New Intel NUC & Infrared sensor

[jamesdisco]

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/...d54250wyk.html

I think i might buy one of the new NUC's and i noticed they have a built in infrared sensor, do people think the IR sensor will work with sage and if so what software would i need to make it work.

[Gustovier]

Originally Posted by jamesdisco

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/...d54250wyk.html

I think i might buy one of the new NUC's and i noticed they have a built in infrared sensor, do people think the IR sensor will work with sage and if so what software would i need to make it work.

As long as its an rc6 sensor (compatible with wmc) then you will be good. I use one of the original nucs with a USB dongle ir rc6 reciever.

[KryptoNyte]

Are these things available with an SSD and operating system? That 300 to 400 bux without it seems a little steep, like a guy might want to just buy the components and build his own system.

[jamesdisco]

Originally Posted by Gustovier

As long as its an rc6 sensor (compatible with wmc) then you will be good. I use one of the original nucs with a USB dongle ir rc6 reciever.

That sounds hopeful, you've got assume it will work with wmc.

[rgroves]

Right now, the NUC's are a barebones system. You've got to add your own, RAM, SSD, and OS.

Also, beware that many of the first ones came with the power brick....BUT NOT THE AC POWER CORD. I'm not sure if the latest ones come with the AC cord or not.

[GTwannabe]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Are these things available with an SSD and operating system? That 300 to 400 bux without it seems a little steep, like a guy might want to just buy the components and build his own system.

Gigabyte BRIX is basically the same thing and a little cheaper. These things are silent and only draw about 7 watts.

[Evil_Attorney]

Originally Posted by jamesdisco

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/...d54250wyk.html

I think i might buy one of the new NUC's and i noticed they have a built in infrared sensor, do people think the IR sensor will work with sage and if so what software would i need to make it work.

I just picked one of the new ones up (i5 model). It's amazingly small. Only slightly larger than the HD300. So far I have only installed Win 8.1 and XBMC, but not Sage. Haven't had much time to spend on it. I initially had some trouble with the IR driver, and so temporarily plugged in an old USB IR receiver. Once I play around some more with the IR, I will report back.

The one thing I did notice is that when playing back blu-ray rips with xbmc in native 24p resolution, there is no frame issues/dropping/etc. In other words, the refresh rate and frame rate and whatever else is super accurate (apparently prior versions of the intel's integrated graphics did not lock on to an exact 24p refresh rate very accurately). The last small HTPC I was using for xbmc playback was not as accurate and therefore would repeat a frame every so often in 24p (this is very obvious if you have "smooth motion" frame interpolation turned on in your TV).

[Evil_Attorney]

Finally had more time to play around with this one. The IR receiver works with the standard MCE remote just fine. With no tweaking and only using the Microsoft decoders, Sage also works fine. Also, I was a little shocked at how cool this thing runs. It really is a nice HTPC.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

The one thing I did notice is that when playing back blu-ray rips with xbmc in native 24p resolution, there is no frame issues/dropping/etc. In other words, the refresh rate and frame rate and whatever else is super accurate (apparently prior versions of the intel's integrated graphics did not lock on to an exact 24p refresh rate very accurately). The last small HTPC I was using for xbmc playback was not as accurate and therefore would repeat a frame every so often in 24p (this is very obvious if you have "smooth motion" frame interpolation turned on in your TV).

Apparently this is fixed in the Haswell line of CPUs - see http://www.anandtech.com/show/7007/i...-perspective/4

Refresh Rate Handling - 23.976 Hz Works!

Readers following our HTPC reviews know by now that Intel's 23 Hz issue was left unresolved in Ivy Bridge. It is definitely better than the Clarkdale days, as users no longer get 24 Hz when setting the display refresh rate to 23 Hz (23.976 Hz intended). However, the accuracy is not enough to prevent a frame drop every 4 minutes or so (the 23 Hz setting results in a display refresh rate of 23.972 Hz in Ivy Bridge). One of the first things I checked after building the Haswell HTPC was the 23 Hz setting. The good news is that the display refresh rate accuracy is excellent.

[MilkmanCDN]

@Evil_Attorney

How did you get the IR receiver working on the Intel NUC. I am bringing up the same system and am running up against a wall.

I understand it's an eHome receiver in the NUC. I'm trying to used the SageTV remote at the moment.

Any help is much appreciated.

[Evil_Attorney]

For me, Windows 8 didn't recognize drivers for anything. So I went to Intel's website and downloaded all of their drivers for my model. For some of the drivers, I needed to upgrade to Windows 8.1 first. The IR receiver just worked after installing the driver.

