Interfacing Ethernet to USB devices

[rkulagow]

In the United States there exist several cable / satellite set-top-boxes which provide a USB interface. Users who plug in a standard USB keyboard state that they can change channels and control their STBs using the keyboard.

There exist "IR Blasters" which can be used as pseudo-remote controls by toggling an IR LED via serial or USB, but those can be problematic and often fail to send pulses at precisely the exact frequency that the IR sensor in the set top box is looking for, leading to dropped characters, and therefore incorrect channel changes (ie, the IR LED pulses a channel change to "254", but the set top box sees "54")

As everyone here knows, you can't connect a standard PC and make it pretend that it's a HID device like a keyboard.

I am looking at something like an XPort (http://www.lantronix.com/device-network ... xport.html) to provide a very simple telnet-like command interface accessible using ethernet which would accept commands and then direct it to the V-USB HID. As an added bonus, being able to provide more than one HID device would be beneficial.

Without making this into a $500 project, does this seem feasible?

[christian]

You need some kind of Ethernet to serial converter. Search the net, there are some available. Then it should be relatively straight forward.

[rkulagow]

You need some kind of Ethernet to serial converter. Search the net, there are some available. Then it should be relatively straight forward.

It appears that something like the Netburner SBL2e (http://www.netburner.com/products/seria ... sbl2e.html) may be suitable; as an eager amateur, (and someone who used to read Circuit Cellar many, many, many years ago) I'm more full of questions than anything else at this time!

The SBL2e has two TTL-level serial connections, so that's at least a start. Is there a maximum number of keyboards that the HIDKEYS example circuit and code can support? Since many people I know have more than one set top box, it would be nice to be able to emulate more than one keyboard!

Thanks!

[christian]

The Netburner SBL2e looks fine.

The question how many keyboards you can emulate means how many USB connectors you can serve with this solution, right? I'm afraid I have to disappoint you: One AVR can only handle one single USB device in firmware. For multiple USB connections you need multiple AVRs.