PSP iR Shell (FORUM CLOSED)

[StoneCut]

THIS FAQ IS OLD - IT IS FOR iR SHELL 2.2 !
THE FAQ FOR IR SHELL 3.0 IS INCLUDED IN THE ZIP !!

iR Shell 2.2 FAQ
This FAQ is designed to answer the most common questions people have about iR Shell. Hopefully it will become a good resource some day. I "stole" most of this info from various posts here and the offical READMEs. I rephrased some of it, though.

If you think there's anything I'm missing or you made a good manual or tutorial for anything, please post it in this forum.

But here's the FAQ ...

1. What is iR Shell?
- It's a PSP shell.
- It's a multitasking switcher.
- It's an infra-red universal remote (iR Commander).
- It's a screen snapshot tool.
- It's a mp3 player (while playing games simultaneously, too)
- It's an adhoc WiFi file sender & receiver.
- It's a USB- and network client that can access files on your PC as if they were on the PSP's memory stick.
- It's an alarm clock and reminder while playing games

iR Shell allows you to launch applications (UMD games or homebrew) via it's basic shell interface. The current version allows you to multi-task between the launched application and the built-in iR Shell functions. You switch tasks by pressing the the predefined hotkey (Left Trigger+Select). For example, you launched a UMD game from iR Shell, playing through half of it, switch to iR Commander and change a TV channel, switch back to the UMD game and the game will resume at the point where you left. Furthermore, you can simultaneously listen to your own MP3s while playing UMD games or running your favourite PSP homebrew streamed from your PC's harddrive right to your PSP.

You can also choose to take screen snapshots of UMD games, movies or homebrew applications at any time. Unlike other currently available snapshot tools, this one is highly compatible to most UMD games and homebrews. A picture viewer that supports BMP, JPEG and PNG formats is incorporated into the shell, too, of course.

The built-in iR Commander is an Infra-Red Universal Remote Control software. It allows you to control various home appliances and other infra-red based equipments. It has built-in IR codes (Pronto Hex Codes) for over 2000 devices. If you can't find the one you need from the supplied IR codes, you can download additional codes from www.remotecentral.com which has IR codes for over 6000 devices. The iR Commander allows user defined remotes via RDF text files. It supports bitmap graphics and key macros. iR Shell already has a pre-configured library of more than 2000 devices available.

Future version of iR Shell will incorporate more built-in functions into the shell and allow you to task switch between, like switching between UMD game / Music Player / Video Player / iR Commander, etc.

If you enjoy using iR Shell, please consider to donate any amount of money via Paypal to ahmanhk@hotmail.com to help development.

2. Can you add the feature to 'learn' iR codes from a remote control ?
No, currently that is not technically possible (well, nothing's impossible). However, if you have a Pronto compatible device, such as a Pocket PC, you can use it to learn Pronto codes for your device. You can find some programs in this thread.

3. Is there a way to increase the range of the IR signal from the PSP ?
No, the range of the IR signal depends on the device you are trying to control. Some will only work within very close range and some will work from across a hallway.

4. Where can I get more iR codes ?
Most people don't know that there are already codes for more than 2000 devices available on the iR Shell homepage. The package you need to download is called Pronto Hex Codes. Extract the contents to the root of your memory stick and all necessary folders will be created for you.

In order to see the Pronto Hex codes subfolders in /IRSHELL/IRCODES within iR Shell, you need to set the "Hide RDF Sub-directory" setting to "OFF" in the iR Shell configuration screen (R Trigger + START).

