MCE remote: some keys bring up MCE

[mabloom]

While running GBPVR, all of the keys on my remote seem to work, but some keys will additionally bring up MCE functions.

For example, the Guide button brings up GBPVR's TV Guide, but moments later MCE's TV Guide takes over the screen.

Similarly, the Live TV button does the right thing in GBPVR, but then an MCE screen appears with the text "Tuner not available" (naturally, since GBPVR has it.)

Other Media Center programs somehow inhibit MCE from being triggered by the remote while they are running, so it should be possible for GBPVR to do so.

How can I make GBPVR inhibit MCE from coming up when I press such buttons?

In case it is relevant, my hardware is: ASUS G2S-B2 notebook running Vista SP1 with AVERTV NanoExpress HC82 Tuner, and Pinnacle MCE remote/IR Receiver. A Radioshack remote configured for "Microsoft MCE" behaves identically.

Thanks,

Michael

[zehd]

The MCE remote was made for MCE and your computer knows it!!! that's why you have to disable the keys that your computer will also associate with MCE funtions.

A while back there used to be an alternate driver for the Blaster/beanbag. However, one guy found what keys to remove and make things work. It's found at the beginning of the setup guide for IR Server Suite. I'm quite sure your won't need to install the suite though...

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=33633

[stustunz]

or go to msconfig and stop any services from starting with "ehtray" in them

[Verus]

This manual has a good explanation on how to disable all the buttons from starting MCE, look for Disable ehtray.exe Application for MCE Remote on page 11. I've used it successfully on Vista x64 with IR Server Suite.

http://melloware.lostlands.net/products/...Manual.pdf

Also explains how to eliminate the double button push when you're using another IR receiver app, where MCE and the other IR app receive the IR signal.

[mabloom]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query.

I located ehtray in process explorer and tried suspending it rather than killing it. This worked just as well as killing it for the desired purpose, but I found that just suspending it has the added advantage that running Windows Media Center after GVPVR does not cause a new instance of ehtray to be invoked. Thus it's not necessarily necessary to do anything with the invoking registry entry.

If this were Unix, I'd just start PVRX2.exe from a wrapper that sent a SIGSTOP to ehtray first (Under unix, STOP means "suspend" not "kill") or modify GBPVR to optionally send a STOP signal to ehtray when it starts. (The reason I'd make it an option is that if you select this option you won't want to also send a corresponding SIGCONT later on to cause the ehtray process to resume execution because doing so seems to result in ehtray handling (at least one of) the events that it didn't while suspended, thus starting MCE up)

Actually, upon further thought, it might be cleaner to send ehtray a SIGKILL (or whatever the windows equivalent is) upon gbpvr startup since it will always be done upon startup if the option to do so is chosen, so it won't matter if MCE reinvokes ehtray the next time it is run.

sub: What do you think of the idea of adding an option for sending ehtray either a suspend or a kill signal (or whatever the windows equivalent is) during gbpvr startup? Then the next time somebody asks this question, the answer will be just "click such and such option".

Best Regards,

Michael

[ajst2duk]

This bugs me to bits too........ I tried disabling ehtray but MC still pops up unwanted. If I had the option, I would tear it right out as I never use it, but it seems totally part of the OS.

[mabloom]

This bugs me to bits too........ I tried disabling ehtray but MC still pops up unwanted. If I had the option, I would tear it right out as I never use it, but it seems totally part of the OS.

Yeah. That's because ehtray gets restarted by MC even though you've both killed the running ehtray process and disabled the ehtray startup item.

Instead of killing and disabling ehtray, "suspend" the running process. Although it won't be killed, suspension means that it will never receive a CPU time slice, so it will not be able to respond to an infrared sensor event. And since the ehtray process has not been killed, if you run MC in the interim, MC won't try to start a new ehtray process.

"Process explorer" is one of the 3rd party tools available that you can use to do this.

The only drawback is that you will need to do it once after any reboot of Windows. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

[stustunz]

well my way works but and doesnt restart itself
the only way it comes back on is if i click on the shortcut or exe mc file
and even if you do use mc the next time you restart ehtray doesnt start up
so it works well for my needs

[mabloom]

I did a little searching and found that the pstools package, downloadable from microsoft, contains the pssuspend and pskill programs that can be used from the command line or in a wrapper around PVRX2.

For example, the two line script:
[INDENT] pskill.exe ehtray
PVRX2.exe[/INDENT]

or the script:
[INDENT]pssuspend.exe ehtray
PVRX2.exe[/INDENT]

could be used depending upon whether or not you care about MCE.

If you use pskill, you could explicitly restart ehtray upon exit from PVRX2, if you want the Windows default behavior whenever gbpvr is not running.

With one of these approaches, no changes are needed to any part of the system outside the domain of gbpvr.

[stustunz]

that wont work as the idea is to stop the remote from starting mce when you press start on the mce remote i thought

plus i hardly call unticking a box in msconfig risky