[mythtv-users] low-cost low-grief remote

[jedi at mishnet.org]

> On 3/27/07, jedi at mishnet.org <jedi at mishnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tuesday 27 March 2007 00:07, Angus wrote:
>> >> I've been trying to understand what array of remote options there are
>> >> out there for MythTV, but I haven't been able to piece together the
>> >> information I need. I've been reading about remotes that can be
>> gotten
>> >> on the cheap, but the documentation seems to be completely unaware
>> that
>> >> they all need an IR receiver. My tv card has a remote, with an IR
>> >> receiver, but it seems to be a waste of space, since I haven't been
>> able
>> >> to get it to do anything but get irrecord to fail. Speaking of which,
>> >> I'd like a low-grief solution, meaning something highly compatible
>> with
>> >> MythTV, and simple to configure.
>> >>     So can someone recommend a compatible model of remote and IR
>> >> receiver for not too much? I hear that places like Radio Shack and
>> Best
>> >> Buy probably have the material I'm looking for, or in this country:
>> The
>> >> Source and Future Shop.
>> >
>> > Others have posted some good comments, but I'd like to clarify some
>> > important
>> > facts and distinctions:
>> >
>> > 1) MythTV is a keyboard-controlled application. MythTV itself has,
>> AFAIK,
>> >    no awareness of remote controls. To use a remote with MythTV, you
>> >    must have a way to make the remote "look" like a keyboard to
>> MythTV.
>> >    Typically, this is the job of LIRC, but there are other options.
>>
>> MythTV is very much a remote control aware application.
>>
>> It accepts messages passed from lirc just fine. No shenanigans like
>> converting button events to keyboard events is required.
>
>
> You made two conflicting statements there.  MythTV is NOT remote aware.

    There's no conflict. LIRC is the Linux remote control
subsystem just as alsa is the Linux sound subsystem & video4linux
is the vidcap subsystem.

    If an app isn't aware of any of those subsystems it won't be able
to use any of them and you will have to cobble the data into them via
some other means.

> MythTV is LIRC aware.  The two are very different.  Unfortunately LIRC is
> a

    Not really.

> horrible hodgepodge of a program.  Getting LIRC working correctly
> certainly
> counts as "shenanigans" in my book.
>

    The only real "shenanigan" is the relatively crude daemon
associated with lirc. Everything else is stuff that you really
can't get away from. You're going to need device drivers, a
layer to map what's on the remotes and another layer to map to
what exposed functions in the apps.

> What is really needed is a USB ir receiver that works as a HID device (USB
> standard for Human Interface Devices).  That would alleviate the LIRC
> hassle.