Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Some of my thoughts:
1. Thanks! Very useful app for me.
2. How do you remove a favorite? My list is getting big and bigger...
3. Why the Teletext and PIP buttons are enabled in TV panel, but options related to them (TT reveal, PIP swap, move, etc) are disabled?
4. What is really different about Select Keyset by Name and Select Keyset by Device menus? What was the reason for needing the latter, as it seems like an incomplete version of the former?
Just forgot the fifth item... or was it ever in my mind? will post if I see more things.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

The checkbox that shows up when you click a keyset in the Select Keyset by Name window will both add a keyset to the favorites list and remove it from the favorites list. I really need to change the name of it, since it sounds like it only does the first action. :) I'll get an update out as soon as I can, with more favorites functionality in the UI.

This is entirely an issue of my keyset data. :) Can you tell me the keyset you are using? Either I don't have the data for those buttons, or (equally likely) I've made a mistake somewhere.

(Also, as I've noted before, I'm a teletext newbie, so please do give me a holler if you find those buttons set up wrong...)

The difference is that Select Keyset by Name is a full listing of all the actual IR keyset data available in Pierogi, while Select Keyset by Device is my (somewhat lame) attempt to provide an index into the keyset data through the names of devices that I believe work with that data. And you're right, it really is just an incomplete version of the former; I'm beginning to think that I should just remove it for now, until I can find a better way to provide the information to users. (And until I get a more complete list of compatible devices...)

Thanks!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

That makes more sense now, but it's still a PITA to find the keyset in the device list and then remove it fom the favourites.
At least I can delete some favourites I added.

It would be a shame to remove this functionally for those that use it.
I understand it's not complete, removing it completely is a step backwards IMO.
If it was explained somewhere that information is provided from the device wiki and is not complete maybe more would contribute to the wiki.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Ok, the autobuilder seems to be having a bit of an outage right now, but if it does manage to get through, there will soon be yet another Pierogi update. This is mostly just a small update to the UI to add a button called "show only favorites" to the Select Keyset window. Hopefully, this will make it easier to manage your favorites.

I've also renamed a few things in the hope of avoiding misunderstandings. The "add keyset to favorites list" button has been changed to just "favorite keyset". I've renamed "Select Keyset by Device" to just be "Browse Device List", as it is not really an optimal way to select a keyset. At least not yet. :) (And to go with that, "Select Keyset by Name" is now just "Select Keyset".)

In other news, I went ahead and put in a keyset and a panel for the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner. I'm still not sure I've got the protocol quite right, but I figured I should give it a shot anyway...

If my update doesn't automatically get reloaded and pushed up, I'll try it again manually tomorrow. :)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Thanks for the update for ADB (I-Can). unfortunately, non of the provided keysets work with the 2851T (UK). :( Thanks anyway.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Well, drat. I took another look around the net, but yeah, there really is no ir data for the 2851t (or the various forms of the 2850 for that matter). I was really hoping the 2840 would be compatible.

I'll keep an eye out for new 2851 info...

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

thanks a lot! I've been waiting for a new IR remote control for a long time!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

One of the best apps ever.. This apps has just added another feather to my Nokia N900..
Thanks..

Few suggestions:
1. Is it possible to programme macro keys.. like send ir commands to switch on TV and dvd player :D

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

I have been messing around with the concept of macros within Pierogi for a while; it's one of my longer-term projects for the app. I've got bits and pieces started, but it may take a while before I manage to pull them all together and get them into a release. :) Thanks!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

oops, sorry for my mistake on the wiki --'
working for my yamaha amplifier, my apple station and my philips radio until at least 5 or 6 meters :-D

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Hi Copernicus,

Could you add a function that allow to loop through all available devices and send the signal for a particular button (ie. power button)

My point is that we can use this to quickly check what key set work for a particular device.

Thank you in advance

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

I'll second that! May help me find a suitable keyset for my ADB-iCan Easy HD 2851T!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

@cantruchd and @macey, yes, I originally wanted to add that sort of quick run through the same button in all the keysets to quickly pick out the one you want. But I got into a problem with memory usage back when I was keeping all the keysets active at the same time. I'd still like to do it, but I'm not sure exactly how to do it efficiently...

