[GrandOverseer]

I want to use my Blackberry 7520 as a TV/Entertainment remote. I have seen similar capabilities on cellphones. As far as I know, there is no IR support on the RIM 7520, so I wondered if anyone might know of a hardware solution.

[NJBlackBerry]

Give up on this one.

[mrogers]

Haha! That was an April Fool's joke, wasn't it? That was good, you had me thinking of writing down all the ways why it couldn't/shouldn't be done.

[GrandOverseer]

Originally Posted by mrogers

Haha! That was an April Fool's joke, wasn't it? That was good, you had me thinking of writing down all the ways why it couldn't/shouldn't be done.

Aw, c'mon. What would be wrong with that? I could think of a million uses...garage door opener, lighting, HT system....your neighbor's car alarm...the possibilities are endless. I have home automation, so this would be a much needed addition to it. Surely someone out there has a solution.

[mrogers]

Well, yes, all those things would be great to control from one device, but let's look at TV control for example: you need IR to do that. The IR transceiver on the BlackBerries, if it's ANYTHING like the ones in PocketPCs, is relatively weak. I had a lot of trouble making the TV respond to my Dell Axim when I tried it. And, even if it is powerful enough to reach the TV, it would be damned inconvenient with a BlackBerry--it's a device without a touchscreen, you want to roll-roll-roll-roll-click your way through various controls?

I think your ideas about controlling various parts of the house are cool, but would be better implemented through a web interface than directly through the BlackBerry's IR or RF transceivers. For example, there would be an app on your BB that allows you to issue certain commands (let's say turn on the lights), which connects to the internet, sends the command to your home automation server, and turns on the lights. That would be far more flexible than direct IR/RF, and it would be REALLY COOL

[scottwilliams33]

I use a wap interface to my home automation system that can do this... no April fools. Works fine but lots of setup

[Mark Rejhon]

You may be able to use your BlackBerry as a TCP/IP remote though.

Basically, your BlackBerry would control an Internet-connected IR remote control transceiver unit (use software normally operated from a WiFi unit, but could be controlled over BlackBerry GPRS instead, if you've got suitable software or used a web-based remote controller interface via BlackBerry Browser)

There's TCP/IP remote control software out there, just waiting to be ported to BlackBerry, and it would work around the lack of IR.

I have also even seen remote control operated by email!

(I know, I used to work in the home theater industry! -- http://www.marky.com/hometheater ...)

The name of software is called Girder -- www.girder.nl -- Look up Girder plug-ins, through this mechanism, it should be possible to get Girder to work by email or web browser.....and naturally, this should also work from BlackBerry. You will need a spare computer, an IR transceiver, and the appropriate Girder plugins, but then you'll be able to automate from your BlackBerry... Might need a little LUA scripting. You can write Girder plugins that can be controlled by proprietary clients, such as a custom BlackBerry program operating over TCP/IP (Internet) controlling the infrared receiver connected to a computer running Girder... Or control via standard email messages or web browser. Something can be whipped up. It's been a while since I've done this custom Girder stuff, but it's definitely technically possible...

Girder is so flexible, you can even use pedals, or cellphones, or WiFi handhelds, or X10 wall switches, or web browser, or any other computer-signalling-capable non-infrared method, to control an infrared device (via the IR transciever connected to the PC). It is a bit difficult to configure, but it can turn almost anything into a remote control, even an X10 motion sensor could trigger some macros like setting a specific TV channel or automatically pressing Play on a videotape when someone enters a room! ..... or you can program a PC joystick to behave as your remote control...... or a web browser button interface to control your TV.... etc. It will take several hours to set things up, but if you know what you are doing, you can pull it off using some plugins.... (Assuming you find one that is compatible with BlackBerry, such as email or web based remote control frontend)

[scottwilliams33]

I use Homeseer to control my X10 and IR stuff....the computer running the Homeseer is hooked to a Oclet device that can interface with X10 and IR. Homeseer has a built in web server, that would allow you to control your house and IR from a web interface. There is an addon to Homeseer called WAPseer that allow the same control via a WAP browser and works great from my Blackberry 7520. I even interfaced several webcams that allows me to see the picture (taken either real time or every 30 seconds) on my 7520.

Scott

[Mark Rejhon]

Bingo - Almost any wireless device (even without infrared) can control infrared devices using methods like this.

[jdh]

Originally Posted by mrogers

The IR transceiver on the BlackBerries, if it's ANYTHING like the ones in PocketPCs, is relatively weak...

Actually, the IR transceiver on the Blackberry is extremely weak, considering that the BB doesn't actually have an IR transceiver...

As a proof-of-concept, I've actually had some success controlling my SlimServer from my BB for the purposes of playing my music collection through my Squeezeboxes (see www.slimdevices.com for those who don't know what a SlimServer is), since the SlimServer is controlled via a web interface, and has a handheld-friendly skin... As others have suggested above, the same would be possible with any number of web-based solutions, but ideally a Java app for the BB that could take advantage of the full keyboard on the BB and send the commands over TCP/IP would be the ideal solution...

Of course, unless you're running your own BES/MDS at home, you'd basically have to expose this remote control system to the Internet in some way (since the BB doesn't do WiFi, so it's actually going out across the 'net and coming back into your home network).... From a security point of view, you would in the very least want this console to be password-protected in some way, but the ideal Java applet would have some sort of public key authentication/encryption.

[mrogers]

Originally Posted by jdh

Actually, the IR transceiver on the Blackberry is extremely weak, considering that the BB doesn't actually have an IR transceiver...

What's the IR-cover-looking-thing on the top of my 7290? I just assumed it was an IR transceiver because most PDAs have them and I didn't know what else it could be.

[jdh]

Originally Posted by mrogers

What's the IR-cover-looking-thing on the top of my 7290? I just assumed it was an IR transceiver because most PDAs have them and I didn't know what else it could be.

There is an IR window, but there's not actually any IR hardware behind it...

Apparently, RIM had considered putting IR into the Blackberry at one point, but reconsidered due to security concerns. By that time, I suspect they had already spec'ed out the casings, and therefore the IR window was already included in that spec.

It's actually somewhat reminiscent of the early Nokia phones in the North American market... Many of them had IR windows, but no IR hardware, presumably because the casings were more generic than the phone hardware itself (many European Nokia models apparently did include IR at the time).

[graniteco]

Get a Sony Clie - the IR Remote control application is built right in. Mine can control the TV, the VCR, DVD, and the Receiver, but NOT the cable box.

I was totally jonzing for the ability for my BT Clie to use the 7100t as its modem. The tech support guy at RIM told me that the hardware can do it, one just needs to add the DUN software (and he told me that he wasn't allowed to tell me where to get it, but to search for "bluetooth GPRS modem" - I found this forum, but no software and I've done tons of permutations of the search arguments).

Jay

[hottweelz]

Why would they keep doing it thru-out different models... also, my Nokia IR Port on my Nokia phone works perfectly fine.

[jdh]

Originally Posted by hottweelz

Why would they keep doing it thru-out different models...

Good question..... Perhaps they'll someday release a consumer model that does have IR.

However to be fair, the case spec hasn't changed that much between models, either.

also, my Nokia IR Port on my Nokia phone works perfectly fine.

That's certainly the case now, but if you go back about five years, to the first-generation Nokia CDMA/GSM/TDMA phones, the cases had an IR port but there was no IR hardware...

[rjharary]

good luck dudes