[mythtv-users] USB keyboard control of digital cable box

[Khanh Tran]

Great!  So, then someone must have at least ATTEMPTED writing something
close to what I'm looking for, no?


-Khanh Tran
khanh at khanh.net

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Scott [mailto:benscott at cableone.net] 
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 12:26 AM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] USB keyboard control of digital cable box

There is a thing generally called a USB link cable, I think they even
sell them at places like Best Buy and Comp USA.  Here's a link I found
on Google for one:
http://www.usbgear.com/item_102.html

So it's basically a host on both ends, and a funky little box in the
middle pretends to be a device for both hosts

As for getting that to work on linux and then using it to send keyboard
commands, well...

Ben Scott

Andrew Jamieson wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Khanh Tran" <khanh at slc.edu>
>To: "Discussion about mythtv" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 12:29 PM
>Subject: [mythtv-users] USB keyboard control of digital cable box
>
>
>I've got a Scientific Atlanta 4200 digital cable box.  It's got a USB 
>port on the back and interestingly enough, I can plug any USB keyboard 
>into it and change channels by entering the numbers.  Is there any way 
>to make MythTV or Linux output the keyboard commands to control the 
>cable box?  I've heard of serial port control of satellite receivers, 
>so it's not too far off I suppose...
>
>Thanks!
>
>
>-Khanh Tran
>khanh at khanh.net
>
>
>
>Not easily.  USB is a master / slave system (actually Host / Device is 
>the official nomenclature) - a keyboard is a Device and a PC is a Host,

>as would be your cable box.  Communication is not possible Host <-> 
>Host or Device <-> Device.  To do what you ask you would need some way 
>to control an
>(external) USB device from the mythTV box that then presented itself as

>a USB keyboard to your cable box.  This is perfectly achievable with a 
>custom micro-controller design (say RS232 serial -> micro-controller / 
>USB -> cable
>box) but can't be done without such custom hardware.  I know of no 
>commercial products that do this.
>
>
>Andrew Jamieson
>
>_______________________________________________
>mythtv-users mailing list
>mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>  
>
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