[mythtv-users] recent information for programming harmony remotes?

[Brian J. Murrell]

On 13-08-26 07:30 PM, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>
> Then again, there's always the "dumb remote, smart receiver" approach.

For some values of effort to get set up, yes.

> Use any remote you want hooked into your MythTV box(es) and set up a
> LIRC transmitter, too, that can send the appropriate signals to all the
> appropriate pieces in response to whatever button you want to press.

For me at least, there is a bit of a physics problem with this.  My 
MythFE (the smart receiver) sits a number of feet on the x and y axes 
(but right in line with, on the z axis) away from my tv/receiver/etc. 
Imagine looking at the wall with my A/V equipment on it from 10 feet 
away from it, the equipment is in a triangle where my MythFE is on the 
bottom right of the triangle.

Trying to get a transmitted signal from there to the rest of the 
triangle will be challenging.  It works well with a remote from 10 feet 
away of course, pointed towards that wall, but trying to transmit both 
up and across and effectively from what's under/beside the other 
equipment just won't work.  I'd need to somehow place that transmitter 
more in the area of the room where people normally sit which is 10 feet 
out (and 5 feet up) into the centre of the room.  Almost as if I had the 
transmitter suspended in the centre of the room.  Just not worth all of 
the effort, for me at least.

> IMHO, there's no need for a smart remote when you're using the remote to
> send signals to a computer--that's already a lot "smarter" (or at least
> much more general) than any remote.

And then there is that part.  Sure, it's doable with a bit of 
programming and glue to effectively recreate what the Harmony does by 
way of receiving IR signals and using those to transmit macros of other 
signals, but again, there is the effort to write that glue and to dig up 
and/or learn all of the transmitting codes for all of the equipment you 
have.

I think that huge database is a big part of the Harmony's value.

All of that said, it might be an interesting project to create that 
software and database as FOSS.  But I also suspect that a lot of people 
looking to use such a piece of software would bump into the physics 
problem also.  I can't imagine how many people have their MythFE (or 
other computer) opposite their A/V equipment or can reasonably locate an 
IR transmitter in such a position relative to where their MythFE is in 
the room.

Cheers,
b.