>from what i could gather there, the ordinary television or vcr remote
>control operates on the Media Access Control protocol layer, and
>serial communication is not emulated until you get up to the IrCOMM
>protocol layer. is that true ?

Whoa. "ordinary" TV or VCR remotes are far removed from true IrDa devices. Ever wonder why there is a book included with a "universal" remote control? All the manufacturers do it their own way. The rest of your gathering I believe is true.

>in other words, your typical remote control does not emit signals
>that represent ascii characters ?? will search a little on remote controls.
>(of course consumer electronics manufacturers are not forthcoming
>with details about their device control methods).

TV and VCR remotes do indeed emit a pulse stream when you push da button. The encoding of that stream is manufacturer dependent. Not so with IrDa. That is the standard.