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 Post subject: IR Blaster setup
PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:21 pm 
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Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:55 pm
Posts: 245
Location: South Jersey
So I'm reading thread after thread on R6 with regard to IR Blasters working or not working. I finally have to set this up myself as Comcast has finally ended analog service on our most watched channels outside of retransmitted OTA stuff.

I would appreciate some answers from anyone or everyone.

1) Is there a particular brand IR Blaster which is used most often? The only types I see have 3.5mm not DB9 connectors. And Dragon hardware doesn't mention what type of IR Blaster (if any) they use.

2) Does it work? Various threads say what works in R5.5 didn't work out of the box with R6.03. What exactly is needed to add it post install?

3) How do I determine what codes my Comcast box uses so I can configure the IR Blaster?

4) Can someone post output from mythconverg's channels table? I annoying have 3_1, 3#1, and 3-1 in my listing. I have no idea how this happened but I'd like to delete the channels that don't truly exist directly from the database.

Thanks, -Abs

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R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby


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 Post subject: Re: IR Blaster setup
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:20 am 
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Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:36 pm
Posts: 24
abigailsweetashoney wrote:
4) Can someone post output from mythconverg's channels table? I annoying have 3_1, 3#1, and 3-1 in my listing. I have no idea how this happened but I'd like to delete the channels that don't truly exist directly from the database.

I'm not experienced with IR Blasters, but you should be able to delete channels you don't want and edit ones you do want using the channel editor in MythSetup. Here's how I would get there:

1) Shut down the frontend.
2) Press Alt+S to launch MythSetup. Ignore any complaint about the backend running.
3) Go to Channel Editor.
4) Select the channel you don't want and press D or use the delete button. This can be tricky with tabs and arrow keys, so be careful.
5) Edit the one copy of the channel you want to keep, if necessary, to make the format what you like. (3#1 might tune in best, but you can rename it to 3-1 if that's how you like it displayed. We have some weird stuff where I live with the same channels broadcast on different frequencies.) The channel numbers have nothing to do with their association to program guide info, so you can change them at will.
6) Exit MythSetup.
7) Restart the frontend.
8) Check your channels in the Program Guide or using Live TV. If things don't look like you expected, restart the backend by pressing Alt+3 and check again.

Good luck!


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 Post subject: Re: IR Blaster setup
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:26 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:52 am
Posts: 187
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Recording from satellite, I've required an IR blaster from day 1. It was the hardest part of my mythbox to get setup back in R5E50. I was also very linux green at the time, so maybe it wasn't really all that hard, I just didn't know what I was doing. Now that I have the all blaster codes, its pretty easy for upgrades.
abigailsweetashoney wrote:
1) Is there a particular brand IR Blaster which is used most often? The only types I see have 3.5mm not DB9 connectors. And Dragon hardware doesn't mention what type of IR Blaster (if any) they use.

I use the standard serial blaster from http://www.irblaster.info/

abigailsweetashoney wrote:
2) Does it work? Various threads say what works in R5.5 didn't work out of the box with R6.03. What exactly is needed to add it post install?

Works every time from R5E50 to R5.5. An upgrade to R6 left me with some issues, But after upgradeing to some 'new to me' hardware it is back to being flawless.


abigailsweetashoney wrote:
3) How do I determine what codes my Comcast box uses so I can configure the IR Blaster?

You may get lucky and you cable box might already be in LinHES. Browse through the boxes listed in the remotes menu. If not, there is also a list of supported remotes on the lirc site that you can downlod the config files. http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/ You could also record your own remote codes with irrecord so it's matches your remote exactly and has all the buttons you need.

abigailsweetashoney wrote:
4) Can someone post output from mythconverg's channels table? I annoying have 3_1, 3#1, and 3-1 in my listing. I have no idea how this happened but I'd like to delete the channels that don't truly exist directly from the database.

you can also edit/delete channels in mythweb. http://ipaddress/mythweb/settings/tv/channels


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:34 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 10:20 am
Posts: 387
Location: South New Jersey, USA
What box did Comcast "give" you? I have had on again/off again issues with my serial IR blaster since moving to R6. I finally switched to firewire for channel change and it has been rock solid. Another plus is you may be able to use it as a tuner direct to your mythbox and if so it may give you a better picture then capturing the analog output from the box.

