I got a Panasonic DoubleFeature player from Goodwill (combination VCR and DVD player). For those of you who don't remember, VCR players took VHS cartridges containing shiny black tape and with loud whirring sounds proceeded to spew this tape all over your living-room floor. As a bonus feature, instead of destroying cartridges, they could actually display the audio and video contents of the tape in grainy quality on a television screen. Truly a superior way to watch videos!

Unfortunately, the remote was not included with this VCR. They can be purchased online, or a universal remote can emulate some of the remote functions, but that is taking the easy way out. I decided instead to make one from an ATmega 328 and an IR led.

My main goal with this is to create a low power remote which can be run for long periods of time of off a couple AAA batteries. Additionally, I intend take this as an opportunity to learn about avr-gcc and avrdude as well as the 328 lower power and timer features. Thus, I am forgoing the use of Android Studio.

A non-goal is to make this reusable. I am going to optimize this for my model of Panasonic player. Their are already plenty of universal remotes and libraries out there without needing another one.

The end goal is to watch Star Wars on VHS the way nature intended: