Lazy Part 3

Part 3: Talking to the Computer

For my next trick, I’ll need an assistant: the USB-UIRT. This is that gadget that’s going to receive infrared signals from the remote. I’ll also need the Girder software to learn the codes my remote is sending and actually do something with them. For now, I’m just going to be satisfied with proving that my PC is hearing what the remote is saying. Making the software do anything about it is a matter for another day.

I’ll only be needing a handful of buttons here. They’re all standard play controls and appear on just about any remote.

• Power (to open or bring focus to the application)
• Play/Pause
• Stop
• Previous Track
• Next Track
• Shuffle
• Repeat

Hardware Installation

Dude. That couldn’t have gone much easier. Plug in the UIRT and the Plug and Play dialog finds it. You download the drivers from the USBUIRT site and tell the PnP wizard where to find them. Done.

Software Installation

This was also a cakewalk. Come to think of it, it was much easier than a cakewalk. I’ve participated in several of those and never walked away with a thing. Here there is no cake, but at least I have something to show for my effort.

Telling Girder About It

Go to File -> Settings, select “Plug-in settings,” and check the box next to “USB-UIRT.” Restart Girder and you’re off & running.

Setting Up Your Remote

Go to Tools -> Add Remote Wizard. Click Next, name the remote, then start programming. It asks you to press any button to make sure it detects a remote at all, then it asks you to press each button that you want to use on the remote. After you finish this, Girder will be able to get signals from your remote.

All of this only took me an hour, and most of that was poking around trying to figure out what else Girder could be used for. I went ahead and picked buttons to use for song rating too. If everything goes smooth, I’ll not only be able to skip sucky tracks, but ban them for good measure. Next, I’m going to make Girder listen for the signals from my remote.

Budget update: $143.44, 8 hours.

Lazy Part 2

Part 2: Programming the Remote

I got the remote control in the mail today. It’s a beautiful, silver OneForAll 8910.

Just to get things warmed up, I found the code for my TV and entered it. I got that up and running right away. Early win. Nice.

Uncharted Territory

I tried out the IR.exe and Remote Master software. It turns out there’s one more handy piece of software, IrToWav. I’ll explain that in a minute.

In brief, Remote Master creates the key mapping for the remote (which button should send what signal), IR.exe converts that map to a binary file the remote can understand, and IrToWav generates a .wav file that can load the upgrade to the remote.

How slick is that? The remote has a modem in it for one-way uploads of information. If you call OneForAll technical support, they can have you hold your remote up to the phone and load new devices and protocols. If you use IrToWav, you can do the same thing, but with a custom program you created. You don’t even need the JP-1 cable to write to this remote.

There’s a great tutorial on all of this on the hifi-remote site, and another good one here. The hifi-remote forums are also a gold mine of great information. If you just take two hours to read the sticky posts in the beginner forums and search for your particular remote, you’ll be a beginner no longer.

To control the music player on my PC, I just selected a common universal code for a CD player (for some reason, code 0157 is used for 16 different CD players in my remote’s catalog, but not for mine). I figure choosing a common code means there’s a low probability that its carrier signal will be out of range for my IR receiver or some other nonsense. I plan to use these play controls to manipulate the Music Engine on my screen. I must say that this step of the process went smoother than I could have imagined. The remote is already controlling my whole home entertainment system (except PC), and I had a super-easy graphical interface to remap all of the buttons.

I didn’t need the $14 JP-1 Cable to do this, but since I already ordered it, I’m adding it to the budget. I’ll use it later when I’m in a nerdy mood.

Budget update: $39.84, 7 hours

A Different Kind of Lazy

All is not as it should be with the world. When I’m on my sofa listening to Launchcast, I’m subjected to Nickelback songs. That’s no way to live, and I’m willing to go to the very gates of hell and back to avoid walking 15 feet to hit the “Skip” button every time it happens.

The problem

Back when you had a TV that looked like this:

if you didn’t like what was on, you just had to wait it out or get up. Wiser minds than mine realized early that this situation was untennable.

In June of 1956, the first consumer wireless remote control entered the home. It may be just coincidence that this came two months after As the World Turns was introduced on CBS.

Fastforward 50 years.

Now, an increasing amount of my entertainment content comes from my PC, not an audio component sitting with my television. When I’m listening to Yahoo Music Engine and their Launchcast station tries to pawn some Nickelback off on me, I have to get up and skip the track by hand.

This shall not stand.

My Goal

I’m going to use the same infrared remote control I use for my home entertainment system to interact with the Yahoo Music Engine on my PC. It won’t be easy, and the fact is, I’ll spend more time putting this system together than I would have spent walking over to the computer to skip Nickelback songs over the next year.

If you don’t get why I would do this, stop reading here because it’s not going to get any better.

Along the way I’ll keep track of how much time and money I’m spending to get this done. At the end, I’ll have a parts list and step-by-step plans to make this dream a reality in your own home.

The parts list so far

• USB-UIRT with shipping, $53.61 from Promixis
  This is the hardware that is going to receive infrared signals from the remote and set events in motion.
• Girder 4, $49.99 from Promixis
  This is the Windows automation software that’s going to listen for the remote and take all the right actions. I have never worked with it before, so I don’t know what techniques will be available for interacting with the target application. There seems to be some support in there for locating windows by title and such (maybe I can just wire it up to automatically press the “Skip” button if “Nickelback” appears in the title bar), and if mouse spoofing doesn’t pan out, YME has a developer API that might be useful. We’ll see.
• One for All URC 8910 Universal Remote Control and 4 AAA batteries, $25.85 from Amazon (optional)
  This will command my whole array of audio/video equipment, as well as the PC. If you have any universal remote, it will work. I got this one because my old “universal” remote couldn’t control my DVD player, but this one’s got that sweet JP-1 port so I can program it with custom codes. Now there’s no such thing as an infrared device I can’t control.
• JP-1 Cable 13.99 from DIY Gadget (optional)
  This is used to program the remote control.
  I could get by without this if I used the built-in (and super cool) modem updater, but… it’s a gadget. Besides, if $14 is going to break the bank, maybe you should consider another hobby.
• IR.exe free download from Hi-Fi Remote (optional)
  This will be used to write data to the remote over the JP-1 cable. You can skip this if you’re not going to be buying the JP-1 cable or getting that picky about your key mapping.
• Remote Master free download from Hi-Fi Remote (optional)
  This works in conjunction with IR.exe and provides a graphical interface to remap keys on the remote. Naturally, you can skip this part if you’re going to skip the previous two items.
• IrToWav free download from Hi-Fi Remote (optional)
  This can program an equipped OneForAll remote (like mine) without the JP-1 cable. I’m still going with the JP-1 cable because I want to be able to read programs from the remote as well as write them.

Cost

I expect to spend a little less than $150 (including shipping).
I have spent 5 hours finding options and selecting all of these purchases. I expect I’ll spend about 20 hours by the time this is over. I will add items to the total expenses as they arrive.

Budget update: $0.00, 5 hours