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

I'd only keep those of the specific brand + device type in memory. So if you have a TV set of a certain brand, and there are 20 possible keysetsm it is easier to find out which one you need....

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

The widget TVBgone does this function: it loops sending all poweroff signals, but I don't think it's possible to check which keyset worked because in any case there is no IR receiver on n900...

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

It would require user to press some kind of "Stop!" button, when receiving device goes off - then, it should be possible to check last, lets say, 5 codes used (to re-try each one separately, checking which one really worked).

To be effective, it would require sending codes not-too-fast - something like one or two per second. I think, that it would still make browsing through dozens of keysets *much* more easy.

/Estel

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Ok, ok, I guess I just really needed to be pushed a bit. :) I have finally made the attempt to complete my memory management scheme; I was leery about destroying objects across threads, but it looks like it was easier than I had feared. At least, so far it seems that way. :)

Anyway, with that out of the way, I can now run through every keyset in Pierogi without consuming all the ram in the N900. And so, I've thrown together a panel that, more or less, follows the scheme I had put together for testing keysets way back when I started. (I'll attach a screenshot of the panel at the end of this post.) Right now, the panel just tests the "Power" key in each keyset. I have four buttons on the panel, two which allow you to step forward and backward through the list of keysets one keyset at a time, and two which allow you to "fast forward" through the list, spitting out power keys very quickly (I've currently got it set to switch keysets every 0.05 seconds, but as some protocols require more time than that to encode a single command, it won't always move forward that quickly).

The general idea here is that you'd use the fast-forward and fast-reverse keys to move around quickly until you see the device power on or off, and then use the stepwise keys to find out exactly which keyset triggered the power switch.

There are caveats here, of course: quite a number of devices don't have a remote "power" key, so this mechanism won't catch them. Also, some manufacturers make really strange decisions about their key values: for example, as I've just discovered, the "Power" button for the Sanyo TV Keyset 1a is exactly the same as the "Factory Reset" button in Sanyo TV Keyset 1. (Luckily, you have to hit the reset button twice to perform the reset, so I didn't lose all my TV settings. I have no idea what the engineers at Sanyo were thinking...) So be warned, even just looking for power buttons can be dangerous!

Also of note in this release, I've added a new Camera Shutter panel, for use with the various DSLR camera remotes. It doesn't have much, just an "Open Shutter" button, and (for the Canon remote) an "Open Shutter after Delay" button. Pretty simple.

And, this release contains a first pass at keysets for Deutsche Telekom, Emtec, Goodmans, Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax. (Along with an update to Canon so it can use the new camera panel.)

Again, this is a release that contained a decent amount of messing around with the memory management guts. Be warned that bugs may lie ahead! (And please tell me when you do find them!)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Well, but if you already know the brand, there probably aren't all that many choices to pick through in Pierogi. Only a few brands have as many as 10 TV keysets, and most have much less.

Also, a lot of minor players in the consumer electronics market are using devices manufactured by the big guys and rebranded in their own name; so, it can be worthwhile to try keysets used for other brands of device if you can't find a keyset specific to the brand you've got.

In any case, my biggest problem was just getting Pierogi's memory management under control; with that, playing around with keysets becomes a whole lot easier. :)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

And what's worse is that TVBgone doesn't even know anything about the IR commands it spits out. I've looked at the data in the TVBgone widget, and I have no idea how they manage to update it, as it is just a list of raw numbers. Even if you knew that the 45th entry in the list was the one you wanted, there's no way to tell just where the 45th entry came from...

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Dangerous is true, but this is not Pierogi's doing.
I remember having trouble with an LG TV/Monitor using this "Power Button" scanning type on a Virgin Media Box Remote.
The TV went into engineers mode and disabled all input's, took I while to work out how to fix.

A few suggestions for your vary useful new panel, a "restart" from beginning button to quick reset back to the first keyset. Maybe this could replace the fast backward?