[MilkmanCDN]

Got it! I too had to download drivers from the Intel website (Nuvoton CIR Receiver). They installed just fine (Windows 7 Professional). But SageTV branded remote that comes with HD100, HD200 and HD300 does not work.

I'm starting to suspect that you need an MCE remote to operate SageTV rather than the remote that comes with the extenders. Or use an external IR receiver that is programmable.

[Evil_Attorney]

For what it's worth, I am using a Harmony remote programmed as a Windows Media Center remote on Win 8.1. I believe that the Sage remotes should work out of the box. Check the device manager to ensure the driver installed correctly without problems.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

Finally had more time to play around with this one. The IR receiver works with the standard MCE remote just fine. With no tweaking and only using the Microsoft decoders, Sage also works fine. Also, I was a little shocked at how cool this thing runs. It really is a nice HTPC.

Did you do anything special to get this to work?

I have installed the Intel driver for the CIR. Have SageTV installed and selected Remote Control Configuration: MCE remote.

I have a harmony so just using the Windows Media Center device. I assume this is the right device to choose in the harmony setup.

[m1abrams]

NVM - I was being stupid. It was working the problem I was having is I forgot how the Harmony Touch works by default. The Touch actually communicates to the "Hub" over wifi and the hub then blasts out the IR. This is great except I was "testing" the IR on the NUC and had it in a different room than the hub. Note to Harmony Touch users you can make the Touch blast IR itself for specific devices.

[wayner]

I have a couple of Harmony Ultimates and a SmartControl and they are pretty good except they could be better. I don't understand why Harmony doesn't let you control devices by IP since the hub is connected to your LAN via wifi. It would be nice to be able to control your Sage clients and/or extenders with IP rather than IR.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by wayner

I have a couple of Harmony Ultimates and a SmartControl and they are pretty good except they could be better. I don't understand why Harmony doesn't let you control devices by IP since the hub is connected to your LAN via wifi. It would be nice to be able to control your Sage clients and/or extenders with IP rather than IR.

Yes that would be awesome, many devices do have IP control nowadays. AVRs, TVs, etc. However I suspect the issue with that is the make it simple for the avg. joe user at the sacrifice of ability (Apple is a huge follower of this motif).

If you want this type of control there is a software/hardware project out there that is pushing this is iRule. http://www.iruleathome.com/

Looks pretty interesting, only downside I see is it really relies on tablet control which means few hardbuttons.

[wayner]

Yes, having IP control means that you likely have to set static IP addresses and know what device has what address. Being able to support this would be a nightmare for Logitech so I can understand why they have not done this. Most of the devices in my main HT setup have IP capabilities (TV, AVR, Sage extender, HTPC, Xbone, Xbox360).

I would think that a great solution to this would be to use a Raspberry Pi with an IR receiver/transmitter attached. It is small and it should be able to control everything.

By the way, for those saying that I don't want to use a touchscreen as a remote - I somewhat agree. But the Harmony Touch remote, and the software for your smartphone/tablet uses gestures in addition to buttons. So you tap the screen once to pause and tap twice to play. I have set mine up so that a swipe right is a SkipFwd command in Sage and a swipe right and hold is a SkipFwdX2. Swipe up to increase the volume, etc. This actually works very well.

[IVB]

Originally Posted by wayner

But the Harmony Touch remote, and the software for your smartphone/tablet uses gestures in addition to buttons. So you tap the screen once to pause and tap twice to play. I have set mine up so that a swipe right is a SkipFwd command in Sage and a swipe right and hold is a SkipFwdX2. Swipe up to increase the volume, etc. This actually works very well.

wow thats cool

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by wayner

By the way, for those saying that I don't want to use a touchscreen as a remote - I somewhat agree. But the Harmony Touch remote, and the software for your smartphone/tablet uses gestures in addition to buttons. So you tap the screen once to pause and tap twice to play. I have set mine up so that a swipe right is a SkipFwd command in Sage and a swipe right and hold is a SkipFwdX2. Swipe up to increase the volume, etc. This actually works very well.

That's interesting... I never would have considered the touchscreen Harmony devices before. To me, it's extremely important to be able to navigate my remote by feel. The remotes that Hauppauge bundles with its products are simple and a bit limited, but very easy to use without looking at because of the button placement / button shape. Being able to use gestures with the touchscreen remotes would make a big difference (maybe even enough that I would consider using one).