What's new in Apple Remote Keybindings in XBMC for Mac

[iordonez]

Okay, now that you have new remote support you're probably wondering what has changed! Well, I don't have much time before my lunch ends but here is what I can provide. Eventually this will become part of the wiki so please let me know if there is something I should add!

Don't like the defaults? Edit them! http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Keymap.xml

Browsing videos/Library:
Hold Up/Down - Scroll list
Hold Play - Movie Information
Hold Menu - Contextual menu

Full Screen Video:
Left - Back 1% of Movie
Right - Forward 1% of Movie
Up - 10% or 1 chapter of movie forward
Hold Left/Right - RW/FF
Down - 10% or 1 chapter of movie back
Menu - OSD
Hold Play - Movie information
Hold Menu - Stop

Music:
Hold right - Queue song to playlist

Music Playlist:
Hold Left - Move Item Up
Hold Right - Move Item Down
Hold Menu - Delete Item
Hold Pay - Visualisation

Screen/GUI Calibration:
Play - Next Calibration
Hold Right - Next Resolution

Apple Remote Button Translations:

1 Up
2 Down
3 Left
4 Right
5 Play
6 Menu
7 Hold Up
8 Hold Down
9 Hold Left
10 Hold Right
11 Hold Play
12 Hold Menu

[adrianc1982]

Okay, now that you have new remote support you're probably wondering what has changed! Well, I don't have much time before my lunch ends but here is what I can provide. Eventually this will become part of the wiki so please let me know if there is something I should add!

Don't like the defaults? Edit them! http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Keymap.xml

Browsing videos/Library:
Hold Up/Down - Scroll list
Hold Play - Movie Information
Hold Menu - Contextual menu

Full Screen Video:
Left - Back 1% of Movie
Right - Forward 1% of Movie
Up - 10% or 1 chapter of movie forward
Hold Left/Right - RW/FF
Down - 10% or 1 chapter of movie back
Menu - OSD
Hold Play - Movie information
Hold Menu - Stop

Music:
Hold right - Queue song to playlist

Music Playlist:
Hold Left - Move Item Up
Hold Right - Move Item Down
Hold Menu - Delete Item
Hold Pay - Visualisation

Screen/GUI Calibration:
Play - Next Calibration
Hold Right - Next Resolution

Apple Remote Button Translations:

1 Up
2 Down
3 Left
4 Right
5 Play
6 Menu
7 Hold Up
8 Hold Down
9 Hold Left
10 Hold Right
11 Hold Play
12 Hold Menu

Just tried the apple remote as i have it on my projector room and an 360 controller for my regular TV. Great work i must say, its excelent in all aspects, you can do everything with great style and confort. thanks a lot!

[Equusz]

Pushing Play on the Apple Remote opens the movie's folder, instead of playing the movie. Any ideas?

Also, do you have something like this for Universal Remote key bindings?

[iordonez]

Pushing Play on the Apple Remote opens the movie's folder, instead of playing the movie. Any ideas?

Also, do you have something like this for Universal Remote key bindings?

I'm assuming you are using a DVD rip, in which case you need to scan it to your library OR navigate to the actual video file inside the Video_TS file and press play on it.

Universal key bindings are on the XBMC for OS X wiki... which is down now... because our host is on vacation and that's how things work... but can usually be found at dn-0.com/xbmc-trac

[Equusz]

I'm not sure what you mean by "scan it to library" but I think I've done that with all my DVD rips (somehow) because they all show up in Movie Lists top view...and when I push "P" on the keyboard it plays right from the enclosing folder (the movie's title folder that contains the Video_TS folder). But "Play" on the remote doesn't do the same thing, it OPENS the folder.

I definitely don't want to be navigating in and selecting the video file, that takes away from the coolness...if "P" on the keyboard plays the Video_TS inside, shouldn't the "Play" button do the same? What am I doing wrong?

[Equusz]

Iordenez? Can you clarify for me?

[iordonez]

Use video library mode. More info can be found in the manual:

http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Video_Library

[Equusz]

Iordonez:

Thanks for your help, but I am getting nowhere.

