[mythtv-users] Getting HVR-1600 IR receiver to work

Jarod Wilson jarod at wilsonet.com
Sun Apr 18 19:05:03 UTC 2010


On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 1:54 AM, faginbagin <mythtv at hbuus.com> wrote:
> What kernel/distro/lirc/v4l-dvb combination (that also supports
> mythtv/VDPAU) will allow me to take full advantage of the IR receiver of the
> HVR-1600?
>
> I ask because I've got a MBE with two HVR-1600s. The IR receiver on the
> first card was working with mythbuntu jaunty (2.6.28) and lirc. But I wasn't
> been able to get it to work with karmic (2.6.31) when I installed it last
> fall. I worked around the problem with a USB based IR receiver. FWIW, I'm
> using a v4l-dvb snapshot from 12/7/09. I'm planning on adding another
> frontend to my set up and would like to use the USB receiver on the new
> frontend. But before I can do that, I need to get the HVR-1600 IR receiver
> working. I still have jaunty installed on my MBE and can confirm the IR
> hardware is working when I boot into jaunty.
>
> I was hoping that mythbuntu lucid (2.6.32) would work out of the box, but a
> short trial with the beta 2 live CD didn't seem to work. Maybe my problem
> was that I was trying to use lirc instead of keyboard emulation that I
> gather is making its way into the kernel?

No, "making its way" does not equate to "present in a kernel that was
released more than four months ago". :) The work we're currently doing
is more likely destined for 2.6.35.

> Or perhaps there's some kernel
> modules and/or package I need to download/compile or some other bit of magic
> I need to do?

I believe you need either lirc_i2c or lirc_zilog, not sure which.

> Is there something I can do on my current mythbuntu karmic set up to get the
> receiver working?

Yes. How much you need to do, I don't know. But its definitely doable.

> Is there any point in installing mythbuntu lucid beta 2 (or some other
> distro) and then tuning it to get the receiver working?

Not a clue what they did or didn't include as far as lirc drivers in that.

> Oh and one other thing. Is the PVR-150's IR receiver working in more recent
> kernels? Will it "just work" the way it has worked with lirc or require some
> tinkering? I ask because I maintain a standalone mythtv system for my
> sister. It has a PVR-150 and a pcHDTV HD-5500, plus an an nvidia 7300 LE
> card that supports XvMC, not VDPAU. Her system is still running mythbuntu
> hardy with mythtv 0.21. One of these days I'd like to upgrade it for her
> with a VDPAU capable card and it would be nice if it could still use the
> PVR-150's receiver.

That should be functional, but I know that Ubuntu had historically
shipped an lirc_pvr150 driver, which they outright dropped on the
floor in 9.10. The original lirc_pvr150 driver has long since been
mutated into lirc_zilog and is actively maintained, not sure if Ubuntu
is shipping it in 10.04 or not, but a few people have simply built it
from source for 9.10.

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com


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