GBPVR controls going into standby/hybernate when idle for x minutes

[spotty]

GBPVR knows when its idle, so it could count x minutes and then (if no recordings are immanent) go into standby/hybernate.

The PCs power management could be set to 'always on', and
presumably if the PC can go into standby/hybernate at all, it should do so for GBPVR.

I know all too well you can set windows power settings to standby/hybernate the PC after x minutes of being idle but there are two big problems here - what windows thinks is idle could be too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Using CPU% is not a reliable and reproducible means across many computers and causes headaches for many people, myself included.

[HtV]

I have seen a lot of problems of systens not going in to standby/hibernation when they should. I also have seen problems with systems not waking up when they should. I don't recall systems going in to standby/hibern when they shoud not.
I think you only can find out by trying.

Hans

[Sykor]

GBPVR knows when its idle, so it could count x minutes and then (if no recordings are immanent) go into standby/hybernate.

First: I couldn't understand if your problems is windows not hibernating when it should, or windows hibernating in the middle of something.

I may be wrong, but I do believe GBPVR already stops hibernation when recordings are imminent.

Anyway, the only situation where I've routinely had issues with is over the internet. When I'm listening to my mp3s through EWA, I end up having to WOL' it every 30minutes. Disk space allowed, I usually search for a long enough programme to record, just for the sake of stopping hibernation.

Although a nice feature idea in theory, it has lots of flaws in it. GBPVR may be idling, but the htpc might be in use for something else. Server/client setups for example. The server's recording service or pvrx2 might be idling for one hour, but with a client system watching some recordings, listening to some music, etc. I myself, have all my music in the htpc. I wake it up when I need it. For all purposes, GBPVR would be idling for ages, and the only activity would be the nic's communication with my other pc. What would be the WAF of it hibernating in the middle of _THAT_ song...?

So, implementing something like that would face the same problems that Windows built-in feature faces, without the added background experience/troubleshoot already done. It would be like reinventing the wheel. And in the end, I truly believe it would be as flawed has Windows' one, if not more.

[pBS]

you can use Toff and Wosb to bypass windows suspend mechanisms and control it yourself...
they also help tell you what is happening to prevent standby...

[spotty]

...
Anyway, the only situation where I've routinely had issues with is over the internet. When I'm listening to my mp3s through EWA, I end up having to WOL' it every 30minutes. Disk space allowed, I usually search for a long enough programme to record, just for the sake of stopping hibernation.

Although a nice feature idea in theory, it has lots of flaws in it. GBPVR may be idling, but the htpc might be in use for something else. Server/client setups for example. The server's recording service or pvrx2 might be idling for one hour, but with a client system watching some recordings, listening to some music, etc. I myself, have all my music in the htpc. I wake it up when I need it. For all purposes, GBPVR would be idling for ages, and the only activity would be the nic's communication with my other pc. What would be the WAF of it hibernating in the middle of _THAT_ song...?

So, implementing something like that would face the same problems that Windows built-in feature faces, without the added background experience/troubleshoot already done. It would be like reinventing the wheel. And in the end, I truly believe it would be as flawed has Windows' one, if not more.

Yes I should have stated that it would only be useful for clients or an un-networked client/server (as is mine).
It would completely fix the problem of windows idle detection being based on CPU% because CPU% is different on different machines - I have heard of some machines turning off because windows thought it was idle while they were watching something. With my PC windows thinks its not idle while it is doing nothing (most of the time) - sometimes it works!
This is where GBPVR knows its sitting on the menu with no activity - this shouldn't be very difficult at all to program and should be reliable across different machines. If it were open source I might have a go at programming it myself.

you can use Toff and Wosb to bypass windows suspend mechanisms and control it yourself...
they also help tell you what is happening to prevent standby...

Toff sounds very interesting - I'm going to try it soon, Thanks.

[spotty]

....Toff sounds very interesting - I'm going to try it soon, Thanks.

Toff looks like a great program but when I came to use it I discovered a strange thing about PVRX2.
I was trying to decide what CPU% level to use to send it into standby so I did the following-

Started PVRX2 -> 0-2% when it settled down
Started a recording -> 5-9% once settled
Stopped recording -> 0-2%
Watched a video or viewed photos -> 30-40%
Stopped watching video/photos and back on the main menu -> 13-14% :confused:
Task manager reports PVRX2 using 12%

Even though essentially idling it was using more cpu% than when recording.
this tells me there is nothing I can do to get Windows or Toff to make the computer standby when idle since idling (after watching something) used more cpu% than recording.

Does anyone else have this phenomenon?

[widman]

I am looking for a similar feature:

Scheduled Power Control

I've tried several other methods of putting the computer into Standby, but don't have anything working reliably yet.

pete

[herrmannj]

cpu usage isnt a reliable way to tell if the computer is idle or not, therefore windows dont used it to decide if the computer is idle. instead windows uses a sophisticated way to make a guess of user presence by counting keystrokes, mousemoves and window switches.

Applications can request to stay switched on, even there is no mouse and similar activity (ie while playing a 5h video) and as far as I know sub make use of that mechanism. But I found there are flaws, ie with vmr9 mode. The computer will never go to standby, regardless of your power scheme.

I'm not sure if that is a gbpvr or a windows issue, but far of this its very difficult for a software to decide when a htpc is idle or not.

for example: its ok to stay alive if you are watching a 2h or so foto show. but you would expect to switch of, say 5 minutes or so , after an automatic recording.

[spotty]

GBPVR already has half of this feature present. The built in 'screen saver' comes on after it has been idle for some time.
All it would need added is that when the screen saver is about to come on, check if recordings are imenent, if not, then go into standby.
(should be an option of course)

[sub]

There is no way GB-PVR can know what else is happening in the machine, so there is pretty much zero chance I'd implement this. Sorry.