How to remotely control PC in Linux with LIRC
Step by step instructions on setting up an infrared remote control in Linux …
Anyone who has dealt with the topic of a living-room PC or HTPC, will have already done some thinking about the media player software and operating system. It should load quickly, be easy to use and also be cheap or even free. Well, everything you create with a Linux based media player software such as MythTV on Ubuntu or Mythbuntu, Ubuntu in XBMC, VDR HTPC or similar programs are based on a Linux distribution. The download and installation is usually done quickly, but then comes the first hurdle, the establishment of the infrared remote control with LIRC under Linux. In this guide to remote PC, you will find a step by step description of how the infrared receiver – such as a low cost soldered USB Ultra IR Receiver v2.0 with setting up LIRC, learn the remote control and adapt for programs like MythTV, VLC, Xine, MPlayer, Totem, etc..
The hardware …
In the PC modding section you can find soldering instructions for building an infrared receiver for the PC or Mac, and who wants the best can even buy cheap kits in the fan shop. For this tutorial the USB Ultra IR Receiver v2.0 was set up on an ASRock HT330 BD HTPC. The ASRock ION HT330-BD Media Player has already an integrated IR receiver, but the built-in Nuvoton 667 IR receiver of the ASRock ION HT330-BD media player has a rather limited acceptance angle and the installation in Mythbuntu 10.04 LTS at Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx for some kernels (eg with the 2.6.32-24-generic Kernel X64 Ubuntu 10.04) was not quite simple. As long as the IR receiver is not integrated in LIRC, we have to spend some time for the driver updates when we update the kernel. As remote control a Philips Prestigo SRU 9600 universal remote control is used, the player can also utilize other remotes such as the famous Logitech Harmony One, Logitech Harmony 525, Vivanco UR 820, Vivanco UR 14, or the very cheap Vivanco UR2 or Vivanco UR4 remote can be used that will be available from approximately 5 EUR. A Step by Step guide to setting up the Logitech Harmony One with the previous USB Ultra IR in Windows 7 64 bit by the way, was written here
and posted in the forums by a visitor.
The software …
In this guide 10:04 Mythbuntu was installed as a 64 bit version along with the latest kernel version 2.6.32-24 update, which was current at the time this guide was published in German. Mythbuntu can be download here. It is free and relatively easy to install. The installation in the system is usually not the problem, but rather the adaptation of the PC. This Linux IR guide helps to explain all the necessary steps. As always, there are many ways to set up or install programs or drivers, but at the Linux Infrared programs you should follow only one way and go through them systematically. Otherwise it could happen quickly, that another program stands in the way and nothing works. Therefore it is best to start from scratch with a fresh Linux install, or at least restore all LIRC packages in the Synaptic Package Manager as they were with the basic installation (see installation history).