MEGA 180 Remote/LCD API

Hi,
I've just built a new MEGA 180 system, and while I like the hardware, I'm less than enthusiastic about the software. Frankly, Media Centre III stinks!
For one thing, I'd like to be able to use the MEGA 180 for MP3 playback without having to turn on the monitor (which is a projector in my case, that takes more than a minute to start up).
The first step would be to program the remote and the LCD display so that you can use whatever MP3 player you want, in my case I would write a WinAmp / MediaMonkey plugin.
For that I need some way to access these devices. I found some dlls and a WinIRX.ocr on the CD but I have no idea how to use them. Is there any API description I can use? Even a simple .h and .lib file for the dlls would suffice for me.
If you've heard anything about such a description, please let me know. Or maybe the adress of somebody at MSI I could contact to get it?
Thanks!
Martin.

I've been looking into the dll's as well; there are a few that looks promising. They can't be referenced from Visual Basic though , so someone with more insight into C++ should have a go at them. PC Alert 4 also installs it's own dll's for writing sys- and cpu temp to the LCM, so there is plenty to choose from. Can't help out with any API descriptions though...
We should keep in mind however that the 180 and 865 are new products for MSI, and not only are they occupied with fixing the numerous problems users have reported, but they will probably try to develop other applications that take advantage of the remote and LCM. From what we've seen so far that is obviosly something they should leave to other, more suited, developers!
I too think that MSI would benefit from releasing a SDK, thus increasing the overall useability of the Mega, thus attracting more users. Leave it to the endusers to decide which mediaplayer/s we want to use.
For the moment I'm putting my hope to a Girder-plugin for the remote, since that seems the most plausible solution right now.
-M

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MEGA 180 remote control LINUX support

I'm trying to set the MEGA 180 up as a home entertainment system with Freevo on Debian (Linux).
The system now boots from network, and sound/video/tv-out works perfectly.
I've not managed to use the LCD, radio and remote control yet.
(Or the card reader, but that should not be a problem).
The radio and LCD I can live without, but the remote control was what got me to buy the system in the first place. Does anyone know how to make it work with linux?
If someone could supply me with specs for the hardware, I should be able to write a driver myself, but so far, I've had no luck finding the info I need.
(I didn't expect the onboard IR reciever to work, so I had build a serial IR reciever... but when I got the PC... no serial port )
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

These are the only links I have got that might be of interest.
http://www.siliconmotion.com.tw/bluebirdvl.htm
http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/msi/
not a lot of help I know but I light a candle every so often

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Is there a "code" know'n for the Mega 180 IR-remote
I'd love to use my Marmitek remote for HIFI and CD playing
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Don't like my table full with remote's

LOL
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I have no LCD display on my Mega 180
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Thanks for the advice but the reason that I knew that there was some firmware to fix the problem is that I read it in this forum.
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Msi mega 180 remote in media center 3

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ok
before i didnt know it needed to be running for the remote to work so i disabled it in the system tray but now i enabled it again but it doesnt work still
and yes i have WinDVD 7 installed which did replace the old Wincinema program cuz i cant find the old one in the msconfig so now wat am i suppose to do?
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Mega 180 remote problems

Iam having problems with my remote in both hi-fi mode and media center.
in hi-fi mode it is very slow and i have to sit right in front of the unit.
in media center mode it just wont work.
after re-installing media center it worked and then the next time i tried it it didn't again.
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Iam having problems with my remote in both hi-fi mode and media center.
in hi-fi mode it is very slow and i have to sit right in front of the unit.
in media center mode it just wont work.
after re-installing media center it worked and then the next time i tried it it didn't again.
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Hello,
I know this has been on the forums a number of times, but I could not really find a decisive answer...
I've read most of the people consider the Mega 180 remote control (like me) to be very slow.
but I've read some comments that flashing the LCD with the bios available for the trashed LCD's
seems to help with this. (making the remote work better / faster)
I this true ? I don't want to flash my perfectly good working LCD bios if it
doesn't help with the remote control.
any information would be appreciated
Thanks !

