USB-UIRT Programming Problem

[lohmein]

I just moved to Manhattan, and I bought a USB-UIRT to make Sage work with my digital cable box. I can't get the UIRT to pickup the signals that the remote emits to the cable box. Any button on the remote that corresponds to another item(ie: the TV itself, for volume and power), i get the little LED on the UIRT to blink. Pressing any remote button that sends a signal to the cable box, and the UIRT doesn't blink or pick up the signal. Obviously, this makes programming the video source through sage difficult. Is there any way around this? Is there a .ir file existing already that I can use? Has anyone else in New York using Time Warner digital cable having this problem?

Specs:
USB-UIRT Model#:USBUIRT0038
Remote: Universal Remote Control, dTV from Time-Warner Cable, OCE-0002A Rev 09(8/1/05)
Digital Receiver: Pioneer BD-V3000
SageTV v5.0.4

Thanks for any help ya'll can provide!

[mike1961]

I'm not fully understanding your problem/question but for programming the USB-UIRT you could just temporarily cover up the other IR receivers including the cable box, etc. Personally, I would try to use a serial cable from the STB to the com port whenever possible instead of the IR otherwise you may have to shield the other IR receivers since the USB-UIRT will now be the only IR receiver you would need anyway.

Mike

[jamjam]

If the led is not flashing at all, it sounds as if the remote is an RF remote not IR.

not sure if the STB will accept Ir signals at all?

JJ

Originally Posted by lohmein

I just moved to Manhattan, and I bought a USB-UIRT to make Sage work with my digital cable box. I can't get the UIRT to pickup the signals that the remote emits to the cable box. Any button on the remote that corresponds to another item(ie: the TV itself, for volume and power), i get the little LED on the UIRT to blink. Pressing any remote button that sends a signal to the cable box, and the UIRT doesn't blink or pick up the signal. Obviously, this makes programming the video source through sage difficult. Is there any way around this? Is there a .ir file existing already that I can use? Has anyone else in New York using Time Warner digital cable having this problem?

Specs:
USB-UIRT Model#:USBUIRT0038, OCE-0002A Rev 09(8/1/05)
Remote: Universal Remote Control, dTV from Time-Warner Cable
Digital Receiver: Pioneer BD-V3000
SageTV v5.0.4

Thanks for any help ya'll can provide!

[mcbinder]

Originally Posted by lohmein

I just moved to Manhattan, and I bought a USB-UIRT to make Sage work with my digital cable box. I can't get the UIRT to pickup the signals that the remote emits to the cable box. Any button on the remote that corresponds to another item(ie: the TV itself, for volume and power), i get the little LED on the UIRT to blink. Pressing any remote button that sends a signal to the cable box, and the UIRT doesn't blink or pick up the signal. Obviously, this makes programming the video source through sage difficult. Is there any way around this? Is there a .ir file existing already that I can use? Has anyone else in New York using Time Warner digital cable having this problem?

Specs:
USB-UIRT Model#:USBUIRT0038, OCE-0002A Rev 09(8/1/05)
Remote: Universal Remote Control, dTV from Time-Warner Cable
Digital Receiver: Pioneer BD-V3000
SageTV v5.0.4

Thanks for any help ya'll can provide!

The book on the unit seems to imply the remote is IR.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/Custo...etID=11&Page=1

As does the book on the remote.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media...%22BD-V3000%22

If it's not flashing, there's no IR getting to the USBIRT.
Make sure you press "CBL" on the remote (I forget to change all the time after I turn on the TV) and try it.

Also, if you have a video camera, look at the remote emitters with the camera as it can see IR very well. Then you can see which buttons send IR.

mcb

[lohmein]

Mike:

Sorry, let me see if I can rephrase. I'm wanting to use the USB-UIRT to send a signal from Sage to the STB in order to change the channel on my digital cable. I'm in Sage adding the video source, and I'm at the part where it's asking me to press and hold 0, 1, 2, 3, etc so it knows what the signal codes are for the remote. I'm doing this (holding the remote very close to the USB-UIRT), but the UIRT never picks up a signal for buttons associated with the STB. The little light on the UIRT blinks, however, when I use buttons that correspond to the TV itself (ie: volume, mute, etc). I'm assuming that means it's picking up a signal. It does not blink when I use buttons that go to the STB (channel up/down, guide, info, channel numbers ,etc). I need to know how to make Sage know the codes for the STB and be able to transmit them to the STB using the UIRT. Does that make more sense? (I've never been accused of being the greatest explainer in the world ; ) )

jamjam:
Forgive my ignorance here: to my understanding, RF means it shouldn't make a difference if the little bulb on the front of the remote is covered, yes? It should still change the channel if it is covered. If i cover the 2 bulbs (for lack of a better term) on the front of the remote, no signal gets through, either for my TV or my STB. Therefore, I believe the remote must be IR, though I have no idea why the UIRT wouldn't pick up its signal.

