Irreco for N900
 

Irreco is remote control application for controlling IR equipped devices.
N900 has IR transmitter. You know where this is going. :)

Irreco for n900 tutorial @Youtube.com
(Bad video quality, we know.)

Fremantle port is at extras-devel.
Just get irreco-for-n900 package and you are ready to shoot IR beams from your n900.
(Sadly, IR beam is invisible to human eye, so no Star Wars battles with N900's)

Controlling any device requires that some good soul has recorded it's remote controller in first place.
No much sense of bothering to install at all if your device isn't supported so check first.
http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/
Lirc command database (^that there) isn't that comprehensive (+2000 devices), so good luck with it. Some models made by the same manufacturer work with similar devices, so maybe give it a try. Additionally you can try recording your remote with IR equipped computer or with external IR receiver.
Installing LIRC for recording remote controls on a ThinkPad @Youtube.com

Known bugs and stuff to do:
- LircDB browsing is awful. Items are activated on click so finding correct model takes time. Works on emulator though, fixed twice, no clues about solution.
- Button style selection activates on tap, no easy solution. Use that tiny scrollbar. Would require biggish rewrite.
- New button dialog offers last used command for new buttons. Mainly annoying.
- Removing theme containing BG image sometimes results BG dialog chrashing. Couldn't reproduce issue on emulator.
- BIG issue. Lirc daemon running background affects batterylife dramatically. <- Fixed
- General lack of usability and frustrading complexity. Hard times for first time users.

Note for Old irreco users who may remember these.
Old-timer backends are somewhat abandoned.
(browser, commandline, irtrans, mythtv and telnet)
Those may not be that hard to port though. UI reorganizations mostly I'd think.

There are no more developers left for this (GTK/C) project. Last three: Mäki, Parttimaa and Vattulainen are moving on.
Some of us are still here somewhere, but coding is somewhat done now. Lirc daemon issue is still on table, but no promises about that either. Some init.d signaling stuff under investigation.
Some talks still on way, about code sharing and giving project away.

P.S No fooling around with public tellies.
P.P.S Original n8x0 irreco talk here

Harriva

EDIT @Friday, September 11, 2009
Telnet and Commandline backends are added to Fremantle repository.

EDIT2 @Monday, September 14, 2009
Up to date sources here.
http://repo.or.cz/w/irreco.git

EDIT3 @Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Lirc daemon running all the time fixed some time ago but let's announce it here too. Latest Lirc daemon is running only when Irreco (or QTirreco) is started. This should help extend battery life.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

So the little black window next to the camera button is actually IR transmitter! I knew it! :D
What is the range?

Re: Irreco for N900
 

It is indeed IR thingy.

Don't know about final product so I don't guess it's range.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

How far from the device you can use N900 to control ?

Re: Irreco for N900
 

We don't have n900.
We have n900 prototype.
I can't provide any accurate information regarding ir range of final product.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Can someone with a final product test it?

Re: Irreco for N900
 

This is a great product, and a must download for the N900.

I think this project sorely needs some design work and some UI work to make it more attractive and the UI better (as you know). Functionally, though, it's quite good!

Also, it would be good to have 'Generic' remotes with button layouts already set up. For example, if a person were to download from LIRC DB, the commands would be mapped to the generic remote. This would make it much easier for people to have something to customize based on.

Lastly, a one-handed portrait mode would be nice. As I understand it, it's in the top-right side of the device, so you'd have to hold the device in portrait-upside down (thumb along the bottom edge), but this would make it much more comfortable to control.

I think this project has TONS of potential, and can turn into something quite special with a bit more work. Way to go guys!

}:^)~

Re: Irreco for N900
 

It's been thinked. No time, no doers.
Nope.
The blinky is right-top side. Same side where +/-, power and camerabuttons are.
Hope I understood this right.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Yes, I understand.

I guess it depends how bright the IR is, as when holding it portrait, you might still be able to have the signal reach the receiver even if it's coming out of the side of the device.

Well, perhaps there'll be a fork of this interesting project or another project that fixes some of these usability issues. :o

{:^!~

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Don't think that would work. But you'll test it out when devices start shipping.


Hope so.
I'll talk about taking extra delevopers to QT guys who are making QT version of irreco.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I blogged about Irreco here. Thanks.

Do you know how strong the IR of the N900 is? I remember back during my Sony Clie days, the IR of specific models were so weak that it will only work at about 4 feet -- which made remote control apps unusable.

Also, any chance you can add bluetooth remote support for the PS3? :D

Re: Irreco for N900
 

No I don't.

Like said. No more features from current developers.
But if there is any commandline app on linux talking bluetooth and someone just ports that to fremantle, then irreco can use that commandline app. Irreco has backend that can send commands to commandline.

Maybe someone else knows a bit more about bluetoothing.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Just point a digital camera at the IR port while sending and the light will be visible in the cameras viewfinder (great way to see if an old remote still works...).

BTW: Thanks for the great work you all did on Irreco - hopefully someone will be able to pick up after you leave.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Maybe bluemaemo can be ported to the N900?
(I saw it in that video, so its in the n900 repos...)

And WHY is there a IR port on the N900 aside from using it as a remote control. Bluetooth and WiFi >>>> IR

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I don't know :confused: I still haven't figured out why there's a cell phone. :p

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Off-topic. (And it's because it's what the market wants, even if it's not what you want. You can already see the increased buzz and excitement around the N900 because people can understand what it is)

Re: Irreco for N900
 

First, I, for one, welcome our new n900 overlords.

