IR to UHF upgrade kit ?

[jokeworm]

I have setup an old PC in my spare bedroom to act as a PVR and record shows to my hard drive.

I have a 311 receiver sat there doing nothing and a spare PC with a WinTV-PVR 150 card installed - so I figured - why not.

I have managed to get the signal from the receiver to the PC via s-video and audio connections and everything seems to play and record just as i would like it to.

I have downloaded a trial version of Beyond tv4 which is how i have gotten as far as I have to date.

My sticking point right now however - is that i need a way to control the receiver from another room (30ft and two walls away) so that i can flip through channels , setup timers etc etc.

I presume that this device will do that ..

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ES123804

But want to make sure before i put down the $$'s and go ahead and order it.

Is this the easiest way to do it ?
Is there a cheaper alternative ?
Will it work at that distance/with those walls in the way?

The capture card came with a Windows Media center remote and IR device .. but i cannot seem to get it to communicate with the 311 .. and certainly have not yet found a way to do this via a remote login to the PC i am using to capture.

Am running Windows XP on the PC - have plenty of RAM and plenty of processor speed. Am not keen to try and figure out MythTv and Linux ...

So .. what would you guys suggest is my next step ?

Order the Upgrade kit above ? (has anyone seen it cheaper?)
Try something else entirely that I have not yet thought of?
Use something other than BeyondTv ?

Thanks in advance for the replies

 

[SmityWhity]

It looks like your link is for a "IR to UHF Remote Kit", which I don't know if they still sell or not. I don't know the prices and if it will work or not.

Dish now sells a "IR to UHF PRO Remote Kit" which will work on the 311. The prices I've seen range from $49 to $59. Here is a link with one for $57 at Sadoun. http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Remotes/Dish-Network.htm

Can any Dish IR remote, control your capture card? I don't know.

You need an easier way.... I guess the spouse going and change channels is out of the question.

Per the 311 User Guide:
...On Page 35, under "Using Timers" it tells you how to set timers to turn on the Sat Receiver, Change Channels, then send a very strong IR signal to a VCR to turn on and start recording.
...On Page 41, under "Setting Up the Receiver and VCR to Use a VCR Event Timer" it tells you how to get the 311 to communicate with the VCR using IR.

I recommend:
...(a) You get your PVR-150 to work with the remote that came with it.
...(b) Then try to get the 311 receiver to control the PVR-150, they must be in the same room and the 311 IR transmitter (front upper right), and the
PVR-150 IR receiver, must not be blocked by smoked glass, wood doors, etc...
...(c) If you get the above 2 to work, then purchase a UHF PRO remote kit and you should be ready to go.
...(d) If you can not get (b) to work, then you may try to find a generic IR extender that will allow you to remotely control the PVR-150 via UHF. If its using unique codes, that may be impossible. Here's a link to some: http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Remotes/Remote-Extenders.htm You may not find a single UHF to independently control the 311 and PVR-150.

Good luck.
PS - If you find something to work, please post, I know there are others using the PVR-150.
In fact, if you need technical help on the PVR-150, you may want to try a new thread with PVR-150 in the TITLE.

 

[jokeworm]

Thanks for the reply ..

will have a read through when i am more awake and ready to spend another couple of hours playing around in the spare room

I guess what i need is for a way for the PVR to be able to change channel on the 311 when a recording is scheduled. The remote that came with the PVR-150 was for a media center computer .. the computer i put in the spare room did not have media center on it - so I assume i am looking for a remote or IR blaster that can control the 311 via the PC ...

This is the bit that confuses the heck out of me.

Maybe i should just plonk down the $200 and get a 622

 

[SmityWhity]

You want to do the oposite of what I describe. I had never seen a PCI card with a IR Blaster/transmitter, only with a IR Receiver. So I did a search from MSN Search using "PC IR Blaster", and here is one of the results.
http://store.snapstream.com/usb-uirt.html
And looks like a reasonable price.

But I suspect you will then need a UHF remote to control the PC from the next room, since the PC could control the 311 (if compatible).

Have fun.

BTW - the 622 is nice. But your PC should be able to burn the recordings easier.

EDIT: NOTE: One draw back with having the PC control the 311, instead of the 311 controlling the PC.... You still need to find a way to view what's happening when not in the room. If you can have the PC/Monitor modulate an unused channel on your home distribution system that would work. Otherwise it would be easier to view the 311 on the home distribution system and just let it tell the PC to start recording.