Well my trusty Harmony 880 finally died and I need to rebuild my 4 year old media center. With that in mind I was hoping to get some advice on integrating Vera with Media Center using Eventghost. I am looking at the following:
1. Get one of the Intel boards with internal HDMI header and Pulse-Eight HDMI-CEC controllers.
How do people deal with sleep/power? If you let it go to sleep and auto-wake to record/WOL from extender seems like it would want to turn everything on.
2. Get one of the bluetooth remotes and use Eventghost for macros to Vera (ie play/pause with dim/turn-off lights to Vera and play/pause to media center).
Anyone got this working? Was it hard? Anyone got a working Bluetooth setup (receiver/remote) that will wake from S3?
With the above setup, can you make Eventghost trigger the HDMI-CEC portion so it is enabled only by the bluetooth remote?
Really appreciate any insights.
Thanks,
Roy
Home automation and HDMI-CEC
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rwalker
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foxwood
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I'm pretty sure that Windows is able to wake up to do a recording without turning on the display, but it's been a while since I tested that.rwalker wrote:1. How do people deal with sleep/power? If you let it go to sleep and auto-wake to record/WOL from extender seems like it would want to turn everything on.
Most monitors "sleep" when the attached PC sleeps, whether connected by VGA, DVI or HDMI, and I'm pretty sure that when a desktop "wakes up" to do record a schedculed show, the attached monitor stays asleep. The same should be true for a TV using HDMI-CEC.
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barnabas1969
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I'm using the RCAware HDMI-CEC USB bridge and EventGhost. When I bought it, Pulse-Eight didn't have a hook into EventGhost. I heard that they were considering it though. Have they come out with EG integration now?
In my EG macros, I run a command script that does the following command:
The "some_string" part will vary from PC to PC. It should be a string that uniquely identifies that the PC woke due to your HDMI device and/or IR receiver waking the PC.
If the command completes successfully, then the PC woke due to you turning on your TV and/or pressing the power button on your Media Center remote control. In this case, your EG macro needs to continue on so that it turns on the TV, AVR, etc.
If the command does not complete successfully, then it means that the PC woke for some other reason. In this case, you want your EG macro to stop at this point so that it won't turn on the TV, AVR, etc.
In my EG macros, I run a command script that does the following command:
Code: Select all
powercfg -lastwake | find /i "some_string"If the command completes successfully, then the PC woke due to you turning on your TV and/or pressing the power button on your Media Center remote control. In this case, your EG macro needs to continue on so that it turns on the TV, AVR, etc.
If the command does not complete successfully, then it means that the PC woke for some other reason. In this case, you want your EG macro to stop at this point so that it won't turn on the TV, AVR, etc.
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barnabas1969
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Hmmmm... it doesn't sound like Pulse-Eight has come out with a hook into EG yet, and some of their customers are getting upset about that. See these threads:
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... pport.aspx
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... r-WMC.aspx
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... ation.aspx
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... pport.aspx
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... r-WMC.aspx
http://forums.pulse-eight.com/yaf_posts ... ation.aspx
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rwalker
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I should clarify that I want the HDMI-CEC to turn on the receiver and overhead projector, not power on the PC through the display (backwards from most it seems). So the Bluetooth remote is waking the PC and the HDMI-CEC turns on the receiver and projector and sets inputs.
Barnabas1969,
Thanks for the info on the RCAware unit and Eventghost. Concern is they have been "out-of-stock" for a while. Also it costs twice as much. I had assumed (incorrectly) that Pulse-Eight had Eventghost working.
Anyone got Eventghost making HTTP calls to Vera or another external controller? This difficult?
Thanks,
Roy
Barnabas1969,
Thanks for the info on the RCAware unit and Eventghost. Concern is they have been "out-of-stock" for a while. Also it costs twice as much. I had assumed (incorrectly) that Pulse-Eight had Eventghost working.
Anyone got Eventghost making HTTP calls to Vera or another external controller? This difficult?
Thanks,
Roy
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barnabas1969
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Roy,
First, is "Vera" a Z-Wave thing? If so, then I'm sure someone has written a plugin for EG. Also, if it's really nothing but simple HTTP "get" or "put" stuff... you can do it with EventGhost, even if nobody has written a plugin... as long as you have documentation on the communication protocol. There is always a way, with EG, to run other programs and/or scripts to send/receive stuff over HTTP. That's not too difficult. You just need to use your imagination.
