EGreat M34A Client

[soccerdad]

Thanks Jaggy and Martin,

I am very close to buying one. Your writeup gives me great confidence that the WAF will be very high. I assume I can use a harmony remote to control this. I guess I would teach it the buttons off the standard remote or I could use a hauppauge one and learn the lircd1 stuff.

Thanks again and good work.

[Jaggy]

No problem soccerdad, I'm glad my post was of some use.

Re: your Harmony remote: While I don't know all that much about NMT's yet I read this thread today http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showth...#pid210425 & in it talking about the remote he said "I solved the m34a problem with my Harmony Logitech remote. The m34a can use the same remote as the m31b so I just added that to my Harmony."

[martint123]

Likewise, many thanks for the comprehensive writeup.
Interesting to note you noticed the doubling up of keys with the Hauppauge remote, I can only guess the remote repeats at a faster rate than the native remote.

[SLR_65]

No problem soccerdad, I'm glad my post was of some use.

Re: your Harmony remote: While I don't know all that much about NMT's yet I read this thread today http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showth...#pid210425 & in it talking about the remote he said "I solved the m34a problem with my Harmony Logitech remote. The m34a can use the same remote as the m31b so I just added that to my Harmony."

If the M34 can use the M31 remote, then the no color button problem is fixed, isn't it? Just order an M31 remote since it has the color keys? (or will it not use the color keys even if they are present?)

Here's a pic of the M31 remote.

[SLR_65]

Is there anyway to modify the fast forward and rewind times on the EGreat M34a? We have our htpc setup to do 30 seconds forwards and 10 back and it works great for skipping past those pesky commercials! Skipping forward, overshooting, and skipping back to where you started doesn't accomplish much!

Thanks!

Steve

[mvallevand]

Is there anyway to modify the fast forward and rewind times on the EGreat M34a? We have our htpc setup to do 30 seconds forwards and 10 back and it works great for skipping past those pesky commercials! Skipping forward, overshooting, and skipping back to where you started doesn't accomplish much!

Assuming you are using PCH2 mode the answer is here

http://forums.gbpvr.com/showpost.php?p=3...tcount=104

The reason not going with the extra remote was the $15 or so it will cost. I was trying to offer this is the value client solution. I've talked to the Myka http://myka.tv/ and I could probably get them to offer GBPVR users something with a PCH remote and 250 GB internal drive for $190.

Martin

[Jaggy]

If the M34 can use the M31 remote, then the no color button problem is fixed, isn't it? Just order an M31 remote since it has the color keys? (or will it not use the color keys even if they are present?)

The reason I went for the M34a was primarily the price compared to the other NMT's I looked at & with the fact there is no way I want a noisy HDD moaning away in the sitting room while I'm watching TV. Then when Martin made it possible to use with other remotes & the fact that I already had a number of spares floating around doing nothing but gathering dust it was a no brainer!

For the extra US$15 for the M31 remote (yes the coloured keys should work) I would say I should be able to pick up a secondhand Harmony remote which will be of multiple uses.

[Jaggy]

Is there anyway to modify the fast forward and rewind times on the EGreat M34a? We have our htpc setup to do 30 seconds forwards and 10 back and it works great for skipping past those pesky commercials! Skipping forward, overshooting, and skipping back to where you started doesn't accomplish much!

Mine seems to do the same as my MVP did without any different setup, I can't remember exactly what I have it set at but something like SKIP goes forward 60 seconds & REPLAY goes back 30 seconds then I just use the FWD key to skip forward 10 seconds with each press.

[Jaggy]

Just a quick update on my experiences with the remotes after mvallevand's update to mvpmcx2 & lircd1 on 2009-07-22

Remotes:

The EGreat remote works very well with PCH2 apart from the missing couloured buttons & the "next/skip" "prev/replay" being a long way away from the "fwd" "rev/rew" buttons & the "power" button turning the NMT off rather than going back to the built in NMT screen.

It still works the same as it did before & I still only use it to turn it on & select GB-PVR, but I did try using if for one nights viewing & it does function very well & is usable even if it is missing some of the keys.

The Hauppauge MVP remote takes a bit of getting used to after using it with the MVP for years as it is inclined to double send key strokes, so far I have not been successful trying to skip a set amount of time (press the number buttons & then skip).

From my point of view this is now totally fixed & the one I am using full time again - no unexpected double send key strokes any more & skip a set amount of time works brilliantly as does everything else I do with it (I just discovered (don't know if this is documented or not) that the "#" key is the zoom key).

The MCE remote works very well but I personally don't really like the button layout on them & find the lack of the "guide" button a pain when setting/checking the days recording in the TVGuide.

I haven't re-tested the MCE remote yet but I don't think anything changed for it with the update.

The Hauppauge (MCE like) black remote also works very well & I am about to try using it for a night & see how I get on with it.

I was using this one at the time mvallevand did the updates as it wasn't quite as touchy/giving double key strokes as the MVP remote & it is also working brilliantly with the new mvpmcx2 & lircd1 updates.

Something I missed from my overall conclusion the other day is the quality of the picture on both my CRT TV & my friends plasma TV is totally stunning even for old analog recording from my PVR500 or his PVR150 & digital SD recordings are even better.

[mvallevand]

Thanks for the update, I'm glad I was able to put it all together with everyone's feedback. The fact that an NMT user came to me with the info that lircd could work was incredible coincidence and great timing.

Martin