This isn't really a question, I just wanted to express my gratitude for such a great product. It is so rare to find something that seems so simple and yet actually works, I have been astounded.
I am running XBMC on an Ubuntu install and wanted to control it with a remote from the start. At first I did a lot of research on the XBMC boards, and most of the posts explain how to set-up an MCE remote to work with XBMC. So I bought a cheap MCE remote and dongle, complied LIRC because of course my cheap remote wasn't supported out of the box, and got it working relatively well with XBMC. Only one problem. There was some kind of IR interference from my remote with the TV and everytime I would hit the arrow button on the remote it would power cycle my TV.
So I hit the internet again looking for people with similar problems, but didn't really find anything. I even called the TV manufacturer's tech support and got the old "Not our problem" response. So I thought maybe it was just a cheap remote causing problems and thought I would buy a better remote. So I got an HP IR receiver with a HP MCE branded remote. Set it up and had the same power cycle problems.
So at this point I bought a Logitech Harmony 520 remote, hoping I could set it up as a different remote and avoid my interference problem. The only thing was I had an MCE IR receiver, and setting up the remote as anything other than an MCE remote wouldn't pass key presses to LIRC. So by now I am frustrated, my wife is pissed that the TV keeps powercycling unless you use a keyboard and my dream of 21st century multi-media cinema center is fading fast. So I did what any self respecting nerd would do and solved the problem by putting electrical tape over the IR sensors of my 46" LED TV and turning it on and off manually.
I kept scouring the XBMC forums looking for a solution and came across a post by eskro recommending the FLIRC. I checked out the website and thought there is no way something this simple could work. But I was desperate for a solution, and it was relatively cheap compared to my previous three attempts, so I thought what the hell.
As it turns out this has been the best investment I've made since getting into XBMC! I have the Harmony set up as a Plex remote and I used the full keyboard setup mode. I now have more functionality than ever before on the remote, and my TV hasn't powercycled once since I plugged the FLIRC in.
I just wanted to thank Jason and the FLIRC team for making such a wonderful device. You have saved my sanity! I will definitely recommend your product to anyone I can. And thanks to eskro for recommending this product. You guys rock!
