[mythtv-users] Slightly OT - IR Remote control help required

Stephen Worthington stephen_agent at jsw.gen.nz
Sun May 19 01:52:53 UTC 2013


On Sat, 18 May 2013 20:35:32 +0100, you wrote:

>On Fri, 17 May 2013 17:34:58 +0100, Stephen Worthington  
><stephen_agent at jsw.gen.nz> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 17 May 2013 15:40:18 +0100, you wrote:
>>
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> I have a Hauppage Nova T 500 Dual tuner DVB-t card that I'm struggling 
>>> with
>>> the remote for.
>>>
>>> Basically it works but it just feels clunky. The remote only seems to
>>> respond to me releasing a button so I can press the down arrow (for
>>> example) and hold it for as long as i like, but nothing happens until i
>>> release it then the down action occurs on screen.
>>>
>>> Also none of the buttons repeat which is a pain when Im trying to scroll
>>> through a big list of recordings to something that starts with M for
>>> instance.
>>>
>
><snip>
>
>>> I think its all to do with the key press not registering until thebutton
>>> is released.
>>>
>>> So any ideas?
>>>
>>> Chris
>>
>> That sounds very much like what happened to me after upgrading
>> Mythbuntu to the version with the kernels where the IR drivers were
>> moved into the kernel. I forget which version that happened in, maybe
>> Mythbuntu 11.10? Anyway, I had to completely reprogram my IR setup to
>> fix it all, and it took ages to work it all out. This web page was a
>> great deal of help as it details how the IR drivers and lirc all work
>> now and what tools to use to debug each step in the process:
>>
>> http://linhes.org/projects/linhes/wiki/Architecture_and_Customization
>>
>> That page is for LinHES, and some of the files go in different places
>> in other Linux versions, but most of what is there is relevant.
>>
>> I have working config files for making my Hauppauge Nova TD-500 PCI
>> card remote work on Mythbuntu 12.04 on my mother's MythTV box. They
>> also work for my Hauppauge HVR-900R2 USB tuner remote on my laptop
>> with Mythbuntu 12.04, 12.10 and 13.04. I have put the files here on
>> my web server:
>>
>> http://www.jsw.gen.nz/mythtv/Nova-TD-500-lirc.bz2
>>
>> The files are:
>>
>> /etc/rc_maps.cfg
>> /etc/rc_keymaps/hauppauge
>> /etc/lirc/hardware.conf
>> /etc/lirc/lircd.conf
>> /usr/share/lirc/remotes/devinput/lircd.conf.devinput
>> /home/<your home dir>/.lirc/mythtv
>> /home/<your home dir>/.lirc/mplayer
>>
>> I think that is all the files I had to change - but I could have
>> missed something. If so, let me know.
>>
>> Note that <your home dir> should be the home directory of the user
>> that runs mythfrontend.
>>
>> You may need to install the ir-keytables package also - I think it is
>> not installed by default.
>>
>> I also have a similar setup for running my MCE remote on my own MythTV
>> box if anyone needs those files.
>>
>> I have the mythtv file set up to do autorepeat on the useful keys,
>> such as the arrows and PgUp and PgDn. You may need to adjust the
>> autorepeat rate to suit your tastes.
>>
>> I have all my remotes on /dev/lirc0, courtesy of a udev rule. There
>> are other ways of configuring the device name, but whichever way you
>> do it has to match the device name used in the /etc/lirc/hardware.conf
>> file. The udev rule I use is in /etc/udev/rules.d/10-local.rules:
>>
>> # Hauppauge Nova TD-500 remote control
>> SUBSYSTEM=="input", KERNEL=="event*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2040",
>> ATTRS{idProduct}=="8400", SYMLINK+="lirc0"
>>
>> (There are two lines, the comment and the rule - the rule line is long
>> enough that email clients may wrap it).
>
>I too suffered the 'key up' issue for my Hauppauge and resolved it along  
>the same lines as Stephen.
>However I uninstalled lirc altogether - you don't need it if using the  
>rc_keymaps.
>My remote is responsive, works on 'key down' & auto-repeat is fine.
>
>Here's the old thread explaining why lirc is no longer necessary.
>http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/514822?do=post_view_threaded#514822

Yes, I tried not using lirc, but the autorepeat rate was too slow.  I
need to get down long lists of recordings quickly (I have over 4000
recordings), so I need a good autorepeat rate on my PgUp and PgDn keys
to do that.  So I have to run lirc and set the autorepeat rate there.

Also, without lirc, you can only custom program the keys for one
program's needs.  If you need a key to be different in mplayer or vlc
from what they are in mythtv, you are out of luck.  I need mplayer to
play the downloaded video files I have that do not play on mythtv (eg
some wmv files and some DVDs).  I included my mplayer setup in the tar
file to show how that works.  And lirc can also start programs eg run
mythfrontend from your power button.  Or a script that sends IR
signals to your TV to turn it off then puts the MythTV box to sleep.

So I still recommend running lirc.  If all you want the remote to do
is work with mythfrontend, then you can just program it at the
keytables level and ignore lirc, but then if you want to do anything
more later, you will have to change your keytables setup if you want
to get lirc working again.


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