1) Install the Red-Eye on the front of the STB, and connect its
cable to the IR Blaster Out socket on the rear of the Pace STB (NOT the socket on the back
of the Media Centre IR unit).(C) Mike Harrison 4-Apr-2004 Please email me with any updates/corrections.
| News/Updates |
| 8-Dec-2004 : Windows Media Center 2005 - several users have now emailed to say Red-Eye works fine with MCE2005 and that the info on this page is applicable. |
Other resources :
The Green Button discussion forum - NTL/Telewest
Thread. Newsgroups : microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter
Please also see this page on improving reliability of channel selection.
Troubleshooting Note
Red-Eye does NOT respond directly to commands from the MCE Remote. It responds to
commands from the MCE IR emitter (blaster).
You will see the Red-Eye LED flicker in response to the MCE remote (as it does for
any IR signal), but it should then show a bright flash a couple of seconds later in
response to commands from the MCE IR emitter.
When troubleshooting, it helps to use the PC keyboard instead of the MCE remote for
channel selection to avoid confusion. If the Red-Eye LED flickers off but does not flash
brightly in response to the MCE IR emitter, the code has been set incorrectly. If it does
not even flicker, there is a problem with the IR emitter or MCE remote box. Noteh that the
'teardrop' shaped emitter (pictured below) emits a dim visible red light when sending.
Firstly, you need to identify which set-top box (STB) you have from one of the following - once you have determined your model, click on the STB model number for information on setting up with that STB.
| Make/Model | Quick Identification (Model number is on label underneath) |
| Pace 1000,1010 or 2000 (NTL/Telewest) | Arrow buttons are below display |
| Pace 4000 (NTL/Telewest) | |
| Pace 4001 (NTL only) | Uses Blue remote |
| Pace 4010 (NTL) | |
| Samsung (NTL only) | Samsung name on front |
| Scientific Atlanta DVB4000/4200 (Telewest only) | Explorer 4000DVB or 4200DVB on front. |
These STBs can only be controlled by MCE with the use of the Red-Eye
translator, which translates the remote signals into the IRDA system used by these
STBs.
(If you have one of the old Mark I Red-Eye units (with the red case), you must use the procedure described below for the 4000 STB, even if you have a 10000,1010 or 2000
STB).
1) Install the Red-Eye on the front of the STB, and connect its
cable to the IR Blaster Out socket on the rear of the Pace STB (NOT the socket on the back
of the Media Centre IR unit).
2) Stick the IR emitter from the MCE IR unit to the front of Red-Eye,
or position it so it is pointing towards Red-Eye, Ensuring
that the Red-Eye LED is still visible. Plug the IR emitter
into the socket on the back of the MCE IR unit.
DO NOT PLUG THE MCE IR EMITTER PLUG INTO THE BACK OF THE PACE SET-TOP BOX -
This will cause damage to the STB.
3) Set up MCE as follows, using Settings -> TV
-> Set up TV signal (or My Tv -> Settings
-> Set up TV Signal)
| Prompt | Selection |
| Choose your TV signal | Cable or Digital Cable |
| Do you Have a Set-Top Box ? | YES |
| Set-Top Box Already Configured (You may or may not see this - if not, skip this step) | Modify Settings for Changing Channels |
| Set-Top Box Remote - do you have a remote for your set-top
box? (It only asks this the first time, or if you select Start over and reconfigure at the previous step- ignore this step if you don't see this prompt) |
NO |
| Choose number of digits | Three |
| How do you Change Channels? | NO, I just enter the Channel Number |
| Select Set-Top Box brand | Pace |
| Select Remote control code | C1060 |
| Verify that the channel changes correctly. You should see the Red-Eye LED flash once per digit in response to the MCE IR emitter. Ensure you use a valid channel number that you can normally receive on your cable package, as the STB may ignore digits of invalid numbers. |
|
| Set IR signal speed (Fast) | Select Channel Did Not Change correctly (even if it did!) |
| Set IR signal speed (Medium) | Select Channel Did Not Change correctly (even if it did!) |
| The above two steps are essential to set the IR signal speed
to be as slow as possible, as the response speed of the Pace box can be erratic, depending
on what else the STB is doing at the time. Although you may find that it works at the medium setting, testing has shown that it will definitely be unreliable on the fast setting, particularly with channel numbers containing repeated digits (e.g. 144), due to timing issues with the MCE IR transmitter. |
|
| You're Done | Change Program Guide |
| After entering your postcode, MCE will connect to the Internet
and download the Program Guide channel line-ups. In addition to the generic UK
Cable Line-Up You should see either NTL Bromley or
Telewest in this list. (If you see NTL Langley,
there may be an error in the postcode, or the postcode database.). Select the NTL or Telewest Line-up, depending on your provider. The Guide information will then be downloaded. |
|
Depending on your area, and the STB's internal software version, these STBs may or may not work correctly with MCE using the standard MCE IR remote unit. Possible problems may include unreliable channel selection, or 'phantom' keypresses when using the STB's original remote after MCE has sent channel numbers.
The first thing to do is to try setting up as for the 4001 STB below.
If this does not work reliably, you will probably need to use the Red-Eye
Translator to control the STB.
This needs to be set up as follows: Note that this procedure is different to that for
the 1000 and 2000 STBs above.
In order to use Red-Eye on the 4000 STB (and also Red-Eye Mark I on a 1000/1010/2000 STB), you need to select a code
corresponding to a Philips OnDigital receiver (Because this is the code set used by
Red-Eye). However as this device is classified as a Satellite device in MCE, it does not
allow selection of a cable channel line-up when this device is in use, only satellite
ones, which will have the wrong channel numbers.
