Does anybody have a remote they've used and really like?

I would like a remote that's pretty easy to use, but most importantly I'd like one easy to set up. How do I set up a remote with myth?

Some people don't like it, but I personally really like the grey remote that comes with older pvr cards, and on top of the fact that the keys are laid out nice you don't have to do anything at all to make it work with knoppmyth. works right out of the box.

I think the only other remote that works out of the box is the ATI wonder remote, and From what I hear the button mapping on it is not great out of the box.

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Xsecrets

Is there anyplace to buy those "grey remotes" separate from the cards? I bought a PVR-500, which doesn't come with a remote, but I would really like a remote.

~Matt

when you say ati remote, do you mean this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... KNC-goog13
the ati remote wonder? and it works out of the box?

yeah that's the one. I would search the forums here for ati remote wonder before I bought it, Like I said it works out of the box, though some of the keys are messed up (most notably esc), and to get a good working layout you have to do some tricks, I think the easiest of which is creating a xmodmap or something like that, doesn't look too dificult, but is a bit of work anyways.

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Xsecrets

I tossed the grey remote taht came with my 250 in the drawer. I use an RCA universal remote I got for about $10. I really like having a set of keys for up/down/left/rifght and a set of keys for volume and channel change.

this is what I use with a home grown reciever.....very happy

http://support.radioshack.com/support_video/73922.htm

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R5F1 - Dell P4 2.4Ghz 500MB - PVR250 x 2 - GeForce FX 5200 - Onboard sound/NIC 80GB ATA/250GB ATA/400GB SATA

yeah I guess I just don't care so much about channel and volume keys since I use my receiver for volume, and I don't channel surf I use the guide.

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Xsecrets

khrusher,
How difficult was it to program that remote for Myth specific functions?

well, its a multiple step process that includes the following. Seems like alot. Id you get into changing the key mapping you just need to be organized.

1) capturing the codes sent by the remote (there is a program to help with this)
2) deciding which functions you want to have access to on the remote and which keys to map them to
3) "potentally" changing the key map in myth via mythweb (I did this, I'll explain why below
4) map the button codes from step one to the myth functions determined in step 2 and 3.

STEP 1 - (reference http://www.lirc.org/ )

LIRC uses a config file that assigns names to the IR codes that are sent from a remote (/etc/lircd.conf) . When I press the 'Play' button the remote sends '0x0000000000015FEA'. this strings is called 'Play' by lirc.


First thing to do is to see if there is a licrd.conf file already built for your remote, if not build one with irrecord program. This is all documented on the lirc site. You will need to recompile lirc once the confi file is built, simple.

I has some extra difficulty with this step brought on because I used a univeral remote. As you probably know, you configure code into the remote to tell it what type of device it is controlling. I found out quick MOST of the universal settings did not transmit IR data for all of the buttons. For example, most of the TV do not have Rewind functions, so when the universal remote was configured to these TVs, the 'Rew' did not send any data. It took quite some time to find a setting that used all of the buttons on the remote.

I did however find that TV code 098 was what I needed. So I programmed my remote's tv to code 098. <codesearch><tv><0><9><8> then preceeded to follow the lirc steps for irrecord to create a lircd.conf file.

Creating the file is easy. For each button, type in a name (i.e. "Play") then press the play button.

Step 2 - Selecting function that will be availible on remote.

This is a user decision. When I had a single tuner card I had buttons mapped to 'toggle channel as favorite' and 'go to next favorite' I used these to surf between any small number of channels. But once I added tuner #2, these bottons got remapped to PIP functions. So, you need to decided what you want....and waht you want to leave out.

