[mythtv-users] Linux MCE project

[Adolfo R. Brandes]

Hey there,

> Have you used a Wii, at all? It's great for selecting menu items &
> shooting baddies, but text input is still quite slow.

  You got me there.  My frame of reference is actually restricted to
the LinuxMCE video itself.  I have never touched either a wiimote or a
gyro mouse.  But as you put it, if text input _feels_ better on a
gyro-mouse/wiimote, even if it is not faster, then I'm all for it.

> (...) I can't see that this would be any harder or
> slower with T9 input than with the Wiimote.

  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we have T9
in MythTV.  It's just the old numbers-to-letters gig.

> (...) I understood that Myth _can_ be controller using a regular mouse.
> In this case the gyro-mouse should surely just plug straight in

  You are right, insofar as text input is concerned.  It also makes my
number 1 gripe a bit silly, since I could just buy a gyro mouse and be
done with it.  However, I still maintain that MythTV would need some
work before it could be used naturally or intuitively with only an
onscreen pointer and a couple of buttons.

> My ideal would be to use the Apple remote with MythTV (...)

  That would make a nice specification for changes to MythTV, and
probably a bit less involved than doing something with a pointer in
mind.

  I did a bit more research on the subject, and found these:

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Controlling_MythTV_using_a_Wii_remote
http://doctabu.livejournal.com/64758.html

  My plan, therefore, is to buy a Wiimote (which is readily available,
as opposed to a gyro mouse), build a "sensor" bar (which is not
readily availabe), and try out either MythTV or LinuxMCE with it.

> The barrier to wiimote usage here is that I'd likely have to
> have two wiimotes sitting on the sofa
> - one for playing games & the other for watching MythTV

  I don't have a Wii yet, so for me that would not be an immediate
problem.  But you're right, everyday use would entail having a
dedicated wiimote for MythTV, unless the bluetooth spoofing and
passthrough turns out to be possible.  On the other hand, you'd have
to have a dedicated MythTV remote anyway, so there would be no
additional devices.

  What I would probably do in the future is have four wiimotes of
different colors (when those come out), so that the fourth one would
be the TV remote, and I'd only have to pair it with the Wii on the
rare occasion I have four people over to play Mario Party.

  In my case, I'd be actually saving on the number of controlers: I
already have 4 PS2-style wireless pads which I use for the occasional
emulated Mario Party (praise Mupen64!), in addition to an IR remote,
an RF keyboard and an RF mouse.  With the wiimote setup, I'd
potentially get rid of both the IR remote and the RF mouse!

  In any case, the future will tell if it'll all work (or not).

Adolfo