USB-UIRT Forum

Hi,
I'm trying to get a PVR working solution using GB-PVR based on an Hauppauge MVP + ServerPC + Hauppauge 250 fed from an external tuner.
I thought I had all my bases covered to make this work...

I'm stuck trying to learn remote codes of my strange cable receiver.

The cable receiver is a rare french thing that grabs analog cable TV over optical fiber; it's a noos cable operator box that some of us are stuck with because they haven't upgraded to numeric signal in our area yet (they'e said 'soon' for the last 4 years...)
The cable tuner is labeled 'France Telecom' & 'Alcatel CIT', it's IR remote is labeled from 'H.F.I.R design' and I've been unable to find anything about this device.

Anyway, I've tried a lot of combinations through Girder trying to make it grab whatever the remote is 'spitting' out to no avail; USB-UIT never 'blinks' which I interpret as 'nothing is emitted that I can recognize'.
I know USB-UIRT works since a more standard remote (Hauppauge's MVP) signal gets detected.

Any help / tools trying to grab IR codes from this thing would be really appreciated.
Many thanks,
Cheers
Henrib

henrib,

When trying to learn a code from the remote, are you holding the remote close enough (2 to 4 inches)? Have you tried doing an 'IR Debug' in Girder?

-Jon

I tried IR Debug and I'm holding the remote at the distance you recommend; nothing gets received. USBUIRT does not blink.
I've tried other remotes and they do get received properly.

It is possible this particular remote is so non-standard it uses frequencies that are not in the receivable ranges? That's my current fear...
Any other tool you'd recommend to validate/invalidate this dead-end hypothesis?
Thanks

If it truly is out of frequency range then it will be difficult to determine what is actually being emitted without the aid of a scope or other tools.

It *might* be outputting DC (no carrier), but the latest versions of firmware and Girder plugin and driver handle this fine.

-Jon

Being stubborn helps sometimes
I finally got USB-UIRT to learn the signal, at least through Girder; 1 inch close is what it took...
Looks like it is a DC signal - at least this is what I understand from the Girder settings after a learn and/or IR Debug.
I'm now trying to get GB-PVR to change channels on this d... box; GB-PVR seems to learn things ok but even though USBUIRT emmits things (led flashes), there isn't any effect (ie change channel).
From what I can see, there seem to be no relation in codes between what Girder learned & what GB-PVR learned; should there be any?
I'll post to GB-PVR forum since it seems to be GB-PVR related at this point.
Thanks for the help & support.

henrib,

When you learned the codes in Girder and then transmitted them, did you confirm (by test transmitting) that they indeed controlled your cable receiver?

-Jon

Jon,
Thanks a lot for the follow-up.

No, I did not verify but I will; since using GB-PVR is really what I'm after & since it does not use Girder, I took the shortcut - my bad. I was too happy to see 'things' happening...

With my last tries, I noticed that the IR code that are received do not seem to be stable; ie, learning several times the same 'remote key' does not always give the same result. Both through Girder & GB-PVR.
I obviously dont know anything about IR protocols but shouldn't these codes be the same each time you press a key ? And shouldn't they be the same (or somehow related) between Girder & GB-PVR ?
I was also wondering how/where GB-PVR would tell USBUIRT to use DC (instead of some frequency) if this makes sense? There does not seem to be anything besides the 'repeat count' & the key-IR code association in the GB-PVR learned file...

Don't know if any of these questions are relevant. Iinstead of speculating, I'll just try your advice & post the result.
Thanks again.

Learned code don't seem to have an effect through Girder either.
I see USBUIRT flash but nothing happens on the cable box.
What should I try next?
Start over with new batteries in the remote just to be sure I guess. Then what?
Any help appreciated.

Well, I hate to say this, but the fact that you have to hold the remote so close and that its getting reported as DC isn't very encouraging. It is my guess that more likely the rmeote carrier is high and you're simply getting garbage during the learn.

One last thing to try is to perform and IR debug in Girder and post the results. At least then we'll see if the code appears repeatable.

-Jon

Hi Jon,
As a starter of today's test session, I tried making Girder learn EventStrings from that remote (instead of trying to emmit); I had to put the remote almost touching USBUIRT to receive something but this never translates to an event string. Yet another bad sign...

