will microsoft wireless k/board work w alternate drivers?

[arjay]

My system came with a great microsoft wireless k/board. It worked OK with gbpvr while I was using the ehome driver

However, I had to try the alternate driver so that I could use my mce2005 remote to change channels on an stb. Since then the keyboard will not do anything.

Is it possible to get an MS wireless keyboard to work under the alternate drivers?

Thanks

RJ

[ricklous]

no....follow the link i posted in this thread to explain how you need to set your system up to use the ehome driver and HIPs MCE plugin in tandem.

[arjay]

ricklous

Thanks for replying. It is good of you to take the time with us newbies. Actually, I had forgotten your previous links to this issue as it was ME who you were posting with in that link

However, i never got your advice to work in changing channels with the ehome drivers - in fact, the last i remember was that you were in the process of moving your setup and said you would post ccf files or something if I still needed help. Don't think you ever did post them?

I have now had a bit more success in actually using HIP etc to program (success in the sense that I have finally managed to follow the wiki even if I never got a channel changed after it). BTW - I have yet to be in correspondence with anyone who HAS got a mce2005 to change channels on a sky digibox. You must be a first??

I will now go back to that advice and try again.

I must say it is very discouraging - the core components of gbpvr seem to offer so much but most things end up not working:

epg often doesn't update and when I scroll through it programs just disappear; I can't get the time offset to work at all - very important as I am an hour ahead of you guys here in Spain; gbpvr crashes with the my music plugin repeatedly; can't change any channels on the stb; can't use my wireless k/board; playback is still very poor - oversoft and fuzzy (tried every combination of settings I could find): - I could go on and on ....

I really don't want to go back to MS MCE as there are some cool things in gbpvr that I can't get there and I believe in supporting freeware development (all the rest of my network is linux based and my media centre would be too if they only had a decent offering)

Ah well - I'll give it one more try

[ricklous]

Don't think you ever did post them?

no, and i dont think they will be any use to you, as im not using a Sky digibox, im using a NTL cable box.

BTW - I have yet to be in correspondence with anyone who HAS got a mce2005 to change channels on a sky digibox.

Im fairly sure that almost no one has managed this with a few sky digi box models. I have read on some forum or other (either this one or HIPs forum) that its a timing issue - the sky box/remote has much tighter/faster transmission timings than the MCE remote can manage. The MCE remote seems good enough for most STBs but from what ive read it wont work with 100% of STBs.

there is also the problem of toggle codes. it took me a looooong time, about 2 weeks of trying from first installing HIP, before i discovered that my STB uses toggle codes, which mean that the IR that is sent for each button actually has two versions, toggled each time you press the button. This allows the STB to differentiate between a buttonpress that is pressed (1aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) and held and a buttonpress that is tapped(1a1b1a1b1ab1b1a1b). most universal remotes cant transmit both versions of the code. You can use hip to toggle between the two codes by learning both from your STBs remote and inserting version A into the Primary Command and version B into the Secondary command. Easier said than done, but Ive had to do this and after much tweaking/re-teaching, my channel changes are 100% successful. So the first step for your channel changing woes, are to find out for definate weather your box is expecting toggle codes.

can't use my wireless k/board;

ive attached my HIP config file which is set up to use the MCE plugin with the eHome driver still loaded. see if that helps...

epg often doesn't update and when I scroll through it programs just disappear;

can you describe this a bit clearer? sounds very odd if they are just disappearing off the screen when you try to scroll onto a program...

gbpvr crashes with the my music plugin repeatedly

You'd have to ask reven about this, but i dont think hes going to touch the version on the wiki with a long bargepole now that hes put so much work into the next version. probably best to stop using the wiki version and wait for an official new version.

playback is still very poor - oversoft and fuzzy (tried every combination of settings I could find)

if youve really tried fiddling with every setting thats available and nothing inproves it, have you tried changing the quality of the signal before it gets to your GBPVR box? ive found that you need very very decent cables feeding the signal from the STB to the PC, and again from the PC to the TV.

one last thing:

I really don't want to go back to MS MCE

dont do it!!!!!

[arjay]

ricklous - thanks again for your reply - generous as always.

As to my woes:

As far as the epg is concerned: if I scroll up through the tv guide it will show the content of the first 8-10 channels just fine. Then all of a sudden, the content of the next load of channels disappears (the channel names are still there). If I stop scrolling and wait a few seconds, then come back down through the channels again, the content usually comes back. It is almost as if the scroll is too fast for the content to refresh?? No big deal really, as it is only a matter of going up or down through the channels a bit more slowly but it doesn't help with the already very low WAF I can tell you .

Pretty embarrassing all round, as I have to have a dual install of gbpvr (for me) and MS Media Center (for my other half who thinks I am barmy to go on trying to get gbpvr to work). It is part of my long-term plan to learn how to setup things manually, so that I can go back to a linux media center such as mythtv when I know enough to get that working. Then I'll have a 100% linux network again and I can relax. Unfortunately, IMHO mythtv is miles away from being a competitor to gbpvr. But I live in hope

Now on to your suggestions. I'll give your original post another go and try out the hip file you kindly posted. Then I'll report back.

Cheers - RJ