A few questions from a young newbie... (1 Viewer)

[Youngster]

Hi.

I'm planning on setting up a MP system and I have a few remote control questions.

Can I set up MP to work with a remote from an old television using IRSS?
Can this remote also control my current TV (on/off/volume etc)?
Do I need a specific IR receiver or will anything I find on ebay do?
Does MP work with remotes straight from the box or is it essential I get my head around IRSS first?

There is clearly a lot here but I don't want to shell out for hardware that I soon find won't work.

Thanks in advance.

 

[porky996t]

Hi Youngster...and welcome!

Good to hear your looking to do an MP setup... You'll not go back to 'normal' TV viewing. I ( and the GF more particularly) would be lost without the MP set up in the house.

Anyway, onto your questions. I would recommend using a MCE RC6 remote control. You can pick them up of eBay for about a tenner. The MCE remote works 'out of the box' with MP and doesn't need IRSS.

I don't know a lot about IRSS as I haven't used it, and cannot say whether you could set up an old TV remote.

You can control volume from MP, it is what I do. The TV set itself is set to mid volume, and the MCE remotes' volume buttons are used to make any adjustments.

 

[Youngster]

Cheers Porky. I'll have a look at your suggestion. Does your HTPC have an IR receiver built in or have you had to buy one?
Having done the research on MP it seems like the perfect solution for me. I was a bit hesitant as the wife and kids will have to use it so it needs to be very stable and easy to use. We're transferring all our physical CDs and DVDs at the moment before selling them on and then I'm going to build my HTPC - can't wait, bit giddy.

 

[kiwijunglist]

I'm not a big fan of IRSS, I've always found the plugin buggy + finicky. If you go for an "MCE compatible" remote control + receiver off ebay, then it will work in Mediaportal without any fancy setup etc.

You should look at Mediaportal / XBMC and Plex. If you want live TV (ie you have a tv tuner in your PC) then Mediaportal is your obvious choice.

 

[Youngster]

Yeah I'm using a TV tuner so MP seems the best choice.
Going to go with something like this for control. Didn't realise how cheap it would be.

 

[Mew]

Hi

If you haven't bought it yet, it might be better to go for something like:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Micro..._Remote_Controls_Pointers&hash=item3a63d6ceff

From the picture (assuming it is accurate) this version has the 4 coloured Teletext buttons which are assigned functions (such as subtitles, full screen) in MediaPortal.

Mew

 

[Youngster]

Nice one. Cheers for that.

 

[JimCatMP]

From above, sounds like you have you IR answers, however, before you get too carried away, when it comes to transferring your media, if your not already, worth thinking about where you will store it, how you will store it (directory structures) and naming conventions - reason, simple, to get the very best of MePo (and there is a lot to get you need control of your content {I spent blood aged on regex for Doctor Who sometime back}

MPTVseries for TV Show, Movingpictures (for me anyway, MyFilms also highly regarded) for films - any amount of stuff in Wiki & forums to help if you need it.

TTFN - JCMP.