Messages

1

Tips and Tricks / HTPC Aquarium (screensaver)

« on: April 17, 2011, 02:57:51 PM »

If you have a dedicated HTPC, nothing like saying, "Launch aquarium" and have an aquarium (screensaver) show up on your TV in high-def.

XML attached.  You'll want to download your own screensaver - Dream Aquarium version 1.234 was particularly good.

If you want to use the normal screensavers, just search your heard drive for *.scr, and you'll find them.

2

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Re: How To: Launch VoxCommando minimized and XBMC from Eventghost

« on: April 16, 2011, 04:10:23 PM »

Re: Frog -looks like image shack pulled a sneaky one.  I'll start using another image source.  In the meantime, Wanilton, it looks like you could register at imageshack to immediately view the images.  Or Jitterjames can register the website at imageshack.  Source:  http://guidesandstuff.com/imageshack_picture_photo_problem_issue.html

Personally, I think imageshack just pissed off a bajillion blogs and tech forums.  Stupid PR move. 

Anyway - back to Eventghost getting hung - I updated to the latest version of Eventghost, and it still gets hung.

But not entirely hung - the Alternate MCE Remote service  is dying unexpectedly per eventvwr.  I'm not seeing any antecedent events. 

Rather than waste too much time trying to run down what's probably some sort of obscure resource conflict, I simply made a quick script that restarts the service.

Since others might run into this as well....

VoxCommando:Make an Eventghost action, with the parameter of RestartRemoteService.

Eventghost script (I also put the script into my AutoStart macro of Eventghost  - this is to guarantee the service is started).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<EventGhost Version="1494">
    <Macro Name="RestartRemoteService" Expanded="True">
        <Event Name="Broadcast.RestartRemoteService" />
        <Action>
            EventGhost.PythonScript(u'import sys\nfrom eg.WinApi.Service import Service\n\nservice = Service(u"AlternateMceIrService")\nservice.Stop()\nservice.Start()')
        </Action>
    </Macro>
</EventGhost>

3

XML Exchange / Re: XBMC Commands

« on: April 15, 2011, 12:20:38 AM »

Nothing currently, but there's something that I'm mulling over for another function using the eg timer - > vox event  and would need the payload.

Gotta go tweak on XBMC to see if it's possible before I go there though ....

4

XML Exchange / Scanning for new Videos and music at 4 am - and then generating vox XML at 5 am

« on: April 14, 2011, 11:24:25 PM »

This uses Eventghost's timer function to broadcast and call a scan on both music and video library at 4 am.

Then at 5 am, Eventghost's timer function calls for XML to be generated.

I'm curious to see what the equivalent timer is within Vox, but I wanted to do the Eventghost to Vox as prep for another idea I've got....


Vox's xml is attached.


Eventghost XML (thanks to Jitter James' solution over in the EG Forum):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<EventGhost Version="1486">
    <Macro Name="4 am timer">
        <Action Name="4  am">
            Timer.TimerAction(u'Scan both every day', 0, 1, 1.0, u'', False, True, 2, u'04:00:00')
        </Action>
        <Action Name="Broadcaster: Broadcast: event Both">
            BroadcastListener.Broadcast(u'event', u'Both&amp;&amp;payload1&amp;&amp;payload2', 33000)
        </Action>
    </Macro>

    <Macro Name="5 am timer">
        <Action Name="5  am">
            Timer.TimerAction(u'GenXML every day', 0, 1, 1.0, u'', False, True, 2, u'05:00:00')
        </Action>
        <Action Name="Broadcaster: Broadcast: event GenXMLALL">
            BroadcastListener.Broadcast(u'event', u'GenXMLALL&amp;&amp;payload1&amp;&amp;payload2', 33000)
        </Action>
    </Macro>
</EventGhost>



Cheers!

5

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Re: How To: Launch VoxCommando minimized and XBMC from Eventghost

« on: April 14, 2011, 11:04:31 PM »

No aspersions on EventGhost - fantastic app.

But the AHK scripts avoid the eventGhost FindWindow issue by using the Process Exist function.

The Find Window issue is a recurring one most likely based on some sort of memory leak - http://www.eventghost.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=879

There are other links out there as well, but that's a reasonable summation.  Read all the way down the forum as they thought it was fixed, but turns out to not be, including with the same version of eventghost that I'm using. 

I actually didn't have the issue at first, and had everything written and blasting away in a plugin script within Eventghost.  But then FindWindow in Eventghost stopped finding the windows.

While trying a couple of things, it seems there can also be issues with FindWindow finding TrayIcon'd programs (there is a TrayIcon eventghost plugin if anyone's googling this that can be adapted).

Anyway, at that point, I figured that I'm already running AHK to handle the Green Microsoft start button on my Amulet Remote, am actually more comfortable with AHK, ....time to try an AHK solution.

Done in about 30 seconds

6

EventGhost / Re: EG Events

« on: April 14, 2011, 10:16:25 PM »

I went around and around with this a bit, so going to add a couple of other pictures for other newbies.

