[mythtv-users] OT: Remote Control Suggestions

[Stephen Tait]

At 09:18 26/07/2004 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm looking for some suggestions on the best remote to use with MythTV.
>
>I currently use the Hauppauge "Grey" remote, and it does an excellent 
>job.  However, the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons also happen to be the 
>"Scroll Right" and "Scroll Left" buttons.  I'd like to separate 
>those.  You can probably see the problem I have when watching something 
>and trying the turn the sound up or down (the Volume Up button is mapped 
>to F10 (turn sound up) and Right Arrow (scroll right, skip ahead 30 seconds)).
>
>I have the Lola X10 remote, but some how it stopped working for me.  I 
>can't get the stupid thing to work again, but it wouldn't matter too 
>much.  I hate the balance of it in your hand.  It just feels awkward.
>
>So, my ideal remote would have scrolling arrows AND separate Volume Up and 
>Volume Down buttons.  It would also be a "learning" remote so I could turn 
>the TV on and off.  It would also need a good set of "DVD" control 
>buttons, like Play, Record, Skip, FF, pause, etc...  It needs to look 
>nice, feel good, and not be expensive.  I'm not daunted by too many 
>buttons, so the more the better.
>
>And obviously, it needs to work with LIRC.
>
>What remote do you use...and do you love it?
>
>Geoff Scott

Got a Philips SBC RU 865, a do-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink learning 
remote, and it's a bit of a mixed bag.

It's a chunky unit, with a large LCD screen. Those of you with small hands 
might find it a bit tricky to get a good hold of, but it's fine for me. 
Balance and build quality is very good IMHO, and (not that I'm an expert) 
the interface is very easy to use. Comes with a manual that would stop a 
bullet (PDF available on their site) complete with a squillion codes for 
predefined remotes and AV equipment. It's got at least five modes you can 
define; e.g. one for your TV, one for your stereo, VCR, and all the rest of 
it. One minor niggle is that I can't rename the modes - I'd like the TV 
mode to be called "Myth" and all the rest of it. IIRC someone posted about 
a Sony remote that lets you do this, but (for reasons far too long to go 
into) I don't buy Sony products.

Button selection and layout is stonking. There's a dedicated 4-way 
navigation pad plus separate rockers for vol and channel +/-, and OK button 
and a menu button (used as escape/quit). Also separate 
play/pause/stop/rec/ff/rew as well as a few other doohickeys. Got it to 
learn the remote codes for my mini system (used just as a radio for 
taping/oggerating the essential mix and other noteworthy radio shows) and 
the creative RM-900 on my workstation, which was a doddle.

The problem comes down to LIRC on the mythbox (and eventually my 
workstation as well, once LIRC supports the Audigy platinum breakout box). 
The config file supplied by lirc.org for this remote is evidently for a 
different remote of the same name (US version?) with far fewer buttons, so 
I tried to create my own using irrecord, which proved less than successful. 
I'm going to give this another shot in a day or two, but for now I just got 
it to learn the codes for my crummy black hauppauge remote, and (with some 
judicious mucking about with lircrc's and the Myth/Xine keybindings) have 
gotten it into a highly usable state - but obviously without a custom 
config file I can't use any of the buttons I hadn't already mapped with the 
black remote.

Once I get it working, it'll be totally sweet, as I picked this remote 
precisely cos it has the kind of button layout I like, as well as all the 
right buttons.