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Author Topic: IR/Arduino + Windows Service for powering up and down consumer TV  (Read 1728 times)

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rogerxyz

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I spoke about this some on another thread, but I came up with an approach to controlling TV power with a PC's boot/shutdown, that may be better or worse than other approaches, but it's mine ;) If anyone else wants to try it out, figured I'd share here. For searchability and posterity too.

All the info and code is here. You'll need to sub your own arduino's serial number, and you may want to record your own IR codes - works with Sony Trinis off the shelf.

https://gist.github.com/partlyhuman/73faa59bb15e7126447684b5c88e4d7a

What might set it apart is:
  • TV power is abstracted as a Windows Service, so it gets cleanly booted and shut down when the PC goes up and down.
  • You can automate any IR remote button presses, not just power. For example you could use a command line to switch into service mode.

Let me know if you decide to try this approach out or if anything doesn't make any sense. Cheers!  :cheers:
Current build: originally a Dig-Dug cabinet, previously turned into an iCade w/ LCD, now a PC-powered MAME cabinet with consumer CRT TV, GreenAntz transcoder, and crt_emudriver.

lilshawn

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Re: IR/Arduino + Windows Service for powering up and down consumer TV
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2022, 01:19:12 pm »
question 1 - is this needlessly complicated?

can this be achieved in a simpler way?

Question 2 - is it going to be prone to failure?

does this have any weaknesses?

Question 3 - has it been done this way before already?

does an existing product already do this?

the answer to the first question is likely yes. could we get by doing something simpler, absolutely... if you can press and hold down the "power button" on the display and apply power to it, and it turns on... it will turn on when the switch contacts has a wire bridge or solder blob across it. if it doesn't and only turns on after you RELEASE the button, you can typically put a 100 or 200uf capacitor across the power button to act as a dead short (as capacitors when discharged have nearly no resistance, but once the capacitor charges up, it acts "open circuit") emulating a button "press".

the answer to the second question is also yes. LED emitters can go bad, Arduinos can crash and become unresponsive. it's going to require another set of wires to power and another set to operate the LED. there will be a bunch of futzing around with timing and whatnot.

the answer to the third question is likely no... as typically monitors used in arcade cabinets, are powered on and off with the cabinet power... so such a thing is not required.

i mean, i havent read your other posts or anything, but if you want to just make a big microcontroller project out of it just to do it, give 'er beans...but it's not really necessary... or really required.

Zebidee

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Re: IR/Arduino + Windows Service for powering up and down consumer TV
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2022, 08:46:30 pm »
I love that Arduinos are programmable and can do lots of cool "IoT" stuff. They are a great tool for innovation. They help bridge or connect programmers to controlling hardware. Is it needlessly complicated? Probably, but it is still fun to try.  :afro:

One recurring issue the Arduino approach would solve is how to avoid out-of-range frequencies being sent to your TV during the boot process. There are concerns that over time, in some cases, it might cause some extra stress/wear to your TV/monitor sync circuits. Because the TV is turned on via a windows service, it presumably won't happen until Windows boots and therefore your CRTEMU driver or whatever is running.

Of course, modularity, cost and the KISS principle are very important for good design too. So, imagine that someone else will need to repair or upgrade your cab in ten years time. It might even be you, but in ten years you'll have forgotten much of what you did. You may curse yourself for making it too complicated.
Check out my completed projects!


rogerxyz

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Re: IR/Arduino + Windows Service for powering up and down consumer TV
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2022, 02:39:46 am »
Quote
if you want to just make a big microcontroller project out of it just to do it, give 'er beans...but it's not really necessary... or really required.

That's about the size of it, I admit it  ;D
Current build: originally a Dig-Dug cabinet, previously turned into an iCade w/ LCD, now a PC-powered MAME cabinet with consumer CRT TV, GreenAntz transcoder, and crt_emudriver.