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[JimH]

JRiver MC23 introduces a new feature that can automatically turn on your consumer electronics gear when you start playback.  It's called PlayPower.

Here's how it works.  Press Play and the gear is Powered Up.  It's magic.

Like almost all things good, it requires some setup.  The magic ingredient is our automation software, Engen.  It is able to turn on a power outlet, check whether the equipment plugged in is drawing power, and if not, turn on the equipment by sending an IR blast. 

In MC's settings for Remotes, you can select playback zones to control, and set up procedures with steps like these:









Pictures

[JimH]

Requirements
A Z-Stick controlled by JRiver's Engen software.  The easiest way to run Engen is to purchase the IdPi.  This acts as a Z-Wave hub, so you can control lots of devices.

A Z-wave outlet or two, or a Z-Wave power strip.  They must have the ability to report power consumption (not all do).

The total cost of the above is about $200.

Why bother?
Your family and friends will never need your help again when the music or movie doesn't play.

[Mans]

Whooh !

Great stuff 

I'm excited to get my hands onto this nice feature.
Will defiantly ease up my setup incl a RF remote, UIRT blaster, incl 2 IR repeaters and LM Remote to get things triggered and powered up...

Already a big fan of Engen, so 'PlayPower' is an extra bonus to it !

Cool 

[JimH]

It should be in the next build posted here.  Expect a few rough edges.  We're still building.

This is a milestone for JRiver.  It's the first application of our automation work to our media software.  It's been a long time coming.

[Mans]

Have been playing around a bit 

Does its job like expected, linking MC even more to Engen.
Same look & feel like MC's scheduler. So easy to set-up and to adjust.

Maybe adding a button to open directly Engen's UI, or making a 'screen in screen' or splitscreen would be interesting ?  As feedback of your devices' state can be useful when checking conditionals inside a different zone. 

-I did notice some delays, 20-30 seconds, when launching some direct actions to devices.

When using Scenes, it's reacting direct.

-The conditional field is very useful, maybe the functionality can be expanded in the future ?  Like combining data or inputs = trigger/action.

Thanks !

[drmimosa]

For me the devices react direct, but scenes react at 20-30 sec delay.

[flac.rules]

Nice, I really like this kind of stuff.  Quite a lot of my home automation stuff is things I already own, and is not Z-wave. You can add running a program, but is it possible to instead send a web-command? That would be a good addition for controlling stuff that MC can't control directly.

[JimH]

Probably.

[drmimosa]

This feature is working really well for me. Thanks again.

[nwboater]

I just noticed this nice feature. It is perfect for those who use a remote control that sends IR signals. In our case for our living room system we control our music via a tablet with remote control software, JRemote or EOS, to an IdPi that feeds our receiver. (BTW the IdPi which gets it's music from our HTPC Server is working wonderfully!)

So what we need is to have the Power On signal controlled from pressing Play on the tablet. A short delay in starting the music would also be needed while the Receiver is powering on.

In reading this thread I don't see anything about shutting down the power when Play is stopped. In our case we often forget to turn off the receiver which becomes a big power waster. So a Power Down sequence should be initiated X-time after Play is stopped.

Perhaps the capability for these functions is already in Engen. If so could someone please let me know.

As I understand further development of Engen is on Hold so it may not be possible to get these features. But if there is some way I think it would be useful to many people.

Thanks,
Rod

[drmimosa]

Rod,

You should be able to accomplish a power on it signal using PlayPower any time MC playback is started in a particular zone. It is pretty straightforward, just start experimenting with the menu items in Options>Remotes>PlayPower.

The Off function is a little tricky, and can't be done using MC alone.

I have built a keyboard button that runs an Eventghost script, this then turns off all playback and turns the TV off. It is not automatic, however. If you are interested, let me know and I'll provide more details.

[nwboater]

Rod,

You should be able to accomplish a power on it signal using PlayPower any time MC playback is started in a particular zone. It is pretty straightforward, just start experimenting with the menu items in Options>Remotes>PlayPower.

The Off function is a little tricky, and can't be done using MC alone.

I have built a keyboard button that runs an Eventghost script, this then turns off all playback and turns the TV off. It is not automatic, however. If you are interested, let me know and I'll provide more details.

Thanks very much for getting back to me on this.

It's unfortunate that the feature is, IMHO only half done. Turning it off is just as important, or in our case more important, than turning it on.

Thanks for offering further help with this using Event Ghost but for now I'm going to hold off. I'm hoping that JRiver will continue development of Engen because it could have a bright future. If they don't I'm not sure I want to invest much time on it.

In this case a simple way for them to have an OFF function would be to start a timer when playback has stopped. After X time of no playback turn power Off. Would be nice if that timer is user settable.

