Having IR remote on PC sometimes may be useful. You can adjust music volume, change song or do few simple tasks within user interface. GeriBoss build a simple project that made it possible with little effort. He wanted to use any generic TV remote that uses RC-5 standard. For this a TSOP31238 receiver suits best. He connected it to Attiny2313 microcontroller’s INT0 pin and was able to decode signals with ease.

Once microcontroller decodes command it passes it to PC using serial interface using standard MX232 level converter. He didn’t bother with power supply – just used USB connector. Obviously board will always be near computer. On PC side there is a small resident Java program running which receives commands and takes actions using NirCMD.