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Turn your iPod into a Universal Remote

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the because-you-can dept.

no_demons writes "Some clever souls over at engadget.com have posted an excellent tutorial in turning your iPod into a IR remote control. You also need a Pocket PC, an IR gadget from Griffin and a bit of patience, but hey, it's still a cool hack."

7 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. I've got a really cool gadget... by AxB_teeth · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a pad of paper. To turn it into a remote control, all you need is the pad of paper (of course) and a remote control.

    --

    However,
  2. You can! by HarveyBirdman · · Score: 5, Funny
    A cool hack would be controlling your iPod via a $10 universal remote from Walmart.

    1. Buy iPod.

    2. But $10 universal remote from WalMart.

    3. Use corner of universal remote to push iPod buttons and rotate volume dealy-widget.

    So much more cool and high tech than using your primitve old finger.

    --
    --- Ban humanity.
  3. Cooler Hack by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny
    I just plug the IR bit into my guitar - now I play 'Sweet Child o' Mine' to change channels to Adult Swim, and 'Devil Inside' to change to C-Span.

    It's really quite intuitive.

  4. Here's a clue gentlemen... by raytracer · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you take a $10 item, and modify it to replace a $1000 item, that's probably a good hack.

    If you take a $1000 item, and modify it to replace a $10 item, that's not a good hack. That's just stupidity.

    It takes no cleverness to waste money.

    There is much pleasure in useless information.
    --

    There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.

  5. Not that cool by stinkyfingers · · Score: 5, Funny

    You know what would be REALLY cool? Turn my remote into an iPod. Now there's a mod I could get into.

  6. IR - Audio by Jadsky · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This project describes the most interesting part of this hack... converting the IR into a waveform in the first place. That Griffin gadget is fascinating.

    The article talks about how you read off the IR codes in the first place, and convert them into usable waveforms. It uses C# targetted for PocketPC. I found the underpinnings of this hack far more interesting than the hack itself.

  7. COULD SOMEONE READ THE MOTHERFUCKING ARTICLE?! by ZackSchil · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jesus fucking christ, people. You're like a bunch of five-year-olds. Huhuhuhuh... let's read the misleading summary and make fun of it!

    The hack is to record the IR pulses as sound files and play them back with an IR LED connected to the iPod's headphone port. It's a really smart and cool idea but I guess you guys wouldn't know one of those if it bit you on your collective ass.

    The reason the article calls for a Pocket PC is because it can read ifrared signals and pass those to the headphone jack for output. If you just piped the IR port on a computer to the sound out device, you'd have the same solution, minus the Pocket PC. This is NOT like the stupid-ass iPod to iPod transfer "hack" from a while ago. This is an actual neat concept that I'd wish you'd stop shitting all over with your ignorance.

    Thank you.