[mythtv-users] Remote Control Hardware

[David George]

On 12/16/2004 10:53 PM, Drew Zerdecki wrote:

> What kind of hardware do I need to have MythTv control my 2 DirectTv 
> boxes?  Both have serial interfaces so my thoughts are that I plug a 
> IR receiver into a USB port and have two serial cables running from 
> the myth box to the directtv boxes?

Sounds good.  The USB IR receiver will be used to control myth.  For the 
Directv serial cables just use the ones described at 
http://www.dtvcontrol.com and the script from 
http://bach.as.arizona.edu/~johng/rca_control.txt .  There is also a C 
program which reportedly has better performance, but the above script is 
just as fast for me and works flawlessly every time.

>   And I control this whole setup with LIRC and MythTv?

You use the remote with LIRC to control Myth and myth controls the 
Directv boxes with the external channel changer command mentioned above.

>   If the fancy new Asus motherboard I am looking at only has one 
> internal serial connector (no external?)  am I in trouble?  Are addon 
> serial cards supported?

Add-on serial cards are supported and not a problem.  Also, you can use 
USB to serial adapters.  I picked up a couple on eBay for $5 each and 
use them to control my RCA DRD435's.

--
David