Channel change on record not working

[Sentient]

Can anyone confirm that they are using a .exe changer and that it is working?

I am using hipsend.exe to change my PVR150-MCE beanbag, and it seems to work perfectly when viewing live tv (or selecting a channel from the guide), but when I select Record or Quick Rec from the guide, it just records the channel that was last active - same for scheduled recordings.

I have checked the log and it indicates that it is calling Hipsend to change the channel, but the IR blaster is not firing.

Is there any way to check in HIP if it receiving the request from HIPsend?

Also, what is the purpose of the Hipsend.ini file that is created in the gbpvr directory? It seems to be recreated if deleted, and in my case always contains 400|0:1


FYI: I have had this problem for maybe 2-3 years?!? over various versions. Its annoying me now as its the only thing I haven't managed to fix

[pBS]

it's most likely the permissions of the recording service...
check the 'interact with desktop' box on logon tab and you should be set..

[Sentient]

I have tried ticking 'interact with desktop' - no joy

To troubleshoot the problem, I wrote a small app that pops-up a messagebox when it runs (basically indicates the .exe was run). I renamed it to hipsend.exe and replaced the existing .exe

When I change channels normally, or select a channel to watch from the guide, the message box pops-up to indicate the program ran.

When I select record, no message box.

I have tried running the recording service as the same user account as I log in with - no luck.
I have changed the file permissions to all full control - no luck.

The problem seems to be with the recording service executing the .exe - so I guess it is some kind of permissions error.

Any other hints/tips/idea's?


Forgot to mention: Running Vista x86 (32-bit)

[sub]

To troubleshoot the problem, I wrote a small app that pops-up a messagebox when it runs (basically indicates the .exe was run). I renamed it to hipsend.exe and replaced the existing .exe

When I change channels normally, or select a channel to watch from the guide, the message box pops-up to indicate the program ran.

When I select record, no message box.

Rewrite your test program to write to a text file (to a file location that all users have access to), and you'll find GB-PVR is indeed running your configured .exe channel changer. There are several reason why you might not see a message box appearing. Chances are you message box is appearing, but its in a background desktop session that your cant see.

Every single time we've investigated these sorts of problems in the past, GB-PVR has been living up to its end of the bargain by running the program, but sometimes these 3rd party utilities have strange requirements that dont work in background session without user making other configuration changes to their setup. For example, some use the clipboard to transfer data between their components, and this doesnt work when the components are running in different desktop sessions.

[Sentient]

Have done as you advised - you are correct that the program is being called as expected in all circumstances.

To be honest, I am at a loss as to why it isn't working correctly.

My program creates a text file as expected when called from the recording service. I changed it again to try spawning hipsend.exe from my program. Windows reports the hipsend spawned correctly - but it doesnt seem to communicate with hip.exe as expected.

I have searched around the net, and found that hipsend.exe (and hipwsend.exe, a windows gui version of hipsend.exe) work by using PostMessage to have hip.exe send the appropriate ir commands.

I realise this has proven the issue is not with gbpvr, but are you aware of any issues regarding using PostMessage from LocalService?

[Sentient]

I have figured out where the issue is occuring.

Hipsend.exe is using FindWindow() to locate the main hip.exe. When spawned from gbpvr.exe this seems to work find. When it is spawned from the recording service it fails.

[Sentient]

Fix found here

pBS has written a nice little program called net2hipsend.exe which solves the issue I was having.

For the first time since I started using GBPVR back at 0.97 or so, I can finally say that everything is working perfectly!!

Cheers for the wonderful product Sub.