the-entertainer

Using an old laptop as our set-top multimedia portal.

Requirements

• Sleep when not used
• Use IR blaster and remote control
• Wakeup via remote
• Be able to do everything via standard TiVo remote
• Watch streaming TV using the Slingbox
• Watch a movie or show with Popcorn Time

Hardware

• Tangent Core 2 Duo laptop with SSD
• USB IR receiver
• VGA output
• 3.5mm analog audio output

Software

• Intelliremote
• AutoIt

Challenges

• Waking up the computer with just the remote
• Mapping remote control commands to the keyboard
• Creating a script to open newwatch.slingbox.com in the browser and click on the fullscreen button
• Resolving keyboard command differences between Slingbox and Popcorn Time
• Turning on VPN before Popcorn Time launches

Resources

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15483420/automate-mouse-click-in-windows-with-script-batch-file
• https://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/
• http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/127719-how-do-you-get-the-mouse-coordinates/
• https://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/functions/MouseMove.htm
• http://brugbart.com/autoit-mousecoordmode

Reference

• Popcorn Time keyboard shortcuts
• Slingplayer hotkeys: http://allhotkeys.com/slingplayer-hotkeys.html