Announcement: Sky digibox controller

[Sef]

Hi,

Are there any Sky users in the UK looking for a reliable alternative to infra-red to control their Sky digibox?

Over the past couple I've years I've tried several different ways of controlling my Sky box via infra-red: ActiSys IR200L, USB-UIRT, Ocelot home automation controller, etc. I've never been very happy with the results and occasionally I'd miss a recording because the IR signal would be missed or confused (eg, if somebody was using another remote control at the same time).

A few weeks ago, I came across a review of a home made PC-to-Sky controller that plugs into a USB socket and connects to the digibox's RF2 socket around the back. A simple command line program could then send remote control commands directly into the box. The controller is made by a guy called Joseph Heenan and is available directly from his website: http://www.heenan.me.uk/control-sky-from-pc/

I bought one immediately and spent a few days writing a driver for BeyondTV so it could use the controller. I'm pleased to announce that this software is now available to customers from Joseph's website. I've been using this setup for about three weeks now and so far it's worked perfectly. No missed recordings, no delays in changing the channel, and best of all no clutter with IR transmitters round the front of the digibox!

So, if any UK users are looking for a better way of integrating their Sky digibox with BeyondTV, I can't recommend this strongly enough.

BTW: I'd like to stress that I have no affiliation with Joseph, I'm simply a happy customer who has contributed back to the BeyondTV community.

[Decaf]

Excellent. This is the perfect addition to my setup. This should be a sticky in the UK Forum.

Thanks.

[AndyQ]

Hi,

Just got one of Josephs controllers and downloaded your software however think that there may be a slight hiccup in the packaging. It appears that all the included DLLs are for the same output (Sky Controller Output 2).

I've copied them into the tuner directory and in the remote selection drop-down I get 4 new items for Sky Controller (2nd Output).

This would be OK however I've only got a single output and want to control a sky+ box.

Any chance you could check?

Also, do you plan on releasing the source code for your plugin?

Cheers
Andy

[Sef]

Hi Andy,

Sorry about that, I've fixed the problem and sent Joseph an update.


So you don't have to wait for Joseph to update his site, I've attached the files here. If you're interested in the source, PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it on.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Cheers,
Neil

[AndyQ]

Hi there,

Downlaoded and installed this and it works great! Thanks very much for the prompt response.

[jogu]

Yeah - thanks very much for getting this sorted Neil.

The latest version is available from the main sky control page now too ( http://www.heenan.me.uk/control-sky-from-pc/ )

Joseph

[navier]

I'm running BTV 4 with one of these units. Everything works fine apart from the fact that clicking the up and down channel buttons in Live TV doesn't change the channel on the Sky box. There's no activity on the Sky Control LED so there's no signal getting to that. The odd thing is that the channel change works fine from the video preview screen near the end of the BTV Setup Wizard. Any ideas on why there should be this discrepancy?

[AndyQ]

You may have to press enter (select on the remote) to actually select the channel (I think thats the way its set up by default). Similarly, if you enter say 101 (for BBC 1), then nothing happens until you press enter/select.

It can be changed under Settings/Player Settings/Channel Change Latency.

A little confusing if you are used to the auto change that Sky provides.

[navier]

Sorry. Didn't make that very clear then did I... I'm using the on screen buttons in the LiveTV GUI of BeyondTV. The remote itself doesn't come into the equation at all here. Hope that's a bit clearer.

[Sef]

Hi Navier,

Sorry to hear about your problem. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of it for you.

Originally Posted by AndyQ

You may have to press enter (select on the remote) to actually select the channel (I think thats the way its set up by default). Similarly, if you enter say 101 (for BBC 1), then nothing happens until you press enter/select.

It can be changed under Settings/Player Settings/Channel Change Latency.

A little confusing if you are used to the auto change that Sky provides.

That would have been my first guess, too. Does the channel change in any other circumstances, eg if you select another programme from the EPG or if a programme is set to record?

If not, can you check that the tuner is associated with the correct tuner DLL. I don't have BTV4, so things might be different, but this is how to check it in BTV3:

- Open up the admin web page.
- Select "Settings" -> "Audio and Video Inputs"
- Select "Edit Settings" on the appropriate tuner
- Check the "External Tuning" property at the bottom of the page is set to "Sky Tuner", or "Sky+ Tuner" if you're using a Sky+ digibox.

Cheers,
Neil

[navier]

Full marks for AndyQ and Sef for sussing it. Pointy hat with a big 'D' on it for me for not realising that Andy was suggesting hitting the enter key on they keyboard after having clicked the on screen channel change arrows. Slightly odd interface to have as a default but it certainly works fine now. I've never had to confirm an arrow click with an unprompted key press before ...

Thanks a lot for the help guys. Big up also to Mr Heenan for his splendid gizmo.

[Paladine]

I have this same controller and I just installed BeyondTV.

The controller is working from within BeyondTV but I can't see how to get the Sky TV schedule and channel lines up.

Could someone explain how to configure BeyondTV so it has the Sky schedule and how to setup the channel for Sky in BeyondTV?

Paladine