Remotes and TV cards (1 Viewer)

[VictorFrankl]

First post. I only started looking into this whole HTPC thing this week as a result of my kids TV dieing of old age.Anyway, there's a PC is in the same room so I figured it would be easier to get a TV card and the whole thing has spiraled out of control. Anyway, some surfing has brought me here and I have a question regarding remote control.
I've bought a Hauppauge 878 TV card on ebay as it's on the compatability list, it comes with a Hauppauge remote btw. I was wondering about getting an MCE remote control, do I have to make sure and get a remote receiver that's compatable with whatever remote I get to plug into the card or are the receivers which come with the cards and various MCE remotes all compatable?

 

[CyberSimian]

I was wondering about getting an MCE remote control, do I have to make sure and get a remote receiver that's compatable with whatever remote I get to plug into the card or are the receivers which come with the cards and various MCE remotes all compatable?

The remote transmits a particular signal encoding, and the receiver has to be able to understand that encoding. So remotes and receivers need to be correctly paired.

The most-common remote is the "MCE RC6 remote" (e.g. Hewlett Packard remotes). The IR receiver for this plugs into a USB socket, not the tuner card. This type of remote is the easiest to get working with MP.

Another type is the "MCE non-RC6 remote" (e.g. the Ortek VRC-1100). This must be used with its own IR receiver; it won't work with an MCE RC6 IR receiver. This type requires more setup to get working with MP, but there is a support package available for it.

Another type of remote is the manufacturer-specific remote (e.g. your Hauppauge remote, or my TBS remote). These plug into the tuner card, and may be difficult to get working with MP. In fact I don't use the TBS remote that was included with my tuner card; instead I use an Ortek IR receiver, with the Ortek signalling loaded into a Harmony 650 universal remote.

If you want a simple life, get an MCE RC6 remote (insist on "RC6").

If you like a challenge (or are trying to minimise cost), you may be able to get your Hauppauge remote to work (I don't know, as I have never used Hauppauge with MP).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Stéphane Lenclud]

Remotes and TV Cards are two very different things, though some TV Cards manufacturer did provide built-in remote receiver they are often tricky to get working with your applications.

I would recommend to get a TV card without a built-in receiver together with a remote receiver from Inteset.
For the remote itself I'm using various generic remotes such as Logitech Harmony 950 and Philips Prestigo SRU6008/10.