xfinity cisco rng150n , hauppauge 1212, channel changing

[rknop]

Has anybody managed to change channels from MythTV on a Comcast Xfinity box, specifically the Cisco RNG150N box, using an IR Blaster (or some other method)?

Here's what I've done so far. I've got a Hauppauge HD-PVR 1212 box. Using the five-cable component video/audio, I'm able to get video and audio signal from the xfinity box into the HD-PVR. (I've used mplayer to verify this. The color balance is horrible, but I'll worry about that later.) I know that the xfinity box's IR receiver works, because I can power it on and change channels using the remote that came with the xfinity box.

Now, I'm trying to use the IR Blaster built into the HD-PVR to change channels on the xfinity box. First, to position the IR transmitter. I'm looking at page 9 of this user guide. The guide is for the RNG150 not the RNG150N, but the front looks similar. In addition, shining a light on the box, I can see a fourth cirle (although I can't tell just looking if it's a sensor or a dark LED) to the right of the three LEDs on the front of the box. So, I think I've positioned the IR transmitter in the right place, but I'm not completely sure.

Next, I've downloaded this lircd.conf file, designed to send all the codes that the Hauppauge IR Blaster knows-- at least as of the time that that config file was written.

Finally, I ran a script that went through a whole bunch of commands like:

Code: Select all

irsend SEND_ONCE blaster 0_1_KEY_POWER

where the second number (1 in this example) goes through all of the values present in the lircd.conf file. I know that the IR blaster is sending something, because a little red light on the transmitter blinks each time a code is sent. (I assume the red light is for human consumption, as red and IR are not the same, of course....)

I have succesfully used this procedure in the past with a PVR-150 and a Telus cable box (back when I lived in BC). However, the xfinity box is not responding to any of the 0_x_KEY_POWER commands. Possibilities include that the codes for this box are not in the Hauppage set and I won't be able to use the Hauppauge IR blaster, that I don't have the transmitter positioned correctly, or something else that I haven't thought of.

Has anybody succesfully changed channels in a way that MythTV could take advantage of on a Comcast Xfinity Cisco RNG150N box? If so, what did you do?

Thanks,

-Rob

[heyted]

I hope you get it to work the way you want. If not, have you considered a CableCard? Xfinity (Comcast) usually only copy protects the premium channels. Are you using the box to get premium channels? I am using a Hauppauge CableCard tuner with Comcast, and it works great. An added benefit, if your package includes the box, is that you can return the box, get a CableCard, and Comcast must give you a monthly discount.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/cablecard-know-your-rights

[Gary Buhrmaster]

Has anybody managed to change channels from MythTV on a Comcast Xfinity box, specifically the Cisco RNG150N box, using an IR Blaster (or some other method)?

Comcast uses two different remote styles, which look very similar, but send incompatible codes. And, unfortunately, the RNG150N is a Comcast "branded" name, which Comcast uses on a couple of different physical STBs (manufactured by one or more of Cisco, Motorola/Arris, Pace).

I am not sure which lirc.conf might work, but you can try the various sets from:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2222289
http://lircconfig.commandir.com/lircd.c ... emote=1227
http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/cisco/RNG-150

Good luck.

[rknop]

Yeah, I've seen those links. Those are for standard serial LIRC blasters, not for the ones that come with the Happauge HD-PVR. The Happauge uses a different set of codes to communicate; I was hoping somebody had figured out how to get this particular box to work with the Hauppage IR blaster. I've ordered a standard IR blaster and sensor hoping that I'll be able to suss out the codes that the remote I have uses and program them myself into LIRC.

The other question is just where to position the blaster. Do you know exactly where to place the sensors?

My RNG150N box is a Cisco box.

heyted: which channels count as "preimum" channels? Is it just things that you'd pay for like HBO, etc? Or is it anything beyond what is broadcast in the local area?

[heyted]

Yes. HBO, etc. The only regular channel that is copy protected in Comcast's South Florida area is MoviePlex. All other regular channels like ESPN and CNN are fine.

[Gary Buhrmaster]

Yeah, I've seen those links. Those are for standard serial LIRC blasters, not for the ones that come with the Happauge HD-PVR.