I use Insteon home automation stuff, and there was already a plugin for an Insteon SmartLinc 2412N Central Controller (with an Ethernet interface). It isn't a very powerful HA controller by itself (it has limited built-in scheduling capabilities), but there was already an EG plugin for it! Any scene or device that has been defined in the 2412N will trigger an event in EG. Also, EG can control any device in the Insteon network (even if it hasn't been defined in the 2412N... all you need to know is the device address). This gives you almost infinite possibilities.
The Insteon protocol is well documented online, so it wouldn't be too difficult to modify the plugin for increased functionality. Also, it wouldn't be too difficult to modify the same plugin to communicate with one of the Insteon controllers that has a serial or USB interface because they use the same communication protocol. For my needs, the 2412N works fine, but if I had one of the serial/USB interfaces, I'm sure I could get it working in a day or two.
As mentioned in this post, I've modified other plugins to suit my needs. For example, I added functionality to the plugin for my Yamaha AVR so that I can retrieve status information from the AVR in addition to sending commands to it. Prior to installing EG, I had never seen Python script before. It's not very difficult, if you have a basic understanding of programming.
The reason I set mine to work both ways is so that I can use my programmable remote, and visitors can use the simple remote that came with my TV. As long as your BT remote wakes the PC in a way that can be detected as "user interaction", then that can be used to trigger a macro that will send CEC commands to turn on other devices on your HDMI network.
I'll be honest. The RCAware device isn't perfect. It occasionally stops responding after a resume from standby. This can be fixed by simply unplugging it from the USB interface, and plugging it back in. It doesn't happen often. Maybe once every 2-3 weeks in my household... and we use the HTPC for all five TV's in the house (with extenders on four of them). My HTPC wakes 3-6 times per day, and runs an average of more than 12 hours per day.
When I first bought it, I had regular contact with the guy who sells it. He helped me... a lot... so I could get my EG macros working well. One of the enhancements that I wanted was the ability to make the RCAware device ignore CEC bus activity for a few seconds after the PC goes to sleep (because my AVR is "chatty" for a few seconds after it receives an "off" command via CEC).
He said that it would require a firmware update to the device, and that others had asked for something similar. I found other ways around my AVR's chatty nature (by disabling CEC in the AVR, and using Ethernet control instead), but I'd still prefer to have an option to make the RCAware device ignore CEC commands for a few seconds. But, because it was working 95% of the time, I didn't think much about it.
I didn't communicate with the guy for nearly a year. Then, in December 2012, I e-mailed him. I never received a response. I e-mailed him again today. Hopefully I'll hear from him soon. If not, I'll find other ways to locate him.
To "fix" the issue where the device hangs occasionally, I've considered building a device that momentarily disconnects the device from the 5 volt power after each "sleep" cycle of the PC. It wouldn't be too difficult to build, but I'd really prefer a firmware fix. However, to be honest, I wouldn't give or sell the thing... unless someone comes out with something better.
First, is "Vera" a Z-Wave thing? If so, then I'm sure someone has written a plugin for EG. Also, if it's really nothing but simple HTTP "get" or "put" stuff... you can do it with EventGhost, even if nobody has written a plugin... as long as you have documentation on the communication protocol. There is always a way, with EG, to run other programs and/or scripts to send/receive stuff over HTTP. That's not too difficult. You just need to use your imagination.
I use Insteon home automation stuff, and there was already a plugin for an Insteon SmartLinc 2412N Central Controller (with an Ethernet interface). It isn't a very powerful HA controller by itself (it has limited built-in scheduling capabilities), but there was already an EG plugin for it! Any scene or device that has been defined in the 2412N will trigger an event in EG. Also, EG can control any device in the Insteon network (even if it hasn't been defined in the 2412N... all you need to know is the device address). This gives you almost infinite possibilities.
