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[park]

I am having some trouble setting up Media Center to work with my remote control. The steps I have taken are:

1. Purchase Iguanaworks USB IR transceiver and plug it in with no blasters. Just the IR reciever for now to keep things simple.
2. Install Iguanaworks software and WINlirc.
3. Following instructions on their site I set up a config.cf file inside winlirc and programmed it with all the buttons on my remote. I tested that the hardware is recieving them with their bundled IRgraph utility.
4.  I installed the mjrremote plugin from the JRiver interface section of its plugins (why isnt it in remotes section?) but it doesnt show up in MCs services and plugins section after saying that it was successfully installed.
5. I searched these forums for winlirc and followed this persons suggestion for installing it manually:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=24154.0

And now it shows up in the services section, but still doesnt let me Start Learning in MCs remote control configuration options.

Any help appreciated.

[park]

So if I can't get my remote to work using winLirc and MC natively I'm starting to look at third party programs that will help me get there. Searching these forums I've seen reference to:

Autohotkey
uICe
Girder

Any winLirc users with the benefit of experience care to chip in with any feedback about using any of these programs?

[park]

Would really appreciate some help with this. I'm looking at UICe as a potential solution but it seems like it wouldnt allow me to use MC as a remote blaster to control my reciever. I think it would only allow me to control MC using the menu items and buttons that I can press on MC's main interface.

[park]

So,  I tried uice anyway. It wouldn't even open on my computer though. Maybe it is too old and not compatible with Windows 7.

I'm thinking that buying the iguanaworks ir stuff was a mistake. I tried to purchase the jriver remote but didn't get any response from jriver to my messages.

What are other users using successfully to remote control media center? I bought the iguanaaworks because I already have a perfectly good media center type remote control from my previous Sony VAIO htpc. Perhaps the logitech harmony is the best option?

[RoderickGI]

How did you go with this? Get anywhere?

I use the Harmony 880 remote and it does most stuff I want, once it is configured using the Harmony web site/software and using the Harmony "MC HTPC SE - Microsoft Media Center PC (Windows Media Center SE)" device profile.

However, like you I cannot get MC19 to learn commands correctly. It can learn commands, if it already knows about them and they are included in the MC19 Core Commands. But that is of little help when I want to run an external program from a remote button. MC19 seems quite restricted in what commands it will learn.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that I think you are having a MC problem, and that it is unlikely to be caused by the iguanaaworks transceiver. MC19 won't even learn commands from an MCE remote for me, except as above. I'm still investigating exactly what it will do, but I would say that the MC19 learning function is broken.

So did you find a solution?

[park]

I tried buying an ME HP transceiver next, like the one that jriver sells, but like you it wouldn't learn any new commands to let me control my receiver or TV. It does at least let me use my windows media center remote control with its default button settings though and that's something at least.

[imugli]

Have you tried girder? I know glynor uses it with his set up - don't know what IR receiver he has though. Maybe send him a PM?

[RoderickGI]

Thanks for replying Park. I agree that at least the MCE remote functionality works. But I would like to do some more remote customisation, and learning new IR commands is the only way I can do it, without repurposing existing MCE IR commands. As it is I have repurposed the "DVD Menu" command to open and close the Blu-ray drive on my HTPC, as I'm playing Blu-rays and DVDs through MC, so get away without having that function . . . I think.

While we could try using yet another application or hardware such as Girder to solve the problem Imugli, the IR command learning feature in MC should work, and should learn commands outside its know set, particularly when the IR command is being used to launch an external application as in my case. (I use an external application to open and close the optical drive.) A learning remote control will learn any IR command, within some restrictions, for use in controlling multiple devices. It would seem that MC should also be able to do that, and hence make use of the learned commands on a learning remote.

In the case of my Harmony remote, I can generate keyboard like IR commands such as ALT-1 to 9, Win+{key} commands and so on, as supported by the "MC HTPC SE - Microsoft Media Center PC (Windows Media Center SE)" device profile. It can also learn IR commands from any other remote. It would be great if I could use those IR commands and assign MC Core Commands to them, or run other external programs.

I think the functionality is broken, or just incomplete, or poorly scoped and designed in the first place.

It would be nice if J River would fix it.