Pioneer Receiver discussion

[ckeyes888]

Might there be a raw command(s) that would simulate the hard button presses on
the front of the receiver? I got my unit updated and receiving Pandora stations
just fine but the only way I can find to navigate thru them is using the
hard buttons on the receiver....the remote control, and the plugin remote commands,
do nothing.

Strange that it seems to be setup to have to navigate different menus using only
the hard buttons and not the remote.

Thanks,

Carl

[ckeyes888]

On further investigation it seems you need to press the "net" button on the remote
first to be able to nav thru the Pandora stations using the remote control commands.

Maybe provide a "net" button press in the plugin?

Thanks,

Carl

[nsheldon]

There may indeed be a raw command that could emulate the hard button presses. I suspect the cursor commands associated with the Network input as defined in the Pioneer custom integration spreadsheet I used contains the correct raw commands. There are quite a large number of commands for the various input-specific control functions. I endeavored to include the basic commands in the plugin and to also have the plugin attempt to automatically send the correct commands when using the Send Remote Button action based on the current input for Zone 1, but not all input-specific functions are included, and the plugin doesn't necessarily know to which input you're directing remote button presses if you have multiple zones turned on.

For a complete list of raw commands associated with the Network input (as well as all the other raw commands), check out this spreadsheet directly from Pioneer. For the Network remote control commands, check out the "Functions" sheet starting at row 385. There are also separate raw commands to control the AM/FM Tuner, iPod, Adapter Port, and Media Home Library. There are also separate main cursor commands (see row 174 of the same sheet). You might have to experiment to see which cursor commands work when you're using the Pandora feature.

As for the plugin virtually pushing the "net" button, that's not really possible as there is no raw command equivalent to doing that. It seems that the "net" button on the wireless remote simply changes the command the remote itself sends (or tells the receiver to interpret all further cursor commands from the IR remote differently). Pioneer engineered the custom integration commands differently than they did for the IR remote commands, so (as described above) you have to use the raw command specified for the input you wish to control rather than using the same cursor command to control all input operations. In the long run, it's a better design as it allows custom integration solutions like the Pioneer Receiver plugin to control cursor operations for multiple zones simultaneously rather than having to switch between remote control "modes".

Hope that helped.

[ckeyes888]

Thanks Nathan. I'll do some experimenting and report back what works and what doesn't.

Carl

[ckeyes888]

Yikes. First impression is how there's a wealth of possibilities for virtually
everything to do with EQ, inputs etc., but nothing to select what you'd actually
like to hear.

Carl

[ckeyes888]

Not sure what actually gets entered into the plugin's raw command line.
It shows on the list from the link above that 30NW<CR> is the "enter" command. So I would enter 30NW, assuming the <CR> is a carriage return?

Also the "get current list" is a bit confusing, for me anyway, as to what gets entered.
The ?GAH<CR> command shows a number of possibilities like "GEH03100"Norwegian Wood"<CR+LF>"

Normally I'd just go at it and see what happens but I've read you can get the receiver into a bad state using the raw commands if you
don't know what you're doing.

Any pointers greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Carl

[nsheldon]

It shows on the list from the link above that 30NW<CR> is the "enter" command. So I would enter 30NW, assuming the <CR> is a carriage return?

Correct. <CR> means "carriage return" (hit the Return or Enter key). But you don't have to do that when entering the Raw Command. Just enter 30NW. The plugin action will automatically send the carriage return character when sending the raw command.

Also the "get current list" is a bit confusing, for me anyway, as to what gets entered.
The ?GAH<CR> command shows a number of possibilities like "GEH03100"Norwegian Wood"<CR+LF>"

Understandable. It seems that commands associated with external media sources (network, iPod, media home library, etc.) use a kind of coded menu system. The ?GAH command tells the receiver to print the first screen of menu options. All the lines that it returns are coded based on the type of line being displayed. That spreadsheet shows (if not concisely) how the different menu items are coded. Check out the "Metadata" tab, starting at row 75. You see why I haven't written code to interpret all that yet (it's pretty complex and requires multiple requests and responses to implement in a usable fashion within a plugin).

