[mythtv-users] using an IR Blaster

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Mon Jan 8 10:39:16 UTC 2007


On Jan 8, 2007, at 2:59 AM, R wrote:

> I don't have an IR Blaster, yet.
>
> I understand that I can hook up an IR Blaster to my MythTV.
> So when it comes time record a show from the Satellite set
> top box (STB), MythTV will send IR signals to the STB to
> first turn on the STB and then change to the appropriate
> channel.
>
> I understand that I would need to initially configure the
> IR Blaster with IR codes specific to my STB.
>
> Assuming that:
> A.  The mythbackend system and the STB are in room 1.
> B.  I am in room 3 on a mythfrontend system.
> C.  The current channels 1 to 125 exist on my PVR-350 from Comcast.
> D.  The new channels 300 to 500 exist on my STB.
>
>
> At the moment, I hit 56 on any (FE/BE) keyboard to change to  
> channel 56.
>
> Q1:  Could I map the STB channels 300 to 500 to the same numbers on my
> MythTV lineup?
> So that I can hit 327 on any (FE/BE) keyboard to change to channel 327
> on the STB.
> (While watching Live TV, without using any remote control - just the
> regular keyboard.)


If I understand your question correctly the answer is yes.

I have 3 PVR-150s connected to analog cable and a fourth PVR-150  
connected to a DISH receiver.

If I hit (as an example) "32" on the keyboard I get channel 32 from  
analog cable (CNN in my case) and if I hit "121" I get History  
Channel International from the satellite receiver automatically (a  
channel not available on analog cable). If I hit "200" I will get CNN  
from the satellite and not the analog cable.

I think this is what you want.

The analog cable channel numbers are all under 100, and the satellite  
channels are (mostly) all over 100.

There are some problems. The "local" channels can be mapped by the  
satellite receiver to appear as channel numbers under 100. An example  
is that channel "13" on the satellite is Nebraska PTV and is also a  
different analog cable channel. I can get around this in a couple of  
ways:

The "off-air" channels all have channel numbers in the higher range  
as well as the "normal" numbers. If I want to select a channel for  
live viewing (which happens rarely) I just input the higher number.

If you find, as most of us have, that you rarely watch live TV, you  
simply select the record channel via the program guide, the "find  
program", the "lists" or any other normal method and the system knows  
what channel to select. For example, even though there are 2 channel  
13s, the channel or program that your cursor is on when you hit "R"  
decides which one to use.

All this assumes, of course, that you have setup your channel lineups  
properly. If you live where DataDirect is available this is not a  
problem, I'm not sure about other listing-grabbing methods.

You might want to look into the "MyBlaster" device, as opposed to the  
LIRC-based IR transmitters. They cost a few more dollars but save a  
lot of headaches IMHO, but this again depends somewhat on where you  
live and if the MyBlaster knows your STB codes.

So if you live in the USA and are using DISH network and DataDirect I  
can assure you it will work. If you live elsewhere it *should* be  
possible to make it work, but I will be far less able to help you  
with the details.

So more info from you is needed for a more complete answer.




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