Audio / Video pipes - Settop box, TV [solved]

[jamo]

I have a question regarding how the pipes should be set up between my AV devices. I'm thinking that this (among other things) might be the cause of some of my woes regarding USBUIRT IR code transmission problems.

I have a media director (zotac zbox AD04) which connects to a Hisense 40" LCD TV via HDMI (video and audio over HDMI). However, I also have a settop box (DSTV Satellite decoder) which feeds into the same TV via the AV1 input (composite video, L, R audio).

So the connections are pretty simple. However, when I set up the TV template, it generates an "embedded" device for every one of the 12 inputs on the TV. This, according to the wiki, is normal and correct behaviour.

However, how do I connect up the pipes to represent this situation. I want to use AV switching to switch between the STB (settop box) input and LinuxMCE input. There would be, I imagine, two media scenarios:

Scenario 1(default) - The TV is being used as the display for the media director. In this scenario I would like all the commands from my remote control to go the media director (play, pause, right left, ok etc) but preferably the volume+, volume- commands to be blasted through to the TV via the USBUIRT.

Scenario 2(dstv) - The TV to switch inputs to AV1, all the commands from the remote control to go through to the STB via the USBUIRT with the exception of - volume+ and volume- which should go to the TV and, I guess, some sort of custom button on my remote to "exit" this scenario and drop me back to default (which should switch the input on the TV back to HDMI and the Scenario back to default).

When I set things up in the Media Wizard, the Audio and Video pipes of the MD go directly to the HDMI input on the TV, not to the HDMI1 "embedded device" whose outputs also go to the HDMI input on the TV. Is that correct? I haven't added the STB yet, but when I do, should I connect that directly to the AV1 inputs on the TV or should I connect it to the AV1 "embedded device"? If directly to the TV, what is the point of the embedded devices? Do I need them? They're cluttering things up a bit ;-)

Another strange thing that may be related, as described in the other thread, is that after boot of the MD, the first time I press a button on my remote, I'm suspecting that the "power on" command is being sent to the TV. I suspect this because occasionally the TV turns off (toggle mode). So I'm guessing that, knowing that my TV is the display for the media director, the MD, when first being used, is trying to switch on the display. Of course, the display is already on so it ends up switching it off. Is that the default behaviour? Does LMCE track the state of AV devices ito on and off? Obviously with IR control it can't know if the device is switched on or off outside LMCE but I was just wondering....

Any hints, suggestions, tips welcome. This is the first time I'm working through these things.

I've requested the discrete codes for the TV if they're available but at the moment it is Chinese New Year so that's going to take some time ;-)

[Techstyle]

I think you have miss understood what 'embedded' means.  'Embedded' means their is a physical device inside the TV that would need controlling - A TV tuner (sometimes called 'Tuner' or 'TV' in your input selection), another example is a Radio tuner for an AV reciever.  everything else should be 'external' (I think it is 'external', I will have to check at home). 

Once you have done this and created a template for your set top box, you should be able to configure them via the setup wizard and check them via the screen where you can see a graphical representation of the pipes to check it.

once the Device Template is corrected it should work as you have specified in your scenarios.

you are correct LMCE doesn't know if the TV is on or not - discrete codes or a two way comms method would fix this

[jamo]

Hi Techstyle

Thanks for the response and some clarification on Embedded.... so I probably misread the wiki- I thought there would be an embedded device for every "input".... and in actual fact there would only be one for every "tuner". I think it might be time to redo that template!

[Marie.O]

jamo,

did you try to run the Sarah wizard, and just answer Sarah's questions, to setup your gear.

[jamo]

Posde, yes, I did but I had to do the TV template first and I think that is where I messed up and ended up with an embedded device for every input on my TV whereas, as I now understand it, you only need embedded devices for the tuner(s) - the other inputs are just, well, inputs. Then, when Sarah asks about connectivity, she provides a list of devices which include the TV itself as well as all the embedded devices so I'm essentially making the connectivity call at that point.

So I think I'm going to correct or trash my TV template and reset it up properly with only the tuner as embedded device. I don't even use the tuner but for others' sake I should have it there. Then the connections should be directly to the inputs on the TV and no embedded devices to confuse the issue. I hope.

[Marie.O]

Sounds like a plan.

[jamo]

OK, I think that has cleaned everything up a bit, thanks for the replies. I will post the Connection Wiz diagram shortly so others can see my connections. I was going to delete the TV Template and all embedded devices but I couldn't find a command on webadmin to do that so I ended up doing it all in the pluto_main database. Since I was in at that level, instead of deleting the TV, I just deleted the embedded devices I didn't need (all the inputs other than the tuner) along with their pipes/connections/controlled_via entries and so on. When it is all working I'll sync the template in case some other cheapskate wants to use the same TV.

I then re-ran the media player setup wiz (Sarah) and answered her questions about the connections with the result that now my MD connects both audio and video directly to the HDMI1 input and my STB connects both audio and video directly to the AV1 input.

It also meant I didn't get all those unnecessary scenarios that were auto generated last time.

I have to say, when you get things right, the Sarah "wizard" is BRILLIANT.

Sadly, it does not appear to have resolved my USBUIRT transmitting problem but I'll continue bugging you gurus on that thread.