Anyone tried flirc.tv? (1 Viewer)

[CHBMB]

Just wondered if anyone else had tried flirc.tv? Looks like an interesting programmable remote receiver, works across platforms and seems ideal for our purposes. Also posted on avforums.com and got a reply from the developer. Turns out profits are going to an onclogy centre, so I thought I'd post here to drum up some support from the MediaPortal community., the developer seems a really nice chap and his post on avforums shows an attitude to customer service you don't see very often anymore.

Looks like there are one or two bugs left to be ironed out but I think it could be a bit of a Holy Grail once those are sorted.

MediaPortal Version: 1.2.2
MediaPortal Skin: StreamedMP
Windows Version: Windows 7 64Bit
CPU Type: Intel i3 530
HDD: OCZ 60GB SSD, Samsung 500GB 2.5 inch
Memory: Corsair 4GB DDR3
Motherboard: MSI P55A-G5
Video Card: ATI HD5670 1GB
Video Card Driver: Catalyst 10.10
Sound Card: HDMI Passthrough
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver: ATI HDMI 2.51
1. TV Card: KWORLD PE355-2T
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
1. TV Card Driver: V1.5.76
2. TV Card: PEAK DUAL DVB-T 221544AGPK
2. TV Card Type: DVB-T
2. TV Card Driver: Date 23/10/09
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: SAF 6
MPEG2 Audio Codec: SAF 6
h.264 Video Codec: SAF 6
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case: Zalman HD503
Cooling: Noctua NF-R8 80mm x2, Scythe Shuriken BIG
Power Supply: BeQuiet 600W Modular
Remote: Harmony One
TV: Onkyo 605 to AOC L32W551T
TV - HTPC Connection: HDMI

 

[4Fred]

A buddy of mine just ran a demo here at work of it, looks simple and useful (and really really cheap).

 

[CHBMB]

Well I wholeheartedly recommend it. My spec above has completely changed and I now use XBMC but have kept the Flirc throughout! Posted this about two and a half years ago!

 

[4Fred]

Since I just saw I flirc I searched for flirc here at the forum and found your post, so i brought this one to life instead of posting a new one.
If you have been using it for more than two years I think it's safe to say you recommend it

I myself have a harmony 900 w rf system and all so it's not really for me (at this point) but it's a good and much cheaper and simpler solution than getting a multi remote and blah blah... this may well be a great option for many users

 

[RonD]

I also have been using a flirc with a sony 8 device universal remote I was already using. Takes a bit of work to setup since you need to map each remote button to a MePo keyboard shortcut. I bought mine from amazon about $25, a little cheaper if you buy from https://flirc.tv/ online store. Flirc is a USB dongle, it may cause clearance problems with adjacent USB ports, depends on your USB port spacing.

I ended up making a spreadsheet with 3 columns to list the "remote button", "keyboard shortcut", "MePo Action" to keep track of how I was doing the setup. With flirc and the remote, each remote button is mapped to a different keyboard shortcut. Push button on remote, flirc "types" the key. See PDF for my setup.

For MePo keyboard shortcuts see wiki General Keyboard Shortcuts:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/20_Reference/Keyboard_Shortcuts/1_General
or MePo Config "expert mode"
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...onfiguration/11_General/11_Keyboard_Shortcuts

On my multi-function remote I made "cable" the "MePo" function and selected a Sony DVD Recorder for the "remote function". My TV, stereo system, DVD etc ignore these remote codes so using remote in "TV mode" is ignored by flirc/MePo, remote "Cable mode" goes to flirc/MePo.

I'm running MePo on Win8.1 (this should also work for Win7), I "pinned" the start MePo shortcut to the taskbar in the leftmost taskbar item. I can start MePo by pressing "Windows key 1" and assigned "cable button" = "Win+1", this starts MePo and switches remote to "cable mode" to act as a MePo remote. Another way to start MePo is to use MePo shortcut > Properites > Shortcut to assign a shortcut Cntl+Alt+Key.

I also use the "ShortCut'er" plugin, assigned Cntl+Shift+T = EPG, Cntl+Shift+A = RecordedTV, Cntl+Shift+U = TvSeries and assigned them to remote buttons so I can press 1 remote button and switch to one of these views. see
https://www.team-mediaportal.com/extensions/input-output/shortcuter

 

[4Fred]

Somewhat more complicated to setup than expected but once up it sooo sweet to control MePo using just your TV remote
The problems setting it up was stuff like ALT+F4 to close MePo, once programing that function it closed Flirc windows and the same thing with sleep/wakeup functions. But all in all, super sweet little thing

 

[gabborgabbor]

i will give it a try tomorrow, hope it will not be to complicated! if so i will head up to you with some questions!

 

[pilehave]

Hi. Thinking of buying the flirc dongle, but one thing is holding me back: Will it take multiple keys at same time? Like; Ctrl+Shift+E = one command and Ctrl+Shift+R = another command?

Thnx ;D

 

[RonD]

yes, if you use the full keyboard option you can program key combos, I used "WIN 1" to launch MePo from pinned taskbar. "CNTR SHIFT T" as a keyboard macro for the ShortCutter plugin etc.

There is a bit of a learning curve, 1st attempt was just simple numbers 0-9, arrow keys, enter, etc to figure out how it works. Then started MePo setup, I ended up using a 3 column cheatsheet to keep track of what I had programmed. I got part way through doing MePo/flirc setup, got lost with what remote button was used with what MePo keyboard command. Had to take 2-steps back, do a flirc erase, start over. Make sure you look at the MePo shortcut keys in wiki to see what is where.

MePo uses F7/F8 for TV channel up/down and for chapter forward/back, so remote channel up/down buttons does both with my setup.

 

[joshyy]

Hi,

I'm in the process of upgrading my htpc machine. I use mediaportal for quite a while now and it's most perfectly tailored to my needs.

The case I had previously was an antec remote max (with a stock iMON remote module).

My new case (cooltek u2) doesn't have a remote module, so I ordered a flirc.

The whole av system is commanded by a logitech harmony one.

I'm so far VERY pleased with the flirc. It works out of the box with the harmony and is very easy to configure for mediaportal.

In the harmony setup software, choose "flirc" as brand and "xbmc" as model, then create an action and sync with the remote.

Now, on the htpc, install the flirc software. Open it and choose "controllers" from the menu, then "full keyboard".
Then open mediaportal configuration and go to "general" then "keyboard default shortcuts".

Look into the mediaportal shortcut list for what you want to map on the remote. Let's say, "stop playing" is "B".
Now in the flirc software, click the B key on the visual keyboard, it will ask you to press the remote button you want, press it on the remote and it's done.

It took me 10 minutes to map my usual needed keys.

And it seems so far way more responsive than the iMON on the antec case.

The only downside seems, at the moment, that it can't shutdown/turn on the machine, it can only sleep/hibernate. I'll look a bit more into it and come back to post the results.