USB IR receiver with existing IR remote?

I have another thread going on the list around (apparent decoding)
issues I'm running into moving from lirc_serial to serial_ir. Frankly,
I'd sort of like to switch to a USB receiver, but I really want to use
my existing remote if possible. I asked about this on the MythTV
mailing list, but haven't had a reply yet. Looking to clarify a few
things:

In older kernels I've been using the kernel's lirc_serial with a
Philips TIVO34 remote, using this config (just with the old button
names):

http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/philips/TIVO34

Should I be able to use that remote with that config via a USB IR
receiver? From what I gather that seems to be the case. That is where
the devices / drivers required for the specific IR receiver, and the
actual remote used (and it's configuration) really aren't related. Is
that in fact the case?

If so, I haven't found any really solid recommendations...though I see
a lot of people using MCE IR receivers. It appears that there are many
different manufacturers that sell what they refer to as MCE USB
receivers. Are those all the same internally in that they'd be
compatible with the kernel IR_MCEUSB?

Thanks in advance. I'd love to put serial ports in the same place as
floppy disks here ;).

Tom

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