The Insteon protocol is well documented online, so it wouldn't be too difficult to modify the plugin for increased functionality. Also, it wouldn't be too difficult to modify the same plugin to communicate with one of the Insteon controllers that has a serial or USB interface because they use the same communication protocol. For my needs, the 2412N works fine, but if I had one of the serial/USB interfaces, I'm sure I could get it working in a day or two.
As mentioned in this post, I've modified other plugins to suit my needs. For example, I added functionality to the plugin for my Yamaha AVR so that I can retrieve status information from the AVR in addition to sending commands to it. Prior to installing EG, I had never seen Python script before. It's not very difficult, if you have a basic understanding of programming.
I have my RCAware device (and the associated EG macros) setup so that I can use it either way. I can turn on the TV, which will in turn wake the HTPC and trigger an EG macro that will turn on the AVR, set the correct inputs, etc. Or... I can turn on the HTPC, which will then turn on the TV, the AVR, set the inputs, etc. It's entirely configurable... as long as you can trigger a macro in EG based on some input.rwalker wrote:I should clarify that I want the HDMI-CEC to turn on the receiver and overhead projector, not power on the PC through the display (backwards from most it seems). So the Bluetooth remote is waking the PC and the HDMI-CEC turns on the receiver and projector and sets inputs.
The reason I set mine to work both ways is so that I can use my programmable remote, and visitors can use the simple remote that came with my TV. As long as your BT remote wakes the PC in a way that can be detected as "user interaction", then that can be used to trigger a macro that will send CEC commands to turn on other devices on your HDMI network.
I'll be honest. The RCAware device isn't perfect. It occasionally stops responding after a resume from standby. This can be fixed by simply unplugging it from the USB interface, and plugging it back in. It doesn't happen often. Maybe once every 2-3 weeks in my household... and we use the HTPC for all five TV's in the house (with extenders on four of them). My HTPC wakes 3-6 times per day, and runs an average of more than 12 hours per day.
When I first bought it, I had regular contact with the guy who sells it. He helped me... a lot... so I could get my EG macros working well. One of the enhancements that I wanted was the ability to make the RCAware device ignore CEC bus activity for a few seconds after the PC goes to sleep (because my AVR is "chatty" for a few seconds after it receives an "off" command via CEC).
He said that it would require a firmware update to the device, and that others had asked for something similar. I found other ways around my AVR's chatty nature (by disabling CEC in the AVR, and using Ethernet control instead), but I'd still prefer to have an option to make the RCAware device ignore CEC commands for a few seconds. But, because it was working 95% of the time, I didn't think much about it.
I didn't communicate with the guy for nearly a year. Then, in December 2012, I e-mailed him. I never received a response. I e-mailed him again today. Hopefully I'll hear from him soon. If not, I'll find other ways to locate him.
To "fix" the issue where the device hangs occasionally, I've considered building a device that momentarily disconnects the device from the 5 volt power after each "sleep" cycle of the PC. It wouldn't be too difficult to build, but I'd really prefer a firmware fix. However, to be honest, I wouldn't give or sell the thing... unless someone comes out with something better.
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milli260876
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There is a switch in Bluetooth hid remotes properties to enable wake from sleep. However, in my experience it never worked. Which was a shame cos I've got a very nice lenovo Bt mediacenter remote!!!
I'm planning a 35w ivy bridge build so its getting left on and the remote will live again!! Haha
I'm planning a 35w ivy bridge build so its getting left on and the remote will live again!! Haha
Lee
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rwalker
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Vera is a home automation controller with built-in Z-wave support (you can use Insteon too). Looks like someone already wrote a Eventghost-Vera plug-in. 
Seems like both RCAware and Pulse-Eight have their drawbacks... one seems like it's dead and the other seems like it has no Eventghost support.
Whatever I setup has to be pretty reliable, I can't have it break every other week. That would not go over well.
Looks like the Bluetooth remote wake from S3 is dependent on the Bluetooth adapter. Google it and you will find which ones work.
Roy
Seems like both RCAware and Pulse-Eight have their drawbacks... one seems like it's dead and the other seems like it has no Eventghost support.
Whatever I setup has to be pretty reliable, I can't have it break every other week. That would not go over well.
Looks like the Bluetooth remote wake from S3 is dependent on the Bluetooth adapter. Google it and you will find which ones work.
Roy