| infrared remote control support in video4linux drivers | |
| ====================================================== | |
| basics | |
| ------ | |
| Current versions use the linux input layer to support infrared | |
| remote controls. I suggest to download my input layer tools | |
| from http://bytesex.org/snapshot/input-<date>.tar.gz | |
| Modules you have to load: | |
| saa7134 statically built in, i.e. just the driver :) | |
| bttv ir-kbd-gpio or ir-kbd-i2c depending on your | |
| card. | |
| ir-kbd-gpio and ir-kbd-i2c don't support all cards lirc supports | |
| (yet), mainly for the reason that the code of lirc_i2c and lirc_gpio | |
| was very confusing and I decided to basically start over from scratch. | |
| Feel free to contact me in case of trouble. Note that the ir-kbd-* | |
| modules work on 2.6.x kernels only through ... | |
| how it works | |
| ------------ | |
| The modules register the remote as keyboard within the linux input | |
| layer, i.e. you'll see the keys of the remote as normal key strokes | |
| (if CONFIG_INPUT_KEYBOARD is enabled). | |
| Using the event devices (CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV) it is possible for | |
| applications to access the remote via /dev/input/event<n> devices. | |
| You might have to create the special files using "/sbin/MAKEDEV | |
| input". The input layer tools mentioned above use the event device. | |
| The input layer tools are nice for trouble shooting, i.e. to check | |
| whenever the input device is really present, which of the devices it | |
| is, check whenever pressing keys on the remote actually generates | |
| events and the like. You can also use the kbd utility to change the | |
| keymaps (2.6.x kernels only through). | |
| using with lircd | |
| ================ | |
| The cvs version of the lircd daemon supports reading events from the | |
| linux input layer (via event device). The input layer tools tarball | |
| comes with a lircd config file. | |
| using without lircd | |
| =================== | |
| XFree86 likely can be configured to recognise the remote keys. Once I | |
| simply tried to configure one of the multimedia keyboards as input | |
| device, which had the effect that XFree86 recognised some of the keys | |
| of my remote control and passed volume up/down key presses as | |
| XF86AudioRaiseVolume and XF86AudioLowerVolume key events to the X11 | |
| clients. | |
| It likely is possible to make that fly with a nice xkb config file, | |
| I know next to nothing about that through. | |
| Have fun, | |
| Gerd | |
| -- | |
| Gerd Knorr <kraxel@bytesex.org> |