MCE Remote FAQ

From EventGhost

Jump to: navigation, search

The contents of this FAQ have been extracted from the lengthy posting on The Green Button forum (the whole thread may be read by clicking here) - my thanks to all of the contributors (particularly burningzeroad for his hard work and pallissmn for his excellent introduction).

Contents

[edit] What is this all about?

Microsoft OEM a remote control to compliment their XP Media Centre Edition (MCE) which is attractively priced and designed and includes a USB-based IR Receiver. Both the remote and the operating system can be purchased separately and the remote will work to some degree with standard XP (service pack 2 is recommended). The remote allows you to control the PC (which is cool) and you can even teach it the TV on/off and volume up and down buttons so you can perform those functions from the MCE remote.

Some of the buttons send normal keystrokes like <Enter> and <Up> and <Down> which work in any application.

It is also supplied with two IR "Blasters". These are designed to allow the PC to send commands to other devices (such as a TV) by simulating a remote control and sending the infra red signals that it (the TV) understands. So if you have a cable, freeview or other kind of set top box, you can get the PC to change the channel of the other set-top-box (provided it is on the Microsoft list). You program the computer to record a program, and the PC will make sure that the set-top-box is tuned to the right channel). If its not on the Microsoft list, MCE has the facility to set up manually from a normal STB remote by capturing and storing the IR Commands.

French programmer Bruno FLEURETTE has provided a (free) set of stand-alone and programmable tools that provide the following extended features:

  • Complete control of the IR Input (optional) allowing you to use it to control ANY program on your PC (with or without MCE)
  • Learn IR commands from the remote controls of other devices (TVs, STBs etc)
  • Transmit previously saved IR commands or Pronto format CCF commands to either blaster allowing you to control external (non-PC) devices directly from your computer via the remote.
  • Accept the input from other (compatible) remote controls allowing you to process more commands than previously possible using just the supplied remote control.

All this would be possible with standard XP and allow complete control of your PC and external equipment via remote control with or without MCE.

[edit] What do you need?

  • A PC running XP (any edition) with an available USB port (for the IR receiver).
  • A MCE v2 remote (v1 remotes are not yet supported).
MCE v1 Remote (not supported)
MCE v1 Remote (not supported)
MCE v2 Remote
MCE v2 Remote

[edit] Setting it all up

First (if you have not already), install the MCE remote control and check this is working.

Next you have a choice:

[edit] a) Use the default driver (eHome Infrared Receiver)

If you only use MCE, and you do not want to change the functionality of any of the buttons, then you can use the default driver and no other setup is required. In this configuration, each button the remote uses the keyboard interface and each key is translated to a key press.. A list of these values may be found at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms867196.aspx. The command-line programs MceIRRec.exe and MceIRPlay.exe may be used to record and playback IR Commands.

[edit] b) Use the replacement driver (MCE Infrared Remote Control)

If you want to be able to customize the button actions you must install the new MCEIR.SYS driver using the following directions:

[edit] Installing the replacement MCE Remote Driver:

  • Make sure the MCE remote is installed.
  • In the Control Panel/System, select the Device Manager button on the Hardware Tab.
  • In the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section, locate the entry for the remote (should be named "eHome Infrared Receiver"), right click and select "Update Driver"
    • Select "No, not at the time" for the Window Update prompt.
    • Select "Install from a list or specific location"
    • Select "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install"
    • Select the "Have Disk" button and enter the location of the MCEIR.SYS drivers.
    • Select the MCE Infrared Remote Receiver option and the rest should be self explanatory.


After installation, the entry in the device manager should look like this:

Easy mistakes to make are:

  • The remote is listed as an input device as well, but you need to change the driver for the USB device
  • To find the driver you need to navigate right to the driver folder and select the "mceir.inf" file.
  • Follow the instruction entirely - if you don't the system will most likely find the standard MS driver.

Please note that as you are no longer using the MS driver, any key presses will not control the PC directly anymore.

[edit] Reverting to the default driver (eHome Infrared Receiver)

If you want to go back to the normal driver, just repeat the above but instead of "No, not at the time" click "yes, this time only" and it should find the original driver.

Retrieved from "http://www.eventghost.org/wiki/MCE_Remote_FAQ"
Personal tools