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

faginbagin mythtv at hbuus.com
Sun Apr 18 21:48:38 UTC 2010



Jarod Wilson wrote:
> On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 1:54 AM, faginbagin <mythtv at hbuus.com> wrote:

<snip>

>> 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.

This is where I get confused. Mark is suggesting using keyboard emulation and apparently has it working with 2.6.32. You seem to be suggesting keyboard emulation is not functional in 2.6.32.

>> 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.

How would I nail this down? modprobing? Will modprobing the right module create a /dev/lirc0 or do I need to look for some other device? I recall some confusion about device names and what to reference in /etc/init.d/lirc when I tried to do this last fall.

>> 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.

I guess my inclination is to install lucid/2.6.32 on a separate partition and play with it when nothing needs to be recorded and there's no demand for playing back content. I can try both lirc and keyboard emulation and if I hose the system, I can always reboot to my stable karmic set up.

I welcome thoughts on lirc vs keyboard emulation, like which might provide the best user experience in 2.6.32? Right now, I'm wondering which to try first. Has anyone played with both and formed an opinion?

>> 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.

I'll check the kernel config files and /lib/modules to see what's there in both karmic & lucid. When the time comes, I'll also be installing to a separate partition on her system. I'll make sure there's some way to use the IR receiver before swapping video cards. Does that make sense?

Thanks,
Helen


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