Turn on/off using a remote control

[zug]

Hi,
Is there a way to turn Linuxmce on and off (mainly on) using a remote control? I have been looking and can't find a way to do this at the moment.
I may make something to do this if not as it's a bit annoying getting off my bum to turn it on
Thanks

[freymann]

I think you need to purchase a USB-UIRT and then learn some commands to control your devices.

For instance, in my living-room, I have the LMCE MD, a LCD TV and a stereo. With the USB-UIRT connected to the MD, I was able to "teach it" some commands, like power on/off, volume up/down, mute, etc.

So now, to answer your questions, we just click the big green media button on the gyro remote and presto! LMCE turns on the TV and the Stereo for us.

To power down, I go to Advanced > Power > MD Display Off and LMCE turns off the TV and Stereo.

I love this part of the system. It will even turn off the Tv and Stereo when I walk away from it (as long as no media is playing).

On our Windows MCE Remote, we can press the little TV button and it will turn on the TV but not the Stereo (or maybe the other way around) but on that remote if we press the green Media button in the middle, everything comes on as it should.

Also with everything programmed in, when the Tv and Stereo are off, we can open up the dvd drive tray, insert a DVD, close the dvd drive tray and go sit on the couch and LMCE will turn on the TV and Stereo for us.

The wiki has info on the USB-UIRT and other options that do the same.

This might get you started:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/USB_UIRT

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Add_support_for_new_remote_controls

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Control_LinuxMCE_using_an_Infrared_remote

[tschak909]

Also look at the Orbiter software as a remote control. (Look in the Web Admin when you log in, there is a link for the orbiter software there.) It is by far the most capable of all of the possible remotes, and it comes for free with every LinuxMCE install. You can install it onto any Windows PC, and use it as a remote. It is primarily intended to be installed onto tablet PCs. I have also recently created an Orbiter distribution that runs on WebDT 366 tablet PCs to use as an orbiter.

-Thom

[superfro]

I think he means using a remote to turn on and off the pc (media director).

[zug]

Yea I did mean actually turn the MDs on and off. However thanks for the info, I never did get the orbitor working, I am going to try that again.

[niz23]

zug.

Yea I did mean actually turn the MDs on and off. However thanks for the info, I never did get the orbitor working, I am going to try that again.

If you want to power off an MD from a remote control, that work out of the box with an MCE remote for example.
Turning on a "powered off" device is harder. You need an ir reciever that hook into your motherboards power on/off button for that to work.

Omaura have a kit for their htpc cases that make this possible.

Im sure there are other manufacturers that can do the same.

/niz23

[daballiemo]

I noticed that using a obiter on my PDA, changing into the right room and using More->Power->Power On would switch my MD on. Not being the expert on this I think this has been made possible through setting the Lan WakeUp feature in my bios. A bit of a shame that I extended the on/off button over a distance of 3 meters through a wall to make on/off possible.....

[niz23]

dabilliemo.

I noticed that using a obiter on my PDA, changing into the right room and using More->Power->Power On would switch my MD on. Not being the expert on this I think this has been made possible through setting the Lan WakeUp feature in my bios. A bit of a shame that I extended the on/off button over a distance of 3 meters through a wall to make on/off possible.....

That´s true. If your MDs support WoL it will be used by the system.
For example if you restart your core, all MDs will shutdown and started up again when your core is up and running.


/niz23

[seth]

 
I was always under the impression that you just leave the MD's on. If they are configured correctly with a good USB-UIRT, it powers down all your AV gear. After about 15 minutes of screensaver action, It shuts my TV off, and my AV receiver. All automagically.

But the idea of turning off an MD, that is not used all the time, is appealing, but for that I just send the Halt command from the webadmin, and then to power it on I use the same facility.

But don't get me wrong, full remote capability is a cool idea. Currently when I push the power button on my MCE remote, I am presented with a power menu, and halt MD is one of the choices. The trick would be to get it to turn on the same way.

Regards,

Seth