PVR power on by remote?

August 29, 2006 11:07 AM

Can a Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 remote (or any other remote) power on a PC natively?

I'm building a simple PVR, but I can't figure out if the "standard" remotes will actually power on the PC. This seems like a simple enough thing to do, but I can't find mention of the functionality anywhere. Is it just that common that nobody needs to mention it? Power on from standby or hibernate would be ok, too.

I've found the UIRT2 here, which has Wake-on-LAN support, but would building this be redundant if I already have the WinTV PVR 150? I have the non-MCE kit, but it comes with the remote, the IR receiver beanbag, and an IR blaster.

BTW, I don't actually have anything assembled yet, I'm trying to figure out what to budget for.

posted by toomanyplugs to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

PVRs are typically always on, otherwise how would they be able to record shows?

That said, I'm hoping you find an answer that I can use to turn on my Xbox Media Center from the couch (without resorting to a 6' power stick).
posted by revgeorge at 11:52 AM on August 29, 2006

I have the 150 non-mce and never saw anything about waking from the remote in any of the documentation or in my surfing*. I have planned to buy a UPS so my system doesn't accidentally shut down so that I don't need to turn it back on, which would seem to be the state you'd want your machine in most of the time.

Something that would turn my monitor on and off (really off; I can hear when it's on even in powersave) from across the room would definitely be nice, though.

*However, the remote never worked at all in the 15 minutes I fiddled with it before I installed BeyondTV with a Firefly Mini remote and ceased to care about the Hauppauge remote. So I wasn't looking terribly hard, but I would have noticed a mention in passing.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:07 PM on August 29, 2006

Hello, I am hopefully right to assume that you want to build a PVR based on a standard PC.
Building the UIRT2 or a similar device is needed, because your TV Card is not able to access the power off/on functions of your PC's BIOS. It is just a PCI card. I built a PVR for myself some time ago, based on the fabolous Linux software VDR, and tried to solely use my remote control to emulate the signal used by usb keyboards to turn the pc on. However, I failed to accomplish that. I personally would advise you to build the UIRT2, if you are able to do so. BTW if you understand German, you might also want to consider to visit the websites Infrarot-Empfänger mit Einschalter and StefansHomepage, both of which describe the process of building such devices in a perfectly understandable and comprehensive manner and are free. I had a friend build the one described on Infrarot-Empfänger mit Einschalter for me, because I lack the knowledge to do so. If this is also the case for you, you might just want to buy this (5.25-Inch Remote Multi-Function Panel (Black)) or get yourself a wireless usb keyboard. I hope I could help you.
Bye, pu9iad
posted by pu9iad at 12:25 PM on August 29, 2006

Response by poster: revgeorge:
yeah, i guess I didn't think of that, but the software I want to use (GBPVR) can power the pc on to record using scheduled wake-ups... I guess I just want to reduce the noise and power consumption when it isn't needed...

Also, the UIRT can interface a power switch instead of WOL, so maybe you can rig it to work on your xbox?

pu9iad:
That's what I figured was the case with the PCI card. I can build the UIRT2, with some effort, and I'll check out those links you mentioned (I can read German passably, and Google translations can help with the rest). Thanks!
posted by toomanyplugs at 1:03 PM on August 29, 2006

You could also an ethernet power controller.
posted by meehawl at 2:01 PM on August 29, 2006

That said, I'm hoping you find an answer that I can use to turn on my Xbox Media Center from the couch (without resorting to a 6' power stick).

XIR Easy Kit is a mod that accomplishes just this, but I think it needs to be supported by your mod chip (pretty sure xecuter3 can do this, not sure about any others).
posted by fishfucker at 2:01 PM on August 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

huh -- nevermind, looks like that particular model is chip independent, *and* the easy kit doesn't require soldering. heck, maybe I'll buy one of these too.
posted by fishfucker at 2:04 PM on August 29, 2006

I am using the remote to power off, but it requires a third party program.

Try searching for information regaring irremote.ini .
irremote.ini works in conjunction with the WintV IR program, and you can use it to call a third party program to turn off the computer, or possible resume from standby.

To turn on the TV, it may require something a little extra (or might not be possible).

The Poweroff utility is here.

Information on configuring irremote.ini for using Poweroff here.

Original information on this page
posted by stovenator at 8:03 PM on August 29, 2006

Oh, and FYI, I think the Microsoft USB MCE remote supports both Power On and Power Off. But don't quote me on that.
posted by stovenator at 8:03 PM on August 29, 2006

"turn on the TV" should be "turn on the computer"
posted by stovenator at 8:06 PM on August 29, 2006

Response by poster: I think I'll try leaving the PVR on and just controlling the TV. If I really need to power everything off, I think the UIRT2 (with WOL) is the easiest and cheapest for me to implement.

But I guess it looks like the answer to my question is "no, without special hardware, it is not normal to power on a PC PVR with the remote."

Thanks everyone for your answers!
posted by toomanyplugs at 1:46 PM on August 30, 2006