Extending IR compatibility ?

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Don't Panic. Please wash hands.
  • Hi.


    Since the IR on the TC work so great with the CDTV controller (and its many buttons) -- I was wondering, how cool would it be if the user could use a IR-keyboard as well. Maybe one of those hotel-tv combo-units that has qwerty-keyb on one side and gamepad on the other side.


    Then we could really be couch-gaming :) This would of course mean that there would have to be added support in the core to load a user-defined translation textfile on the root of the SD card where one have to add the IR-codes which should correspond to the proper c64 keyboard button.

    I am just throwing this out -- as I think it was a very good idea :) I am sure there are technical obstacles here, but I am addressing experts and feel confident this idea will spin in your mind over the morning coffee and during the visit to the toilet.

    This could even be a good idea on how to let users use third party IR controllers (non cdtv ones) with their TC in the future too.

    Edited once, last by espskog: UPDATE: I want to change my idea of using a user-defineable textfile that TC reads upon boot to suggest that the TC has a "Infrared" menu option where the user can go in and the TC asks the user to press different keys on his IR and it learns the codes. That would be ULTRA KOOL! :-) This is something I think you really should consider -- it would be very supernice. It also solves your problem for the future if you run out of CDTV remotes on stock :) ().

  • espskog

    Changed the title of the thread from “Extending IR compatibility with keyboards ?” to “Extending IR compatibility ?”.
  • UPDATE: I want to change my idea of using a user-defineable textfile that TC reads upon boot to suggest that the TC has a "Infrared" menu option where the user can go in and the TC asks the user to press different keys on his IR and it learns the codes. That would be ULTRA KOOL! :-) This is something I think you really should consider -- it would be very supernice. It also solves your problem for the future if you run out of CDTV remotes on stock :) (A moment ago).

  • This is not an option because of several reasons:

    - The IR reciever (and the transmittor at the CDTV remote) use a special "non standard" frequency range. So regular "standard" IR devices do not work with it. (But thats one reason for why it works so well)

    - The FPGA can be considered "full" at this point. We will not (and we can not) add any more extra features - the remaining few logic elements are reserved for bugfixes.

    - The same is pretty much true for the menu system, there isnt much room for adding new things. And the remaining space is again needed for fixing bugs (or adding those little patches like the Y/N thing).


    As said before, overall the chameleon can be considered "feature complete".

  • The IR eye does see 36kHz and 38kHz signals, but that's not the point - the "instant" reaction that you experience with the CDTV remote is a result of the whole process NOT being worked on by a CPU, but by pure hardware. It's not as simple as "exchanging a code table", but compiling a new core with new features.


    The CDTV remote control does have some very nice properties, such as four distinct bits for the four directions of the arrow-cross, which makes it ideal for gaming. Many other remotes have a severe limitation, and that's "only a single button at a time". Also, the protocol allows for (fairly) easy translation into make (press) and break (release) events, which is yet another requirement for gaming. Many remotes just transfer "key is pressed", but the information "key is released" remains a secret.


    So please accept that the CDTV remote is a *very* lucky coincidence for the Chameleon. It will be *very* hard to make that any better :-)

  • The last reply was more than 365 days ago, this thread is most likely obsolete. It is recommended to create a new thread instead.