Imagination Technologies SoC infrared remote-control decoder
An on-chip infrared receiver block built into Imagination Technologies (ImgTec) system-on-chip designs from the mid-2010s, notably the TZ1090 and the MIPS-based Creator Ci20 and Ci40 development boards. It decodes signals from consumer remote controls so the SoC can be used in set-top boxes and similar living-room devices.
recommendation
A candidate for future removal because the hardware it supports is tied to Imagination's 2014-2015 Creator development boards and TZ1090-era SoCs, none of which are sold new today. Upstream activity over the past few years has been limited to mechanical treewide API cleanups rather than real maintenance or bug fixes, suggesting little active user base. It is not an urgent removal — if anyone still runs these boards, this is their only in-tree option — but the trajectory points toward eventual retirement.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Kconfig identifies this as the "ImgTec IR Decoder" and says it is found in SoCs such as TZ1090.
- git.kernel.org
The driver is a DT-matched platform driver for compatible string "img,ir-rev1", indicating SoC-integrated hardware rather than a broad external bus device family.
- lore.kernel.org
Most recent lore-visible touch affecting img-ir-core.c was a 2024 treewide API conversion (platform remove callback change), not a feature or user-driven maintenance series.
- lore.kernel.org
A 2023 patch for img-ir-core.c was another mechanical API update (convert remove callback to void).
- en.wikipedia.org
The Imagination Creator family page dates the related Creator boards to 2014 and 2015, with the Creator Ci40 introduced via a 2015 Kickstarter.
- phoronix.com
Phoronix describes the Creator CI40 as a 2015 MIPS-based IoT development board announcement, reinforcing that the ecosystem around this IP block is from the mid-2010s.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Evidence gathered from local source inspection plus lore_file_timeline on img-ir-core.c; the lore URLs show only sparse, treewide maintenance in 2023 and 2024, with no sign of active feature work or broad bug-fix traffic. Kernel.org tree URLs are canonical recall used to confirm the driver names, DT binding, and TZ1090-era SoC context. Wikipedia and Phoronix URLs were obtained via web search and show the surrounding hardware ecosystem is tied to 2014-2015 dev boards, so 'not still sold new in 2025' and 'low deployments' are inference-based obsolescence judgments rather than explicit vendor EOL notices. No natural upstream replacement exists because this is a SoC-specific IR block; if the hardware remains in use, this driver is the only in-tree support.