I've already been using Library Mode. I mean - I added the source, Set Content to Movies-IMDB, and enabled Library Mode. XBMC is displaying all the info it got from IMDB just fine. But nothing as changed with regards to the use of the remote. The center play button will not play the movie, it opens the folder, same as the Enter key on the keyboard. The "P" key on the keyboard will play the movie.

I know you all are using the PLAY button on the Apple Remote to play your movie right from its title folder, without having to open the folder and select the Video_TS itself.

Unless...is your file system different? Are you only putting in the Video_TS folder itself and renaming that to the movie's title? My file structure is currently like this:

-Eragon
->Video_TS
-->1.vob
-->2.vob
-->etc.

You guys doing something different? Otherwise, I'm completely at a loss as to why my remote PLAY buttong does something different than yours.

Please let me know if you have any more ideas.

Eq

[Equusz]

Hmmm...no one's responding - I guess I do have an anomaly. I'll report it as a bug then.

[iordonez]

Hmmm...no one's responding - I guess I do have an anomaly. I'll report it as a bug then.

Sorry we've all been very busy. I have a feeling you're not in library mode. When you are in library mode (little button on the left) it's not possible to browse folders, etc. what you should see is the following:

Turn library mode on, Click Movies -> Titles -> See a list of all your available movies that were scraped. Movie covers and information should be available depending on your view. Click on a movie and it will automatically watch the movie. If you want post a screenshot of what it looks like before you click play and have your issues. I want to make sure everything looks correct.

[Equusz]

Hi:

You're right, I wasn't in Library Mode. I don't know what you mean by "little button on the left" - perhaps it's not there in the xTV skin? But when I move the mouse arrow to the middle of the screen I get that option. That solves the problem of the remote PLAY button opening the folder...but has created another problem, mainly being home screen and navigation issues - which I'll raise in a separate thread.


Eq
Thanks!

[movingdecimals]

Is it possible to make the play/pause button open xbmc instead of front row? i know you can assign the button with apps like mira but after installing mira i was not able to use the remote within xbmc. i would assume there is a file somewhere i can manually edit to change the button's behavior.

[Aegelward]

To be honest, i feel that Plex's default keybindings for the apple remote are the most 'right', XBMC's defaults are at best confusing and at worst frustrating.

[steve1977]

To be honest, i feel that Plex's default keybindings for the apple remote are the most 'right', XBMC's defaults are at best confusing and at worst frustrating.

What is different in the Plex keymapping for the Remote and is there a way to open the context menu?

[d4rk]

To be honest, i feel that Plex's default keybindings for the apple remote are the most 'right', XBMC's defaults are at best confusing and at worst frustrating.

The unintuitive defaults for the Apple Remote was due to a regression that crept in just before we launched Beta 1. It was fixed soon after, so the next release will have more intuitive key bindings.

[kevinvinv]

Hi all, I must be a real wacko b/c I cannot for the life of me figure out how to navigate to the EXIT button or how to switch on the Visualizer (while playing a song)...

Seems that I cannot get the "cursor" to go to those buttons via the apple TV remote.

Any help for this ? :)

Thanks.

[turbinez]

hrmm when i hold down 'menu' i don't get anything when browsing my movies. any ideas? i'm trying to access the contextual menus and stuff.

I'm using atv 2.2 with xbmc beta 1 on horizon's aeon mod

[chuckkay]

hrmm when i hold down 'menu' i don't get anything when browsing my movies. any ideas? i'm trying to access the contextual menus and stuff.

I'm using atv 2.2 with xbmc beta 1 on horizon's aeon mod

me too im using ATVusb creator 1.0b3 with xbmc atlantis beta 1
but apple remote only has 6 functions, because the hold button feature doesnt work, also usb keyboards and USB mce reciever dont work either.. very hard to use xbmc with only 6 functions keys..

