Home Theatre Remote and Home Automation via a Windows Laptop

Introduction

In this blog I will describe how to turn your Windows laptop/PC into a fully featured remote control that can control any device (TV, DVD, Home Theatre receiver etc.) in your home via Infrared signals. Please note that infrared signals are inherently line of sight therefore you must be in front (within 4 meters ~12 feet) of the equipment that you wish to control.
This same Windows laptop/PC solution will also control Home Automation devices that conform to the X10 standard. With X10 equipment there is the opportunity to control switches, controllers and devices throughout the house from one location. X10 signals are brief bursts of radio signals that are transmitted over power lines or Wi-Fi.

Applications

The Home Theatre remote control function can replace any number of remote controls by one laptop PC (or a more compact netbook). In this regard think of this solution to be like a Harmony remote. However with a Harmony remote you need to be able to press buttons or touch a screen and point the remote in the proper direction. This Windows laptop solution makes it possible to operate in a truly "handsfree" mode. By adding a head tracker, a reflective dot and dwell-and-click software you will be able to select, click and type via head, body movement or voice control. This functionally replaces the need to physically press buttons or touch a screen. For a more detailed description of my solution to hands free PC operation please read my April 13, 2009 blog called "Head-trackers and Dwell-and-click software".
The X10 Home Automation function can also be controlled handsfree as required but can also run in an unattended mode. For instance timers can be programmed to randomly turn X10 controlled lights on and off when you're not at home.

Users

Anyone who can not use their hands or has limited hand control would be an excellent potential user for this solution. Some examples of potential users are Stroke patients, para and quadriplegics, persons with MS or cerebral palsy.
For users with good head control a reflective dot on glasses or hat, along with with a head tracker and dwell-and-click software would work well with this solution. Please note the reflective dot can be attached to any functioning body part other than the head such as elbow, foot, forearm etc.
For users who cannot use the reflective dot solution for any reason but have a clear voice, diction etc. would be able to use the Dragon voice controlled solution to select and press buttons etc.

What you need

Software

The software is called: IRCommand2 (~$25)
Universal Remote Control Software for the PC. Here is the link:

http://wdpsoftware.com/wdpsIRC2/index.html

I won't describe it in detail here, I'll invite you to go to the site to get more info.

Following are a couple of screen shots to give you an idea of what IR Command looks like.

Hardware

Controlling your Home Theatre and Automation components will require  some hardware in addition to the IRCommand2 software. Fortunately, there's a good choice of inexpensive supported IR and X10 hardware.

I chose an IR dongle called Tira 2.1 from Home-Electro (~$50) for 3 reasons:

1. It's small and good looking
2. It connects to the PC via USB
3. It has excellent range, I am using it from 4 meters (~12 feet) away.

The Tira 2.1 allows to capture IR codes right from the original remote and reproduce them later. Additionally it allows you to receive IR signals from a remote in order to control applications running on a PC like Winamp, VLC or Windows Media Player.
Please see the following site for more details on this fantastic device:

http://www.home-electro.com/tira2.php


For X10 applications there is a variety of available hardware:

Device	Signaling Methods	Listen Triggers	Cross-Device Training	Interface
X10 CM11A / HD11A	Powerline	Yes	Yes	Serial
X10 CM15A	Powerline and RF	Yes	Yes	USB
X10 CM19A	RF	No	Yes	USB
Insteon 2414U	Powerline (X10 mode only)	No	Yes	USB

If you have any question or suggestions (always welcome) please leave a comment.