So, this is fixed partially. IR devices do show up and can be selected to send commands to under the remote tab of a scene after the patch; however, the scene still never reflects that there is a remote in it (it says Remote: no on the edit settings tab), and it does not redirect to the remote control page in the Smartphone Web interface when you click “Go” for the scene. The developers are looking into it. We are getting closer!
I’m waiting for this to be fixed too. When it’s working I’ll post a luup plugin for some Pioneer Ethernet connected receivers. (there isn’t really any point posting it now as you can’t do much without the Vera fix)
That would be cool. I have been holding off on all my code writing until they fix it too.
Well, I am no longer getting any updates in response to my email queries for status. It might be better if everyone who is having this problem opens a ticket of their own on it, and then maybe we can get some focus/updates on when we can expect a fix for this. This issue appears to be treated as a very low priority for the developers, which is completely crazy. We have an advertised feature here that is completely broken, and development on things like UI5 seem to be more important to them.
Its so frustrating that like you said they have a advetised feature that you can’t use. Their answer seems to be to buy an apple product and use the sq blasster?
Thats not really a fix for the problem if you don’t have any apple products and don’t want to waste 175 pounds on an ir blaster when i already have a usb-uirt that works perfectly fine with the universal remote control program on my laptop.
To be perfectly honest mi casa verde and vera is absolute rubbish, I bought it thinking it would be easy to use and thast it would do what it said in the advert which it doesn’t.
They need to make the remote control function work or its a pointless box that just does basic z wave control (unless you can script) the adverts are mis-leading, the support absoloutly terrible and their priorities are totally going in the wrong direction.
Get working what you’re telling people is working then start trying to update it. Mi casa verde has lost my custom and i would never reccomend vera to anyone trying to get into home automation. There are a lot better products out there that are fully functioning, do what they advertise and have good support. My advice would be save a little extra money and forget vera altogether.
Yes, it is extremely frustrating. I won’t be using Vera much longer ether if this doesn’t get fixed soon. This functionality was one of the main reasons I went with Vera in the first place, and over 3 months later it still doesn’t work. This venture has actually limited me. I bought products that were advertised to work with Vera. Now if I switch, I have to find something that works with all the products I bought.
Was this issue resolved? I am in the process of adding TCP/IP commands for controlling the Logitech revue and think this is part of the problem.
No, it wasn’t. I don’t even know if it is being worked on at this point, because I have not heard anything since 8/3 and that was that they don’t have any news. I think in another 2-4 more weeks, I am going to ditch this product and go with HomeSeer. I cannot stick with a company that takes this long to fix an advertised feature. In another week, it will have been a full 5 months since the problem was reported. They should get together with Syabas who makes the PopBox. This type of product support and product immaturity is the same reason I stopped using their product after a year and built a Home Theater PC.
Hi,
Is the problem resolved after upgrading firmware to 1163
[quote=“alexlui, post:29, topic:168279”]Hi,
Is the problem resolved after upgrading firmware to 1163[/quote]
It’s still broken as of 1362
Hi OtisPreslsy,
Instead of using smartphone to remote control IR devices, have you ever controlled the IR devices ( Samsung TV in your case ) by running a scene from PC browser? I have no idea how to configure it correctly. TIA
[quote=“alexlui, post:31, topic:168279”]Hi OtisPreslsy,
Instead of using smartphone to remote control IR devices, have you ever controlled the IR devices ( Samsung TV in your case ) by running a scene from PC browser? I have no idea how to configure it correctly. TIA[/quote]
Hi alexlui,
Once you have the device added to control, in my case the Samsung TV, then just create a scene, go to the Advanced tab, select the device in the drop-down, click Add, select the command to send.
Select Add for each new device and command you want to add. This method is good when you only want to send a single command or series/group of commands. The reason it does not work for me is that a new scene has to be created for each command or group of commands you want to send, which will quickly get out of control. This is why I need the remote control functionality to work.
I hope this helps.
Hi OtisPreslsy,
Thanks for your help. It now works great. BTW, do you know how to add a new device which is not listed in the device type and manufacturer? As I can learn the IR codes via the iLearn utility from Global Cache, do you have any idea what to do next? TIA
Hi,
as you are expert on USBUIRT, I have a question for you.
I have my USB UIRT connect to my Vera and it is working.
It works maybe for a day then after some scenes or command is not working anymore until I restart my Vera.
Do you have any idea how to solve this issue?
I use the USB UIRT to start my hifi every monring, but it works only the first day.
Thank you
Regards,
Matteo
[quote=“alexlui, post:33, topic:168279”]Hi OtisPreslsy,
Thanks for your help. It now works great. BTW, do you know how to add a new device which is not listed in the device type and manufacturer? As I can learn the IR codes via the iLearn utility from Global Cache, do you have any idea what to do next? TIA[/quote]
Hi alexlui,
In order to add a device that is not in the database, you have to create your own XML files with the Pronto codes for the functions you want. You can start by adding an IR device to your Vera2 that is in the database and let it download the files. Then, go to MiOS Developers in the control panel and click the Luup files tab. This is where you can download and upload files. Download the XML files that start with ‘D_’ and ‘I_’ for the device you just downloaded. You can replace the codes for like functions with the correct Pronto code for your device. It is fairly easy to see how to add new functions as well. Once done, you can rename your files to your liking and upload them to your Vera from the same tab where you downloaded the original files. A lot of the Pronto codes can be found at [url=http://www.remotecentral.com/]http://www.remotecentral.com/[/url]. If you have any questions, there is documentation in the Wiki sites.
[quote=“teonebello, post:34, topic:168279”]Hi,
as you are expert on USBUIRT, I have a question for you.
I have my USB UIRT connect to my Vera and it is working.
