[mythtv-users] Harmony 700?

[Gabe Rubin]

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 4:11 PM, Tortise <tortise at paradise.net.nz> wrote:
> Is there a way to program the Hauppage remote buttons, eg the A, B, C and D
> to do effectively the same thing as the harmony macros? I suspect one maybe
> able to through LIRC however how is something I have yet to figure out.  To
> do it properly it seems to me one needs to have the power button working to
> turn on / unsuspend mythtv, to then allow LIRC to do its stuff with a second
> key press.  I presume the harmony macros allow it to all happen with one key
> press, which is desirable, acknowledging that there are times when
> flexibility is also required to control individual items.
>
> I guess to mimic the harmony functionality with one key press would ideally
> involve an independent and low power IR computer/IR receiver / server that
> also ran LIRC, received and interpreted the single key presses into a series
> of actions (e.g. turn on TV display, Turn on Amplifier system, Turn on
> mythtv FE and select recordings menu) I am also considering is a small low
> power series of Ethernet connected PIC like processors that each have WOL
> functionality connected to mains relays (that when off are fully off. Why?
>  Because the power drain of many units in standby is cumulative and
> significant)  Ideally one might combine all this in one unit however that
> might not be so easy.  For multiple WOL in one device needs multiple MAC
> addresses.  (Mental note: check if multiple MAC addresses can be assigned to
> one Ethernet interface and separately interpreted)


I suppose you could do this if you had IR blasters going to your tv
and receiver.  You could then run a script that will turn on your tv,
change your input, turn on your receiver, change the input all
controlled by lirc.  Then use irexec to call that script when you
press a button.  Another script to power down each of the decives and
map that with irexec to your power button.  But that seems like a PITA
and I know that can be a tricky setup to do, plus you would have ugly
transceivers on all your devices (and still be stuck with that
god-awful hauppague remote).  I don't know how much the ir blasters
are, but after getting a couple (and the addition of the time and
effort of setting it up) it may be cost-effective to get a harmony.