I see no reason why you need to fast backward? "Restart", "Scan" and "Pause" would be more user friendly IMO.
Scan being nicer than holding the fast forward button down.
Then use "Previous" and "Next" to exactly find the correct keyset.

Also "add current keyset to favourites" would be useful.
That makes six buttons so could be same as main screen layout?

Finally, do you realise that when using the fast forward then next keyset the application has to be restarted to run the fast forward again?

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Well, I'm trying to tie everything in to the "Select Keyset" window now. So, if you select a keyset in the "Select Keyset" window, that should be the keyset that the search panel starts with. Similarly, each move in the search panel changes the current keyset on the Select Keyset window.

Basically, I want to allow you to start at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle; wherever you want. There's really no difference in this task whether you move forward or backwards. Moreover, if you overshoot by a bunch, it's nice to be able to move back quickly...

Hmm, actually, I wanted to try things out this way, because I always thought the scan & restart system was a real pain in the rear end. :) I've always hated having to sit and stare at the TV, waiting to pounce on the pause button as quickly as I can once something happens. This way feels a lot more relaxed to me; you just let up on the button whenever you want to stop.

But yeah, I can put it together the other way too; I no longer have a limit on the number of panels in Pierogi. :)

I can do that. Although, I'd prefer to give you a button to reach the Select Keyset window, where I'm now trying to tie all the keyset-oriented preferences. Or even better, just bring up the keyset editing dialog directly! Let me give it a shot.

Hmm, I predict there will be many more changes to this panel, I doubt it will end up in a form that can cleanly mimic the main panel. :) But we'll see...

Hmm, sounds like a bug; and one I don't seem able to reproduce yet. I'm able to hit all four keys without trouble; they all seem to work for me. (Well, I have to admit that I'm having a problem with Pioneer's protocol - it just seems to take way too long on the fast forward/fast reverse buttons. I'll see if I can fix that.)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

For me, as well as for Sixwheeledbeast, FFW in searching for right panel freazing after around ten to twelve devices. And I alsow think that SCAN, PAUSE, sounds like great idea and more user friendly thing.

Sir, I do have one question - TRIAX have only one device now, why? Can I help somehow in searching for the documentation, details about device...to make it work on that particural one that I'd mentioned earlier?

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Hmm. I definitely need to do some more work here. :) Is it any ten to twelve devices? (In particular, does it freeze after hitting a Pioneer device? I'm having a little trouble with their protocol.) Also, after the fast forward freezes, does the step forward/backward still work, or does it also freeze? Thanks!

Alright, I'll go ahead and whip up another panel for that, then. :)

Actually, I really shouldn't have put any Triax device names into Pierogi. I've built this app entirely on lists of numbers that I found somewhere on the internet: I have no actual Triax devices to test these lists of numbers against. So, I don't really feel justified in labeling a keyset as being able to control a device until someone with the actual device tells me that it works. :)

In any case, Triax does have three keysets in Pierogi right now... :)

For some reason I really don't understand, almost no manufacturer ever publishes their IR codes. (I say "almost" because I once did find an LG TV manual with a brief, but useful description of them.) The way that pretty much everybody gets IR codes these days is to put their device's remote control in front of an IR receiver hooked up to a PC, and push each button on the thing one by one.

If you've got the equipment and the skill to read IR codes, that'd be the quickest way to add support for the Triax into Pierogi (or, for that matter, QtIrreco, or a wide range of other universal remotes). Eventually, though, somebody will probably do it, because universal remotes are just too useful.

It really makes no sense to me that manufacturers try to hide this data. :)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

thanx alot for such a nice application for our beloved N900 & also for the requested keysets (Strong),worked great :)
it is the best & most useful app for the n900 (according to me),so you should put this to the coding competion :) (just a suggestion :) )

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Thanks! As for the coding competition, I think its just for software written over the summer, and Pierogi has been around since about January. (Besides, they're only giving away N9s and N950s, and I'm still having too much fun writing code for the N900... :) )

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

It freazes for a moment on "Deutsche Telekom TV Receiver Keyset 1", after a sec. I still can pres the buttons, and they are working (scrolling devices list) but FFW is naw like "Next" button, without possibility FFW.

