Video [Help] Configuring Airtel STB with WinPVR IR Blaster

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PhotostarSR

Adept
I have recently purchased Hauppauge PVR 150 MCE TV Tuner and was trying to configure it with Windows 7 MCE. I have connected Airtel Digital TV Set Top Box to it...
I have successfully setup the TV Tuner including the Program guide in Media Center..
Now the only problem lies is with controlling the Airtel STB with Media Center Remote.
MCE has detected the IR hardware also..but it just doesn't change the channel on the STB..
When i enter any number say '300', the IR blaster attached to the STB blinks but there is absolutely no response from the STB..
I tried the manual IR learning mode..but no success in that also :(

I am attaching two screenshots for reference:



During learning, it doesnot go beyond step 1! It just keeps saying press 1 and hold.
 
PhotostarSR, there are 2 ports where you can connect the IR transmitter behind the IR unit. Have you tried both ports? If you have, then what I suggest is that you try holding the ir transmitter in front of the STB in different positions and see if it works. I have a dual tuner setup with Tata Sky and I too had to try hold the transmitter in different positions before it worked.
 
You will have to check where the ir receiver on the STB is placed and then try different positions. I have not seen an Airtel STB so cannot comment but I am sure its just a technical problem of the ir blaster not placed correctly on the STB.

Can you post a closeup picture of the front of the Airtel STB you have?
 
Thanks a lot Sumit for you help..

I have identified the IR sensor on the STB...

Also, why is that iam not having sucess with the Remote learning..?
 
Two other issues that iam facing are:

1. The video quality is pretty poor..its kinda dull while the same connection gives me brilliant quality on my TV. BTW iam using 24" Dell LCD. Any suggestions on how i can improve the video quality....??

2. There is a lag in the STB output and the display..i mean i see the action on my screen after 3-4 seconds after i have pressed any key on my remote..while there is no such problem with my TV..why is this??how can i reduce that lag?
 
PhotostarSR said:
Two other issues that iam facing are:

1. The video quality is pretty poor..its kinda dull while the same connection gives me brilliant quality on my TV. BTW iam using 24" Dell LCD. Any suggestions on how i can improve the video quality....??

2. There is a lag in the STB output and the display..i mean i see the action on my screen after 3-4 seconds after i have pressed any key on my remote..while there is no such problem with my TV..why is this??how can i reduce that lag?
Click to expand...

1. You need to manually adjust the birghtness, hue, gamma & saturation levels for your video card. If its Nvidia, its straighforward. Goto advance settings and adjust from there. I have the same problem.

2. The lag is due to MCE buffering the video for timeshifting. 2-5 seconds is normal. Cannot do anything about it.

You may need to delete the settings for MCE and try again for it to learn the ir codes. Sometimes when I used to set the channels and channel numbers for my TS STB, it used to screw up. The only solution was to delete the settings for MCE which lies in a folder. You will need to google for it. Its only a minor hiccup, I am sure.
 
Assuming u have connected the blaster to the MCE receiver properly and preferably to the first port.

For the first issue with IR:

U need to place the blaster just below the IR sensor on the STB. If u place it anywhere else, it won't work.

After that, see if MCE recognizes ur remote. I think that's the first step in IR setup in MCE. If it doesn't, go back try again. It will recognize. Keep in mind to point the STB remote somewhere in the middle of the remote receiver & STB.

After it is recognized (or even if it is not recognized after multiple attempts), go to the next step.

In IR learning mode, place the STB remote right infront of the MCE receiver (2cm away) and enter the codes as asked. U should be fine. Sometimes after learning is over and it doesn't work, after a reboot it does.

Also, i have assumed that u have installed the IR32 blaster driver as well as the IR blaster wizard.

If after doing this, u dnt get it through, probably there is a fault somewhere in the connection or the drivers.

For the second issue with video quality:

U do anything u want, but it will still look like utter crap on a monitor.

The only thing u can try is if u have a NVIDIA card, u can change the dynamic range of contrast to 0-255 from 16-255 and the picture will look a little better.
 
When i run the 'Blastcfg' or 'IR Blaster Configuration', they both show the message "No IR blaster found".But MCE has detected the IR hardware well and it also recognized the STB remote in the initial steps when it asks to press '0' and hold..

But during learning as i mentioned in the first post, it doesn't go past the 1st step when it asks to press '1' and hold....i even included the screenshots in the first post.

And after tinckering with setting in NVIDIA control panel, the quality has improved a bit..and actually the picture quality looks pretty decent when watching from some distance.

One more thing is, iam not very happy with sound quality also :( My LG TV with some crap speakers sound better than my Z5500 with Auzentech Xplosion soundcard! I have connected Audio Left and Right of the STB to the Left and Right of TV Tuner...
 
I have never had to use the original driver cd to install the card and the ir blaster/receiver for Vista. Worked out of the box. So I cannot comment on the drivers part.

Good that you could improve on the picture. If you tweak it further, you will be satisfied with the quality.

For the sound, try and see if there are any equalizer settings you can play with. I have my sound output connected to my AV Receiver and it sounds better than my television.

For the remote training, try deleting the EPG Data which is located at the following location. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\EPG and try again.

PhotostarSR said:
When i run the 'Blastcfg' or 'IR Blaster Configuration', they both show the message "No IR blaster found".But MCE has detected the IR hardware well and it also recognized the STB remote in the initial steps when it asks to press '0' and hold..
But during learning as i mentioned in the first post, it doesn't go past the 1st step when it asks to press '1' and hold....i even included the screenshots in the first post.

And after tinckering with setting in NVIDIA control panel, the quality has improved a bit..and actually the picture quality looks pretty decent when watching from some distance.

One more thing is, iam not very happy with sound quality also :( My LG TV with some crap speakers sound better than my Z5500 with Auzentech Xplosion soundcard! I have connected Audio Left and Right of the STB to the Left and Right of TV Tuner...
Click to expand...
 
Yours is a programmable blaster and not a simple repeater. I have the same one. You need to try harder. Do you have access to any other STB? If you do, give it a shot to determine that you don't have a defective unit.

Is your blaster placed inside out?
 
I mean that your ir blaster seems to be pasted in the wrong direction. Reverse it and try. If you have another STB then try it also.
 
I havestuck that ir blaster after removing the sticker from it. so i guess that is correct..

and also when both the STB are exactly same model...do u think there will be any change?
 
I guess that is why its not working. The sticker was on the wrong end for me. Please try the reverse and see if it solves your problem.
 
PhotostarSR said:
Here are the screenies of STB,Blaster and blaster cable attached to STB:


Click to expand...

Well I have the same one and the problem here is the remote itself. I will explain you the problem here.

1. Most of the STB's available in India use pretty old version of IR communication.
2. The database with Microsoft has codes for new version which is the same that is used in the remote that you got.
3. Now the problem is airtel's remote is sending code in old version which Microsoft is not able to detect in any of its database and hence can't continue further. To understand, check if you can get hold of some good av equipments like denon, HK, marantz. There remote would be instantly recognized by MCE.
4. If you need to get it worked out, I would recommend tinkering with EventGhost

Try eventghost, it supports all the kind of remote. It would even identify the remote code sent by old remotes like airtel.

~LT
 
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