It works maybe for a day then after some scenes or command is not working anymore until I restart my Vera.
Do you have any idea how to solve this issue?
I use the USB UIRT to start my hifi every monring, but it works only the first day.
Thank you
Regards,
Matteo[/quote]
Hi teonebello,
I have never used USB UIRT before, so I am not familiar with it. I have the Global Cache GC-100. It sounds like there may be a problem with your Vera or the USB UIRT hardware. Since it works at first and then stops, I would suggest opening a support case on it and have them look at it.
[quote=“OtisPreslsy, post:35, topic:168279”]Hi alexlui,
In order to add a device that is not in the database, you have to create your own XML files with the Pronto codes for the functions you want. You can start by adding an IR device to your Vera2 that is in the database and let it download the files. Then, go to MiOS Developers in the control panel and click the Luup files tab. This is where you can download and upload files. Download the XML files that start with ‘D_’ and ‘I_’ for the device you just downloaded. You can replace the codes for like functions with the correct Pronto code for your device. It is fairly easy to see how to add new functions as well. Once done, you can rename your files to your liking and upload them to your Vera from the same tab where you downloaded the original files. A lot of the Pronto codes can be found at [url=http://www.remotecentral.com/]http://www.remotecentral.com/[/url]. If you have any questions, there is documentation in the Wiki sites.[/quote]
What am I supposed to do with the D_ file? There are no Pronto codes there, and it refers to one other XML for each service defined. Is it just to change the Device information?
I’ve tried to download several devices, but no luck so far. They work with USB-UIRT when I browse the device and press “test”, but there is no way I can trigger a scene so that USB-UIRT emits anything at all after that. “Failed to download all plugins” is the most common message, but even when it suceeds, I can’t get a single signal out of the IR emitter.
Not to mention the problem discussed earlier in this thread, adding a remote and accessing it with the iPhone. It just doesn’t happen!
The Wiki that describes it here [url=http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Intro_Universal_Remote]http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Intro_Universal_Remote[/url] seems to be old (like most of the Wiki), and following it step-by-step produces no result. Just not good enough!
Of all Linux/OpenSource based boxes I have been fooling around with, like DD-WRT routers and cable decoders, Vera is by far the most immature. I had big expectations before getting it, but my conclusion is that all it can do so far is pretty basic Z-wave stuff. It is buggy and very user-unfriendly, and it has a looong way to go before it can be anything like the advertisement says it can.
Hey Thorden,
I can definitely understand your frustration. I am definitely no expert on creating custom device files, but it looks like that the D_ file describes the services the device uses and the I_ file contains the functions and Pronto codes. Some of these things will be relevant to your device and some will not.
It sure sounds like the operation of your Vera is hit or miss. I know that when I still had my Samsung TV, I was able to add it and it did work in the test just like you mentioned. Then, I created a scene, and used the advanced tab to select the TV and then the add button, and I would get a long list of IR commands I could send to it. They are sorted by the ServiceID. The problem is that it doesn’t just list the commands that are specified in your implementation (I_) file, so you have to be certain you are choosing the right command. I was then able to run the scene and have it successfully send the command to the TV. That was a few code revisions ago though, and I no longer have the TV and don’t even have my GC-100 hooked up anymore. I just gave up on it.
I have since built a Home Theater PC with a dual tuner card in it. This way, I don’t have to switch inputs on the TV, and I only have to switch on the receiver when I want to use the Xbox 360. I am using XBMC, so I plan on getting the Pulse-Eight USB CEC adapter to allow my HTPC to control the power to the TV and the receiver (when I get one that supports HDMI CEC).
The documentation for this product is nearly non-existent, and it even links to outdated documentation in the UI! The documentation for UI4 was never complete, and the previous documents just don’t cut it for UI4. docs2.mios.com is the documentation site for UI4. It has a bit more than it used to but is still very lacking.
I sure hope they get it straight with UI5, but I cannot have high hopes based on my experiences with this company so far.
Hi Otis,
Thanks for trying!
I got the USB-UIRT to send something in a scene using the advanced tab now, no clue why it suddenly worked. I added a command as “do nothing” on an appliance switch, that might have done the trick.
I then edited the D- and I_ files from the device that worked to match the codes of one of my devices (none of them in the database). Then saved the files with new names (still D_ and I_ prefix), and uploaded them as new LUUP files. Now what? How do I create a device that uses USB-UIRT based on these new files? Or am I just supposed to overwrite the existing ones?
Just got USB-UIRT, thought “how hard can it be?” Didn’t go for SQBlaster to save a few bucks. Guess that was a stupid move! Or is SQBlaster really “plug’n play”?
I have an IT degree and 20+ years experience in the field, so it’s not that I’m not able to make this work. I just don’t have the time, nor do I find it very amusing. I just want to configure the thing and make it work without too much hassle. :-\
What you do is copy the device_type from the Advanced tab of a device that is the same type (TV, Light Switch, etc), click on MiOS developers at the top of the UI, go to the Create device tab, and enter the Device Type, UpnpDevFilename (D_), and UpnpImpFilename (I_) and then click Create Device. A new device will then appear that you came name and fill out the rest of the settings for.
Here is a list of device types if you need it: [url=http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Luup_UPNP_Files#Device_Types]http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Luup_UPNP_Files#Device_Types[/url]
From what I see in here, a lot of people use SQBlaster and are happy with it. I cannot use it because I have an Android phone instead of an iPhone. I agree that there is a big learning curve on this product because there is little documentation and the UI is not as intuitive as it could be. I have spent many, many hours searching the forums and the net in order to get mine working, and I haven’t really gotten down into Lua code yet, beyond configuring scenes to determine if it is night time.
Good Luck!