If a code for your device is not included in that package, you can search for it at RemoteCentral. iR Shell supports standard "Pronto" codes. You need to download Component Configuration Files (ccf) and extract the codes. The actual CCF files can be found here. However, converting all functions from a remote can be a very tedious process and can only be recommended for advanced users. If you still want to try it out, follow these steps to get you started:

Once you have downloaded the CCF file(s) you need from the link above, please also download and installPhilips ProntoEdit. Extract the codes like this:

a) From ProntoEdit main menu, choose File->Open to open the ccf file you downloaded. Click on "yes" in the window that pops up asking you if you would like to convert the CCF to "TS-1000" format.
b) The left hand side of the window has a list of HOME, DEVICES & MACRO GROUPS. Click the Plus(+) sign on DEVICES and another list of sub devices will be listed. Look for the one that looks like to be the device you want. Example, "TV" or "TV Codes" and click it. A graphical device layout window will popup.
c) Look for the key that you want to copy the code from. Double click the key.
d) Another popup window appears. Double click "Learned".
e) Another window appears. Click "View IR" and you'll see the code.

Next, create a new TXT document and also open the "Panasonic TV.rdf" file with notepad so you can use it as a template for your own RDF file. You will need to create an entry for every button you would like to use and then copy and paste the code from ProntoEdit next to it. Refer to your template on how to do that. When you are done, rename the document to .RDF and put it in somewhere in the /IRSHELL/IRCODES folder. It's generally best to add the button definitions to your RDF file one by one and to continuously test everything.

5. Can I use LIRC codes (or any other codes than Pronto Hex) for the iR remote control function ?
Sorry, no. There is currently no conversion tool for the LIRC format. However, I believe you can use another homebrew, PSP Universal Remote that supports LIRC format. You can download it from PSPupdates.

6. Will there be support for homebrew that has been renamed with the "__SCE__appname" folder method ?
No, there will not be support for any more renaming methods that hide corrupted icons in the Sony shell for performance reasons. However, you can use the included Unzip/Unrar utility by AnonymousTipster to rename applications that were hidden using the "__SCE__appname" method back to a standard naming convention (with corrupted icons). Simply execute the EBOOT.PBP in /IRSHELL/EXTAPP/4/EBOOT.PBP via the DIR view in iR Shell and choose the "Extras" option and then the function to rename SCE folders in AnonymousTipster's program. Then, press "X" on the two folders belonging to that program and their names will change to a readable format for iR Shell. Done. Exit the plugin. If you want to hide corrupted icons please use a tool like SeiPSPtool instead.

Simply to AnonymousTipster's utility, the uoOgraniser also has a iR Shell Compatible renaming scheme. It's a very nice tool that is installed on your PSP memory stick.
http://pspupdates.qj.net/index.php?&pg=49&aid=60661

7. Some homebrew doesn't show up in APP view, what can I do ?
Read question #6 and make sure you the homebrew application is not named using that method. Instead, use a tool like SeiPSPtool to hide corrupted icons in Sony's shell.

8. Would it be possible to create a psp<->psp USB connection or directly attach any harddrive to USB ?
For this to work, the PSP would need to have a feature called "USB On-The-Go" (OTG), but the PSP's hardware can only support 'slave' mode USB, which is why you can't have it connected to a USB hard drive and the PSP read the data off of it or directly connect it to another PSP. It may be possible, but would require re-programming/hacking of the Sony USB libraries. Instead, use the adhoc WiFi file transfer if you need to transfer files between two PSPs.

9. Is it possible to support the headphone remote control ?
Support for the PSP remote control has been added in versions higher than 1.4 and can be enabled/disabled in the configurator.

10. Why do small files take so long to copy and become so "big" once they are on the memory stick ? (For example the Pronto Hex iR codes package for iR Shell)
This has to do with the block size and filesystem format the memory stick is being formatted with. Sony originally formats the memory stick with the FAT file system, but you can also format your memory stick using FAT32 (which uses a different block size by default) by using Windows and a card reader. FAT32 is better if you have a large MS and a lot of small files. The Pronto Hex IRCODES directory has 23MB actual size and 5MB for overhead. Smaller files also take longer to copy because the more files you need to write, the more entries will need to be written to the MFT which is a bit like an index page of your memory stick's contents. If only one (big) file needs to be written, this simplifies the write process substantially.