Afterwards when I switch to Main panel (Universal Devices), trying to use (tested and working) JVC TV Keyset 1, it is not working what so ever (probably no other does).

After app restart, I'm getting errors with random letters like "yyyyy^yyyyy*yyyyyyy^" and "Done" button on right side. And on first test, my trusted keyset didn't worked for five reopenings.


Second test, I was able to FFW thru Deutsche Telecom.... but when I was gooing back (fast rewind as well) it stoped at that device (Deutsche ....) and everything happend again (buttons, not working). But this time,i t was allright after first restart.



Looking foward to it. So then You can just leave mighty N900 near TV/DVD/etc. and waiting for something to happen.



Honestly, I do have only one, not working at all. The Strong device, when pressing buttons for testing is messing around my Triax reciver, but it's hardly usable.



Unfortunatly I don't (which was easy for You to predict ) have equipment and skills to do so, will try anyway to serch for it - like the ready to apply IR codes, who knows.

Thank You Sir for Your work on this great app, all the best for You in (hopefully) future work on it.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Drat. I really need to do some more testing, then... Here's one thing you might try (if you're willing) -- I'm storing persistent data for Pierogi in the standard Qt manner, in a file in your home directory called ".config/pietrzak.org/Pierogi.conf". It may be that that file has been corrupted in some manner; you could, say, move it to "Pierogi.conf.backup" to force Pierogi to start fresh with a new config file, and see if the errors continue. (The config file is almost readable, if you're interested in seeing what Pierogi is trying to store. :) )

Yeah, my error handling mechanism is really bad right now. :( Yet another piece of Pierogi that needs a lot more work...

Let me take another look at Deutsche Telekom; I only added it in a few days ago, might still have bugs...

Oh! Hey! Let me know which of the Strong keysets are working -- both Strong and Triax are using the classic NEC protocols, so if Strong keys are doing something on the Triax machine, that means that both devices are using the same NEC "device number". All I would need to do, I think, is graft the device number Strong is using onto the command list Triax is using, and we might be able to come up with a usable keyset!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

It's simple - they don't update it at all :) This make me even more happy about Your new feature, as despite great usefulness of TVBGone!, it was becoming more and more outdated.

I agree with you here - for me, current layout is more convenient, so it probably depends on personal taste.

I hope You won't take it as unnecessary feature demand, but I would *love* small button, or panel, or whatever, that would have one single purpose - to cycle, as fast as possible, through all SHUTDOWN, STANDBY, POWER DOWN, etc codes, from all manufacturers, as available on Pierogi at given time.

Sounds familiar? Sure, such simple button would be replacement for "TVBGone!" widget. as you have noticed on Your own, the latter is horribly impossible to update, as opposed to well-maintained Pierogi. Why Pierogi couldn't make "TVBGone!" obsolete, then? :)

/Estel

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Well I alowed pierogi to start with new and clean .config file and the error occured again in the on the same device (which is Deutsche Telekom TV Receiver Keyset 1). I do think that this device is taking to much from N900 in some kind of maner. Ending the proces with "End curent task" (I'm not sure about translation) under Power Key Menu, is bringing back all functions to "pierogi" after restart.


This time I could read error message: "Unable to access dev/libe0 -device error or busy resources"


Lovely, but I'll have to do more tests with this one, since it is complete bunkers with results. So I will take exact notes with buttons causing what acctions.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Really isn't the Restart, Scan and Pause method better for replacing TVBGone.

IMO I think it's silly to have two or three panels, for the same thing in different variants.

Surely this is fast enough to work as a TVBGone replacement.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

I guess I have to agree. :) I've just implemented the Scan/Pause feature, and I admit that it really is a lot more user-friendly than I remembered. I'm thinking that a panel with a combination of manual and automated controls might be the best of both worlds; I'll append a screenshot of my current idea at the end of this post.

