I've been working on the layout of the case and am in need of some community input.
A key aspect of the streamer to me is integration of an IR receiver for volume control via CamillaDSP. I've been using a FLIRC USB IR receiver for this and it works great and is very easy to set up. However I have not found an elegant solution for locating the IR receiver on the front of the chassis. Below is what I've thought through currently, would love to hear if anyone has a nice solution that I have not thought of (or if anyone has a preference for any of the solutions listed below).
Option 1 - FLIRC receiver in rear of case. I've had good luck bouncing IR signals off a wall behind the RPi and imagine that this will work in many circumstances. Downside is I am sure there are some configurations where this will be unreliable but there is always the option of adding an IR extender as well.
Option 2 - Locate RPi in center of case and use USB/LAN panel mount extenders (
like this) to enable use of 3 USB ports in rear of case and 1 USB port in front of case (for IR receiver). This adds cost and additional complexity to the build and overall the solution feels inelegant. I do like that it will probably be easier to build because RPi placement will be more flexible.
Option 3 - Install a panel mount USB port in rear of case that then connects to a panel mount USB port in front of case (for IR receiver). A short USB cable could then be used to jumper between a USB port on the RPi and the panel mount USB port. Again this feels like a hack and I do not like the idea of running wires externally.
At this point I am leaning towards option 1 but am considering option 2. Any thoughts?
Michael