Tech insights

If you are setting up a Linux based media center PC, sooner or later you would stumble upon a remote which is not completely supported out-of-the-box. More so, if you have an RF remote like me. I spent couple of days scanning through multiple posts to figure it out. This post outlines the steps to get your remote working as you'd like. Most remotes are Infra-red (IR) devices. However, radio-frequency (RF) remotes allow you flexibility and better control as line of sight is not mandatory. I have an RF remote that came with ATI TV Wonder HD 250. ATI Theater remote (source: http://tv.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/amd/ati_theater.html?p=11) Good news is that most of the buttons work out-of-the-box, i.e. the Linux kernel recognizes the device. However, it was annoying that some single key functions like TV or radio were not working. There are total nine buttons that don't work. The first step is to figure out the scancodes of these keys. Run evtest  as root and press the ...

Today, Television (TV) is the most predominant mode of entertainment which is found in almost all homes. While non-linear form of entertainment like Youtube is increasing in adoption, TV holds it's spot for live entertainment and news. More so, with Satellite Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-S), it's possible to enjoy the same programs sitting anywhere in the world. But why on Computer? There are many good reasons for watching TV on Computer which I'm listing below. If you have different reasons, let me know via comments. I'm creating a unified interface  for controlling all electrical devices at home. When I show above demo video, the first question people ask me is "Can I change the TV channels?" IoT is incomplete without the ability to control your TV remotely and automatically record your favourite programs. Did you know you could watch or record multiple channels (almost 20) on a tuned frequency using a single tuner and multiple displays inclu...