Second, is the IR on the n900 consumer IR? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_IR ), what is the range? and is there also an IR receiver? Any remote app would need a learning function (assuming an IR receiver) so we can program our own remotes.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

You should be able to hook up a usb IR reciever. You can find them online. Swap the n900 into host mode and learn learn learn. as long as someone writes the code. But you should be able to find it from Lirc as it is a linux based open soruce program (I think).

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Highly doubt it is proper "consumer IR", 99% sure it is IrDA. This means that it is send and receive, so it can probably "learn" as well. Just remember that IrDA was not supposed to behave this way (like consumer IR that is), so its really a hack. I had a program like this for my Palm T3, and used the IR to control a mindstorms robot. Cool shlt.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I'm amazed they added IR to this device. I used IR on PDAs 10 years ago, but it hardly seems necessary these days.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Please note the :p at the end of my post. :)

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I think it is REALLY cool!

I hope you can use the Palm emulator on the N900 with this IRDA port.
That way a lot more Palm applications should be able to run on the N900.

I have two legacy Palm IRDA apps that I would LOVE to be able to run on a N900. (1 to interface with a Casio camera Watch, and a second one to interface with a Seiko Ink-link Pen)
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/mice-trackba...riting-system/
http://www.paramountzone.com/wqv10.html
http://www.access-company.com/products/gvm/

I'm not saying it is particularly usefull, but it is very cool in my opinion if this would work!

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Any chance of getting TV-B-Gone functionality into this application? Just for fun and nerd factor increase.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I'd say it's next to impossible to record ir transmission from that thing. It just sends many many different shutdown commands. (Impossibe to record with lirc, except to raw code whitch is not supported sending type.)

What I'd do, is to scan through existing known commands and parse power button commands from there. Pack them up and send all of them.

And if someone is interested about day worth of hard work, I'd recommend looking lirc backend code for a sec and writing desktop widget with one button. Progress indicator would also be nice.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

source code of tvbgone, includes the shutdown codes
http://ladyada.net/media/tvbgone/firmwarev12.zip

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Files in IRcaptured.zip make no sense to me.
I think codes from WORLDcodes.c could be transformed into raw_code formatting which should be supported by lirc.

Currently raw codes are not supported but I don't know why. I'll ask my coworkers about this tomorrow.

harriva

EDIT
Monday, September 14, 2009
irreco-backend-internal-lirc doesn't support raw_code configs.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

some clarifications for a noob please:
the IR sender (it can only send the signal right? not receive) of the N900 has the only purpose to control TVs? (can't come on other widespread/common IR receiver objects)
and in a difficult way? (create the right layout (if possible), UI needs work, IR port on a side, no portrait..)

beginning to understand why I lived all these years not caring for a IR port on any device... :p

(though, worth adding that Irreco is a nice app; everybody who worked on that has all my respect for adding functionalities to this and other devices! ;) )

Re: Irreco for N900
 

TV-b-gone would work as well as any other IR remote would work (I think I did the first proof of concept on a Palm 3 - they said it couldn't be done since it was IrDA, but if you can set the right baud rate, and send a string of "U" (0x55), you get a carrier.

IrDA send tends to be weak as far as brightness goes.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

how can i donate to the irreco team?

Re: Irreco for N900
 

For those of you wondering about the strength of the ir, it seems that this could be from a reliable source, or what do you say?:

source the youtube tutorial video (check comments by the uploader IreccoTeam):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HblSL0hG6Wg

Re: Irreco for N900
 

You could pay for job (not) well done, but that won't help make irreco better as our team is breaking up as all of us try to focus graduating.
You can contribute by finding new developers or becoming one.
I will also suggest QT team to become public as that project has brighter future.


As reluctant as I was to comment this subject as we use prototype, that source (IrrecoTeam) is reliable and some of us are more prone to talk.

See also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK24qk2uMXA



TV-b-gone IR codes don't open to me, but I may mail the developers some day and ask.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

One group has grabbed a very large number of codes:

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/codes/

(I think the tvbgone used such a source).

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I think easiest way would still be using codes in WORLDcodes.c.
All powerbuttons in one pack and duplicates already removed.
Let others do the hard work and so on.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

The N900 manual states it can't do IrDA, that probably means its only a IR transmitter and not a receiver.

(Weirdly enough my PC has only a receiver ;))

Re: Irreco for N900
 

I could test the range on the N900, however the IRRECO team has for some reason not made the .install file correctly. The install file should create the needed repos, and then install the application, unfortunately they haven't done that, or uploaded the app to the Fremantle repos. I have only a few days before this unit goes back to Nokia, so the qucker the better.

Re: Irreco for N900
 

All pages and sites and .install files are for n8x0 users.
Irreco that works with n900 (irreco-for-n900) is in fremantle extras-devel repository where it will stay until someone fixes all the little things.


harriva

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Hi
whats up with the qtirreco programm at the programm manager?
is it for N900?
atfer installing it is working fine but i cant control tv or other ir stuff.....
do i need somethin extra to use the ir sensor??
THX

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Any news on this lately?

Re: Irreco for N900
 

Bump up... Is anyone having this work properly from the repository? :)

Re: Irreco for N900
 

The ir sensor does work by enabling internal lirc

This needs to be done as root.

The problem comes when trying to download already working remotes as they use the irtrans backend which is not supported yet. You can build your own remote specifying the internal lirc as source but it is a little hit and miss with the model types. I have successfully changed channels and turned off mky Sony Bravia 32500s model. I am just trying to fine tune it into working with all the buttons as I cannot find a way to incorporate buttons from different models which work.