This is an event in VoxCommando called "Both".  When triggered, by the event from Eventghost, it will launch both Actions shown.



This is the event in Eventghost - note where I've changed it:



So, Eventghost will send the event "Both" to VoxCommando - and Vox will respond as you've determined.

7

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / How To: Launch VoxCommando minimized and XBMC from Eventghost

« on: April 14, 2011, 07:36:44 PM »

VoxCommand .884, Eventghost 0.3.7.r1486, Windows 7 x64 (though should work for x32)

Desired:
- You want voxcommando and xbmc to be launched from Eventghost automagically.
- But, sometimes, Eventghost gets hung up.  If you make a macro in VoxCommando, you can kill and relaunch Eventghost. But you want to NOT launch VoxCommando and XBMC if they are already launched.
-If Voxcommando is launched, you want it to be minimized so as to not pop-up in front of XBMC.

Problem:  Normally, you could use Eventghost's Find Window so as to Bring XBMC to the front.  But it turns out that the FindWindow command has a chronic bug/glitch in it that's thoroughly documented that stops FindWindow from working.

Solution- using Auto Hot Key:
1.  Make a shortcut to VoxCommando starting as minimized on your desktop.  (Right-click, go to properties, change as shown).


2. Download and install AHK - autohot key.

3.  Download and load the attached vc xbmc eventghost.xml file into EventGhost.  Or don't, and just add a couple of Action/Eventghost/Start Program actions to the default AutoStart Macro of Eventghost.  You might have to change the path to the xbmc_start.exe and voxcommando_start.exe.


4. Download and install the attached .ahk scripts into your Eventghost Program Files Window.  Open them up, and  change the paths to where your VoxCommando shortcut and XBMC.exe are located.  Right-click on the ahk's, and chose Compile script on them.    This will make same named .exe files: xbmc_start.exe and voxcommando_start.exe in the same location.
 
You might have to change the location/ names of those exes as listed in step 3 above.

5.  Save the Eventghost config.  BTW - sometimes, eventghost loses it's config file on starting up.  Just a make a shortcut with this as the target:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\EventGhost\EventGhost.exe" -hide -file "C:\Program Files (x86)\EventGhost\vc xbmc eventghost tree.xml"

If you put this shortcut in your startup folder, then you'll have flawless startup of VoxCommando, XBMC and Eventghost.

Anyway, it should now be working.

Hope it helps!

8

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Re: Launching VoxCommando in minimized mode

« on: April 13, 2011, 10:42:06 PM »

Thank you!  Working perfectly!

9

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Launching VoxCommando in minimized mode

« on: April 13, 2011, 09:05:45 PM »

Hi all,

How can I launch VoxCommando in minimmized mode?

Thank you either way!

10

XML Exchange / Re: XBMC Commands

« on: April 13, 2011, 08:55:35 PM »

Enable Debugging and Disable Debugging - very handy!

11

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Re: Can voxcommando say, "I'm ready" when it's in ready state after starting?

« on: April 11, 2011, 02:47:22 PM »

Thank all - attached is the xml file in case someone else later has any questions on how to do this - and here's a screenshot on how to do this:

12

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Re: Can voxcommando say, "I'm ready" when it's in ready state after starting?

« on: April 11, 2011, 07:06:20 AM »

Cool - - thanks!

13

VoxCommando Basics and Core Features / Can voxcommando say, "I'm ready" when it's in ready state after starting?

« on: April 11, 2011, 05:48:51 AM »

The reason I ask is my voxcommando takes a while to launch, and it would be nice to have it alert me when it's done loading?

14

Feature Requests / Re: Command Builder Features

« on: April 08, 2011, 12:15:02 AM »

Doh!  Man - I'm switching over to teamviewer because the resolution in logmein.com is just killing me while working on this....missing typos...and completely obvious buttons....

Thanks!

15

General Discussion / Denon 3808 ci - serial control by VoxCommando and Eventghost with Amulet remote.

« on: April 07, 2011, 09:10:48 PM »

Just documenting this for others going forward, hopefully save you some time...  Attached is my Eventghost xml file, as well as the AVR-3808ciSerial Protocol I used to program it.

The Amulet remote's learning abilities are sorely lacking, but don't get frustrated.

Simply buy a USB to Serial converter off of Amazon, and plug the serial end into the back of the Denon receiver, and the other end into your computer.   The Denon 3808ci takes the 9 pin RS-232 serial male end (has the female on it).  

Next, add in the Denon Plugin in Eventghost.

To do the quick presets, you want to use the very bottom-most command, "Raw command".  To set to preset 1, the command is MSQUICK1.  For 2 - MSQUICK2.  For 3 - MSQUICK3.

Then in VoxCommando, set up a command of Eventghost WatchTV, click Save and Execute in the lower right of the command builder.

In Eventghost, drag the Broadcast.WatchTV lightning bolt out of the log window and up to your Eventghost Macro for the Denon preset.

Enjoy!