Step 3 - Remap Myth Keys - key binding

Personally I don't like the default myth keymap, but that only matters if you are using the keyboard. Once you have mapped (remoteButton)-> (ButtonName) -> (KeyPress) -> (mythFuntion), you really only care about (remoteButton) -> (mythFunction). the (KeyPress) in the middle is transparent. To continue the example, I set the keymap for PlayBack to the letter 'P'

With that said, I still needed to remap a couple keys. The default keymap overloads the arrow keys. sometimes up/down/left/right are used for menu navigation and other times for channel and volume. tweeking the keymap was required to separate these. A drawback to changing the keymap is if you ask for help ("How do I mute the volume") you will get an answer assuming the default mapping.

Step 4 Map buttons

This part is easy (and, again is documented on the lirc page). This is just a config file (~/.mythtv/lircrc) that maps the name of the key that was setup in you /etc/lircd.conf file the key press that you selected in the myth keymap.

So basically, map the remote button 'Play' to the keyboard press 'P' which Myth will use to play the video.

How it works:

1) I press the button on my remote labeled 'Play'
2) Since I set the universal code to 098 it sends 0x0000000000015FEA
3) lirc uses /etc/lircd.conf to convert 0x0000000000015FEA to 'Play'
4) ~/.mythtv/lirccd converts 'Play' to a keypress 'P'
5) the myth keybinding maps 'P' to PlayBack
6) Cartman gets called a fatass

Other notes

- if you use xine and/or mplayer you will need to add their functions into the lircrc file
- you'll need a reciever, I found it fun to build one, it was my first soldered circuit, not hard. (again the lirc website.)
- There is a common theme here, read the lirc site. it's not to lengthy, you will need to understand the different steps above. they are not hard, you just done wanna miss any.

If you are intrested in any of my config files, I would be happy to share.

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R5F1 - Dell P4 2.4Ghz 500MB - PVR250 x 2 - GeForce FX 5200 - Onboard sound/NIC 80GB ATA/250GB ATA/400GB SATA

There's a really great tutorial about setting up a remote at:
http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/remotes.php

He focuses on a particular radio shack remote, but the instructions work for any of the more advanced One For All remotes. I ended up paying more than I needed to for a remote like the one he used that can control 8 devices. I could have gone with a cheaper one that works with 4 or 5 devices.

One thing I would add about multifunction remotes is that the wife still has trouble using it (seeing tv on the screen, but remote is on dvd + vice versa)

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R5F27 on:
Athlon 1800+
Asus A7N8X-VM 400, 512mb
Onboard video through Asus dongle
80G Hitachi HD
Hauppauge! WinTV 401

Did you follow the instructions to build the serial receiver? Has anyone tried providing a serial port on the inside of the box?

I build a reciever following the 'simple' schematic at http://www.lirc.org/receivers.html all parts from radio shack.

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R5F1 - Dell P4 2.4Ghz 500MB - PVR250 x 2 - GeForce FX 5200 - Onboard sound/NIC 80GB ATA/250GB ATA/400GB SATA

The absolute easiest way to control your Myth box is to get a wireless keyboard with an optical interface. Then teach a learning remote the key sequences to control your Myth box. With this approach you don't need to build anything, nor even set up LIRC. I bought my wireless LiteOn keyboard from newegg and I use a TheaterMaster 500MX learning remote, widely available from stores like smarthome.com. It rocks!

Oh -- make sure you get a keyboard with PS/2 outputs. There have been numerous problems with USB keyboards and mice on KnoppMyth.

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Anyone can help me ?
I use a Microsoft wireless keyboard with MythBrowser to surf on the Internet. When I press F1, I can't switch to edit mode. If I use a keyboard with cable, I dont have this problem.

My question is :
Is it possible to use F1 with a wireless keyboard ?
Can I set a button on my remote to send a F1 ?
Is it possible to automatically switch in edit mode when mythbrowser is open ?

Liv2Cod,

Nice idea. Do you use your remote for mplayer or xine? how do you learn different codes for each of these programs?

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R5F1 - Dell P4 2.4Ghz 500MB - PVR250 x 2 - GeForce FX 5200 - Onboard sound/NIC 80GB ATA/250GB ATA/400GB SATA