Actually, it is starting to come back to me now. The codes are correct. The problem is that the ZILOG chip in the HD-PVR blaster along with the Linux driver does not support XMP codes, nor learned codes. There was some experimental work being done half a decade ago to get things to work (using learned codes I believe), but AFAIK it never got integrated. Rather than fight (and do the kernel/lirc development themselves) most just switched to another blaster.

[Gary Buhrmaster]

heyted: which channels count as "preimum" channels? Is it just things that you'd pay for like HBO, etc? Or is it anything beyond what is broadcast in the local area?

While every franchise is unique, it is currently Comcast corporate policy that everything other than the premiums (such as HBO, STARZ, Showtime, PPV events, etc.) is set to CCI copy-freely. So an OCUR tuner device is an attractive option for many using Comcast (and a few other MSOs with similar policies) and MythTV, which can record most channels. Two to six (depending on what device you purchase) concurrent recordings are possible per device. It is known that some using MythTV on Comcast have an OCUR tuner device for "most" content they record, and an HD-PVR (with a STB) if they need to record HBO or Showtime for later viewing. The pricing of the first CableCARD is very franchise dependent (and if your franchise charges an outlet fee, even more per card). As heyted said, if you also return your STB (and use only MythTV), the first CableCARD is often free or low cost, and you get a discount by not having the STB, because many packages include the STB (which includes a CableCARD), but, as I said, prices are very franchise dependent; only your franchise can tell you what you will be charged (I believe pixie dust magic is better understood than Comcast billing).

[rknop]

Gah.

OK.

The saga continues.

I've acquired some serial IR hardware in an attempt to make MythTV work with this box. Given that I already have the HD-PVR, I really really want to get this box working with an IR blaster. I know some people have recommended a cable card, but I don't want to do that, because (a) it means buying another expensive piece of hardware to stick the cable card in, and (b) I don't trust Comcast not to encrypt channels in the future, even if they aren't now (about which I am not sure in my area).

I got a standard ("homebrew") IR blaster and receiver from irblaster.info. I also got a PCI serial card. I know that the basics is working, because I can see pulse information with "mode2" for the receiver, and I can set up *something* and get the red light to blink on the blaster with irsend.

The problem is, I have yet to make it all work with my xfinity remote. I've tried irrecord. It goes through the early stages where it tries to detect the basics. However, when it gets to the point where it asks me for a key, and I press a button, it just tells me "something went wrong", and it fails to detect any actual buttons.

I tried using "-f" with irrecord to record raw codes. I was able to get a lircd.conf file doing that. However, irw doesn't seem to see those codes. When I try irsend with that lircd.conf file and the blaster, the xfinity RNG150N box doesn't see any signal at all from the IR. I'm not sure if the whole "raw codes" thing just isn't working, or if I still have the problem of not positioning the sensor quite right.

I"m kind of at a loss at this point. Anything that anybody could tell me to help me get this work would be welcomed. (Well, other than telling me to buy other hardware... I really want to get this IR blaster working. I have something that can send IR signals, and I have something that can detect the IR signals from my remote, so I really *ought* to be able to get it to work.)

[rknop]

OK, I finally managed to get it to work myself. The key was finding the right place on the front panel for the blaster. Nothing I'd read anywhere (including the manual for the Cisco RNG 150N) led me anywhere near the right location for the IR blaster. I'd shined light on the front of the panel, but didn't see it. However, the top of the box is quite open (lots of grilling, for cooling), and shining light down on the top lit the front panel from behind, and I saw that on my box, the IR sensor was just up and to the right of the USB port on the front of the box. Who knew? (There were a couple of plausible looking square thingies, and that was the one that worked.)

The config file that seems to be working (I haven't given it a full workout yet, but a couple of keys out of it worked) is this one:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2222289

I still am at a bit of a loss as to why I couldn't get irrecord to work, but at least I think I'm set up to the point that mythtv will work. (I'll find out if I can change channels and all of that once the setup is done.)

Now I have to deal with the issue that sometimes the audio gets WAY out of sync... more googling to follow.

[pchatelle]

cisco rng150n is an rf device, unless it goes both ways...