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Some doubts


Evergreen

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Hi all,

I heard about Flirc in XBMC and Ubuntu forums and I love the idea behind this device. Congrats Jason!!

Here the thing: I am very interested in Flirc but after reading all the product guides and searching in this forum I still have some doubts.

First of all, let me tell you something about my HTPC: it has already an IRR sensor built in (this one: http://www.shop.perfecthometheater.com/Wesena-IR-receiver-IR-receiver.htm, but I am not really happy with it because it will NOT work with keyboards or devices that have an extended set of keys.

I run Kodi under Ubuntu in this HTPC and my remote is a Harmony Ultimate (this one: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-ultimate-one) so emulating a keyboard is critical for me.

So here are the questions:

1) If I connect the Flirc USB to my HTPC, will my current built in sensor cause any kind of inteferences with the Flirc sensor? If so, do you know if there any to way to disable the internal IRR sensor via software so I do not have to open the case and remove it?

2) I think I understood the basis about Flirc and Harmony remotes customization and I really feel that you made a GREAT job, but just in case: it is possible to modify this Flirc/Harmony profile son I can change keys and functions?

3) Regarding the ability to turn on/off the HTPC, do this option depends on the Operative System (I am running Ubuntu 14.04 in my HTPC) or in the mainboard (I have this one: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170M-ITXac/)?

I think that's all...

Thanks all for your interest in reading this (I apologize for my poor English).

Cheers  

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Hi,

First thing you need to know is that Flirc is emulating an USB keyboard and is seen as one by the OS. This doesn't mean that it can be used as a receiver for IR keyboards (even if one is emulated itself by a Harmony remote). You can use Flirc software to record and pair IR code from the remote to a keyboard key or key combination (like in modifiers - shift, ctrl etc + key; not like in sequence of key presses).

1. It depends on a few things. First it depends on what profile you are going to use on the remote. If you use the same profile that you are now using for IRR receiver and you record a button that is actually doing something already then you'll have some interference because both receivers will react to the button press and both will do something in the OS. If you use different Harmony profile for Flirc (like predefined Flirc/Kodi profile for example) then the IRR won't be reacting to the remote.

2. Flirc does have the built-in profiles but they can be overridden (by recording a key that is already in the built-in profile and pairing it to different key) or even disabled. Using a built-in profile also doesn't stop you from pairing additional keys. So if you add some extra functions to the Harmony side (I don't have one but I think it's possible) you can use Flirc software to pair them to any key/combo you want. For example you can disable built-in profiles in Flirc and still use Flirc/Kodi profile on the remote and re-record all the buttons and assign keys by yourself.

3. This depends on the model of Flirc you want to buy. There are two form factors: an USB stick and a board to be built into the PC case. The USB one can wake up the PC from sleep and hibernation (save to RAM and save to disk) modes. You can check if your setup allows that by just plugging in an USB keyboard and pressing a key when PC is in sleep mode. This model DOES NOT allow to turn on the PC from full shutdown. The second model which is called Flirc SE (Streacom Edition) is a small PC board that can be built into the PC case. It is connected to an internal USB port header on the motherboard. You also need to unplug the power button cable from the motherboard and connect it via the Flirc SE board (it has input pins for the button and output pins to connect to the power button pins on the motherboard). This model can turn the PC on from any mode because it operates the power button switch. You need to be sure that your USB ports are powered on even when the PC is turned off or modify the cabling to take the 5 volts directly from the power source unit standby rail.

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