[mythtv-users] Remote Control Options...

[James Crow]

On Tue, 2008-08-19 at 11:15 -0400, Michael Tiller wrote:
> Frankly, I'm about ready to give up on the PVR-150 approach simply
> because mode2 gives me *nothing* so I think there is something
> fundamentally wrong. :-(
> 
> So my main interest is in alternatives at this point.
> 
> --
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> On 8/19/08, Paul Clark <battledean at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > I'm using a couple of Hauppauge Nova-T on my Ubuntu box and the IR was
> > the most time consuming and fiddly thing to get working, but I have it
> > working perfectly now.  I started out following Garry Parker's guide
> > http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_ubuntu2.php and supplemented it with my
> > own research.  Might be worth giving this a shot?
> >
> > Good luck, Paul
> >
> > 2008/8/19 Michael Tiller <michael.tiller at gmail.com>:
> >> I did a clean install of Ubuntu and MythTV last weekend.  Wow, things have
> >> come a long way since I first started.  I had everything I needed out of
> >> the
> >> box!  Great work.
> >>
> >> Anyway, everything is working great (generally better than before) except
> >> that for some reason my PVR-150 IR receiver isn't working.  I've run all
> >> the
> >> diagnostics I can all the way down to running "mode2" and I don't get
> >> anything.  Lirc is running and it sees my Hauppauge IR receiver just fine.
> >> Anyway, that isn't the point of the email...just some background to
> >> explain
> >> my motivation.
> >>
> >> Frankly, this remote thing has been a thorn in my side for a long time so
> >> I'd like to "revisit" this.  I was using the PVR-150 but LIRC is a bit of
> >> a
> >> hassle and the RC-5 only limitation of the PVR-150 is a really annoying
> >> aspect as well.  So, I'm wondering what my options are here.  I don't want
> >> to spend much money, but I'm just wondering what other people use.
> >>
> >> I have an HDHomerun and my fallback would be to move that into the living
> >> room and use the IR pickup on that.  It seems quite solid and it doesn't
> >> seem to have the RC-5 limitation either.  For various "connectivity"
> >> reasons, moving the HDHomerun may be impractical so I'm keeping that my
> >> fallback.
> >>
> >> One thing I noticed in playing with HDHomerun (what a cool piece of
> >> hardware
> >> that is!) was the "UDP" aspect of LIRC.  That is pretty neat.  What other
> >> devices use UDP?  I assume the UDP data that is being sent is fairly low
> >> level IR information so I would think that talking with LIRC that way
> >> would
> >> be pretty hard unless you were feeding it data directly from an IP pickup.
> >>
> >> I don't want to build my own IR receiver (I want to go in completely the
> >> opposite direction...I don't have that kind of time).  An ideal solution
> >> would be a simple, cheap USB based device but when I've looked at those in
> >> the past it always seemed like there was some issue with LIRC and some USB
> >> devices (IrDa?).
> >>
> >> I saw this thing from IguanaWorks.  Anybody have any experience with this?
> >>
> >> Another thing I considered were "high-end" mice or mini-keyboards using
> >> RF.
> >> For example, at work we have a little USB device for operating PowerPoint
> >> remotely.  I wonder how effective this would be for MythTV?  Another thing
> >> I've considered is "gyroscopic" mice.  Anybody used those with MythTV?
> >>
> >> Basically, I'm interested in finding out all the options.  Surely there
> >> are
> >> some very nice non-PVR-150 solutions out there so I'd like to hear what
> >> they
> >> are.
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >>
> >> --
> >> Mike
> >>
> >>
> >>

I have had great success with the Windows Media Center Remotes. I have
four of them. Two are of the older version 2 rev and two are the newer
version 2. The newer ones require a patch under Mythbuntu 8.04 to work,
but it is fairly easy once that patch is installed. (I have posted
complete steps to the Ubuntu forums on how.)

In the past I have used an ATI RF remote both with and without LIRC and
it had a slower response time than the MCE remotes. I have also used a
RF keyboard/mouse combo that worked ok, but the range was limited. The
mouse was one of the "gyroscopic" types that could be used in mid air,
but I never spent enough time to get really smooth, accurate control
with it. The mouse had a rechargeable battery and it did not last very
long as compared to the ATI or MCE remotes.

Cheers,
James