MythDora 4.0 and Hauppauge PVR-150 with IR Blaster Support

I wanted to outline a few steps that I had to take to get the IR blaster to work with MythDora. MythDora is my favorite MythTV distro, it is by far the best polished and complete MythTV system that I have found. I was perfectly happy with the setup, that is until I got digital cable. Then the need for the IR Blaster arose. I went as far as making a serial IR blaster that would have worked had I not had Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200. That is where the search for answers led me to Mark’s Brain Dump. A day later here I am with a working setup. I also wanted to condense the process for others that may be encountering the same issues and/or want to use MythTV but are hesitant because of the digital box. I want to add that the Hauppauge IR Blaster might be the only IR blaster that will operate your digital or satellite box. I found that my serial IR Blaster that I made did not send the codes correctly for my SA 2200. Without any further ado let’s get started: I want to thank the MythDora developers and Mark at “Mark’s Brain Dump” for all the information and PVR-150 package. Without them this would not have been possible. What you’ll need and how to install them:

1. WinTV PVR-150 (NOT the MCE version) NOTE: There have been some reports that people are receiving a replacement HVR-1600 or HVR-1500 in the PVR-150 box. I bought mine at CircuitCity and had the correct one.
2. S-Video and/or Composite video cables, Audio cable (RCA to 1/8″ Mini stereo plug) to go from the Digital Receiver to the PVR-150
3. MythDora 4.0 – Thanks MythDora developers!! Follow the excellent instructions at MythPVR for a step by step install
4. Mark’s PVR-150 Package – Please follow Mark’s instructions for installation and compiling. You will need the following packages before compiling. Type the following as root before running the ./setup.sh from Mark’s package:
   1. yum install dialog
   2. yum install kernel-devel-`uname -r`
   3. yum install gcc
   4. yum install make
5. Hauppauge PVR-150 Firmware – As root, copy to your /lib/firmware folder
6. Config Files: Please backup all files before overwriting them in case you have to go back for any reason
   1. change_chan.pl script
      1. Remove the .txt extension
      2. Place in your /usr/local/bin folder
      3. Type chmod +x /usr/local/bin/change_chan.pl
      4. Point to the file under MythTV Setup; Input Section. Select SVideo put /usr/local/bin/change_chan.pl in the “External Change Channel Command” box
   2. Modified lircd.conf file for the Happauge PVR-150 gray remote and the SA 2200 digital cable box. Rename the downloaded file to lircd.conf, and overwrite the existing /etc/lircd.conf file. Please see Mark’s blog if you have a different satellite or digital box. He explains how to find the proper codes for your box. Use my script as an example for the final script layout however.
   3. Modified lirc file located in /etc/modprobe.d directory. Remove the .txt extension then overwrite the existing /etc/modprobe.d/lirc file
   4. Add these lines to rc.local to the /etc/rc.local file:
   5. Reboot

All files – All the files above in a neat all in one package. Things that can go wrong:

• Software Installation:
  • lirc_i2c is still being loaded on startup.
    • Solution: Make sure you have performed step # 3 correctly. lirc_i2c usually loads because it is still in the lirc file under /etc/modprobe.d/ directory
  • Permissions are set incorrectly, specifically the execute flag
  • Files are not named correctly or in the wrong location
  • MythTV is not setup correctly
  • Modules are not loading correctly – See Mark\’s website for troubleshooting
  • IR Blaster is trying to use the Serial port
    • Solution – remove any entries in the /etc/modprobe.d/irblaster file, or just comment them out. I made the mistake of setting up irblaster from the MythDora setup screen and it caused me untold grief.

• Hardware
  • IR Blaster is not located correctly over the digital/satellite box IR Receiver. Use a flashlight to locate it under the front panel on the Digital Box
  • IR Blaster and receiver not fully seated in the PVR-150