Lets put this to bed. The MCE uses Philips protocol RC6A (It might be RC5 but I am pretty sure it is RC6A). In that protocol each keypress causes the Device portion of the code to toggle between 3972 and 3844. If you subtract those two values you will see that they differ by 128. This is a single bit in binary notation. So in effect the Device code is always 3844 and there is a single bit that changes state (toggles) each time a key is pressed. This is used to "Debounce" the keys. Most learning remotes won't handle (learn) RC6A because of the toggle bit, but Philips remotes will (should) properly learn RC6A (embarassing if they don't).
Microsoft in their usual manner recognized the problem and put in a simple solution then did their best not to let anyone know about it. Do a google or Yahoo search for MCE Registry Hack and I am sure you will find what needs to be done.
Since I am in a (rare these days) good mood I pulled this off the web and edited it:
If your controller (remote) does not support toggle codes, use the Windows Registry to disable the de-bounce logic.
The registry key is LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
Services\HidIR\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da.
The value of the key item is either "EnableDebounce"=dword:00000001 to enable the debounce logic, that is, require the codes to toggle - or -
"EnableDebounce"=dword:00000000 to turn off the debounce logic so that the codes are not required to toggle.
Remember doing something wrong in the registry can really screw up windows, so be careful. I did check and in Win 7 this key is there and set to enable debounce.
Want an easier way? Autonomic Home has written a script that will change the registry code for you. Visit
[Link: autonomichome.com] . Two-thirds down the page you'll find a file that contains two registry scripts. One will turn off the debounce function, and another will turn it back on.
Download the .zip file, extract the two scripts, and double click the appropriate script for the desired effect.
Last edited by Barry Gordon on November 25, 2009 03:12.