After much searching and reading, I must admit I'm rather confused on how/what remotes are supported.

As it stands now, I have a R5A30.1 box w/2x PVR-150 (model 1045) chugging along pretty happily. The remotes work... but not all that well. I imagine it's due to the fact that they communicate over an I2C bus on the cards? It certainly is a bit unnerving when you have to hit the same key 2 or 3 times on the remote --it's not terribly accurate/responsive. I've tried both of the receivers and remotes between the two retail cards.

I can't help but notice how much insanely faster/better using a PS/2 keyboard is. But the wife doesn't want to do that!

Which remote is the best/easiest to configure (i.e. has config files available) and--perhaps more importantly--how do I connect them to the machine? Do most others have a PS/2- or USB-connected receiver? What's the least hassle? Would it be faster/more reliable?

It's not important to have it compatible with any form of cable box... I'm on a weird analog cable signal here.

Thanks in advance. I love MythTV!

The newer ivtv drivers (0.4.2) are suppoed to fix the flakeyness with the PVR-150's remote.

tjc,

Current version included with R5A30.1 seems to be 0.4.0...

Is it best to wait for a newer version of KnoppMyth, or should I try updating ivtv when it's available as a debian package? Looks like the tar was posted a few days ago (including source, perhaps?) at the ivtv homepage.

I can wait if it's a lot safer to do that

Here are instructions detailing how to update ivtv.

ryan,

Thanks for the link! It was a little confusing, but I followed the instructions step-by-step. So far, so good. Seems like all is working, although the remote doesn't seem at all improved

I'm just happy this didn't kill the box! I did ghost the drive first, though...

Well I did test those instructions on my own box as I was writing them, so I'm pretty sure they're safe.

As for how well the remote works... Did you make sure that the sensor is plugged in firmly, positioned for good "line of sight" (or even good bounce), and that the remote has fresh batteries? Mine will control the PVR from up to 25 feet away...

tjc,

Yes, the receiver is plugged in solid. My first receiver our of the two 1045's died, so I had to switch to the other one. The original receiver performed exactly the same way.

Both remotes in use work exactly the same--perhaps a 60-70% success rate of hitting any button. It works, just not especially well. Lots of retries, etc.

The funny thing is--my TV detects the push of every single button on either remote--it flashes its power/status light. Although it doesn't know what to do with the signals, it at least shows the remotes most likely are working, and aren't the problem.

Using the PS/2 keyboard, in comparison, is a dream.

Is there a better USB- or PS/2- connected remote to use? I mean, effectively, it's pretty much simply performing some basic keyboard emulation, right?


Thanks!

Can you watch top while pressinbg buttons? Is it slow to respond? Maybe the CPU is near %100 some of the time. My keyboard responds slowly when my CPU is pegged.

No, the cpu is never taxed on this machine. Keyboard works perfectly. It's the PVR-150's remote (or, I guess, more likely the I2C bus it uses on the card) that seems to be flaky.

Distance isn't a problem, although I've tried it from one foot away to the other side of the apartment.

I don't think I'd ever seen the load on the box go past 1.5 or so, even with both tuners recording.

Another option is an IR keyboard. I believe they plug into the PS/2 jack and act like a regular ps/2 keyboard. Then get a learning remote and learn the ir codes from the keyboard. This takes lirc out of the picture. (i'm not doing this but i imagine someone is somewhere.)

How about the PVR-150 model 1062 kit? The one with the MCE remote?

Looks like a USB receiver, and I've heard at least some better things about it.

Does this work OK? Might be a cheaper route than going for a Logitech Harmony or something, and I already was considering a third tuner.

Holy good ideas batman....does this actually work? Anyone know before I drop the $$$ to try it?

It works, but keep in mind that some commands for mplayer are different then the ones for MythTV. LIRC handles this by allowing you to map buttons depending on what's running, but if you just train a remote to learn the keyboard commands you won't have that flexibility.

So, in theory, if I could setup the "TV" section of a learning remote to learn the basic set of commands while watching live TV and playback of recorded shows, and then program the same buttons to do different things (i.e. mplayer) while watching DVD's ?

I have about 5 X-10 remote that learn pretty well, and a RF/IR leaning remote on the way (DirecTV). Now I'm thinking about that IR keyboard!

You might also consider making your own serial receiver:
http://www.lirc.org/receivers.html

I did this and I'm using it with the silver pvr-150 remote and it works great. I can point the remote behind me and it still catches the signal.