Change channels on DirecTV STB via ethernet

[Polypro]

Thanks for the extra instructions guys. Anyone feel like typing up a step by step for future users...maybe a sticky? I have yet to implement this, but will...all DTV updates reset the box and kill my serial.

P

[bhyman1]

Originally Posted by Ericvic

Attached is my attempt at a DLL that does HTTP tuning for DirecTV boxes. Like I said before I have only tested it on H24 boxes and Server 2003.

To use the tuner just unzip the file in the SageTV\Common directory. It will add the following files/directories:
SageTV\Common\DirecTVTuner.dll
SageTV\Common\RemoteCodes\Directv HTTP Tuning
SageTV\Common\RemoteCodes\Directv HTTP Tuning\192.168.211.60.ir

You will need to change the name of the 192.168.211.60.ir file to the IP address of your DirecTV box. The IP address also needs to be entered inside the file. If you have more than one box then you can copy the file and change the name to appropriate IP address.

You will then need to restart Sage to get it to recognize the DLL.

If you use it please let me know how it works for you.

Eric

Originally Posted by quantum900

Sorry, I figured it out, You need to go back into the source edit after adding and select the IP. In the original source directions didn't cover this very well.
Thank you for your assistance!

Thanks to these two posts I now have this working with a pair of H23's.

Thanks guys!

[maynardm]

I have this working on my h23 but I have a problem after a scheduled recording wakes the sage server from sleep. tuning no loner works thru sage after this. I can still tune thru a browser but not thru sage. I can only get it to work again by restarting the sage service.
If I manually wake the computer or if my hd300 wakes it then tuning still works fine.
Any ideas how to fix this? I'd like to be able to put my computer to sleep.

[sagestuff]

Eric, wanted to thank you for your work on this and sharing! I have been using USB-UIRT channel changing for some time and have never been completely in love with it. I have been having issues recently with DirecTV recordings that started at the same time. One would end up recording twice so my Wife would go to watch one of her shows and the wrong show would begin to play - NOT good for the WAF! In starting to search for a fix to that I came across your post.

Knocking on wood right now because set up your solution last night and it is working very well! The part that took me the longest was making new patch cables to get my two DTV H-21 boxes on my network!

Thanks again for your work and thanks to everyone for your notes as you all setup this solution. I am actulally starting to feel confident in my DirecTV channel changes!

[mfgolfnut]

Sorry for a possibly silly question. Do you have to hdpvr to use etc boxes with this method. Have 1600 tuners in on current whs server.

[SHS]

mfgolfnut it dosen't what capture card you have it should still work even the old PVR 250 model

[mickdaly]

Eric, I've been using your dll successfully for quite a while.

But DTV just installed a new HR24 for me, and I cannot get it working.

I can change channels through my browser, but - for the life of me -I cannot get Sagetv to change channels on the box. I've done everything as per this thread, including resetting the STB, restarting Sagetv, even re-booting my WHS server.

Any ideas?

[heffneil]

Slight issue with this. I don't know if anyone had a similar problem but if you HDPVR #1 goes away (this means you have two or more) then the tuning doesn't switch for #2. In other words my one HD PVR went offline for some reason. One time I actually unplugged the thing in the rack inadvertently. Well the channels were switching but on the wrong box for that HD PVR? Is there anything that can be done to rectify this? Anyone else see this issue?

Thanks,

Neil

[DRB]

Will this method or Eric's work with other tunners besides the HD-PVR? I have Eric's method working with my HD-PVR but I also like to get my ATI TV Wonder 650 to use this tuner. The problem I have is the Sage Video set-up menu doesn't give me the option to pick a new tuning method.

Thanks for any help
DRB

[panteragstk]

I use it for my 1600's s-video input. Works great. Do you have the .dll files in the common directory with the .ir files in the directv http tuning (whatever it's called)? Follow the directions in the post introducing the dll method and you will be good to go.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by DRB

Will this method or Eric's work with other tunners besides the HD-PVR? I have Eric's method working with my HD-PVR but I also like to get my ATI TV Wonder 650 to use this tuner. The problem I have is the Sage Video set-up menu doesn't give me the option to pick a new tuning method.

Thanks for any help
DRB

It should works with any tuner.

[Beefcake550]

I believe "tuner" is the wrong word here. This will not work with any "tuner", but rather it should work with any "encoder" that a DirecTV box is connected into. The HDPVR and other sources like it do not actually tune a channel, they just encode either svideo or component input to MPG4.

[DRB]

But does it only work with devices that have some sort of blaster control? I don't get the option of chossing or changing the way the AVI 650 tunes.

DRB

[Skirge01]

The channel changing trigger is sent by Sage, not by the recording device. In this case, Sage sends a signal to change the channel of the STB and then triggers the encoder to begin recording. Even if you use the blaster, Sage is still the one that has to tell the blaster to change the channel. The 650 is an actual tuner, so Sage will tell the 650 (rather than the STB, since there's no STB in this scenario) to change its own channel and then tell the 650 to begin recording.

Hope that makes sense.

[DRB]

It does [make sense] but I want to change the channel of the STB. The 650 can't change channels because it is a tuner. I would like your Sage to use the 650 but to have the STB change channels [which would feed the video via s-video to the 650]. Each Directv reciever and be set to it's own IP adress, {1] adress would control the HD reciever with the HDPVR, and the other a SD box with the 650.

Alot of the devices allow you to change how or what to use to tune, the 650 does not. I am thinking there should be some way to do this.

DRB

[Skirge01]

In that case, it goes back to what panteragstk said. He's got his 1600 set up similarly to how you want your 650.

[DRB]

In that case, it goes back to what panteragstk said. He's got his 1600 set up similarly to how you want your 650.

The 1600 and others that come with a blaster and have native support in Sage and as such Sage has an option as to choose between stub.ir in which you can pick the Directv tuner to control it. The 650 doesn't have a blaster but can be used with the s-video so it works the same way but when setting up the video sources there is not an option as to what "tuner" to use.

DRB

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Beefcake550

I believe "tuner" is the wrong word here. This will not work with any "tuner", but rather it should work with any "encoder" that a DirecTV box is connected into. The HDPVR and other sources like it do not actually tune a channel, they just encode either svideo or component input to MPG4.

There are Three Variants Types of Tuners
Analog TV Tuners = PVR 150, 250, 350 , 500, ATI 550
Hybrid TV Tuners similar to a Combo Tuners as well it both Analog and Digital = HVR 1600, 1800, 2250 ATI 650
Digital TV Tuners (also CableCard & Network) = HVR-850Q, Aero-m, DCR 2650, ATI Digital Cable Tuner

Video Capture Cards (aka Frame Grabbers) are stand along devices designed to capture baseband analog only like from composite, s/video, component, sdi, hdmi = HDPVR, Colossus

Then diff type of Hardware algorithms it ref to Frame grabbers
Active Frame Grabbers= Hardware Encoder
Passive Frame Grabbers = Raw Cap/Soft Encoder

[Fuzzy]

When you go through the input setup, you will have the option of which input to use. If you choose the s-video input, it will then ask you if you've got an external STB attached to it, and how you'd like to control it. That is when you would set up the directv control.

[DRB]

When you go through the input setup, you will have the option of which input to use. If you choose the s-video input, it will then ask you if you've got an external STB attached to it, and how you'd like to control it. That is when you would set up the directv control.

I thought I went tru all this and and I didn't get the option. I either missed the question or answered the external STB attached wrong, but after deling the source then restarting and reconfiging the option was there and Sage life with directv is great, espically so now that the IR blaster is history.

Thanks all
DRB