mcbinder:
No video camera, sadly : ( Thanks for checking those manuals though.

Any other ideas? Thanks for the help ya'll, I really appreciate it.
-Lohmein

[pjwerdna]

Is your USB-UIRT the version with the 56KHz sensor?

If not then it may be that the STB requires code in that range. In which case you wont be able to program SageTV with the codes. Someone else could give you the codes from their setup though as it shoudl still be able to transmit such codes even if it cant receive them.

[lohmein]

How do I tell if it has the 56khz sensor or not? Is there a different version of the UIRT I can swap it out for that has a wider range?

[pjwerdna]

There are two versions that you can buy from http://www.usbuirt.com/order.htm
You should have which ever one you ordered.

Mine should be the 56KHz versions and both have a model no of USBUIR T0056.

[lohmein]

Hmm, I'm fairly certain I just ordered the basic USB-UIRT version, and the '38' at the end of the model number seems to confirm that.

The STB manual that mcbinder linked to earlier doesn't indicate what range the box uses, but the range problem would make sense as to why the UIRT doesn't even blink when the remote transmits to the cable box.

Does anyone here have a .ir file for a Pioneer BD-V3000 (the type of box that Time Warner seems to be using in New York City)? I'd really appreciate a copy of it (espeically if it will save me another $50+ on a replacement UIRT). Or is there another resource where I can find .ir files?

Again, thanks for all the assistance ya'll.

[lohmein]

Ok, I went ahead and bought another USB-UIRT, this time with the 56k sensor. Good news, now whenever I hit a button on the STB remote that corresponds to the cable box, the little light on the front of the USB-UIRT blinks, so I know it's detecting the signal. Bad news: Sage still doesn't seem to detect the signal from the remote when I try to program the remote. If I have the USB-UIRT unplugged and try to tell Sage to add a video source using USB-UIRT as a transmitter, it throws an error, correctly saying that there is no USB-UIRT installed. If the USB-UIRT is plugged up and installed when I add the video source, I move along to the part where the setup says to point the remote at the USB-UIRT window and hold down 0 until it says stop. I do that, the LED blinks continuously , but Sage never says "ok, i've got the signal code". It just sits there. I've got to exit out of the interface and open it up again or put sage into the sage screensaver to get out of that screen (the back button and mouse back icon in the upper left don't work). It's not frozen, but it won't move away from that page by normal means. Any idea what the deal is here? Or how I can create the .ir file outside of Sage? I've alredy spend over 100 on this USB-UIRT stuff trying to get this to work; I'd really like to make it happen, and soon before the fall season starts. Thanks for any help you guys can give; I really appreciate it.

[gplasky]

Make sure your remote is an inch or closer to the USB-UIRT when you are training it.

Gerry

[lohmein]

Did that. I tried a variety of distances and angles.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by lohmein

Did that. I tried a variety of distances and angles.

Are you running the SageTV Service? If you are quit and disable the service, bring up the GUI and do it all through there. After you're done re-enable the service and start it up again. I think it should work or if you need to train it again it should work after. I think there was sometimes an issue if you had the service runningwhen you initially trained it.

Gerry

[lohmein]

I am running the service. I'll try disabling it when I get home tonight, and let ya'll know what happens either way. Thanks for the tip Gerry!

[lohmein]

Gerry, that was the problem. After I disabled the service, everything involved with the video source/USB-UIRT setup went smoothly. I reenabled the service after I was done setting it up and had no problems. Thanks so much; I never would have thought of that in a million years!

[NeroMaverick]

I'm really sorry to necro an old thread, I've been looking everywhere for a copy of the ir codes to control the same box, I can't find them anywhere. If it's not too much trouble could I get a copy of yours?