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[joove]

A big thanks to the users who post here and share so much information about JRiver integration and HTPC setups. I started with wanting to improve on Audyssey (Onkyo 818) on my hybrid ribbon speakers (with XO also handled by Onkyo 818) and ended up with the Steinberg UR824 (based on recommendations and reviews here by Mojave, mcwillems and others), a custom built Streacom HTPC, power amp, custom built cables and using Acourate (DRC and XO) and JRiver in the process to get to where I am quite happy with most things. Feeding my Onkyo's pre-outs (onkyo as pre/pro) in to jriver via the Steinberg is also producing more than acceptable results and JRiver's custom hotkeys (streacom IRRC and Flirc + URC remotes) complete the remote integration.

I have windows 8.1 on the HTPC. The big stumbling block I am facing now is integrating the UR824 into my remote's on/off. I have Checked the Steinberg's driver's "Power management" feature: it works as described, 30 minutes after the PC goes to sleep (triggered by the remote), the Steinberg gets into standby. However, nothing on the PC side seems to later wake it up. I have to physically press the power button. Steinberg documentation specifically mentions the "going to sleep" part but nothing about waking it up. I have my "USB Selective Suspend" disabled and power to USB enabled on my mobo (via jumpers). Is there any trick that those of you that still have the Steinberg use ? How do you guys manage the on/off/on sequence ?

The consequence of this is that when I wake my PC up from sleep and try to access the ASIO driver from jriver with the Steinberg shutoff (frequently happens as I forget all about it). I either get a BSOD from the yamaha driver, or jriver complains about "something went wrong during playback" and I need to do some manual thing to get everything back up.

Some experimentation revealed that if I power cycle the Steinberg when it is on, it remains on when power comes back up. Power cycling it in standby leaves it in standby. So one option i was thinking of is a Smart Strip with my PC connected as the master (without the steinberg's power management). This way, when my PC goes to sleep, the power is cut to my poweramp and the Steinberg. When the PC comes back up, I expect both of these to come back up in an on-state. However, I don't know what'll happen to the Steinberg if I keep yanking the power when it is on: can't be good for it (atleast there are no spinning drives and such and hopefully the driver stores the channel routing info)

Amazon is shipping me the smart strip so I'll know soon. However, I am hoping there is a more elegant solution that I just haven't discovered yet. Any help will be very appreciated. I will update this thread with the results of the Smart Strip when I get it.

[mwillems]

Some experimentation revealed that if I power cycle the Steinberg when it is on, it remains on when power comes back up. Power cycling it in standby leaves it in standby. So one option i was thinking of is a Smart Strip with my PC connected as the master (without the steinberg's power management). This way, when my PC goes to sleep, the power is cut to my poweramp and the Steinberg. When the PC comes back up, I expect both of these to come back up in an on-state. However, I don't know what'll happen to the Steinberg if I keep yanking the power when it is on: can't be good for it (atleast there are no spinning drives and such and hopefully the driver stores the channel routing info)

This is exactly how I turn my Steinberg on and off, except I use a power strip with a remote control switch.  I tried a smart strip for a while, but found the lag between when the PC turned on and the rest of the equipment to be a little unpleasant.  Now I just flip a switch. 

In either case,  I've been turning the Steinberg on and off by cutting the power for about a year without any adverse effects on the Steinberg that I've observed.

[joove]

Aah. Very good to know. Thanks for the reply.

I must've missed the delay information on the product page. I now see that there is a minimum of 5 seconds delay. One issue with an IR remote is the need to run an RF extender (in my case) to the power strip: something I like to avoid. I also have mixed luck with the JRiver theater view working correctly after waking up (with the TV off): random Direct3D errors, one portion of the screen blank etc and the second rate Flirc keeps loosing it's configuration on wake. Maybe I'll simply shut the PC off and then the 5 second delay from the SmartStrip is no longer an issue since windows 8.1 and JRiver need more than that to startup.

