My Better-Half's Complaint(s)

[DFA]

I don't send the IR codes to Sage; they go to Girder. Sage receives all commands from Girder and Girder receives all IR events from the IRMan. Girder is how I am able to have an automatic "ENTER" with LUA scripting and other automated things such as a single "Sleep" toggle button (press the "Sleep" button once on the MX-700 and Sage goes to sleep; press again and Sage goes to Live TV. Press the menu button once and go to the Sage "Home" screen; press again and go back to Live TV).

Again, the point is that the delay is not caused by any usage conflict since Sage has the UIRT all to itself for blasting to the STB. Others that also report this rebroadcast delay to the STB also use the UIRT to receive IR commands to be processed by Girder (RC --> UIRT --> Girder --> Sage --> UIRT --> STB) or direct to Sage (RC --> UIRT --> Sage --> UIRT --> STB). In my case, the receiving part of the equation does not involve the UIRT so I believe this clarifies where the trouble may be. My path is (RC --> IRMan --> Girder --> Sage --> UIRT --> STB)

Ofcourse, the UIRT "sees" the IR codes being sent from the MX-700 intended for the IRMan as can be seen by activity of the LED receive light on the UIRT. I have gone so far as to cover the UIRT with my hand during IR transmission from the MX-700 to make sure the UIRT is not holding on to received IR data since there is no place for the UIRT to deliver it before allows blasting. With a 2.7 second delay, I have plenty of time to remove my hand. Nothing changes with blinding the UIRT from IR codes sent by the MX-700 further confirming the source of delay with Sage and/or the UIRT DLL.

Dane

[DFA]

Howdy:

Just to share some more information and get the thread back on track, I have formally submitted the following information to Jeff in addition to the original four feature / bug suggestions earlier in this thread. I post them here as given to Jeff. I have not seen any traffic on a couple of these things and wonder if anyone else is experiencing these things:

1. Mouse pointer does not consistantly disappear (think there was some traffic on this). P.S.: Forgot to mention to Jeff that I use a Gyration mouse and keybooard if that should have anything to do with it.

2. When calling the Guide from Live TV, frequently Sage will go to the Home (menu) screen requiring a second push of the remote control "Guide" button to get the Guide screen active.

3. The "Preview Selection" parameter (Never, Always, If Active) does not stick. I set to "Always" and frequently come back to find it at "If Active". I know a complete shut down cycle of Sage is required for this to happen but not sure if it reverts consistantly.

4. Feature consideration: The troops (me included) complain about having to push the "Enter" key when entering a channel number. I have written LUA scripts in Girder to automatically process an "Enter" command when 3 digits are entered or will process an "Enter" when 1 or 2 digits are entered followed by 2 seconds of inactivity (no futher digit entry). This mimics the behavior of STB's. However, my scripting is not so smart as to understand leading zero's; i.e., 0-0-7 is three digits which should give an automatic "Enter" with the final entry of the "7". It seems this channel number entry functionality could be built into Sage. Some satellite STB's I believe are 4 - digit devices so a Setup selection variable would be needed for each Source as part of the "Setup Wizard" when defining a source. A choice of "None" in addition to a choice of 2, 3, or 4 digits would leave everything as is ; the need for a manual "Enter" for those that may need or like it as is.

5. Previously, I had made a feature suggestion for OSD "Info" navigation but only mentioned Up / Down channel movement. Actually, when OSD "Info" is active, one should have all the same navigation and functionality that you have when in "Guide". Left/Right and Up/Down arrowing move the "Info" time back and forth and channel up and down; Page-Left/Page-Right and Page-Up/Page-Down take full jumps and entering a channel number causes the OSD Info to go there. Hitting the "Enter" will do the same as when in Guide; go to that channel or setting it to record if the selection is forward in time. Doing nothing (inactivity) causes the OSD Info to time out and dissappear (Inactive) as it does now. In other words, OSD Info would mimic all the functionality that one has when in Guide. Ofcourse, when in Live TV and OSD Info is inactive, the usual channel Up/Down and number enrties results in channel changes.

6. Don't forget about XCard OSD in the future when 2.0 begins to settle out and go gold.

And please, save the suggestions about changing viewing and usage habits to negate the need for any of these suggested features. A mutual understanding of everyone's needs will promote better product developement and usability for all.

Regards,
Dane

[sixdoubleo]

Originally posted by DFA
1. Mouse pointer does not consistantly disappear (think there was some traffic on this).

I currently have this problem. On my HTPC I don't use a mouse, so I don't see it. But when I use one of my desktop clients, I do have this problem. My solution has been to just move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen, but it's a bit annoying.

And please, save the suggestions about changing viewing and usage habits to negate the need for any of these suggested features. A mutual understanding of everyone's needs will promote better product developement .

I agree. While my viewing habits HAVE changed since using Sage, I'm not sure it's solely due to having great content on-hand. Often times I do have the urge to surf, and simply don't bother because it's so painstakingly cumbersome to do.

After looking at all the detailed research you've done on this, I decided to do a test with Girder, and the USB-UIRT receieves and then sends almost instantly. So I too believe this could be corrected.

[glbrown]

I agree with six and dfa. All of these are valid issues and should receive attention. My borg-like enthusiasm for surfing recordings is derived from what I want to get out of the box and may not apply to the requirements of others.

[DFA]

Yea. I think I have become the "poster child" for the elimination of the "Relay-Delay" initiative and carry the banner for the "Livers" and "Surfers" out there. I don't think I could possibly say any more on the relay-delay subject and to do so would be "beating a dead horse" as they say.

I do think I represent a few people on this topic though and believe it to be an easy fix so have no intention of letting go of it; dead horse or not. If an easy fix, I can't imagine anybody objecting.

EDIT: If anyone is interested in an exported GML copy of my automatic "ENTER" command for SageTV channel entries, let me know and I will post it. Maybe someone can improve on it and add "leading zero" functionality.


Dane

[DFA]

Question:

I am out of the country for awhile and will not get a look at 2.0.14 very soon; maybe not even before 2.0.15 is released. So, can anyone tell me if the 2.5 second channel change relay delay to the USB-UIRT discussed adnauseum in this thread has been fixed (eliminated)?

If not, I will continue to pursue it through proper channels. (pun intended if you like)

DFA