to media center commands
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