Actually, why don't I package it up into another update. As it turns out, the Deutsche Telekom protocol is definitely buggy, and was probably the main cause of all the earlier troubles. (I don't know why it only breaks occasionally on my machine, but when it does, it leaves a zombie Pierogi process running, which messes up any new instances of Pierogi. Very bad. :( ) So It'd be best for me to back it out of the app asap...

I do still need to fix the Pioneer protocols, but yeah, otherwise I agree that it probably would work as a TVBGone. (Also, beware -- this isn't just a TVBGone, it's an EverythingBGone; I haven't filtered out the non-TV keysets. :) )

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

sure it is, but intent of current panel is to allow detecting which keyset works for particular device, *not* to replace "TVBGone!".

That's why I'm asking to separate those functions - one as already implemented, with simple "power" key (no matter if it turns device on, or off), and one for tvbgone replacement - or even more, AnyDeviceBGone! ;) - containing not only "power" codes, but "Power off", "Standby", etc, for both TV's, and audio equipment, and everything else that Pierogi contains keysets for.

/Estel

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Yeah, that is definitely the problem here; I haven't found the exact bug yet, so I'm going to just rip the Deutche Telekom out of Pierogi for now.

No, actually, in this case, I don't care what the buttons do; they'll be tied to whatever key commands the Strong engineers decided. All I need to know is the name of the Strong Keyset you are using (there are currently 4 Strong keysets in Pierogi); I'll use the "device code" from that one to cobble together a new Triax keyset.

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Ah, let me reiterate the Founding Principle of Pierogi :) -- I'm trying to create a true "universal remote control", a single interface that can manage a wide range of devices. As such, there is only one "power" key in Pierogi. If a remote has a "Standby" key, that translates to "Power" in Pierogi. The power key for a TV, a DVD player, a stereo system, or an air conditioner all map to the "Power" key in Pierogi. :)

So yes, this really is an AnyDeviceBGone -- aim it at anything Pierogi has a keyset for, and stuff might happen. So be careful with it! :)

Edit: Ah, I missed what you were saying -- you're looking for the "discrete" off keys. However, only a few high-end devices actually have separate "off" keys; I'm sure that TVBGone is using the normal "power" keys for most TVs, and as such, TVBGone is just as good for turning TVs on as it is for turning them off...

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

STRONG SRT - 4620 (first one on the list), but to be sure, it's for example switching the channels down with both up and down channel key. So looking foward to this one:D

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Ah; that would be "Strong Sat Receiver Keyset 2". (BTW, let me say that you should probably be looking for keysets using the Select Keyset window; Pierogi's device list is currently incomplete and probably incorrect in several places... :( )

Hmm. Triax keysets 2 and 2a are NEC-based (just like Strong's keyset 2), but the Strong channel-up and channel-down don't map to anything I'm seeing on the Triax list. So this might not work after all...

In any case, I'll create a new Triax keyset (2b) using the device code from Strong 2, and see if it works at all for you. Thanks!

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

I would say "don't bother" because I'll might find something else work for that TRIAX box with that new fully automated scanning feature. And it's not worth to add something without fair chance to get it working in graet app such as "pierogi".

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Thanks! But, actually, I already pushed it into extras_devel. :) (I mean, hey, why call it "extras_devel" if we aren't going to use it for development?) So anyway, Pierogi 1.1.10 has the new keyset "Triax Satellite Receiver 2b (experimental)", which (crossing my fingers) will actually have at least a few keys that work with your device. :)

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

Haha, You were actually faster with EverythingBGone - I have written about AnyDeviceBGone without knowing Your reply, yet :)

I'm very glad - it turned out that my feature request got implemented before I actually asked (and EverythingBGone sounds better than AnyDeviceBGone, BTW :p). Thanks a lot for that, I'll do some testing in the wild *evil grin*

/Estel

Re: [Announce] Pierogi - a universal infrared remote control app
 

BTW, let me give a big thank you to Sixwheeledbeast for the latest updates and improvements to the Device Compatibility Page. The page continues to be easier to use each time he touches it. :) Everyone, if you have a device that works with Pierogi, please do add it to the list on that page; those additions do eventually get added in to Pierogi, thus improving and expanding its list of known devices. Thanks!