Could you please share the model of the IR controlled strip you are using ?

[mwillems]

Aah. Very good to know. Thanks for the reply.

I must've missed the delay information on the product page. I now see that there is a minimum of 5 seconds delay. One issue with an IR remote is the need to run an RF extender (in my case) to the power strip: something I like to avoid. I also have mixed luck with the JRiver theater view working correctly after waking up (with the TV off): random Direct3D errors, one portion of the screen blank etc and the second rate Flirc keeps loosing it's configuration on wake. Maybe I'll simply shut the PC off and then the 5 second delay from the SmartStrip is no longer an issue since windows 8.1 and JRiver need more than that to startup.

Could you please share the model of the IR controlled strip you are using ?

Sorry, my strip isn't IR remote controlled, it's RF remote-controlled by a switch that comes with the strip.  It's one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Conserve-Switch-Energy-Saving-Protector/dp/B003P2UMNK. 

Basically I mounted the switch on the wall near the strip. It controls the Steinberg, the TV, the amps, and the HTPC.  I have the HTPC configured in its BIOS to automatically start when "power is restored," which (because the strip cuts power) means anytime the strip is turned on. 

So when I want to start up the system, I press the switch and everything turns on.  When I'm done using it, I shut down the PC, and then flip the switch off on my way out of the room.  The reviews on Amazon suggest that there may be some QC problems with the switch (several people complaining about broken switches), but my switch has worked perfectly for over a year (although I did have to change the battery once).

[joove]

So when I want to start up the system, I press the switch and everything turns on.  When I'm done using it, I shut down the PC, and then flip the switch off on my way out of the room.  The reviews on Amazon suggest that there may be some QC problems with the switch (several people complaining about broken switches), but my switch has worked perfectly for over a year (although I did have to change the battery once).

I am worried about the above. Folks at home will randomly flip switches and I do not want the switch mounted where it'll be easily accessible. That would then become a pain for me too. So tried playing with the SmartStrip a bit more. While the concept is generic, the model is actually called "Smart Strip" (http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-LCG5-Auto-Switching-Technology/dp/B000L9635G/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1406652484&sr=8-8&keywords=smart+strip). There is no adjustable delay like I thought it had.

The good thing here is that there is no noticeable lag in turning on the connected outlets: they come on as soon as the master comes on. Less than a second definitely. Reviews on amazon mention that the Belkin strips had more of a delay. Maybe that is what you had noticed.

Getting it to work with my HTPC-on-master-outlet was hopeless. With the HTPC off, the amp/steinberg would be turned on/off intermittently (bounce). I tried the tips the manufacturer mentioned at http://bitsltd.net/quick-help#t8 but no luck. Once I hooked up my KillAWatt, I saw what the problem was: even when on, the power draw fluctuated rapidly between 0.8A and 0.4A. Once off (not sleep mind you), it was surprisingly drawing close to 0.25 amps and still fluctuating: no wonder it confused the likely simplistic SmartStrip. Since I set up my BIOS to always power the USB ports and the Streacom IIRC is hooked into the power supply (to allow remote start from off), I guess the power draw is just one of those things I have to live with. Did not work with the SmartStrip though.

When I hooked up my Onkyo to the master outlet (since it feeds my Steinberg, I can live with always turning it on even for plan JRiver playback), things were much better. It was drawing a good 0.8A when on and close to 0.5A when off (caused by the HDMI pass-through it turns out). With HDMI pass-through turned off, the sleep on the Onkyo 818 is a much more reasonable 0.04A. With the SmartStrip's sensitivity turned almost all the way to the -ve side of the adjustment, I now get the Steinberg and Outlaw amp turned on instantly when the Onkyo is on and when I turn if off, they turn off in about 15 seconds (caps discharging etc I guess). The HTPC is on the always-hot outlet and separately controlled. The tips here: http://bitsltd.net/quick-help#t7 help in figuring out how to adjust the strip.

Now to work on the remote's activity macros to get the power up/down sequences right.