Infrared usb

[chapm4]

putting in new home theater. Universal Remote MX-880 http://universalremote.com
and a Universal Remote MRF-350 rf box that has infrared sensors for equipment (projector, amp, screen, etc). Question is...how to get the htpc to connect. Do I use a MCE remote and usb ir or is there just a usb to ir dongle that anyone is using with Boxee?

[jalyst]

That's exactly what I'm about to work out soon...
I'm getting a MX-980, but without one of their RF/IR transceivers.

So I need some way to add IR reception to my Myth/XBMC/Boxee Front-end.
Preferably internally but a USB adapter will suffice.

I imagine both the 880 and 980 just use some standard form of CIR
So receivers should be readily available...

[Melloware]

Well I can recommend one that is cost effective and widely supported called USB-UIRT.

http://www.usbuirt.com/overview.htm

It is about 50$ USD but it works great and has a wide IR spectrum band. Then you could use your Universal MX and our software Intelliremote (http://www.intelliremote.com) which already has a Boxee profile to simply learn the commands from your MX through the USB-UIRT to control Boxee!

We also support these other brands but I prefer the USB-UIRT for its simplicity and cost.

# Keene IRAnywhere KIRA http://www.keene.co.uk
# RedRat UIRT www.redrat.co.uk

But check them all out and decide which one best fits your own needs.

[jalyst]

But isn't usb-uirt a transceiver, not just a receiver?
Why pay for a transceiver when all that's needed is a receiver.

[Melloware]

No, you can use it as a receiver to receive pretty much any IR remote in the 20-60KHz which is pretty much every consumer remote in the world. I use it with a Logitech Harmony 880 to control my HTPC.

And it also has IR blasting capabilities so you could map something from say our Iphone/iPod Touch client to blast IR to turn your TV or AVReceiver on etc. :)

So it is both a receiver and transmitter of IR. Great value for $50. I don't get any kickbacks from USB-UIRT I just recommend it because I own one and use it and it performs perfectly.

[jalyst]

Yeah but what if you only want a plain old receiver, pref. something that just slots internally into a case?

I know of all the good transceivers, I researched heavily for months, IRTrans are also very good.
The hardware is pricey for what you get, but the software & support is very good.
I'll want a sophisticated transceiver when I get more into HA, but for this specific application one only needs a simple receiver.

[Melloware]

yeah but what if you only want a plain old receiver, pref. something that just slots internally into a case?


Oh you want an INTERNAL IR receiver? I don't know much about those I think IRTrans make some but only that are custom built for the cases they supply. I don't think you can retrofit one into any old case.

I didn't realize that was a requirement, I thought you were just looking for an IR Receiver to use with your Universal MX.

[jalyst]

The OP may well be happy with your suggestion & find some use in a transceiver.
I personally don't see the point in paying for something with extra features that will be redundant for the intended application.

[Melloware]

The OP may well be happy with your suggestion & find some use in a transceiver.
I personally don't see the point in paying for something with extra features that will be redundant for the intended application.

Agreed. But if you read his post again he is looking for ANY way to connect his Universal MX to his HTPC to control Boxee. He could use a Microsoft USB IR Dongle but they don't just sell the dongle they sell the remote with it. So I really do think his best bet is the USB-UIRT don't you agree?

[jalyst]

It's not a bad solution, particularly if one also makes use of it's transmitting abilities...

But I'd be surprised if there's not any simpler receive-only devices that are even cheaper.
I haven't looked around intensely yet, hope to do so soon....

[Melloware]

Let me know what you find out.

I have been doing this for 7 years so if there is a "Receiver only" option out there that isn't already bundled with it's own remote then I would be glad to recommend that to others in the future!

[jalyst]

Just FYI here's what I found, but settled on the happauge in the end
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?p=11449548#post11449548

I will still be getting a more sophisticated IRTrans device later as part of a HA project I have in mind.

[Melloware]

Thanks for letting me know.

I think you will like the IRTrans, it is just a little expensive for my taste.

[jalyst]

Yeah they are rather pricey; excellent support/software (all platforms) though.

Cheers

[Mavrick]

How about this?

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-USB-Remote-Control-Mouse/dp/B001M56DI0

A few people I know have them and say they work pretty well. I just ordered one myself. For the price... can’t hurt to try...

[jalyst]

Sounds more like a USB HID that just so happens to use IR, I want real CIR, better for LIRC.

[twistybox]

You might take a look here: http://twistedmelon.com/mira/hardware.html for a small USB IR receiver. We sell it primarily for Mac OS customers, but it's fully compatible with MCE.

If I have the opportunity, I'll test it myself on one of my WinXP machines with Boxee. Currently I've only got Boxee running in Mac OS, so I'll have to install it on the Windows system first.

I'm hoping the receiver will work with the forthcoming Boxee Box, but obviously I have no way of testing that ahead of time.

[jalyst]

but what of it's compatability w/LIRC (http://www.lirc.org)?

[twistybox]

Our receivers work fine with Lirc. I've sold probably 1000 already for Lirc-only use. They'll be used in Lirc as MCE 2005 or Vista-class receivers. In fact, one of our corporate customers uses the receivers and Lirc together for their custom systems. I've just asked for their permission to be able to tell people about their product line/offering as part of a new section I hope to put up on the site.

If you're using the latest version of Lirc (0.8.7 at the time of this edit) then you're all set, no matter what revision of our hardware you happen to be using.

[jalyst]

Our receivers work fine with Lirc. I've sold probably 1000 already for Lirc-only use. They'll be used in Lirc as MCE 2005 or Vista-class receivers. In fact, one of our corporate customers uses the receivers and Lirc together for their custom systems. I've just asked for their permission to be able to tell people about their product line/offering as part of a new section I hope to put up on the site.

Sounds interesting, I don't suppose you can post the link once you put the new section up?
Alas I've already bought a hauppauge MCE remote control kit, otherwise I prolly would've got this receiver-only product.
(as I've no need for the remote in my kit)

[jalyst]

did you get this?

[jalyst]

Riiight, PM'd too and no response....
Indicative of after-sales support perhaps?

[twistybox]

I very infrequently come to this forum (mainly to check up on specific Boxee issues). And I don't have any type of email notification set up for PM or thread replies here. I certainly don't do any type of official customer support through forums or PM systems, but I always answer email. The link I posted goes to our web site which has our contact details, the only sure-fire way to get through to us in a timely manner.

A number of people in the past couple of months have been purchasing the receiver for use with Boxee, but I have yet to mention it specifically on our site - I still need to create a hardware-specific product page.

[jalyst]

Woah massive necropost, thank-you for clearing that up.
Apologies for my cranky post, must've been tired at the time.
No need for this personally, as my haupaugge receiver's working nicely.

[twistybox]

To tell you the truth, when I came online today to check on the status of a particular Boxee issue, I remembered this thread and also searched it out. Until finding it, I could have sworn I had only posted to it no more than two months ago. March 2010, go figure.

[jalyst]

yeah i was surprised it was that far back, I guess -a they say- time can fly in life.