11. Can you display the Sony shell (XMB) to take a screenshot of it like with homebrew or UMD games ?
Yes, starting with version 1.6, iR Shell supports launching Sony's XMB user interface. You can take screenshots of the XMB and also watch UMD video discs and take screenshots of them, too. Please note that iR Shell's mp3 player will be disabled for performance reasons while the XMB is executed. Simply use the Sony XMB MP3 player at those times instead.

12. Will iR Shell be made compatible with 2.x firmware ?
This is currently not technically possible since iR Shell requires kernel access for its advanced functions, which is not yet possible on any firmware newer than 1.5. Leaving out those advanced features would make iR Shell a lot less powerful so it is not an option.

13. Is iR Shell open source or will the source code be released ?
No, iR Shell is not open source and the source code to the core will not be released, please do not ask for it. The mp3 player plugin, however, is released under the GPL license. You can download the source here. Also, many of the plugins are open source projects with only minor modifications for file argument passing being added to them.

14. Does iR Shell write to the flash memory ?
No, iR Shell does not write to the PSPs flash memory.

15. Is it dangerous to "overclock" the CPU to 333MHz ? Will I "brick" my PSP ?
No, the PSP is designed to be run at 333MHz. That is, system bus, CPU, etc. all cater for the CPU to run at 333MHz. Before the actual PSP launch in Japan, Sony was having problems to provide a reasonable battery life when compared to its rival, Nintendo. Thus, Sony decided to underclock the CPU to 222MHz (bus speed of course will also be lowered) to make the battery last longer. So, setting your CPU speed to 333MHz will only drain your battery faster. There is also a rumor that the coming Jap version of GT4 (Gran Turismo 4) will actually clock the CPU at 333MHz anyway.

16. Why do some apps (FileAssistant++) return to the Sony shell (XMB) instead of iR Shell when I exit them ?
This is because those apps acts like a shell themselves and take over control of the PSP. iR Shell will be exited in those cases. There is no technical workaround to this issue.

17. Is it possibe to take snapshots of UMD videos ?
Yes, starting with version 1.6, iR Shell supports taking snapshots of UMD videos if they were launched via XMB. Please refer to question 11 for more info.

18. How do I avoid memory stick data corruption when using USB ?
Incorrect usage of the USB fucntion may corrupt your MS. This can happen if you leave USB mode enabled under iR Shell. Once you enabled USB and have a connection to your desktop PC, your PC will read the FAT table (directory structure, free sectors, etc) into PC memory. Then, if your PSP creates or updates any files on the MS while USB is on (like taking snapshots for example) this will update the FAT table on the MS only. The PC's FAT table cache doesn't reflect the changes and actually has an outdated copy. If at this moment, you copy some files from your PC to the memory stick, you will corrupt the memory stick. To avoid that, you should always disable USB & reenable it if you made any changes to files from within iR Shell. Should ever do have a corrupted memory stick, you will need to reformat it to fix it again. This will, of course, erase all your data on the memory stick (save games, mp3s etc).

Alternatively, you can use USBhostFS or NethostFS and iR Shell's file manipulation functions to copy files from your PC to your PSP and vice versa in a much more comfortable way.

19. Is it possible to run two or more applications at the same time ?
It's not possible to lauch two or more applications, since the PSP isn't really designed for it. You can only multi-task between built-in iR Shell functions like the mp3 player and WiFi transfer and another UMD game/homebrew.

20. What are NethostFS and USBhostFS and how do they work ?
These two allow you to have access to your PC's file system via either USB or WiFi. You can remotely browse your PC harddisk, CDROM, DVDROM, etc. just like local files on your Memory Stick. You can open PC files on your PSP via the familiar iR Shell file browser (DIR View). This allows you to play host mp3s, movies, photos, etc. on your PSP without physically copying them to the memory stick first. The files you selected are streamed realtime to the PSP for playback. You can even launch PSP homebrews that are installed on your PC harddisk.

