Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

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brichards42
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Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by brichards42 »

I have designed something for my own use with MythTV and wonder if it is ok to mention it is for sale?
brichards42
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by brichards42 »

I will suppose it is OK since it went through moderation.

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I originally used a remote control which had a IR receiver module that worked like a keyboard (required remapping the keys in MythTV to match what the remote transmitter used).

Unfortunately that remote has not been for sale for many years now so I built my own IR remote with a receiver which emulates a keyboard, with the commands matching the MythTV defaults. I have been using it for about six months and have been happy with the results.

If interested it is on tindie - search for Remote control for MythTV
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Steve Goodey
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by Steve Goodey »

Welcome to the forum.

Is this similar to Flirc?
Don't forget the Wiki.
brichards42
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by brichards42 »

I would say it is similar in that it simulates a USB keyboard when it sends commands to the computer. There is no programming though, the keys on the remote are already mapped to what MythTV expects.
Gribnif
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by Gribnif »

Hi @brichards42,

Please don't take these as a strong criticism. I'm happy to see a maker trying to come up with a product for all us Mythizens, and I hope you have luck selling your remotes. But there are several reasons I wouldn't consider it:

1. Unless I missed it, there's no Power button.

2.The buttons are all the same size and shape, which means figuring out what to press for common things like up/down, commercial skip and back/forward by touch alone is rather difficult.

3. Lack of addressibility. Unless there's some way to pair a given remote with a given receiver, you couldn't use more than one of these remotes in your house, for different frontends.

4. And, regrettably, the price. I'm sure your price takes into account the actual cost of materials and labor which, at small scale, are very expensive. But there are so many other cheaper remotes out there that, unless there's a killer feature in yours that sets it far above the others, you may not get very many buyers.
brichards42
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by brichards42 »

Your comments are appreciated.


1. Power button - do you mean to power off the MythTV frontend? If so then no, I never do that myself but maybe others do. Not sure how you would power it back on. I do power the TV off/on and for that I use a command from the TV remote (my remote can learn commands from other remotes).

2. buttons same size - they are all the same size but have a different color printed on top which distinguishes what they do. I tried using different shapes but found the color overlay clearer and easier to read.

3. The remote and receiver each have a dip switch which can be changed to pair them together if there is a conflict between remotes.

4. price - indeed it is not cheap but as you said there are no economies of scale here. It takes about 10 hours to print the remote/receiver cases, uses a large fairly expensive pcb board and takes several hours to solder. I will mention all the commercial remotes I have purchased use a rubberized membrane with conductive carbon traces for the keys which I have found become intermittent/fail over a relatively short time, especially for frequently used buttons. My remote uses real tactile switches which I suspect will have a much longer life and a switch would be easy to get and replace if you have a soldering iron.
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by Gribnif »

Thanks for the speedy reply. Here are a few replies to your reply:

1. Yes, to power off (sleep, actually) the frontend. Many TVs will simply rely on the presence or lack thereof of a video signal and automatically go into sleep mode, so perhaps it's not always necessary to control the TV as well, though I suppose some people would value that. Most BIOSes can be set to wake the computer on USB activity, so pressing any key on the remote would wake the computer.

2. The biggest reason for wanting to figure out what button to press by touch alone is simple: a darkened room. The other reason is just preference: I don't want to look down at my remote every time I need to skip commercials or do some other, commonplace navigation.

3. This is fantastic! Using a DIP switch is also easier than an arcane combination of keypresses, like some remotes use.

4. It's also great to hear that you're not using membrane keys, as I've spent far too much time cleaning and refurbishing them when they wear out, over the years.

By the way, perhaps I missed it, but I didn't notice any indication of whether the remote is using RF or IR. If RF, what's the range like?
brichards42
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Re: Ok to post information about a product made for MythTV?

Post by brichards42 »

I will look into adding another button or alternate function for putting the pc to sleep, thanks for the suggestion.

The select button on the remote has a raised center which I use to locate by touch (like F and J on keyboards) then I can find all the other buttons I normally use without looking.

The remote uses IR.
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