exemultitunerplugin simply isn't working anymore

[pat_smith1969]

Ok, I've been working on this for almost 16 hours straight.

I was having a TON if issues with SageTv so I formatted the drive and re-installed the OS again (easiest way I know to start from scratch). I reinstalled the OS and all updates.

I thenn installed SageTV, that went great. NOW I installed the firewire tuner plugin, the one that changes channels via firewire (I don't do any recording over FW just channel changing). I followed the instructions for TIMMOORE's drivers and that works great. From a command line I can change channels all I want on either of my two STBs.

I have followed the directions by MeInMaui MANY times and I cannot get sage to tune the channels. I have uninstalled and re-installed Sage a couple different times with a couple different versions and they all do the same thing.. which is NOTHING.

IT works at the command prompt but it does not from within sage. Here is my info below.

I have copied the exemultitunerplugin.dll to the common dir and selected that to change the channels in sage.

Sage.Properties (a portion anyways).

mmc/encoders/1642691032/2/1/video_crossbar_type=2
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/available_channels=
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/brightness=116
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/contrast=121
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/device_name=4
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/hue=128
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/last_channel=49
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/provider_id=1752385553997
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/saturation=113
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/sharpness=63
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/tuning_mode=
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/tuning_plugin=C\:\\Program Files\\SageTV\\Common\\EXEMultiTunerPlugin.dll
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/tuning_plugin_port=0
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/video_crossbar_index=0
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/0/video_crossbar_type=3
mmc/encoders/1642691032/3/1/available_channels=

Registry

String Value "command"
c:\getHD\channelw.exe %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%

well no TV until I gvet this fixed. Wife is NOT happy!!!

[brewston]

Are you sure you editted the correct registry key ? IIRC the multituner uses the Frey Technologies registry entry whereas the single tuner one (The one I use) use the Sage entry

My entry looks like :

String Value "command"
wscript C:\\\\changer.vbs %CHANNEL%

(I can't remember why I needed all those backslashes, but it works so I'm not messing with it !)

Tim

[pat_smith1969]

I used the reg file supplied by MeInMaui. The entry is under HKLM/Software/Frey Technologies/

I think the entry after Frey is "ExeMultiTuner" or some such, I can check when I get home.

[pat_smith1969]

IS this affected at all by Java version? Would upgrading my version of Java help? I ask because I have the version that is installed with the basic Sagetv install.

[brewston]

Sounds like the right place in the registry. I doubt its effected by the Java version as its a dll, but I wouldnt want to tell you definitively ;-) I'd try getting the latest version

When I was troubleshooting this, I changed the registry entry to a script that wrote the channel name into a notepad file

Tim

[pat_smith1969]

The DLL I have was last modified in 2003, is there a newer one? Maybe the one I have is too old. Does the DLL need to be registered in the registry somewhere? or is simply dumping it in the common directory do the trick?

[brewston]

Not sure on the file date sorry - I used the non-multi one. AFAIK (and Im no Windows expert) the dll is coded to look in the registry - you dont need to tell the registry about the dll.

I also remember having some problems when in service mode, try turning that off to see if it makes a difference

[pat_smith1969]

Thanks again Brew

I have tried both in Service mode and not in service mode. Actually I started NOT in service mode and tried service mode in a desperate attempt to find an answer.

[pengdahl]

I use exemultituner with girder to change channels. Here's my setup:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\EXEMultiTunerPlugin\command
is the location of the key

C:\Program Files\Girder32\event.exe SageSetExternalChannel 18 %CHANNEL% -silent
is what's in the key

the EXEMultiTunerPlugin.dll is in c:\Program Files\SageTV\Common

I have this folder as well: C:\Program Files\SageTV\Common\RemoteCodes\EXEMultiTunerPlugin

Inside this folder is a file called "StubDevice.ir" which is 0 bytes in length. (create an empty file in notepad and save it to get this file)

hope this helps.

[pat_smith1969]

I do have that subdir in that location. But acording to the instructions I should copy the Stubdevice.ir and name it x.ir (where x is the number of the device as described by doing a channel.exe /v in the GetHD directory). Also I am to edit the file and replace the word StubDevice with that same number in the file.

