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HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off

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kenneth.emerson at gmail

Dec 21, 2009, 1:11 PM

Post #1 of 8 (1346 views)
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HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off

Has anyone successfully controlled the power on their set-top box (STB) used
it in conjunction with the HD-PVR? I would like to power the STB off once a
recording is over if there isn't a recording scheduled directly after it. I
have found that occasionally my DCH-3200 gets into a state where it will not
output a video signal until it has been powered off and back on (plus, I'd
like not to waste the electricity to keep it on all the time).

-- Ken E.

msmall at eastlink

Dec 21, 2009, 3:44 PM

Post #2 of 8 (1294 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

On December 21, 2009 17:11:42 Kenneth Emerson wrote:
> Has anyone successfully controlled the power on their set-top box (STB)
> used it in conjunction with the HD-PVR? I would like to power the STB off
> once a recording is over if there isn't a recording scheduled directly
> after it. I have found that occasionally my DCH-3200 gets into a state
> where it will not output a video signal until it has been powered off and
> back on (plus, I'd like not to waste the electricity to keep it on all the
> time).
>
> -- Ken E.

I'd also like to be able to power off my stb's. I record with pvr-250's but
the principal is the same. But it would have to be totally and completely
reliable. I can just imagine going away for a week and having the stb power
off at the beginning of each recording and power on at the end. It would be
nice if the stb's had separate remote codes for power on and power off, but
mine don't.

Mark

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greg12866 at nycap

Dec 22, 2009, 7:20 AM

Post #3 of 8 (1282 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

Mark Small wrote:
> On December 21, 2009 17:11:42 Kenneth Emerson wrote:
>
>> Has anyone successfully controlled the power on their set-top box (STB)
>> used it in conjunction with the HD-PVR? I would like to power the STB off
>> once a recording is over if there isn't a recording scheduled directly
>> after it. I have found that occasionally my DCH-3200 gets into a state
>> where it will not output a video signal until it has been powered off and
>> back on (plus, I'd like not to waste the electricity to keep it on all the
>> time).
>>
>> -- Ken E.
>>
>
> I'd also like to be able to power off my stb's. I record with pvr-250's but
> the principal is the same. But it would have to be totally and completely
> reliable. I can just imagine going away for a week and having the stb power
> off at the beginning of each recording and power on at the end. It would be
> nice if the stb's had separate remote codes for power on and power off, but
> mine don't.
>
> Mark
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>
I think you will find that even though the stb is off,it's still
consuming power.. If I shut off my SA 4250 it's still warm to the
touch,suggesting it's consuming power..
You would need away to sever the power completely,then when you bring
it back on line it can take up to 10 minutes for it to boot up.....
You would probably save more money if you invested in 45w processors
and a more efficient power supply for your PC..
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kenneth.emerson at gmail

Dec 22, 2009, 9:15 PM

Post #4 of 8 (1263 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

>
>>
> I think you will find that even though the stb is off,it's still consuming
> power.. If I shut off my SA 4250 it's still warm to the touch,suggesting
> it's consuming power..
> You would need away to sever the power completely,then when you bring it
> back on line it can take up to 10 minutes for it to boot up.....
> You would probably save more money if you invested in 45w processors and a
> more efficient power supply for your PC..
>
> __
>

Unfortunately, Greg, you are more than right. It saddened me when I plugged
my Motorola DCH3200 into a Kill-A-Watt meter. When it was "ON" it drew 28
watts. When it was in "STANDBY" it drew... wait for it ... wait for it ..
wait for it ....
28 watts. Green, this STB is certainly NOT.

-- Ken E.

> _____________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

chrisznews4 at rogers

Dec 23, 2009, 6:42 AM

Post #5 of 8 (1254 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

Kenneth Emerson wrote:
> Has anyone successfully controlled the power on their set-top box
> (STB) used it in conjunction with the HD-PVR? I would like to power
> the STB off once a recording is over if there isn't a recording
> scheduled directly after it. I have found that occasionally my
> DCH-3200 gets into a state where it will not output a video signal
> until it has been powered off and back on (plus, I'd like not to waste
> the electricity to keep it on all the time).
Kenneth,
if it helps I created the following power on/off/status program.
https://code.google.com/p/sa3250cmd/

I use it to ensure that the STB is on for recording (say due to power
outage, cable provider STB resets, etc). It has also been verified on
the Motorola DCT-6xxx series but I suspect it will work also for the
DCH-3xxx series. Let me know if it works and I will update my wiki.

