Repeat channel change command

[RobWalker]

Is it possible to get Sage to repeat a channel change command?

I have a Satellite box (controlled by a USB UIRT) that seems to take a long time to wake up from sleep mode. I have Sage send the 'select' code which wakes it up, but often the first digit of the channel change gets lost. I have a number of recordings of the lower numbered 'voice print' channels

I've increased the delay between digits, but don't want to push it too high. Repeating the whole code a second time would work, and is a 'no-op' if everything happened right the first time.

[steven017]

Hi Rob,

That's a real problem, isn't it?

I've done something similar, sending basically throwaway codes to create a delay. You could do the same. It's not a solution, just a pretty crappy workaround. But the only problem is that it would do this every time you change channels (probably necessary anyways), which definitely slows channel changing down. If you don't watch live TV or care, than it might be OK.

Here's a link to a thread I started about this.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30002

The throwaway commands don't even need to be for your STB. In fact, it could be to your benefit that they are not, as they won't make your box do anything funny.

Best of luck,

Steven

[planetc]

I leave my boxes powered up, the difference in power consumption is negligable and delay is not issue this way. I've always considered that circuit boards in such devices generally have a longer life without the cooling down and warming up created by powering down. Some items will also work better when kept at a constant operating temperature, for example I have some class d amps that use next to no power unless they are fed a signal and sound better when warm. Anything that uses a fair bit of power I will allow to shut down but if it is negligable then then in my mind it becomes beneficial to leave it on.

[steven017]

Hey plantec,

That's a nice simple solution. I like it! Of course, I don't have this problem because my STB is so OLD, but for those that have one that "goes to sleep," this seems like a simple way to resolve this *issue*.

I use the workaround I mentioned above for other purposes.

[RobWalker]

Thanks, Steven. I like your idea of simply prefixing the channel numbers with an extra code. I could do that to repeat the 'wake up' command, which hopefully buys enough time.

I'll also look at the settings to see if there is a way of removing sleep mode - though it is a little tricky now that it is set up in the electrical closet without a direct TV feed. Interacting with the menus through Sage is painful due to the added latency.

My last annoyance with this box is that if there is a recording early in the morning, often the satellite box will pop up a message asking for permission to change channels to download a system update. Needless to say Sage doesn't know about this and the satellite box interprets no response as a 'yes' ... I guess I need an image recognition plugin that can detect the dialog and send the 'no' code!

[steven017]

Hi Rob,

I'm glad someone else finds it useful. It's a pretty unusual thing to need, but I guess as we've seen, the circumstances ARE a bit unusual.

About the update popup, is there a specific button that you must press to say 'no'? If so, does pushing it do anything else? If there is a 'no' button and it does nothing in other situations, maybe you could just prefix your channels with that button. That way the 'no' button is always pressed.

Personally, I've got my system doing some pretty funky stuff. I have it selecting between two tuner bands and changing the program language. So, it might be possible. The thing is, for this to work, you need to be able to use a sequence of key presses that will always work.

Hope it helps.

Steven