[mythtv-users] I am thinking of going to DISH

Brad DerManouelian myth at dermanouelian.com
Sat Jun 9 04:36:34 UTC 2007


On Jun 8, 2007, at 9:27 PM, Brian Wood wrote:

> Brad DerManouelian wrote:
>
>> You'll need to buy a null modem cable and a specific USB to Serial
>> adaptor for each box you want to control - assuming you have 1 serial
>> port free per box.
>
> Only if he tries to use USB ports.

Actually, I was referring to most of the new DirecTV boxes like the  
D11 which have a USB-type port, but it talks serial so you need to  
use a converter. I don't think any modern ones have a standard serial  
connector any more. If he wants to use USB on his myth box, he'll  
need 2 USB to serial converters with a null modem cable between them  
for each box.

>  However, the peace of mind that comes with never
>> missing a channel change or mis-positioning the blaster or setting up
>> lirc for a blaster is REALLY nice.
>
> I've never missed a channel change in over a year with the MyBlaster,
> and it works fine from across the room. The MyBlaster, having it's own
> power supply, puts out a *lot* more IR power than the typical LIRC- 
> based
>  blaster, which uses RS-232 control lines with very limited  
> available power.

I went the cheap route and spent a couple of hours fiddling with  
positioning and trying to get it to change reliably. Then I went out  
and bought the serial cable and never looked back. :)

>
> The only problem I've run into is if the receiver goes into
> "screensaver" mode do to lack of use, in which case you have to either
> select the channel twice or send an "enter" first. There's just no way
> for Myth or anything in your computer to know about the status of the
> screen saver, and I haven't found a way to disable it (yet). It's  
> not a
> problem if you use it regularly, but if you are returning from a
> vacation with no recordings you could possibly miss a record if you
> weren't aware of the problem.

That's annoying.



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