P.S. I moved this discussion to the Pioneer Receiver Discussion thread as it was a more appropriate thread.

[ckeyes888]

Thanks for the info. Curious if you've had any issues sending raw commands that
might get the receiver into a bad state?

I'd love to experiment with them but am a bit reluctant to tank it.

I may just try to send some IR commands to get the Net button press to access
Pandora stations.

If you have any suggestions on getting to a Pandora station I'd vey much
appreciate any advice you may have.

Thanks,

Carl

[nsheldon]

Curious if you've had any issues sending raw commands that
might get the receiver into a bad state?

Yes, but I suspect it's a bug with the VSX-1021-K, or maybe just my 1021-K, not a condition that affects all Pioneer receiver models. I found that using the command to increment or decrement the tuner frequency will cause the 1021 to mute all audio even if you change audio sources and never un-mute it even across power cycles. The only way to un-mute audio is to use the front panel buttons to change tuner frequency. I would consider this a bug because the same thing happens if you use the IR remote to increment/decrement tuner frequency, so it's obviously not something restricted to the raw commands themselves. I put that disclaimer in the Send Raw Command dialog to cover my own liability and as a general warning to people.

In all the other tests I've done, I've never gotten the receiver into a "bad state" though. If you send a command it doesn't understand, the receiver will return an error code (which should show up in the Indigo log), so you should be okay. But if something happens, I'll deny that I told you to go ahead. (i.e. test things at your own risk).

[ckeyes888]

Thanks. Well I got brave and started experimenting with the raw commands
and seems most work just fine.

The one in particular that would be great to get working is the "select the content of the
current list" (in this case the Pandora list), which seems to only work using 1 thru 8.
e.g. 01GFH.

Any one know if it's possible to reorder/rename the Pandora stations or select station names directly using raw commands?
If I could just get my favorite stations to the top 8 slots all would be fine.

Thanks,

Carl

[nsheldon]

I don't have the Pandora feature on my 1021 so I can't test this, but doesn't the 1122 have a Favorites input? Can you assign Pandora stations to the Favorites then select from that?

What about the *****GGH command? (e.g. 00015GGH to select item 15 in the full list). I haven't tested it, but perhaps that will select a specific item from the full list rather than just from the items currently being listed.

[ckeyes888]

Thanks! The GGH command works fine. I did have to insert an IR code into
mix to send the "Net" command but I actually can, by sending a series of six commands, get
it to play a specific Pandora station. Still seems odd that it doesn't have a raw command
for the "Net" button as it is necessary to nav to Pandora.

Quite different than controlling my Squeezebox Radio which can turn on and play any favorite
audio with one simple command.

Carl

[nsheldon]

Glad to hear you were able to get it working. Yea, I don't imagine getting the receiver to select a favorite stream is nearly as simple as a Squeezebox, though it also does more too I guess.

[ckeyes888]

Seems my VSX 1122 is having a communication issue. Most of the commands from the
plugin work but any changes are not reflected in the device states.
If I change inputs or the volume etc. on the receiver itself the changes aren't reflected in the
device states in Indigo.

Also just noticed that the iControlAV 2012 app is no longer seeing the unit so no doubt
the two are related.

Maybe someone has seen something like this and might have a cure?
I've reset my router, checked cabling and all seems fine. Just happened out of the blue.

Thanks,

Carl

[nsheldon]

Try unplugging the Ethernet cable from the 1122 for 10 to 15 seconds then plug it back in. You may need to reload the Pioneer Receiver plugin after doing this as well. I've seen my 1021 hold onto a dead connection indefinitely until the Ethernet link is severed. Maybe that's what's going on with your 1122 as well.