This can be worked round by initially selecting a cable device, loading the cable channel
line-up and guide data, then changing the remote device selection to the correct one for Red-Eye.
The procedure is as follows:
1) Install the Red-Eye on the front of the STB, and connect its
cable to the IR Blaster Out socket on the rear of the Pace STB (NOT the socket on the back
of the Media Centre IR unit).
2) Stick the IR emitter from the MCE IR unit to the bottom-left corner of the front of Red-Eye, or position it so that it's pointing towards Red-Eye, ensuring that the Red-Eye LED
is still visible. Plug the IR emitter cable into the socket on the back of the MCE IR
unit.
DO NOT PLUG THE MCE IR EMITTER PLUG INTO THE BACK OF THE PACE SET-TOP BOX -
This will cause damage to the STB.
3) Set up MCE as follows, using Settings -> TV -> Set up TV signal (or My Tv -> Settings -> Set up TV Signal)
| Prompt | Selection |
| Choose your TV signal | Cable or Digital Cable |
| Do you Have a Set-Top Box ? | YES |
| Set-Top Box Already Configured (You may or may not see this - if not, skip this step) | Modify Settings for Changing Channels |
| Set-Top Box Remote - do you have a remote for your set-top box? (It only asks this the first time you install, or if you had selected Start over and reconfigure at the previous step - ignore this step if you don't see this prompt) |
NO |
| Choose number of digits | Three Digits |
| How do you Change Channels? | NO, I just enter the Channel Number |
| Select Set-Top Box brand | Select the first one that comes up - it doesn't matter which. |
| Select Remote control code | Select the first one that comes up - it doesn't matter which. |
| Test Channel Changing | Enter any three digits, wait til the green blob re-appears, then select The Channel Changed Correctly. |
| Set IR Signal Speed | The Channel Changed Correctly |
| You're Done | Change Program Guide |
| After entering your postcode, MCE will connect to the Internet and
download the Program Guide channel line-ups. In addition to the generic UK
Cable Line-Up You should see either NTL Bromley or
Telewest in this list. (If you see NTL Langley,
there may be an error in the postcode, or the postcode database.). Select the NTL or Telewest Line-up. The Guide information will then be downloaded. |
|
4) Now that MCE thinks it's on Cable, and has selected the correct guide information, you now need to select the correct code to control Red-Eye as follows. Return to Set up TV signal :
| Choose your TV signal | Satellite |
| Do you Have a Set-Top Box ? | YES |
| Set-Top Box Already Configured | Modify Settings for Changing Channels |
| Choose number of digits | Three Digits |
| How do you Change Channels? | NO, I just enter the Channel Number |
| Select Your Set-Top Box brand | Philips |
| Select Remote control code | S0133 |
| Test Channel Changing - Verify that the channel
changes correctly. You should see the Red-Eye LED flash once
per digit in response to the MCE IR emitter. Ensure you use a valid channel number that you can normally receive on your cable package, as the STB will sometimes ignore digits of invalid numbers.. |
|
| Set IR signal speed (Fast) | Select Channel Did Not Change correctly (even if it did!) |
| Set IR signal speed (Medium) | Select Channel Did Not Change correctly (even if it did!) |
| The above steps two are essential to set the IR signal speed to be as slow
as possible, as the response speed of the Pace box can be erratic, depending on what else
the STB is doing at the time. Although you may find that it works at the medium setting, testing has shown that it will definitely be unreliable on the fast setting, particularly with channel numbers containing repeated digits (e.g. 144), due to timing issues with the MCE IR transmitter. |
|
| When you get to the You're Done ... Making changes to your TV
Signal source may require corresponding changes to the Program Guide...... screen,
select Return to TV Settings. DO NOT select the Change Program Guide option, as this will mess up the Guide setting you made earlier |
|
Note that if you ever do 'Reset Guide Lineup', you will need to repeat the above procedure, as MCE will get the new guide lineup bsed on the selection of a Satellite code. If your cable company adds/removes or changes channel numbering, it may be easier to manually change the channel mappings.
Routine downloading of guide updates should not normally upset the settings.
Important note for NTL Samsung users : Due to a bug in MCE's
implementation of RC5 codes, MCE will not correctly select channel numbers containing
repeated identical digits (e.g. 112). There is currently no fix for this, and as MS have
been aware of the bug for about 2 years, it doesn't look like they are interested in
sorting it out.
I can only suggest that you complain to your MCE system supplier, as the only way it looks
like this will be fixed is if they get enough complaints.
Attatch the IR emitter from the MCE IR unit to the front of the STB window and connect
it to the '1' socket on the rear of the MCE IR unit.
DO NOT PLUG THE MCE IR EMITTER PLUG INTO THE BACK OF THE PACE SET-TOP BOX -
This will cause damage to the STB.
Set up MCE using Cable model Pace, code C1060. There have been reports that only certain channels work correctly, and other reports that it works fine.
For the line-up selection in the Guide, you need to select NTL Langley for Pace 4001 or 4010, or NTL Bromley for Samsung.
DO NOT PLUG THE MCE IR EMITTER PLUG INTO THE BACK OF THE PACE SET-TOP BOX - This will cause damage to the STB and the emitter.
This STB requires Red-Eye firmware V7 or later. See this section of the FAQ page for more information.
Once you have this version, follow the procedure above for the Pace
1000,1010 or 2000