Is this right, do you think? or are there other hidden directoins I don't know of? I can say these directions worked 4 months ago when I set it up originally.

[derringer]

I'm closely watching this thread, as I posted one about issues with a reinstall of myblaster (serial) using exetunerplugin.dll , that never occured before the reinstall.

I almost wonder if something changed in the current version of Sage which is messing up these external .dlls As far as I can tell, the multituner one is very similar to running exetunerplugin.dll , so our issues might be related.

I have gotten it to change channels, but it does not append a 'select' after the channel number, so I have to wait for my cable box to timeout to change.

The only thing I can think of is my original installation was in the 5.X version series of Sage, and this time I went right to 6.X without upgrading from 5.X . I will continue to monitor this thread for ideas, but thats my best guess at the moment (and its not a very good or substantiated guess, at that.)

Good Luck

[pat_smith1969]

Interesting...
When it worked for me before I had upgraded from version 5 to version 6.2.0. This time I just went to the latest beta version (6.2.7 I think). THen when I had problems I uninstalled and installed the latest production version (6.2.2 I think). THEN when that didnt work I upgraded again to 6.2.7

[MeInMaui]

@pat_smith1969

I am currently using Exemultituner to control 2 set top boxes with the latest beta version of SageTV (6.2.8RC) in service mode. So I don't think anything changed in sage and it should be possible to get this working again.

The first thing I would do is open a command prompt and try to manually change the channel. That should help separate whether this is a problem with the firewire software/drivers or a problem with sage.

It would also be helpful if you could enable debug logging (add debug_logging=TRUE to your sage.properties file) and try to change the channel in sage. If you could then post the debug log (sagetv_0.txt) and your sage.properties files here, they should give some clue as to what is happening.

Aloha,
Mike

[pat_smith1969]

from a command line and typeing "channel 3 54" will always change the STB to channel 54. This works 100pct.

I have enabled debug mode but the log you said to post does not exist. Is it listed by another name?

I am posting my sage.properties, I had to change the exgtension to .txt to be able to upload it.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by pat_smith1969

from a command line and typeing "channel 3 54" will always change the STB to channel 54. This works 100pct.

I have enabled debug mode but the log you said to post does not exist. Is it listed by another name?

I am posting my sage.properties, I had to change the exgtension to .txt to be able to upload it.

The log file (sagetv_0.txt) should be in your SageTV folder after running sage with the debug property enabled. It looked like you had it right in your properties file, so I don't know why it isn't there. You are just running one computer, right? You aren't trying to do this on a client are you?

Aloha,
Mike

[pat_smith1969]

Yes I am doing this all on the server, the only clients I currently have are MVPs. There seems to be really something wrong with my install.


If I were to start over from scratch I would NEED to save my favorites list, my wife would go absolutely ape bonkers if she has to set them all up again (I think it would be easy, just enter a favorite with the words "really bad reality tv" and that should get just about every program she is interested in ).


Also is there a guide on how to totally remove sagetv from your system for a fresh install? If I were to do a fresh install I would want to remove all registry entries and all DLLs and stuff. I am reluctant to re-install the OS as that adds about 4 hours to the process.

[pat_smith1969]

I found out that the by saving the wiz.bin is my key to keeping my favorites. I will do a complete re-install soon and update this post, for those playing along at home.

[pat_smith1969]

Well a complete wipe and reinstall solved the problem. There must have been some weird problem with the original "fresh install" I did. I installed 6.2.10 fresh after wiping any trace of sage off the PC and it worked EXACTLY as described.

This is a HUGE win for me, thanks to all that helped. Special thanks to meInmaui for the help (and the plugin).

[antpowers]

I'm unable to get firewire channel changing working through exemultitunerplugin. I've installed the timmoore implementation which enables me to change channels from the command line but not through sage. I have turned debug logging on but nothing in here gives me a clue as to what's happening when the plugin is issuing the call. Is there a log I can look at besides sage logs. Do the attached logs give you an understanding as to what is happening?

[sflamm]

One debugging trick to use is to replace the call to the "dll" with a call to a bat file .... that way you can validate how it is being called and with what parameters.