[mythtv-users] ir-blasters

[Michael Wisniewski]

On Thu, Apr 19, 2018 at 10:55 AM, Andrew Stadt <acstadt at stadt.ca> wrote:

>
>
> On 18/04/18 08:19 AM, Rick wrote:
>
>> I've been using a myblaster for years.  It was a great piece of kit, just
>> worked but it has finally given up the ghost.  What are people using to
>> control the hd-pvr these days.  A look through Amazon and other places
>> reveals a dizzying array of devices that may or may not work. Can anyone
>> suggest something that is known to work? A make and model would be nice as
>> I'm no genius when it comes to electronics.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Rick
>>
> In my living spaces I use one of the many knock-off mce usb ir remote
> transceiver units, but in my server closet where all the big hardware
> sites, I use a CommandIR II - a little more pricey, but when you're
> controlling several boxes that all speak the same IR codeset, being able to
> address you specific emitter you want is a life saver.
>
>
I was using a generic Microsoft Media Center usb box thing and just redid a
lot of my original work.  I didn't want to spend this much, but my old
Harmony remote started to give up on some of the buttons so I thought it
was a good time to replace it and some of my setup.  I ended up going with
the Harmony Companion.

This is an interesting solution because it has an IR blaster that plugs
into a wireless hub and gets controlled by the remote.  The thing I love
about it was that it talks with my PC as a bluetooth keyboard.  Many of the
headaches with IR, delays, and keymappings are now eliminated.  The thing I
hated was it was a pain to get it setup and working properly.  Mostly
because it can communicate with devices over IR, bluetooth, or wifi, and
the app doesn't tell you what it's using.  It detected my devices over wifi
but then set it all up over IR (except for the PC, which is bluetooth).
Once I got everything working properly, I love it.

The other thing I had was a Xantech remote extender, something like DL85k.
It took the remote IR commands from the remote and beamed them downstairs
to where all my equipment is.  From there, I put IR blasters on all the
equipment IR ports for it to work.  It worked good, but considering the
price of it today and what the Harmony Companion does, I would pick the
Harmony Companion and Hub over the Xantech solution.
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