Dreambox DM7000, DM7020 and Slingbox

[nuvolona]

Thanks! Tonight when I come back home from work I will do tests and I will let you know...

also I have in mind to try to use my PDA as remote control (with a suitable software) and try to learn the dreambox. I red that it support also ccf files made for pronto... so maybe there will be some chances to make it work.

[binky123]

I was able to use CapureIR to learn the Dreambox IR signals from my URC-8820. I hooked up parallel port pin 9 to the IR data-out pin on a old VCR and pin25 to ground on the VCR.

[nuvolona]

You can blink back the setup code using SET-990.

anyway... what is the SET-990 code for?

[Capn Trips]

It allows you to check/confirm/verify (if you follow the procedure described by binky three posts back) what setup codes are currently assigned to the devices in your UEIC-manufactured remote.

[binky123]

I was able to download WinLIRC and use it to capture the Dreambox signals and they match what CaptureIR also reports. With WinLIRC, you'll need to use the RAW Capture button.

From CaptureIR:

Code: Select all

ON   OFF
334 -628    0
306 -2583   E 
306 -654    0
306 -2721   F 
317 -1193   4 
306 -1206   4 
305 -793    1
304 -2033   A 

304 -12956  short lead-out

From WinLIRC using Raw Mode capture:

Code: Select all

space 11047920
ON   OFF
358 -598    0
310 -2586   E
304 -654    0
304 -2743   F
287 -1228   4
283 -1228   4
285 -814    1
285 -2053   A

287 -12956  short lead-out

The OFF times have a base of 650 for a zero digit and each additional 140 adds 1 to the value.

You should be able to use WinLIRC to capture the signal generated from the Slingbox.

[nuvolona]

I was able to download WinLIRC and use it to capture the Dreambox signals and they match what CaptureIR also reports.

You should be able to use WinLIRC to capture the signal generated from the Slingbox.

Thanks for your help and time binky! I will wait now for the Slingbox then, it should be here by Tuesday or Friday...

How were you able to capture such output from WinLirc? If I click on "Raw Codes" I get a new window "Learn Remote" with output - Outputting raw mode2 data.... but all I see there, if I press my dreambox remote keys, are a lot of:

Code: Select all

space 13703
pulse 253
space 688
pulse 309
space 941
pulse 277
space 1766
pulse 289
space 675
pulse 296
space 1354
pulse 293
space 828
pulse 280
space 677
pulse 283
space 674
pulse 293

Also, can you anticipate me what we should try once we have the signals generated from the Slingbox? How we will go on?

[johnsfine]

I've read the last several posts in this thread a few times and I still can't quite figure out what you're trying to accomplish, what equipment you intend to actually use and what you have available for testing.

I understand you are trying to use the "Dreambox" protocol. That is a very difficult protocol to capture or learn correctly.

I think I understand that you want to use a Slingbox to send those signals. I don't have any specific knowledge about whether that protocol executor is compatible with a Slingbox and/or whether that whole upgrade is small enough to fit.

I don't understand where LIRC fits in. Are you just using it as a diagnostic tool to see what the slingbox is sending? What about the real target device? Is that not working?

If you really want LIRC to capture/distinguish these signals, I think you would need to hand edit the lirc conf file to give it the basic timing info of the signals. Even if the capture hardware and OS latency are good enough that a good capture is possible, the signal is probably too complex for LIRC to deduce its structure. I don't know the details of using LIRC with a manually started conf file, but I've read posts elsewhere saying that you can put in the basics of a conf file and then let it discover individual signals.

[binky123]

Yes, that is the same output I got from WinLIRC. I just converted the pulse to the ON column and space to OFF column in pairs to make it easier to convert to hexadecimal.

Code: Select all

BACK(<) is 51 00.
space 13703
pulse 253 space 688   0
pulse 309 space 941   2
pulse 277 space 1766  8
pulse 289 space 675   0
pulse 296 space 1354  5
pulse 293 space 828   1
pulse 280 space 677   0
pulse 283 space 674   0
pulse 293

I can't really say what we can do as we don't know what the Slingbox is sending out. Another possibility might be to change the IR signal set the Dreambox responds too. Perhaps the slingbox remote software has changed?

Maybe rvandaalen can record the slingbox signal using the WinLIRC RAW mode to see if it matches?

[johnsfine]

How were you able to capture such output from WinLirc? If I click on "Raw Codes" I get a new window "Learn Remote" with output - Outputting raw mode2 data

Maybe he just edited that same data you got in order to put it in the same form as the equivalent CaptureIR data.

Code: Select all

space 13703
pulse 253
space 688
pulse 309
space 941
pulse 277
space 1766
pulse 289
space 675
pulse 296
space 1354
pulse 293
space 828
pulse 280
space 677
pulse 283
space 674
pulse 293

If you want to manually decode that info, here are instructions:

1) You need to find practical values for a couple constants A and B. They don't need to be exact. But timing issues in your capture hardware or software may make those different from the nominal value I might quote if I remembered them.

2) For each pair of pulse and following space, add the two numbers together to create a single "burst duration".

3) For each burst duration: subtract A then divide by B.

