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Author Topic: Can MC turn an amp on using EventGhost?  (Read 1465 times)

Mediahome

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Can MC turn an amp on using EventGhost?
« on: December 27, 2011, 02:26:16 pm »

I have been experimenting with EventGhost to see how I can control other equipment.  If you use an IR/RF remote to control both MC and the other equipment you can do some interesting things.  The challenge is that when you use a USB DAC you loose control from MC - you don't have any volume control or the ability to turn the DAC and Amp on.

What I really would like to do is to turn on some equipment when a given zone starts playing (using the Theater View UI).  To do that you would need EventGhost to respond to a MC event.  It appears that EventGhost could do this easy enough but I don't know how to get the MC events into EventGhost.  Does anyone know if this would be possible using MC Automation?  I am not a programmer but am fairly well versed at integrating existing utilities.

Thanks,
Mediahome
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nwboater

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Re: Can MC turn an amp on using EventGhost?
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2011, 03:12:49 pm »

Here's how I handle turning on and off auxiliary equipment:

1. Harmony One Remote Wakes HTPC from sleep and turns on TV.

2. I have a special Belkin Power Strip that the TV is plugged into.  Plugged into the power strip also are amps and other stuff.

3. The Belkin power strip senses the TV turn on (must be based on current draw) and turns on the auxiliary stuff.

4. When I hit 'Off' on the Harmony Remote it puts the HTPC to Sleep and turns off the TV.

5. About 20 seconds after the TV goes off the Amps and other stuff go off.

Works fine for us.

Rod
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Mediahome

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Re: Can MC turn an amp on using EventGhost?
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2012, 03:13:06 pm »

Thanks Rod,

I am trying to do this without a remote.  I have MC setup with a touch screen and would like the Theater View UI on the touch screen to be the main control point. 

I figured out that I can setup a Xantech Audio Sensor Module with a Current Sensor Connecting Block to turn on and off the ancillary equipment.  This should work OK for power on/off although it smacks of throwing hardware at it to solve a simple software problem.

I don't have a way to control the volume though.  I wish that MC would just broadcast events to EventGhost when zones become active/inactive and when volume goes up/down.  Then it would be very simple to solve this problem.

Matt
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Bill Kearney

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Re: Can MC turn an amp on using EventGhost?
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2012, 02:28:33 pm »

I'm guessing you'd have to use some sort of program that watches MC to see what it's doing and kicked off a message to Event Ghost.  The SDK appears to make it possible to do that.  Register for events and catch them when they're fired off. 

I, too, am interested in more robust integration of MC with other equipment.  Mainly as a way to provide audio to a whole-house setup.  Right now most programs only 'scratch the itch' of one or two approaches to the problem.  Something like a plug-in for Event Ghost might have interesting potential...
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