Streamzap Remote Stops Responding

[cumak]

I've been having a problem with my Streamzap remote for years, and after a few early attempts to fix it I've just ignored it all this time. However, I've recently reached my boiling point so I'd like to try to fix it again.

The remote always works fine after rebooting my SageTV Client machine. However, eventually it always stops responding. Sometimes it works for a few days, and sometimes for just a few minutes. When it stops responding, the red LED on top of the IR receiver stops flashing. I *think* that means that the USB port has been disabled and the 5V supply is no longer active, but I'm not certain of that. The LED just stops flashing, and obviously SageTV no longer responds to the remote either.

When this happens, the only way I've found to get it working again is to reboot the machine. I've tried a number of other things, to no avail. Some of the things I have tried are:

- unplugging and reconnecting the IR receiver USB cable
- exiting and restarting the Streamzap "settings" application that resides in the system tray
- disabling and enabling the device from within the Windows device manager

Rebooting is the only thing that works. I have the most recent Streamzap driver version (3.0.0). I have not bothered to try other remote applications like LM Remote KeyMap or EventGhost, because I think these still rely on the Streamzap driver functioning properly.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

[gplasky]

Are you letting your PC go to sleep? Some USB devices have issues waking up after that. So much so they need a reboot. Do you have the remote plugged into your motherboard or a USB powered hub?

Gerry

[cumak]

Thanks for your reply. This happens when the PC is awake. I'll be in the middle of a show, I'll hit the pause button or something, and nothing happens. It's plugged directly into the motherboard.

Any other thoughts?

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by cumak

When this happens, the only way I've found to get it working again is to reboot the machine. I've tried a number of other things, to no avail. Some of the things I have tried are:

- unplugging and reconnecting the IR receiver USB cable
- exiting and restarting the Streamzap "settings" application that resides in the system tray
- disabling and enabling the device from within the Windows device manager

If it makes you feel any better, I've always had this problem with my Streamzap remote too. Usually just shutting down and restarting the streamzap settings app works. 80% of the rest of the time unplugging the remote and shutting down the app works. The rest of the time I have to restart to get it to work again too.

[thatdude90210]

I had similar issues with the Streamzap software/driver. It would go unresponsive after a period of time. Sometimes longer sometimes shorter. On my old P4 server, it would just become unresponsive and "zremote.exe" would be burning up 100% cpu.

On my new amd x2, it would become unresponsive with zremote.exe burning up 25% cpu. I doubt streamzap will ever fix this, it's over several drivers. Google zremote crash and you'll find others with the same issue.

I gave up and instead of trying another remote, I got a HD200 (which I'm very happy with) & moved the server into a closet.

[CMO]

I also have this issue but for me the red lights still flash when I aim the remote at the IR. Nothing happens. When I contacted Streamzap about it, this was their response:

Did you put BRAND NEW batteries in the remote? And has the problem been apparent from the beginning? Is the receiver in a brightly lit location? If so, the receiver's buffers may become overloaded. We apologize for the inconvenience.

[cumak]

Well, it sounds like this problem isn't going to get fixed anytime soon. I guess I'll have to replace my Streamzap with something more stable. This time I'll do a bit more research before I buy.

[gplasky]

Check newegg.com. You can get MCE remotes and receivers for less than $30. Works natively in Sage.

Gerry