4) Ignoring the large ones (for the moment), each of the resulting numbers should be near an integer from 0 to 15. So we expect to see numbers like X.8 or X.9 or X.0 or X.1 or X.2, but not many X.7 or X.3 and hopefully no X.4, X.5 or X.6

5) Round those to the nearest integer.

6) Convert them to hex

7) Then the large ones (that we skipped earlier) should divide the small ones into groups of eight.

I copied your posted numbers into Excel and tried values for A and B until the results looked OK, which was at A=950 and B=140

Code: Select all

253 +  688 =  941 -> -0.06 -> 0
309 +  941 = 1250 ->  2.14 -> 2
277 + 1766 = 2043 ->  7.81 -> 8
289 +  675 =  964 ->  0.10 -> 0
296 + 1354 = 1650 ->  5.00 -> 5
293 +  828 = 1121 ->  1.22 -> 1
280 +  677 =  957 ->  0.05 -> 0
283 +  674 =  957 ->  0.05 -> 0

Without trying a much larger sample, I can't know if those A and B values are correct or if I just hit values that seem to work because of the low sample size. However, you can see that if the values of A or B were a little higher the third value (7.81) would be too low to be an accurate 8. If A and B were a little lower then the sixth value (1.22) would be too high to be an accurate 1. So if these A and B values are not correct then your LIRC system is probably not capturing accurately enough fo this difficult protocol.

[nuvolona]

Thanks johnsfine for your perfect explanations! I appreciate that.

Anyway! I received the Slingbox this morning and tonight at home I will have an overall look at it (it's completely new to me), so we can continue with tests later this week, hopefully.

[binky123]

In this thread, here, a user was able to get the Dreambox/XMP protocol to work with a slingbox. For the Dreambox device, the values are device0=14 device1=15 device2=68 device3=26 which generates fixed data of 0E 0F 44 1A.

[Marcyjok]

Marcyjok, you started this thread... after almost 2 years have you found a solution yet?

Thanks!

you will not believe but I bought UK slingbox for $340 USD and now I have support for Dbox but anyway it is screwed up, there is no EXIT = CANCEL = LAME button working on virtual remote so it is very hard to use it, there is no couple buttons , no 4 color buttons and some are very mixed

[binky123]

So this means you do have it working but you are missing functions because of the limited number of virtual buttons on the Slingbox remote? I had thought it didn't work at all.

Does the slingbox support the Shift/Setup key?

Within RM, you should be able to assign functions to whichever buttons you like.

[nuvolona]

This is the RAW data captured from WinLirc of the only button that works in the Slingbox dreambox remote...

Code: Select all

Outputting raw mode2 data.

space 3405851
pulse 245
space 706
pulse 258
space 2698
pulse 244
space 718
pulse 264
space 2842
pulse 239
space 1300
pulse 241
space 1292
pulse 238
space 850
pulse 256
space 2153
pulse 235
space 13036
pulse 249
space 707
pulse 258
space 712
pulse 270
space 709
pulse 252
space 706
pulse 259
space 715
pulse 284
space 681
pulse 250
space 713
pulse 259
space 720
pulse 252
space 80249
pulse 238
space 701
pulse 262
space 2700
pulse 247
space 696
pulse 281
space 2833
pulse 245
space 1272
pulse 284
space 1260
pulse 256
space 854
pulse 253
space 2132
pulse 260
space 13037
pulse 256
space 682
pulse 265
space 1855
pulse 249
space 1864
pulse 248
space 685
pulse 284
space 686
pulse 283
space 739
pulse 233
space 902
pulse 78
space 682
pulse 259
space 80251
pulse 234
space 710
pulse 258
space 2722
pulse 250
space 683
pulse 277
space 2845
pulse 224
space 1302
pulse 237
space 1315
pulse 225
space 864
pulse 244
space 2148
pulse 238
space 13040
pulse 248
space 695
pulse 265
space 1862
pulse 237
space 1861
pulse 249
space 694
pulse 261
space 704
pulse 267
space 721
pulse 252
space 711
pulse 261
space 716
pulse 257

In slingbox virtual remote layout, this is the SELECT button, in the correspondent RM file i exported, If i look in the "functions" field, select has EFC 018, with byte 1 and 2 at 0. On the dreambox it has the effect to bring you to the latest visited channel and the current one, so it just switch between 2 channels.
How come the raw output data is so long?... just for a button? and How can I start from here.... to decode the missing buttons?

[binky123]

You have to manually decode the values using the algorithm as noted in this thread.

I decoded these signals:
0E 0F 44 1A 00 00 00 00
0E 0F 44 1A 08 80 01 00 (bad learn or bad signal?)
0E 0F 44 1A 08 80 00 00

The correct signal should be:
0E 0F 44 1A 00 00 00 00
0E 0F 44 1A 08 80 00 00
0E 0F 44 1A 08 80 00 00

This is "00 00" or the "0" digit. If I look in RM under Functions Tab, Hex=00 00 for the "0" digit. I don't see any reference to SELECT. SELECT button is mapped to the OK function(25 00).

Also, try learning a signal that doesn't work to see what the slingbox is sending.