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HP IR Receiver Options
#1
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I have heard great things about the HP IR receivers in conjunction with XBMC. Their MCE receivers seem to be quality products with great compatibility. The XBMC Live build should recognize the receiver once you plug it in to your HTPC. Cool

Now, the confusing part for many people is probably the multiple HP IR Receivers available. There are at least a handful of different HP IR receivers (with unique product/model numbers).

According to the resident hardware guru, the legendary poofyhairguy, the OVU400103/00 (p/n 5188-1667) is the best option available. This can be had for around $15-$20 from eBay (more eBay options) Big Grin

The other options available include:
Now, I am curious to hear if anyone is using these alternative options/has had experience with them. How do they stack up compared to the recommended OVU400103?! Any other recommendations?


Thanks for your input! I hope this thread will be useful for others looking for an IR receiver. Wink
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#2
I bought the OVU400103/00 listed here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...OU:US:1123

I wasn't out of the box supported by the current version of lirc, but I found a thread on here about how to add it to the lirc library of devices. It involved typing "lsusb" into the command line, writing down some numbers, an apt-get of the lirc sources, adding a line to a file, then recompiling and installing. I had some missing dependencies for building, so I had to install those also.

All in all, once I found the right thread it took about 30 minutes to get it up and working. It works beautifully. You could easily be hand-held through the process if you're even a total n00b, but it isn't totally plug and play.

Edit: So, the basic gist of it is that if you're not scared of typing a couple of commands into a terminal and editing a file, then pretty much any hp IR receiver could be made to work pretty quickly.

No idea if the newer versions of lirc support these out of the box. I have 0.8.6 installed, I upgraded to 0.8.7 and it didn't appear to have support, but 0.9.0 is coming out soon and is supposedly a big overhaul, so maybe it has native support? I was going to install 0.9.0, but found the thread gave it a try and it was very easy, so I left it at that.

Edit2: Threads are here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Instal...%20remotes
and here http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ight=lsusb
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#3
Oh wow! From my impression, XMBC Live Dharma supported that HP Receiver right out of the box. I thought it was plug-n-play and go Big Grin

Anyhow, I am eying that receiver specifically due to compatibility with Harmony Remotes.

Does not seem too hard to add to LIRC, I just find it shocking since I thought XMBC Live supported it as plug-n-go!
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#4
bmcclure937 Wrote:Anyhow, I am eying that receiver specifically due to compatibility with Harmony Remotes.

Can someone explain to me why certain IR receivers would work better than others with a Harmony (or any other) remote?
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#5
kaiser423 Wrote:I bought the OVU400103/00 listed here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...OU:US:1123

I wasn't out of the box supported by the current version of lirc, but I found a thread on here about how to add it to the lirc library of devices. It involved typing "lsusb" into the command line, writing down some numbers, an apt-get of the lirc sources, adding a line to a file, then recompiling and installing. I had some missing dependencies for building, so I had to install those also.

I think in the future I am gonna have to specifically say to avoid that vendor. This is the second time I have heard that they sold an IR receiver that wasn't what was expected and it took work to configure. Its like its a knock-off of the real thing or something.

I bought another receiver from this vendor:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...500wt_1156

And it was plug and play working with XBMC Dharma. Even got it working on regular Ubuntu with a few easy steps:

http://www.hackourlife.com/instal-xbmc-o...ucid-lynx/

No compiling needed. From now on I will say to avoid that one seller.

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#6
bswiz Wrote:Can someone explain to me why certain IR receivers would work better than others with a Harmony (or any other) remote?

Two things:

1. The HP receiver (if you get a real one jeez) supports the newest standards.

2. Its a higher quality receiver, which to me has less lag than other receivers I have messed with. The Harmony, for all its good things, is very picky.

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#7
Thanks for the clarification poofy!! Appreciate it Big GrinLaugh
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#8
This seller looks reputable too! For things like this, I would avoid prices that seem unbelievable (probably knock-off) or any items shipping straight from Hong Kong! (also probably knock-off).
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#9
I bought a Hong Kong one the first time a year ago, and it took like a month to deliver so the last few have all been from Americans. Looks like because of my impatience I dodged a bullet.

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#10
If you don't want to use a Harmony Remote. My HP receiver works for *all* the remotes in my house. My Yamaha Stereo, my Samsung TV. (I use "DVD" on the Stereo and "STB" on the Samsung). So you really don't need more remotes.

They should also work with nearly any universal remote out of the box.
(I found an MX-800 at GoodWill for $2.99, just need to figure out how to program it).
Code:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `xbmc_%`.* TO 'xbmc'@'%';
IF you have a mysql problem, find one of the 4 dozen threads already open.
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#11
haha!! Rofl well, to be honest, it only saves about $5 in the grand scheme of things... and that is a little bit of savings in exchange for a long wait (shipping time) and pain in the butt configuration.

I will spend the tad extra. Thanks for your advice. Now I am just waiting for a deal on the Harmony One. Looks like a solid remote and the WAF is great Big Grin

Do you have any tips on configuring the Harmony once I purchase? Can I program the MCE remote functions using the Harmony software on a Mac?! I have heard conflicting reports about this and it got me worried.
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#12
Once you get it add a Windows Media Center device. Then in the activity you need to customize the buttons to work with XBMC. It will make sense once you get into the software.

For the record, I ONLY configure my Harmony in OSX.

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#13
poofyhairguy Wrote:For the record, I ONLY configure my Harmony in OSX.

Awesome! Another Mac user... NerdBig Grin I have used them my whole life, so don't think I started to "follow the trend". But I also like tinkering with Unix and Linux distros, along with the regular Windows stuff.

I like having a well-rounded experience with computers! Cool


One last question regarding the config. I read in another thread that you should make the activity as a MCE remote and MCE keyboard. This allows you to program the info buttons and whatnot to work properly. (so you map the info button to an "I" keypress).
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#14
bmcclure937 Wrote:Awesome! Another Mac user... :

Kinda. I love hackintoshing. It is a fun feeling forcing OSX onto hardware it doesn't want to be on. Its like making a German Princess scrub a toilet.

Quote:One last question regarding the config. I read in another thread that you should make the activity as a MCE remote and MCE keyboard. This allows you to program the info buttons and whatnot to work properly. (so you map the info button to an "I" keypress).

I do it as a MCE remote, and I never run out of buttons.

The problem is that people don't go back and manually configure the buttons and then they complain it doesn't work well.

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#15
poofyhairguy Wrote:Kinda. I love hackintoshing. It is a fun feeling forcing OSX onto hardware it doesn't want to be on. Its like making a German Princess scrub a toilet.
Shocked I have done a tad bit of that as well. Was a moderator on MyDellMini in the OSX sections. That is hardly 'hackintoshing' because the tools available and the hardware compatibility made it so easy.

So I barely got my hands dirty doing it!


poofyhairguy Wrote:I do it as a MCE remote, and I never run out of buttons.

The problem is that people don't go back and manually configure the buttons and then they complain it doesn't work well.

What do you mean "go back and manually configure". Do you mean go into the software utility and program them? I guess this will all make more sense once I buy the remote... and I can ask more questions when that time comes. I was just curious to hear.

Also, how is the response? I have read a couple negative reviews saying that the Harmony One had bad response times and other various issues. I took them with a grain of salt because I have heard hundreds of positive comments on them. And I love Logitech as a brand in general.
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