I also verified Girder could learn from a Toshiba remote just to ensure USBUIRT + Girder is indeed working in normal circumstances.

Then I switched to debug IR: I tried 10 times to observe the absence of an obvious pattern. I post 3 logs grabbing the 'enter' key; these are indeed different.

Is there is any other test I should perform?
Thanks

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Test 1
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DBBE 0038 000 5413 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5411 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5411 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5411 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0040 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
0462 0038 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 002F 000 FFFF
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Test 2:
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A631 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5411 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 0037 000 540E 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5413 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37F8 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5411 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 002F 000 3800 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0040 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0040 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0040 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37F8 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5411 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37F8 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5411 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 3800 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
049A 0038 000 37F8 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5411 0037 000 FFFF
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test 3:
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982B 0038 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0040 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0040 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0040 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 002F 000 37FD 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0040 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5413 0037 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5413 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 3800 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 3800 002F 000 5413 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5418 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 002F 000 5418 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FB 0037 000 5411 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37FA 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FA 0037 000 540E 0037 000 37F5 0037 000 37F6 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 0037 000 5410 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5413 0037 000 540E 0037 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FF 002F 000 5411 0037 000 37FA 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 37F6 002F 000 3800 002F 000 37FA 0037 000 37F8 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5415 0037 000 5411 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5415 002F 000 5415 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF
050A 0038 000 37FB 0037 000 5410 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 37FF 002F 000 37FB 002F 000 5416 002F 000 5416 002F 000 37FD 002F 000 5418 002F 000 5416 002F 000 FFFF

henrib,

Actually these debug logs look pretty good (assuming the remote is indeed DC).

When you 'learn' this same enter key, have you tried transmitting it (try a large repeatCount of say 10). What does the carrier frequency get set to? What shows up in the 'Code1' and 'Code2' boxes?

Can you also go to the Configuration button and choose about tab and post your firmware/api, etc, versions?

Thanks,

Jon

Hi Jon,

Frequency never gets set nor changes during learn phase, allways ends up DC. Did set repeat count to 10.
I had to disable the 'Force raw mode' to get a code1/code2 combination.

plug in version: 2.6.9 (04/06/04)
API driver version: 2.6.93
Firmware version: 5.9 (03/26/04)

There seem to be 3 different codes that appear in cycle for the same key.
The following come form the 'enter' key.

Force Raw mode learning enabled:

R049A0181500180E00181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E00181500181500189340181500180E00181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E001815001815001

R04620181500181500181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E00181500181500188C40181500181500181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E001815001815001

R04D20180E00180E00181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E00181500181500189A40180E00180E00181500181500180E00180E00180E00181500181500180E001815001815001

Force raw mode learning disabled:

code 1: 049A170070A8700000800A0200000000000000000000000000
code 2: 849A170070A8700000800A02000000000000000000

code 1: 04621700A8A8700000800A0200000000000000000000000000
code 2: 84621700A8A8700000800A02000000000000000000

code 1: 04D217007070A8000028A02800000000000000000000000000
code 2: 84D217007070A8000028A028000000000000000000

Thanks,
Henrib

well, I hate to say it, but if Test Transmit is not working, I would guess that the remote is indeed using a strange frequency.

Your options at this point are to either return the USB-UIRT if you'd like.

Also, if you *really* need to get this to work you could always send me the remote

-Jon

Hi Jon,

I expected this to end this way & my hopes were not too high. This cable box has been source of other issues & shows a lot of oddities.

I'll recommend your product to anyone and thank you for the quality (& patience) of your support. I'll keep my (2) usbuirts (as well as my Hauppauge's PVR250 & MVP), I'm sure I'll find some usage for them in the future.

Praise aside, although I'd *really* like to make this work (since the other option is the burden of changing TV provider which means sat or ADSL over here), there is probably no market - & no future - for this d... thing. And your time has value for a lot of people.

Many thanks,
Take care.
Henrib

before we completely put this to bed, can you contact me at support@usbuirt.com and I'll send you a test app to try...

-Jon