Cheers,
Rod

[JimH]

In this case a simple way for them to have an OFF function would be to start a timer when playback has stopped. After X time of no playback turn power Off. Would be nice if that timer is user settable.

Many modern consumer electronics devices will do that (turn off after x minutes or no playback). 

I use a Z-Wave outlet strip so I can do this manually.

Here's the outlet strip:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,110810.0.html

[nwboater]

Many modern consumer electronics devices will do that (turn off after x minutes or no playback). 

I use a Z-Wave outlet strip so I can do this manually.

Here's the outlet strip:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,110810.0.html

Unfortunately our living room receiver is old and doesn't have Auto Shutoff.

Here's a typical scenario with my lovely wife Sandra playing music. (For reference an IdPi sends its output to the receiver. It is linked to our HTPC server to get its music and is controlled by a Samsung Tablet.)

1. She turns on the receiver. This could now be done by Play Power.
2. On the tablet she selects an album or playlist. and start music playing.
3. She does other things while enjoying the music.
4. The album or playlist completes playing.
5. She totally forgets to turn the receiver off. It often stays on until the next time she wants music which sometimes is days.

Even if there was an Off button on the tablet, unless she thinks of using it it is useless. And it would be just as easy for her to go to the receiver and turn it off if she would only think of it. 

That's why for us, and I suspect many others, Play Power would be really useful if it would turn off the receiver after the music stops.

On a positive note Sandra loves being able to use the tablet to select and play music in the living room from our full library in the rec room server. I too love it!

Cheers,
Rod

[drmimosa]

As a work around, you could set up a timer and an Engen outlet to turn off the receiver every evening at 1am.

[nwboater]

As a work around, you could set up a timer and an Engen outlet to turn off the receiver every evening at 1am.

First I want to thank you and Jim for really trying to find a workable solution for me. 

Is it safe to assume that the timer can control the same outlet that Play Power turns on? If so this would work for us. Thanks for the good idea!

Cheers,
Rod

[drmimosa]

Yes, that should work fine. You need to set up Engen with a Z-Stick and outlet as described at the top of this thread.

Good luck, let me know how it works out.

[nwboater]

Yes, that should work fine. You need to set up Engen with a Z-Stick and outlet as described at the top of this thread.

Good luck, let me know how it works out.

I just ordered the Z-Stick and outlet. The ZEN-07 Outlet that Jim linked is out of stock and not currently available here in Canada. I ordered a ZEN-06 which seems to be very similar and also has two USB charging ports. Hopefully it will work okay.

When they arrive and I get some time to set it up I will post back here. Thanks again for everyone's help with this.

Cheers,
Rod

[nwboater]

The Z-Stick and Outlet arrived and I started working on it today. So far I have the Z-Stick installed (I didn't need a driver) and the Outlet paired to it. The outlet shows in Engen and I can turn it on and off from Engen.

I went to do the MC Remote Control setup per Jim's instructions at the top of this page. To my dismay the MC version (MC:22.0.113) on my IdPi (Fully Baked Id:22.0.79) does not show Remote Control under Tools/Options nor is there a selection for it in Features. I have done updates and these are the latest versions I get. So at this point I'm very stuck.

Any help would sure be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rod

[JimH]

Hi Rod,
Did you try connecting to it with Panel?

I'm glad you got it going without much trouble.

Jim

[nwboater]

Hi Rod,
Did you try connecting to it with Panel?

I'm glad you got it going without much trouble.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Thanks for getting right back to me.

I should have explained that I only got control of the outlet manually from Engen via Panel. I can't set up Play Power because my IdPi version of MC doesn't have Remote Control settings.

So yes the above was done using "Lighting" (Engen) in Panel, but I don't seem to have the ability to do the settings that you wrote about via 'Remote Control'.

Thanks,
Rod

[JimH]

We will need to update your Id to a newer version.  Stand by.

[nwboater]

We will need to update your Id to a newer version.  Stand by.

Thanks Jim. Looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Rod

[drmimosa]

Right now PlayPower only works with Audio files right now. Any plans to add video?

I'm trying to send an IR blast in conjunction with Zoneswitch to automatically set up the stereo input etc. The zone activates PlayPower any time I play audio, but never with only video. I've tested with or without Zoneswitch, same result.

Thanks for your assistance and thanks again for this feature, I use it every day and it seems rock solid.

[JohnT]

Right now PlayPower only works with Audio files right now. Any plans to add video?

I'm trying to send an IR blast in conjunction with Zoneswitch to automatically set up the stereo input etc. The zone activates PlayPower any time I play audio, but never with only video. I've tested with or without Zoneswitch, same result.

Thanks for your assistance and thanks again for this feature, I use it every day and it seems rock solid.

