Why not combine basic remote control functions for TV's in mobile phones? Not technically difficult, although it would have to be one of those learning remotes-- MrTheRich, Jun 30 2000 iphone remote for MythTV - via WiFi! http://www.legatissimo.info/node/355 [jutta, Feb 09 2008] The only problem I can think of is that a good remote has way more buttons (and is therefore way bigger) than any reasonable cell phone.
Still, you could do a lot with soft buttons. It's a good idea.-- egnor, Jun 30 2000 It wouldn't be that expensive really. Phones often have infra-red capabilities anyway (nokia make a couple and so do Ericson) so you'd just have to modify them slightly. If you lost it, you could just phone it and follow the ring.-- MrTheRich, Jul 05 2000 I have always thought that this idea is just around the corner, but I have never seen it "in the wild". How about an aftermarket battery with a remote built in - like the casio watches? I would love to have a cell phone that can use my auto alarm code to open the door or trunk to my car.-- marc1919, Oct 19 2001 They do it in watches, and mobile phone manufacturers are always looking for new gimmicks (check out the Nokia 5510). So I don't see why not.-- pottedstu, Oct 19 2001 "The only problem I can think of is that a good remote has way more buttons"
but you wouldn't need ALL the buttons...just the numbers and a channel/volume/up/down would let you get by 99% of the time-- WanderingKnight, May 20 2003 Baked. Some of the latest cell phones support software that does this by infrared.-- NeoPiter, Mar 04 2005 I sure would like to see this as an iPhone feature. The glass touch screen could have different configurations for different remotes.-- nomocrow, Feb 03 2008 My iPod has remote-control capabilities. The functions are saved as music and a little attachment converts the sound into the same infra-red pulses used by my other remote.-- Shadow Phoenix, Feb 03 2008 See link for one guy's iphone hack. He's controlling his MythTV-based home entertainment system using the iPhone via his local WiFi network and CGI scripts called from the phone.
I guess all we'd need to apply the same hack to secular TV would be a little WiFi-to-infrared converter box that can beam infrared to your TV in response to httpd accesses. You'd go to http://192.168.1.20/1,1,2,2,1, and it would send short IR, short pause, long IR, long pause, short IR... (etc. I have no idea how IR protocols actually work - but it's got to be some sort of pulse encoding, right?)-- jutta, Feb 09 2008 random, halfbakery