[mythtv-users] USB keyboard control of digital cable box

[Ben Scott]

There is a thing generally called a USB link cable, I think they even 
sell them at places like Best Buy and Comp USA.  Here's a link I found 
on Google for one:
http://www.usbgear.com/item_102.html

So it's basically a host on both ends, and a funky little box in the 
middle pretends to be a device for both hosts

As for getting that to work on linux and then using it to send keyboard 
commands, well...

Ben Scott

Andrew Jamieson wrote:

>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Khanh Tran" <khanh at slc.edu>
>To: "Discussion about mythtv" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 12:29 PM
>Subject: [mythtv-users] USB keyboard control of digital cable box
>
>
>I've got a Scientific Atlanta 4200 digital cable box.  It's got a USB
>port on the back and interestingly enough, I can plug any USB keyboard
>into it and change channels by entering the numbers.  Is there any way
>to make MythTV or Linux output the keyboard commands to control the
>cable box?  I've heard of serial port control of satellite receivers, so
>it's not too far off I suppose...
>
>Thanks!
>
>
>-Khanh Tran
>khanh at khanh.net
>
>
>
>Not easily.  USB is a master / slave system (actually Host / Device is the
>official nomenclature) - a keyboard is a Device and a PC is a Host, as would
>be your cable box.  Communication is not possible Host <-> Host or Device
><-> Device.  To do what you ask you would need some way to control an
>(external) USB device from the mythTV box that then presented itself as a
>USB keyboard to your cable box.  This is perfectly achievable with a custom
>micro-controller design (say RS232 serial -> micro-controller / USB -> cable
>box) but can't be done without such custom hardware.  I know of no
>commercial products that do this.
>
>
>Andrew Jamieson
>
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>