In order for either of them to work, you need to start their respective "server" applications on your PC. These applications come bundled with iR Shell for Windows and Linux and provide the files to your PSP. For Windows, these are nethostfs.exe (for WiFi connections) and usbhostfs_pc.exe (for USB connections). The first time you use USBhostFS on Windows, you will also be asked to install an additional driver, which also comes bundled with iR Shell. If the XP SP2 firewall asks if you want to allow connections for either of these applications, then DO ALLOW them or the whole feature won't work.

Nethostfs offers PC files to your PSP via infrastructure WiFi. In order for this function to work you need a properly working WiFi connection already setup in the Sony XMB. The next step is to set the server IP (your PC's local IP) in the iR Shell configurator. If you have multiple network connections set up in Sony's XMB, then please take note of the number of your desired connection in XMB and set that number in iR Shell configurator. For most people this will just be "1". Now you can connect by either using the Shortcut or clicking on the nethost0: device in DIR view.

USBhostFS offers PC files to your PSP via USB connection. The difference to the regular USB connection is that your PSP will see your PC's files instead of your PC seeing your PSP's files. You still need a USB cable for it, of course. As noted above, you will also need to install a special driver on Windows machines.

Once connected through either server application, you can browse your PC's files via the usbhost0 or nethost0 devices from DIR view. Just tap TRIANGLE to get to the topmost folder and you will see the new devices there. You can then execute PSP homebrew applications, mp3s, pictures, pmp movies, TXT/PDF files and so on from your PC's harddrive on your PSP.

The folder where usbhostfs.exe and nethostfs_pc.exe are executed from are regarded by default as the "root" of that device (usbhost0:/ and nethost0:/)

21. What is device mapping/redirection and why is it good ?
Some homebrews are hardcoded to open files located on the ms0: device (the memory stick). To achive maximum homebrew compatibility with NethostFS and USBhostFS, iR Shell supports device redirection. Once enabled, your usbhost0: or nethost0: will appear as ms0: on your PSP. When your homebrew tries to open files under ms0:, it will be redirected to the host file system. You can also choose to install PSP homebrew applications on your host under usbhost0:/PSP/GAME or nethost0:/PSP/GAME, similar to the way you install homebrews on ms0:. Afterwards, you can enable the redirection and also enable the "Redirect APP View to Host" in iR Configuration. The homebrews installed on your host harddisk will be presented to you under the regular iR Shell APP View. You'll also noticed the title of the APP View will be changed to "Homebrew Applications [HOST]". The HOST keyword signals you that the homebrew listed are residing in your PC host.

After you've enabled redirection, files on the memory stick can still be chosen via ms1: device. Depending on the pariticular homebrew application, files on ms1 may or may not be seen by the homebrew.

If you've chosen to launch XMB after enabled redirection, you can even stream MP4 movies from your host harddisk via the standard XMB video player.

22. Does iR Shell support multiple network configurations for NethostFS ?
Yes, you can use the NethostFS function even if you have multiple network configurations set up in Sony XMB. Just take a note of the connection's number of appearance in XMB network settings and set that number in iR Shell's configurator in the appropriate place. For most people this should just be set to "1".

23. How many PSPs can connect to a single NethostFS server ?
A maximum of four PSPs can share access to one host PC via the nethostfs server. That should suffice for most needs. Please realize that network access will be relatively slow with four connected PSPs.

24. Why do some images not resize in the photo viewer ? Why does the scaling not work ?
Currently, the scaling options in the photo viewer only work for JPEG images. Please make sure your image is not a PNG or BMP if you try to use scaling. Some JPEG files still won't scale properly, though. It's a known issue and related to the actual jpeg library, so there's not much that can be done about it for the time being.

25. I accidentally locked my PSP. What is the password ?
If you have never set up a password in iR Shell and accidentally locked it, then simply press START when you are asked for a password. If you did previously enter a password in iR Shell's configurator, please enter that password.

26. Can I change the alarm clock sound and the default alarm time ?
Yes, the default sound is located at "ms0:/IRSHELL/SYSTEM/ALARM.MP3" and can be modified in Configurator along with the alarm defaults.

