[mythtv-users] Problems after upgrading frontend from Mythbuntu 12.04 to 14.04

[Stephen Worthington]

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 11:31:18 +1100, you wrote:

>>
>> 1. You probably are running up against the change of the IR drivers
>>> into kernel drivers instead of user mode drivers inside lirc.  In
>>> which case, the best option is to use the kernel drivers (devinput),
>>> but that means a significant reconfiguration of your IR setup.  So
>>> what remote are you using?  Do all the keys work at startup, or only
>>> the arrow keys?
>>>
>>
>> Only the arrow keys work.
>>
>>
>>>
>>> For working Mythbuntu 14.04 IR config using devinput, see my setup
>>> which is available for download from my web server:
>>>
>>>   http://www.jsw.gen.nz/mythtv/mythbuntu-devinput-lirc.bz2
>>
>>
>> Gulp - holy cow! I just had a look at your README and this looks like it's
>> a gargantuan task and not something for the faint-hearted. Lirc was always
>> the most difficult and annoying thing to get working as part of a MythTV
>> setup. I can't believe it's been made even more complicated!
>>
>> My remote is a Harmony 600. Is there, by any chance, a shortcut to doing
>> this by copying someone else's config for a Harmony 600? if not, I'll start
>> working my way through your guide. One of the 1st things I noticed was that
>> I don't have /etc/rc_keymaps/ files. I also don't have ir-keytable
>> installed. Should I just install ir-keytable or does this indicate a more
>> fundamental problem that I need to deal with first?
>>
>
>I've been having a look at this and have to admit I'm totally confused. I
>read Stephen's README but I don't really understand what steps I need to
>follow to get my remote working.
>
>I have got ir-keytable installed and when I run sudo ir-keytable --test
>--device=/dev/input/event4 I can see some key codes on the screen, eg:
>
>1449100518.549922: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x1f3f
>1449100518.549922: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100518.630918: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x800f0424
>1449100518.630918: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_DVD(0x0001)
>1449100518.630918: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100518.736912: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x800f0424
>1449100518.736912: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100518.985177: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_up: KEY_DVD(0x0001)
>1449100518.985177: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100520.721843: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x1f3f
>1449100520.721843: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100520.799843: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x800f0423
>1449100520.799843: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_EXIT(0x0001)
>1449100520.799843: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100520.904839: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x800f0423
>1449100520.904839: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100521.153178: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_up: KEY_EXIT(0x0001)
>1449100521.153178: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100521.980802: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x1f3f
>1449100521.980802: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
>1449100522.035799: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x800f0412
>1449100522.035799: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_CHANNELUP(0x0001)
>
>Does this mean I'm part way there? Can anyone please advise what to do now?
>
>A few things I noted after reading Stephen's README:
>1) I don't have anything like /etc/udev/rules.d/10-local.rules with
>definitions of remote controls in them.

The file in /etc/udev/rules.d need to be manually created.  Some exist
from various packages, but you just create any new ones you want. They
are scanned in order, so you use the numbers on the front of the file
names to specify the order if you need settings in one file to
override those in another.  Only files with the .rules extension are
read.

>2) When I run ls -al /dev/lirc* this is all I see; there are no links to
>input/event12 etc
>$ ls -al /dev/lirc*
>crw------- 1 root root 247, 0 Dec  3 09:21 /dev/lirc0

That will have been created by a default udev rule in
/lib/udev/rules.d/85-lirc.rules.  If you only have one IR remote, you
may just be able to use that /dev/lirc0 device.  If you have multiple
tuners that have builtin IR devices, as I have, then unless you add
your own udev rules, the devices may move around on each boot and
whatever device that gets assigned to /dev/lirc0 may change.

>3) There are no files in /etc/rc_keymaps/

Yes, that is where you put your own custom keymap files.  The builtin
ones are in /lib/udev/rc_keymaps.

>4) the command ir-keytable outputs:
>$ ir-keytable
>Found /sys/class/rc/rc1/ (/dev/input/event4) with:
>Driver mceusb, table rc-rc6-mce
>Supported protocols: NEC RC-5 RC-6 JVC SONY SANYO LIRC other
>Enabled protocols: NEC RC-5 RC-6 JVC SONY SANYO LIRC other
>Extra capabilities: <access denied>
>
>At this point I don't understand what to do next!

You seem to be in luck.  With that ir-keytable output, you seem to
only have one IR receiver device, so the default udev rules will work
and you can just use /dev/lirc0.  Just keep in mind that if you
install a new tuner (or anything else) that has an IR receiver, you
may need then to look at creating custom udev rules for the IR
devices.

For now, move on to using ir-keytatble -t to test all the keys on your
remote and see which ones are configured and which ones are not.  It
says it is using the /lib/udev/rc_keymaps/rc6_mce file as it is seeing
your remote as an RC6 protocol MCE device.  So if there are any keys
that are not working, you will need to copy the
/lib/udev/rc_keymaps/rc6_mce file to /etc/rc_keymaps and change the
/etc/rc_maps.cfg file to point to the new one in /etc/rc_keymaps.  See
my config for that.  Then edit the /etc/rc_keymaps/rc6_mce file to
change or add the lines needed for the keys that do not work.  You
could also try using my custom rc6_mce file - you may find it has a
better (or worse) match to your remote's keys.