[Swansea Hackspace] Minimal and bespoke TV remote control

Mon Jun 22 14:51:24 BST 2015

Hi there,

Thanks for all the feedback!

Justin: 
- I saw an e-ink keyboard concept last week - still not sure if it’s vapourware or not: http://www.solidsmack.com/design/new-sonder-e-ink-keyboard-changes-hot-keys-as-you-change-digital-tools/ <http://www.solidsmack.com/design/new-sonder-e-ink-keyboard-changes-hot-keys-as-you-change-digital-tools/> If I could get hold of the buttons they’re using for that keyboard it would be pretty cool!
- What button sets would you need?
- I haven’t heard of HDMI-CEC before, googled it and realised that it’s because I don’t have a “smart” TV and because every manufacturer has a different name for it (EasyLink, SimpLink, Aquos Link, Bravia Sync etc. etc.)

Ceri: I should’ve mentioned in my original post that I don’t want to use a touch screen, as I prefer physical buttons that can be pressed without having to look at the screen and give some haptic feedback so that you know when you pressed them. 

Richard: Images like this one were the inspiration for this project:

> On 20 Jun 2015, at 13:36, Justin Mitchell <justin at discordia.org.uk> wrote:
> 
> A touch sensitive layer with an eink display would be great, it would only consume power when changing the layout, and you'd get complete freedom of what buttons you had.
> 
> As for me a useful universal remote would need quite diverse button sets, as fit example the surround amp has quite different controls to the sky box.
> 
> Much of the need for such a remote has been killed by the HDMI-CEC standards, but there still a few devices that don't behave
> 
> On 20 Jun 2015 12:41 pm, Ceri Clatworthy <ceri.clatworthy at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> What about using the touchscreen from Nintendo DS. .or simmla. ..
>> No actual buttons a glossy picture underneath. . Over acrilic. .. So you can still have illumination. ..  siluett cutout (laser) 
>> Bit more code for touch screen.  But only 4 I/O.
>> 
>> Although does affect shape
>> 
>> On 20 Jun 2015 12:32, "Ceri Clatworthy" <ceri.clatworthy at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> If you had a recent android phone. 
>>> Then  there is an app to be a tv video dvd remote control. ...
>>> 
>>> Did I mention I like android 😊
>>> 
>>> On 19 Jun 2015 22:22, "Richard Morgan" <richard.morgan at avocation.co.uk> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> A family member is elderly and struggles with the need to use the TV REMOTE to change the source and then the SKY REMOTE to manage the channels - having a single remote covering all her needs would be great.
>>>> 
>>>> I would be interested in using this.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks Gerrit
>>>> 
>>>> On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 at 17:07 Emyr Morris <em at preseli.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> great project! Love it
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 19 June 2015 at 16:58, Gerrit Niezen <gerrit.niezen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The problem
>>>>>> I have three different remote controls that I use to control my TV, Tivo and NowTV, and I only use a few buttons on each one of these remotes. What I would like is a minimal, customisable remote control that can replace the other three for most tasks.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Existing solutions
>>>>>> Universal remotes are cheap but mostly crap and have too many buttons. The Logitech Harmony remotes seem the easiest to use, but they're in the £100 range and still have a lot of buttons. 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> My suggested solution
>>>>>> An open-source hardware remote where you can customise the buttons depending on your needs, for example by milling your own based on a button template. The remote should be easy to program, by pointing existing remotes at infrared receiver on the custom remote.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Possible improvements
>>>>>> - LEDs inside buttons that light up when they can be used (that is, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161666687066). For example, if I'm in TV mode, the "back" button isn't going to work, but the up/down buttons should light up so that I can change channels.
>>>>>> - Using bamboo for the enclosure - a piece of 50cm-wide bamboo can be halved to make a semi-circular shape that fits in your hand.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> What I've done so far
>>>>>> - Got the infrared diode and receiver working on an Arduino
>>>>>> - Recorded infrared signals from my three different remotes and successfully sent them again
>>>>>> - Cut some bamboo to see if the shape will work
>>>>>> - Drew some crude pictures of what it will look like (attached)
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Next steps
>>>>>> - Is anyone at Swansea Hackspace interested in helping me develop this further?
>>>>>> - Would anyone be interested in buying one of these if we make more than one?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>> Gerrit
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
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>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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