27. Can I change the low battery warning settings and sound ?
The low battery warning threshold can be set up in iR Shell's configurator. IF you want a different sound simply replace the MP3 located at "ms0:/IRSHELL/SYSTEM/BATTERY.MP3".

28. Why do my MP3s play too fast ot slow/why do my MP3s not play at all ?

The mp3 player plugin is based on the libmad library and this library only supports the following sampling rates:

• 32 kHz
  
• 44.1 kHz
  
• 48 kHz
  

Please make sure your MP3 files use a supported sampling rate.

If you want the mp3 player plugin to support other sampling frequencies, you'll need to download the libmad source from PSPSDK and modify it, then recompile the mp3 player plugin source. You will not need to modify the mp3 player source itself. Most PSP homebrew apps and games use the libmad library for mp3 playback and will show similar behaviour.

29. Does iR Shell support 1.0 EBOOTs on FW1.5, as supported by the Custom Firmware proof of Dark_Alex ?
You can launch 1.0 eboots under iR Shell from DIR view, provided that you're using Dark Alex custom firmware or similar mods. As for the APP view list, it doesn't support 1.0 EBOOT format and will not be supported. Implementation of this feature requires too much RAM so AhMan has decided against supporting it.

30. How can I stream movies from my PC to the PSP ?
You can stream PMP movies with the build-in PMP plugin in iR Shell. Just use nethost0 and browse the PMP files on your PC. Click 'X' on the PMP movie and it'll launch automatically.

Streaming MP4 movies using the Sony XMB movie player (the video player under Sony's Menu) is also possible. In this case, you'll need to build a MP_ROOT directory structure on your PC and use nethost->ms0 mapping. Then, lauch XMB from iR Shell (Left Trigger + UP).

31. Can I switch between iR Shell & 2.x UMD Game under Devhook firmware emulation?
Yes, please refer to this post for details on making iR Shell 2.0 run under devhook.
http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=559&mforum=irshell

32. What are the Eboot 1-5 icons in the menu / How do I use the homebrew shortcuts ?
It works like this:
Let's say your favourite homebrew has two folders for example - SomeApp and SomeApp%.

You now copy everything in the SomeApp (without the %) folder to:
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RDOWN

Now, go into the SomeApp% folder and rename that EBOOT.PBP to EBOOT%.PBP (Note the %) and also copy it to:
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RDOWN

Done

Now you can quicklaunch that homebrew app by using the shortcut R Trigger + Analog DOWN or selecting "Eboot 5" from the iR Shell menu.

The entries in the iR Configurator are just so you can name your apps. The entry Homebrew -> could for example say Some App v1. That way it will be displayed in the status bar of the iR Shell menu when you highlight that particular Eboot 1-5 shortcut.

Here's the order when comparing the IRSHELL directory structure to the iR Shell menu:
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RIGHT - Eboot 1 in menu (or just Analog Right)
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RLEFT - Eboot 2 in menu (or just R Trigger + Analog Left)
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RUP - Eboot 3 in menu (or just R Trigger + Analog Up)
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RRIGHT - Eboot 4 in menu (or just Analog Right)
ms0:/IRSHELL/HOMEBREW/RDOWN - Eboot 5 in menu (or just R Trigger + Analog Down)

33. I want to create an iR Shell skin but I don't know how to create an Alpha channel for the icon transparency
There is an excellent tutorial written by suloku in the Submit Skins/Plugins forum. You can find it here.



This FAQ will be extended when I have some more time.
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[LordSturm]

Consider revising questions 11 and 17 given the new beta?

or is this FAQ for public release info only?

[StoneCut]

FAQ is for public release only but will be updated with other, general info soon, too :p
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[StoneCut]

FAQ updated, thanks LordSturm for the heads-up !
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[ahman]

StoneCut, I've added the support on Devhook (pt 31) to your FAQs. I hope you don't mind.
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iR Shell Homepage
www.irshell.com

[StoneCut]

Sure, AhMan
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