Unfortunately, and as you noted, many of the STBs including Cisco's
Scientific Atlanta boxes are really power hungry and the off button
turns out to be a device to make you feel better rather than actually
saving power.

Christian

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scolbeck at gmail

Dec 23, 2009, 9:15 AM

Post #6 of 8 (1253 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 9:15 PM, Kenneth Emerson
<kenneth.emerson [at] gmail> wrote:
> Unfortunately, Greg, you are more than right.� It saddened me when I plugged
> my Motorola DCH3200 into a Kill-A-Watt meter.� When it was "ON" it drew 28
> watts.� When it was in "STANDBY" it drew... wait for it ... wait for it ..
> wait for it ....
> 28 watts.� Green, this STB is certainly NOT.
>
> -- Ken E.

If your backend does not stay on 24/7, you could use the APC P7GT
power strip to turn off your STB when the backend turns off. It will
then turn on again when the backend turns on. I do this for my setup
and it works perfectly. I just have to turn on my backend about 8
minutes before a recording starts to ensure the STB has enough time to
boot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812106090&cm_re=apc-_-12-106-090-_-Product

Scott
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greg12866 at nycap

Dec 23, 2009, 9:22 AM

Post #7 of 8 (1262 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

Kenneth Emerson wrote:
>
>
>
> I think you will find that even though the stb is off,it's still
> consuming power.. If I shut off my SA 4250 it's still warm to the
> touch,suggesting it's consuming power..
> You would need away to sever the power completely,then when you
> bring it back on line it can take up to 10 minutes for it to boot
> up.....
> You would probably save more money if you invested in 45w
> processors and a more efficient power supply for your PC..
>
> __
>
>
> Unfortunately, Greg, you are more than right. It saddened me when I
> plugged my Motorola DCH3200 into a Kill-A-Watt meter. When it was
> "ON" it drew 28 watts. When it was in "STANDBY" it drew... wait for
> it ... wait for it .. wait for it ....
> 28 watts. Green, this STB is certainly NOT.
>
> -- Ken E.
>
> _____________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv <mailto:mythtv-users [at] mythtv>
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
Ken, I feel your pain...The only way I could see doing what you want is
perhaps using an X-10 device and a script to control it..It could be
done,but is above my level of expertize...
I used to have a need to make sure a PC stayed up and running years
ago..I used a phone to outlet switch to reboot the PC.. I would call the
number input a code it would beep 3 times and the PC would reboot...That
was on a Windows PC, and at the time I knew nothing about Linux...
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jerrymr at gmail

Apr 21, 2010, 8:56 PM

Post #8 of 8 (890 views)
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Re: HD-PVR and STB Power On/Off [In reply to]

On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 10:42 AM, Christian Szpilfogel <
chrisznews4 [at] rogers> wrote:

> Kenneth Emerson wrote:
>
>> Has anyone successfully controlled the power on their set-top box (STB)
>> used it in conjunction with the HD-PVR? I would like to power the STB off
>> once a recording is over if there isn't a recording scheduled directly after
>> it. I have found that occasionally my DCH-3200 gets into a state where it
>> will not output a video signal until it has been powered off and back on
>> (plus, I'd like not to waste the electricity to keep it on all the time).
>>
> Kenneth,
> if it helps I created the following power on/off/status program.
> https://code.google.com/p/sa3250cmd/
>
> I use it to ensure that the STB is on for recording (say due to power
> outage, cable provider STB resets, etc). It has also been verified on the
> Motorola DCT-6xxx series but I suspect it will work also for the DCH-3xxx
> series. Let me know if it works and I will update my wiki.
>

Christian,

I was trying to use your program to control power on a Motorola QIP-6200.
Using the "off" command causes to power state to invert. Using the "on"
command has no effect. Do you have any suggestions?

"sa3250cmd -v -n 0 on" produces this output:

Sending Command: 0x00FB270
Success, Response: 0x09FFB270
Sending Command: 0x01FFB27F
Success, Response: 0x0CFFB270
return code: 2

But the STB doesn't change power state, whether I do it when the power is on
or off.

"sa3250cmd -v -n 0 off" produces this output:

Sending Command: 0x00FB260
Success, Response: 0x09FFB260
Sending Command: 0x01FFB27F
Success, Response: 0x0CFFB270
return code: 2

And switches the power off it is on, and on if it is off.

Thanks,
Jerry

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