{"id":1238,"date":"2010-02-22T00:07:35","date_gmt":"2010-02-22T00:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2010-02-25T21:27:45","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T21:27:45","slug":"using-my-mobile-as-a-tv-remote-control-for-vdr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1238","title":{"rendered":"Using my mobile as a TV remote control for vdr"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"remote<\/a>I can never find the TV remote. <\/p>\n

Whether it’s slipped somewhere in or under the sofa, or been hidden by the kids, I’m often at a loss to find it. <\/p>\n

A mobile phone, on the other hand, is rarely too far from my hand \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

So I’ve hacked together a quick app to put a TV remote control interface on my phone. It’s definitely a quick-and-dirty chunk of code, but it does now mean that I can work my TV<\/a> from my mobile if I can’t find the real remote. <\/p>\n

On the off-chance that this is useful to other vdr users, I wanted to share how I did it. <\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>I went for a web app rather than native code. <\/p>\n

This was mainly because I’m switching a lot between Android<\/a>, Palm’s webOS<\/a> and Windows Mobile at the moment, and didn’t really want to have to write three separate applications! A web app can be hosted on the same home server that runs vdr for my home TV<\/a>, and accessed from any platform. It’s only hosting internally – so you have to be connected to my home wifi to access it. But as all my phones have wifi, and the app isn’t really that useful when I’m not at home, this isn’t a problem. <\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned before<\/a> that vdr listens on a TCP port for commands, and that the svdrpsend utility<\/a> provides an easy way to send commands in the correct format. <\/p>\n

To send a remote control command, you run: <\/p>\n

svdrpsend HITK <NAME><\/code> <\/p>\n

where <NAME><\/code> is the name of a remote control key. <\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>My web app just displays buttons on a web page. Pressing one of the buttons causes the relevant svdrpsend command to be run. <\/p>\n

I have used a JavaScript XMLHttpRequest to save reloading the page after each press (useful when repeatedly tapping ‘Up’ or ‘Down’ to navigate menus). But apart from that, it’s all pretty straightforward. <\/p>\n

It’s not as nice an interface as my real remote control. But it makes for a useful backup when I can’t find the real thing \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

The code is below. <\/p>\n

I’m using cherrypy<\/a> to host it (for no particular reason than I already had it installed from a previous project).
\n
<\/p>\n

import cherrypy \r\nimport os.path \r\nfrom subprocess import call \r\n\r\nclass VDRRemote: \r\n    def runcmd(self, cmd=None): \r\n        if (cmd is not None): \r\n            if cmd == \"ONOFF\": \r\n                call(['\/home\/dale\/scripts\/toggle-tv.sh']) \r\n            elif cmd == \"VOLDOWN\": \r\n                call(['svdrpsend', 'HITK', 'Volume-']) \r\n            elif cmd == \"VOLUP\": \r\n                call(['svdrpsend', 'HITK', 'Volume+']) \r\n            elif cmd == \"CHANDOWN\": \r\n                call(['svdrpsend', 'HITK', 'Channel-']) \r\n            elif cmd == \"CHANUP\": \r\n                call(['svdrpsend', 'HITK', 'Channel+']) \r\n            else: \r\n                call(['svdrpsend', 'HITK', cmd]) \r\n\r\n    def index(self): \r\n        return ''' \r\n                <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict\/\/EN\"  \r\n                    \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/xhtml1\/DTD\/xhtml1-strict.dtd\">  \r\n                <html xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xhtml\">  \r\n                <head>  \r\n                    <title>vdr<\/title>  \r\n                    <style type=\"text\/css\" media=\"screen\">@import \"images\/remote.css\";<\/style> \r\n                    <script> \r\n                        function invokeCmd(param) { \r\n                          var http = new XMLHttpRequest(); \r\n                          http.open(\"GET\", \"\/runcmd?cmd=\" + param, true); \r\n                          http.send(null); \r\n                        } \r\n                    <\/script> \r\n                <\/head>   \r\n                <body>  \r\n                    <div>  \r\n                        <table class=\"btnTable\" selected=\"true\">         \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('ONOFF')\">On\/Off<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Mute')\">Mute<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('1')\">1<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('2')\">2<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('3')\">3<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>  \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('4')\">4<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('5')\">5<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('6')\">6<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>  \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('7')\">7<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('8')\">8<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('9')\">9<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>  \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('0')\">0<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>              \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td colspan=\"3\"> <\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn whiteButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Up')\">&#8593;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn whiteButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Left')\">&#8592;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn whiteButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Ok')\">OK<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn whiteButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Right')\">&#8594;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>             \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageBtn whiteButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Down');\">&#8595;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td> <\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                        <\/table> \r\n                        <table class=\"btnTable\" selected=\"true\">         \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('MENU')\">Menu<\/a><\/td>                 \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Recordings')\">Rec TV<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Info')\">Info<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Back')\">Back<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Record')\">Record<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Play')\">Play<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Pause')\">Pause<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Stop')\">Stop<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackLeftButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('VOLDOWN')\">Vol &minus;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackRightButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('VOLUP')\">Vol +<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackLeftButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('CHANDOWN')\">Chan &minus;<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackRightButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('CHANUP')\">Chan +<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackLeftButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Green')\">60 sec<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackLeftButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('FastRew')\">Rewind<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackRightButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('FastFwd')\">FFwd<\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blackRightButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Yellow')\">60 sec<\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr> \r\n                            <tr> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn redButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Red')\"> <\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn greenButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Green')\"> <\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn yellowButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Yellow')\"> <\/a><\/td> \r\n                                <td><a class=\"borderImageNarrowBtn blueButton\" href=\"javascript:invokeCmd('Blue')\"> <\/a><\/td> \r\n                            <\/tr>             \r\n                        <\/table> \r\n                    <\/div>  \r\n                  <\/body>  \r\n                <\/html>''' \r\n                 \r\n    index.exposed = True \r\n    runcmd.exposed = True \r\n\r\ncherrypy.server.socket_host=\"0.0.0.0\" \r\n\r\ncurrent_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) \r\nconf = {'\/images': {'tools.staticdir.on'  : True, \r\n                    'tools.staticdir.dir' : os.path.join(current_dir, 'images')}} \r\n\r\ncherrypy.quickstart(VDRRemote(), config=conf)<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I can never find the TV remote. Whether it’s slipped somewhere in or under the sofa, or been hidden by the kids, I’m often at a loss to find it. A mobile phone, on the other hand, is rarely too far from my hand \ud83d\ude42 So I’ve hacked together a quick app to put a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[291,447,46,212,427],"class_list":["post-1238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code","tag-android","tag-cherrypy","tag-mobile","tag-python","tag-vdr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}