Take a look and see if your box has a firewire connection and if it is on this page:
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Firewire_Cable_Box_Compatibility

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FrontEnd - Dell Vostro 400 3.0GHz Core2Duo NVidia GeForce210. MCE Remote


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:04 pm 
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Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:55 pm
Posts: 245
Location: South Jersey
Thanks for everyone's reply.

I'm blown away that I couldn't find the irblaster.info website. Doh! Thanks.

My HD settop box has firewire. So that is probably an option I'll look into.

Comcast did indeed give me two POS settop boxes, plus one HD (free since I pay for something and its a package), and one standard SD box (free). So I have four boxes and need to convert at least two to use an IRBlaster.

More questions.... on irblaster.info they list a double headed model. It's safe to assume that the heads work independently of each other??

Thanks, -Abs

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:57 pm 
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Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:44 pm
Posts: 580
I currently have 2 Comcast boxes on my system... one of their Motorola DCT2224 boxes, the other is the "free" Pace 50x box. The DCT2224 has a DB9 connector, so I am able to change the channels on that without an IR blaster by just using some software available online. For the Pace 50x I do have an IR Blaster and I have had 0 problems with it. I took the IR blaster, butted it up against the receiver that you can plugin to the Pace box and taped them together with electric tape to prevent it from picking up anything else.

I am using R6.03 and while setting up the IR Blaster wasn't that challenging, what was a tad challenging was setting up LIRC to use it. I recently posted a couple links about it in this post: http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... 302#131302


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 5:21 pm 
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Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:55 pm
Posts: 1381
Location: Farmington, MI USA
abigailsweetashoney wrote:
More questions.... on irblaster.info they list a double headed model. It's safe to assume that the heads work independently of each other??
No, each head will output all codes. So, for instance, if you have a Harmony remote configured to control your stereo receiver and your Mythbox, and your blaster is connected to your stereo receiver (1 head) and Mythbox (second head), you are able to control each device with the single unit. The stereo receiver ignores the Mythbox codes because it doesn't "understand" them, and vice-versa.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:02 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:43 am
Posts: 14
You can make your own blaster, if your PC has a serial port.

http://www.lirc.org/transmitters.html has several you can build.
I use Enrique Vidal's circuit found here.
http://www.lirc.org/improved_transmitter.html
You can get most parts from Radio Shack, including the IR LEDs. The large cap may be the toughest part to locate. I used the small hobby circuit board RS had and placed the cap in the center using the main 2 buses down the middle to be the center point. From the schematic you will see that most connections are at ground and the other lead of that large cap. The parts then surround that cap. Just solder it together and connect it to the serial port. I cheated, a bit. I cut an old cable I had and used a continuity check to find DTR and GND. I like it for it has dual emitters AND an indicator. It has been working great!

The only glitch I had with my blaster came down to the modules not being loaded in the correct order. The remote worked, but the blaster would never work. The load order seems to be a universal issue of most of the Myth distros. Everything else can be found online somewhere.

You can see more of my experience here.
http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21952


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:30 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:52 am
Posts: 187
Location: Manitoba, Canada
abigailsweetashoney wrote:
More questions.... on irblaster.info they list a double headed model. It's safe to assume that the heads work independently of each other??

I think you might be looking for something like this. http://www.commandir.com/
I've never used or seen one in use but I'd like to know how well they work. They claim built for linux, multiple independent transmit/control 4, 8, or 16 channels, optional receiver...
Sounds like a one stop shop. Although it is a little pricey.


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