After the installation completes with the kick-start cd, you will have an on-screen menu. This is our "Orbiter" software, which is the remote control for Pluto. The same software runs on the media director (what you see when the installation finishes), as well as on webpads, pda's, and mobile phones. They're all the same, and show the same menu. The only difference is, of course, that if on the on-screen Orbiter you choose to watch a movie, for example, the movie occupies the full-screen, and you have to click on the screen to popup a little nav bar. If you hit the same 'play movie' button on, say a web pad you're using as the remote, then you'll have a full-screen remote control with lots of buttons on the webpad, while the movie plays on the Orbiter. This way it's really simple--all your devices work the same.
The first time the on-screen orbiter comes up you will have a special 'welcome' screen, which includes a setup mythtv button. After the first reboot you won't see the welcome screen anymore--you'll have the normal main menu. From the main menu you can still get to that same setup button by clicking the 'pluto' logo in the lower left corner.
When you run MythTV setup, we will have already filled in a lot of the options for you. But you still need to choose your capture cards and data sources.
*Note* after you have setup myth, you will want to do a full reboot of the whole system. If you have core's and diskless m/d's, that means rebooting the core too (which is the myth master backend). We've found Myth sometimes crashes when you try to unload and restart it, so we recommend a full reboot.
You'll see on the orbiter that there are some common media scenarios created for you already, like TV, music, movies, etc. Music, movies, etc., shows you a file browser of the /home/public/data/music, movies, etc., directories. TV starts Myth. From here on, it looks and feels exactly like Myth--our Orbiter goes to the background and Myth is in front. If you click on the screen, our orbiter pops up on the bottom a quick nav bar. Hit 'stop' (power off) to kill Myth and go back. Or, optionally exit Myth the normal way, such as with escape, and the orbiter will automatically come back to the foreground.
We have an LIRC module, but it's not fully functional yet. It should be going in a few days and make it in the .14 release. So, for now you can control the system with the mouse/keyboard, a bluetooth mobile phone, or a webpad/pda. When the LIRC module is going, the infrared remote will control Orbiter as well as Myth.
The gc100 is actually for infrared transmission--not reception. It's available with an i/r receiver, but that's only for learning codes--not for using it as a remote control. In the Pluto admin web site you can add the devices for your stereo, your tv, your cable/sat box, etc., and specify how they're connected. Then Pluto will control them for you automatically, using the gc100. So, for example, when you hit the 'tv' button on your remote, it will turn on the tv and receiver, set them both to the correct inputs, and tune your cable/sat box for you. This much we've done already and it works quite well.
