Monday, November 24, 2008

Remote control... maybe?

I was going through some old bookmarks and I saw some I made for my PVR project. I thought I'd browse for an update to the issue with the picoLCD module receiving IR signals but not sending them to Myth, which I first mention here. Essentially, there is a Linux package that is built for receiving and processing IR control codes, but because the lcdproc daemon doesn't know what to do with them (it's an LCD panel driver after all), the codes just don't go anywhere.

Well, there is some good news. Someone with a lot more smarts about this has been working on the solution, patching lcdproc to hand off the IR codes from a picoLCD module to a daemon that is written for IR codes, LIRC. This could make my MythTV box truly "feature complete" at last.

It may be time to finally get the box working again. It unfortunately has been off for several months now, as it was no longer getting any network connectivity. I'm hoping it's just a function of the network cord not holding up to the strain of running vertically about six feet from the box to the hub, holding itself up by its own connector; and not a function of the box running so hot that it fried its own network adapter (that little box does run very hot, even when idle). Without a network connection, it's not very useful — no network, no schedules; no schedules, no recording.