I have not flashed the bios so can't answer your question definitively... However here's some suggesitions..
To me the range and aiming of the remote was the biggest problem. Someone on the forums (don't remember who) found that the actual problem with the Mega 180 remote was that the sensor in the Mega was not mounted well. It was obstructed. FIxing that seemed to have quite an impact on the ability to receive the signal.
I have not done that either...
What I did was to use a Sony RM3100 learning remote. This remote has 4 transmitters. It sends a very powerful signal. Using this I can point the remote 180 degrees away from the Mega at a distance of 12 feet and it still works.
So once I had a solid signal I didn't seem to have any major problems with the remote. There were several of the functions (like navigation) that a single push of the right button caused the cursor to move twice. I guess that could be a speed problem... The Sony remote has the ability to control the period of transmission and the pause before retransmission. Using this I was able to remove the double skip to the right. Also Girder has a control ability to help tame this problem.
The ultimate work around is to not use the Mega receiver at all but add an MCE remote and receiver.
Bottom line is I and others have found work arounds with the crummy out of box remote situation without flashing...
Good luck

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Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum.
I own a Mega 180, Windows XP Pro, Home Theater III installed. I'd like to use Meedio as a front end instead of Home Threater III. I also own a MCE RC6 remote.
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Hi folks
I'm writing girder plugin for the MEGA 180 remote control. Unfortunatly it works just until reboot and that happens on any system - not only on MEGA 180.
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http://n.ethz.ch/student/nschmid/MSIStuff/MSIGirderPlugin.zip
Plase read the README first.txt file for installation, watch the code, test the binary and tell me if you have the same problem. The source code need Borland C++Builder to compile.
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Nathan

Hi people
I've found the error and it is corrected. Additional I added the new device id I've got from Girder developer. I think the plugin will be soon aviable on Girder webpage.
Please heck out new version at
http://n.ethz.ch/student/nschmid/MSIStuff/, read the installation notes and download with the link.
Jadi wrote:
Quote
Now all I have to do is to program Girder for: ...
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Remote (again) on Mega 180

Hi,
Got my Mega 180 together and it seems to work OK, BUT the remote doesn't work. Does it require the TV card since the motherboard manual doesn't seem to indicate a connectyor for IR in. I don't have the MSI TV card in my configuration.
Does anyone have a clue where to start debugging (Yes, I changed the remote battery...)
Regards,
Matti

The remote should work in HiFi mode as a barebone machine, i.e. with no CPU, RAM, TV Card etc. If this does not work, then suspect a hardware fault, or battery problem. You can do this with the full installation, but just switch on into HiFi mode.
If this works then try the PC mode. I believe that the TV Tuner card is needed for the remote to work in PC mode, but I haven't tried it without. You meed to install Media Center Deluxe III to make use of the remote in PC mode.
I have found the Media Center Deluxe III not very good, and hence have switched to ShowShifter (which requires more money to be spent). This does not work with the remote straight out of the box. I believe you need third party software like Girder. Does anyone have experience on installing and configuring Girder, I've still to start?
DON'T RUN THE "GREETING" APPLICATION OFF THE TUNER CARD CD, IT WILL TRASH YUOR LCD.

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Hi - I have everything up and running and before using live update, my lcd display show sys info.
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MSI Mega 180 Deluxe
AthlonXP 2800+
512mb ram
Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 160 GB, 7200 rpm, 8 MB
Adaptec SATA RAID 1210SA
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Remote PSU for MEGA 180

I'm proposing this as just an idea and if anyone out there is skilled with electronics it is something to consider. In fact, I may do it myself.
OK, down to business. What's the single biggest component in any Mico PC? The power supply unit (PSU). In addition, the PSU throws off alot of heat (most is vented out the back but infra-red is radiated throught the case) and is generally noisy (fans). Lastly, PSUs in micro pc's are usually underpowered. Myself, I usually put in a minimum of a 350 watt PSU when I build a PC (preferably 450W). PSUs are often ignored but believe me, a high quality PSU is critical to making a dependable PC. In fact, may PC's I've repaired that were suffering from mysterious reboots were because of low quality PSUs giving off 'dirty' power.
So here's what I'm thinking. Take the PSU out of the MEGA 180 (or any micro PC), buy a high quality, high powered PSU, and mount it remotely. All you will need to do is splice in wire b/w the PSU and the plug ends (solder and use heat shrink tubing). Then, use a wire loom to make all the power leads into one nice cable. You could place the PSU in an out of the way area. I'm thinking a lenght of about 3 feet would be great.
So what will you do with all the extra space you've created in your MEGA 180??? How about a nice big heatsink on the CPU??? Or, what about a second hard drive mounted where the PSU was? The options are endless.
I've used a PC power supply to make a regulated 12 volt power source. To see how, check out my website at http://www.e-maxximumrc.com/html/power_supply.html