One thing we talked about is adding check-boxes for each step in a control sequence indicating which media types it applies to.  Then you could have a zone that had some control steps that applied to both audio and video playback, and some steps (like a TV or Projector) that only apply to video.

[drmimosa]

One thing we talked about is adding check-boxes for each step in a control sequence indicating which media types it applies to.  Then you could have a zone that had some control steps that applied to both audio and video playback, and some steps (like a TV or Projector) that only apply to video.

Great idea! It could also appear as part of the right click menu for zones, right next to ZoneSwitch. It has a lot of useful functions built in already, in addition to Engen controls.

[nwboater]

Thanks Jim. Looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Rod

I got the new version, installed it and now Remote Control is available so I can setup Play Power.

It now turns on the outlet that powers the receiver when I start playing. Good!

Unfortunately I have some problems.

1. As I discussed earlier we also need to turn the receiver off. Engen does not have the capability to turn it off when the Player stops but it was suggested that I use the MC Scheduler to turn it off. Some issues doing that.
     A. The time zone in the IdPi clock is different than mine so I can't use our time for settings. I don't see any way to adjust the IdPi time.
     B. When I do the setup in 'Scheduler Task' I select 'Device'. In the Command Line it is not possible to enter 'Turn Off'. If I select 'All Lights' instead of 'Device' the Command Line shows the option of 'Turn All On' or 'Turn All Off'. This can work for me since I only have one Device (the outlet), but it is not very intuitive.
     C. Now the bad one. It turns off at the preset time but it immediately (very rapidly) turns it back on. I am sure to not have the MC Player playing at the turn off time. I have even disabled the settings in Remote Control that turn it on when something is playing. So this makes it unusable for us unfortunately.

I am having some other problems with the IdPi but I will put those in a separate thread.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Cheers,
Rod

[JimH]

The timezone can be changed in the Text menu.  #17, then #5.

[nwboater]

The timezone can be changed in the Text menu.  #17, then #5.

Thanks Jim. I should have found that one!   A. - the time issue is fixed now.

Cheers,
Rod

[nwboater]

I got the new version, installed it and now Remote Control is available so I can setup Play Power.

It now turns on the outlet that powers the receiver when I start playing. Good!

Unfortunately I have some problems.

1. As I discussed earlier we also need to turn the receiver off. Engen does not have the capability to turn it off when the Player stops but it was suggested that I use the MC Scheduler to turn it off. Some issues doing that.
     A. The time zone in the IdPi clock is different than mine so I can't use our time for settings. I don't see any way to adjust the IdPi time.
     B. When I do the setup in 'Scheduler Task' I select 'Device'. In the Command Line it is not possible to enter 'Turn Off'. If I select 'All Lights' instead of 'Device' the Command Line shows the option of 'Turn All On' or 'Turn All Off'. This can work for me since I only have one Device (the outlet), but it is not very intuitive.
     C. Now the bad one. It turns off at the preset time but it immediately (very rapidly) turns it back on. I am sure to not have the MC Player playing at the turn off time. I have even disabled the settings in Remote Control that turn it on when something is playing. So this makes it unusable for us unfortunately.

I am having some other problems with the IdPi but I will put those in a separate thread.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Cheers,
Rod

B. & C. are still problems. Does anybody have an idea what could be wrong?

The IdPi is also having overheating problems which I have detailed in this thread: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,113940.msg787496.html#msg787496

Cheers,
Rod

[drmimosa]

Rod,

No idea on C, but I have an idea for B. I'm assuming you are using Engen. Try making a new scene which only turns off the receiver switch, call it Stereo Off. Then use MC timer to schedule it to activate Stereo Off every night at 1am or so. This should turn accomplish your objective, if I understand it correctly.

[nwboater]

Rod,

No idea on C, but I have an idea for B. I'm assuming you are using Engen. Try making a new scene which only turns off the receiver switch, call it Stereo Off. Then use MC timer to schedule it to activate Stereo Off every night at 1am or so. This should turn accomplish your objective, if I understand it correctly.

Sorry for ignoring your very thoughtful post. I've been struggling with IdPi overheating which is solved. Now I can't get the Task Scheduler to work for Engen and have made a separate thread for that problem.

Anyway thanks for you ideas, which I hope to be able to soon implement.

Cheers,
Rod

[jachin99]

I know this is an old thread but I want to explore my options.  With a aeon multisensory fi e, could jriver know when a person walks into the room, check the power status of my tv and that on based on room occupancy? 

[astromo]

Couldn't say.

I'm a very basic user. I've got this gear:
https://aeotec.com/z-wave-plug-in-switch/
to turn my HiFi equipment on when I listen to audio.

[JimH]

Here's a good outlet strip:

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,110810.0.html