Remote to control soundbar, Samsung TV and CMC

[Pauven]

I got it figured out, with a little help from Inteset's Key Mapping Document: http://downloads.inteset.com/Inteset_IN ... _IReTV.pdf

Apparently, in 01272 MCE mode, the four colored buttons are pre-mapped to MCE functions:

Red = Recorded TV
Green = My Music
Blue = My Movies\Videos
Yellow = My Pictures

I wish they had reversed Green and Blue, that would have been perfect, as I like Green to represent The Big Green Button, and launch CMC in Movie Mode.

I was able to program CMC with Recorded TV to Close, Blue to launch CMC in Movie Mode, and Green to launch CMC in Music Mode. This has been a good exercise for me, as now I realize that I've artificially restricted the available options in CMC for each button type, so I can't quite get the result I want. So I'll be making a few changes for v4.1.

I still need to program a few more buttons on the Inteset remote - I need the * to toggle WatchLists, and another button to issue Escape/Clear for toggling Watched Status. Looks like I can use the learning function for this.

[dsteinschneider]

Hi Paul,

I have been using it for a couple of months now so I've forgotten off the top of my head how I got the colored buttons working but they are doing the following:

1. Green and Blue launch CMC
2. Red closes program (like Alt-F4)
3. I don't think I programmed the Yellow button

Here's how I'm using it. I'm going to revisit my setup to get rid of a few clicks but for now it's fine:

Buttons 1-4 at the top:

1. Selects Samsung TV
2. Select Vizio Sound Bar
3. Selects PC (CMC)
4. (Not in Use)

Once I've selected the device the default settings for all the buttons do pretty much what I expect

I had to pull the Soundbar out 6 inches so the bottom placed IR on the Samsung TV wouldn't be blocked.

The improvement I want to get done is set volume up and down to always control the sound bar not matter what device I have selected. I'll leave the PC sound at 90.

[dsteinschneider]

The Interset is old school but I like the feel of it. I've gotten used to using it to control almost everything. It has that tiny learning curve which is why the other controllers continue to be on the coffee table.

[Pauven]

Hey thanks so much for dropping in, I was hoping my posts would reach you!!!

The improvement I want to get done is set volume up and down to always control the sound bar not matter what device I have selected. I'll leave the PC sound at 90.

I leave my PC volume at 100. Not sure if one is better than the other, but I like the thought that the PC isn't affecting the volume in any way, simply passing it at 100%. I typically have to crank the TV/Stereo volume up further when using the PC, as it always seems to be the lowest level of all my sources, so that's another reason for me to use 100%.

Since I have the manual in front of me, it looks like you need to use the "Global Volume Lock" feature, so that all modes control the same device for volume.

Another way you could do this is with the "Punch-through Keys", where you can designate certain buttons to send the same command no matter what mode you're in.

I still need to program a few more buttons on the Inteset remote - I need the * to toggle WatchLists, and another button to issue Escape/Clear for toggling Watched Status. Looks like I can use the learning function for this.

So this is both easier and harder than I expected. It was super easy to learn the * and Clear button from my MCE remote. But only the first button press works, and the second press does nothing (not very good for toggling) until I do another action first (like arrow around) then I can press it one more time.

The real MCE remote works fine, I can press * and Clear repeatedly and get the right result. I think it is because MCE remotes send two different commands for the same button, the first press command and then the repeated press command, and the Inteset has only "learned" the first command. I read about a registry hack to turn off debounce for MCE remotes, but I don't like this idea.

Did you set up any buttons for * and Clear? If so, do they work repeatedly?

[Pauven]

Problem solved.

After trying way too many different ways to program * and Clear into the remote, nothing was working and CMC would only see a single button press, no matter how many times I pressed it, until I pressed another button.

Though I didn't want to do the Debounce Regedit trick, I finally gave in a tried it. Sure enough, it worked perfectly, and I don't see any debounce side effects.

Posting here in case it helps someone else:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da]
"EnableDebounce"=dword:00000000	

[dsteinschneider]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for testing that out, I'm going to add that to the registry on our HTPC's.

I played around with both the punch through and the global volume but I was testing some other tricks the Interset can do at the same time and ending up where nothing was working so I reset it and just haven't got back to trying it again. I did decide that global volume thing is all I really need.

Doug