As far as I can make out, the MSI PSU does have some 'special' outputs as the Radio and CD can be powered when the Power Supply is 'Off'.
You would just need to make a 1 to 1 cable to get the power to the Chassis and the original connectors if you were just remote mounting the MSI supply. If you did want to buy a new PSU then you would need to measure what voltages you get where with the MSI PSU 'Off' and also check that the ATX connector (and the others) are standard as I would imagine this is a Custom PSU for MSI and there is a danger that things may not be as they appear. For instance, I know that Dell have standard looking ATX PSU's but when you actually check the pinout, they are different and connect a normal PSU to a Dell system and it becomes very 'interesting' - mostly a lot of electrons escape in the form of smoke!!

Mega 180 LCD Screen gone PLEASE HELP

HELP!!
I have lost the LCD screen on my Mega 180 (Completely dead) I now know this is a known problem but MSI UK "Support" are VERY VERY unhelpful and suggested I put the connector on the other way around!!
I know there is a firmware patch / download for this but cannot find it anywhere can anyone please help
Andy B

Hi all. I finally have the firmware patch to restore the dead LCD on my Mega 180. I have tried the basic instructions in the info on this forum but I keep getting "bad filename messages. I have loaded this firmware onto a USB memory stick and it is the "E" drive on my machine. Can anyone give some step by step instructions as I seem to be doing it all wrong. One other question.... Does the LCD have a seperate power lead or is it powered from the black multipin??
Help will be much appreciated
Andy B

Mega 180 Replacement Remote Control

Can anyone help please!
I have a great Mega 180 but have trashed the Remote Control. Can anyone suggest where I can get a replacement? Please do not say MSI because the UK branch is as useless as a chocolate fireguard telling me to look on "where to buy" Trouble is no-one stocks it anymore. You would think MSI kept spares for their loyal customers ???

To Bernhard and Hery (MSI Forum Moderators)
I expect you will simply remove this post! But at the very least have the common decency to reply to me either in the forum or to my email address. Failing that have the guts to give me you email addresses so I san politely write to you direct!
Lets get a few thing right guys!!....
1) I have NOT used rude or offensive language on this forum If you are unable solve the most basic of puzzles, I will even give you guys the answers... a) .... you means Fink you.
b) taking the .... means taking the Pads. Could the "Moderators of this forum please tell me how these 2 sayings are offensive?
2) If you or anyone bought a brand new car, OK after 7 years you may not expect full manufacurers support but at least you would expect to be able to get spare parts for it!! To be told by the manufacturer... sorry go away we dont want to know this product and fink you is simply unacceptable. It would just, but only just be OK if they went out of business, but they are a currently trading company. Even now you can get new parts for a Delorean!
I thought the whole idea of a so called Forum was to be able to express your views and concerns. Clearly not on the MSI Forum. G
Again I ask HOW WOULD THE MODERATORS FEEL? Or are you paid by MSI

Mega 180 using the LCD with Linux

Hi all,
is it possible to use the LCD of my MEGA 180 with Linux? I am using 2.6.9-rc2, would be cool to the see LCD working under Linux, too.
Best regards,
Everlast²

There are several forum members working on customising the LED display for the MEGA 180, including myself. The biggest problem at the moment is the lack of information about the hardware specifications of the display. The blueprints of the exact module are definately NOT released by MSI , but perhaps that specifications of very similar displays are also usable. Another problem that's next in line, is going to be that we will need someone who is into hardware programming. First lets wait for a definitive answer about the blueprints. I'll let you know when more info becomes available.
JaDi.

MEGA 180 Remote/LCD API

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