[mythtv-users] one IR receiver to rule them all?

[Michael Segulja]

FYI - you might want to check this out to power your TV: http://james.lipsit.com/tvsensor.htm.  The problem with X-10 is that there's not any way to know if the TV is on or off.  If you use IR, same story unless your TV has discreet IR codes, which I don't think most TVs have unless you get high-end stuff.

This is a little more complicated than just plugging something into your power line, but with the combination of it plus some X10 control software, you can do some really cool stuff.  I'm working on integrating my automation system with Myth and IR control, so I can literally push one button, turn everything on, set the lighting, start playing a DVD, etc.  It will even do things like pause your movie or live TV if the phone rings and the TV is on, and if it's after sunset, even turn on the lights.  It's endless!!

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Michael


-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Chris Thompson
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 12:43 PM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] one IR receiver to rule them all?


Mike Jasper (e394td at comcast.net) wrote:
> I'll have two PVR-250s, fed by two Dish Network receivers.  Can a 
> single
> IR receiver + a single remote be used to control both tuners, plus other 
> stuff (MythGame, MythMusic, etc)?

Absolutely, because your remote doesn't control the dish tuners, Myth does.

My setup, which should be complete when Fedex delivers my remote this afternoon, is three DirecTV tuners attached to three PVR/M179 cards in a backend box in my basement. The backend will control the tuners by serial cable, but, if I were using Dish, could do so using IR Blasters, or little IR LED's attached to, say, your serial port. The LIRC site has a schematic for an IR transmitter which is trivially small. You'll probably need to come up with a way to have a different IR blaster for each box, and mask them in such a way that each box can only see one. Otherwise changing one will change both.

Myth has to control your boxes, otherwise it can't do scheduled recordings. I'm sure there's a ton of other benefits as well, but that's the big one.

My front end box will be a box in a cool looking case under my TV which boots diskless and has no vid capture of it's own. It will have the Media Center Remote from newegg hooked up, and using the new drivers which Dan Conti whipped together. When I send a signal from the remote, the Media Center receiver will transmit it to lirc, lirc will tell mythfrontend, which will tell mythbackend.

mythbackend will then pick a tuner and change that tuner's channel using the sony.pl script to send control commands directly to my DirecTV boxes.

There's no reason that I couldn't use the remote and receiver you listed, and do the same thing.

I chose the Media Center Remote, which will not be able to control my Sony TV, because the myth box is going to be the ONLY thing under the TV now, since I'm also taking delivery of a DVD-ROM drive today. Still working out how to switch the TV off and on from the remote. I'm thinking I can do it with an X10 module.

_______________
Chris Thompson