[mythtv-users] ir-keytable, lirc, special media keyboard keys, and where to go from here

[Ben Giddings]

I've been using mythtv for a long while now, but recently I've been having a problem with remote controls.  I've been using the USB-UIRT LIRC receiver, which worked well for a while, but recently when I haven't used the mythtv box in a while, mythtv stops responding to key presses on the remote.

Using irw, I've convinced myself that it isn't a mythtv issue, but instead is a problem with the USB-UIRT hardware and/or drivers (probably drivers, because the hardware hasn't been changed in a while).

Looking at the list archives, it looks like there's now a push to abandon lirc and use kernel drivers instead, which interpret remote control presses as if they're keys on a keyboard.  Unfortunately, it looks like USB-UIRT doesn't have evdev drivers, so there's no way to do that with this hardware.

Even more research has said that even if I were to get a working IR receiver that supported infrared evdev drivers, there would still be issues.

For example, looking at the XBMC lists suggests that they have config files that allow you to map any keyboard input into a command in XBMC.  Looking up media keyboards and mythtv I found this page:

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Keyboard_Special_Keys

That says that if you're using a keyboard with special media keys, you need to use xmodmap to translate those special keyboard keys to simple keyboard keys, which you can then use to control mythtv.  Since I'm using a lot of special key combinations already via LIRC and global jump points like "Shift+F2" for "TV Recording Playback", it would be hard to find enough basic keys to do everything I want to do in Myth.

Am I understanding things properly?  If so, it sounds like moving from LIRC to evdev / ir-keytable would be a pain.  It looks like ir-keytable would report the remote control as pressing buttons like KEY_RED, KEY_STOP, KEY_VOLUP and dozens more "keys" that don't exist on a standard keyboard.

Are there any plans to make mapping special keys easier?  This would mean that you could map the stop command in Myth to KEY_STOP and the Recordings jump point to KEY_RED.

Ben