[deano72]

I am using Beta 2 with 2.1 and holding down menu for context menu in files view does not work for me either :(

[davilla]

I am using Beta 2 with 2.1 and holding down menu for context menu in files view does not work for me either :(

As it's been stated before holding down play for context menu does not work in any AppleTV OS prior to 2.2. To get holding down play for context menu, you need to be running under AppleTV update 2.2

EDIT: Opps, thanks to d4rk for a cluestick. It's "play hold" NOT "menu hold", correcting the above post.

[d4rk]

davilla, you meant holding down the Play button for context menu, right?

[deano72]

cheers.....now that is my dilemma......should I update to 2.2?
I will lose my sapphire,nito,and files then? LOL oh what to do.

[tuckbodi]

cheers.....now that is my dilemma......should I update to 2.2?
I will lose my sapphire,nito,and files then? LOL oh what to do.

I went for it and I have to admit just getting the context menu has been worth it. Putting Nito back on wasn't too hard even though it's not 100% yet with 2.2 (I was able to use its smart installer to get AFP running and some other things). And it looks like Sapphire might be right around the corner as I see a lot of activity on its Trac. No word on ATVFiles though...

[deano72]

Yep. I just went for it too. The context menu alone is worth it

[deaconf19]

when i press x it stops the movie but how do i exit full screen to get back to the menu to play other movies? delete?

[bigdaddyo811]

Im so stuck

mac Mini
XBMC

I have edited the keymap.xml file in both
/Library/Application Support/XBMC/System and
/Library/Application Support/XBMC/Userdata

It says the following under both global and movies
<joystick name="Apple Remote">
<button id="3">Left</button>
<button id="4">Right</button>
<button id="1">Up</button>
<button id="2">Down</button>
<button id="5">Select</button>
<button id="6">PreviousMenu</button>
<button id="9">Left</button>
<button id="10">Right</button>
<button id="7">ScrollUp</button>
<button id="8">ScrollDown</button>
<button id="12">ContextMenu</button>
<button id="11">ContextMenu</button>
</joystick>


But no matter what I do, I cannot get the CONTEXTAL MENU up when in the video or browse movie mode by keeping the menu button pressed..

help!!

[bpierce815]

I am having a difficult time with the apple remote and music on my ATV2.2. I have the new version of XBMC Atlantis installed, and for the most part, everything works great. However, when playing music, unless I allow the Visualization to come up and use the Visualization OSD, I cannot figure out how to pause, or stop music. Any help here would be great as the shortest time that I can set the Visualization to come up is 1 min.

[yzeyze]

I am having a difficult time with the apple remote and music on my ATV2.2. I have the new version of XBMC Atlantis installed, and for the most part, everything works great. However, when playing music, unless I allow the Visualization to come up and use the Visualization OSD, I cannot figure out how to pause, or stop music. Any help here would be great as the shortest time that I can set the Visualization to come up is 1 min.

Try this Keymap, http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=235349&postcount=38
I rearranged a few things to make it a bit easier for me when using for music etc.

[Dr JonboyG]

My Apple TV did the autoupdate last week and when it went to 2.3 it broke the XBMC install, so I did a factory restore and then used the patchstick to reinstall everything, and for some reason the remote configuration seems to be different - in fullscreen playback, up and down change the volume instead skipping forward or back 10%, and instead of menu bringing up the menu, it keeps the audio playing but drops the screen back to the folder view.

Any ideas?

[yzeyze]

My Apple TV did the autoupdate last week and when it went to 2.3 it broke the XBMC install, so I did a factory restore and then used the patchstick to reinstall everything, and for some reason the remote configuration seems to be different - in fullscreen playback, up and down change the volume instead skipping forward or back 10%, and instead of menu bringing up the menu, it keeps the audio playing but drops the screen back to the folder view.

Any ideas?

It's the Keymap.xml file that it has loaded.
You can use the one in my post above yours for the way I like it.

[Dr JonboyG]

When I try and SFTP the xml file into Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XMBC/userdata or /System it tells me I don't have permission to add or delete files. :(

[davilla]

When I try and SFTP the xml file into Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/userdata or /System it tells me I don't have permission to add or delete files. :(

that's what sudo is for. sftp the files to a location where you do have permission to copy it. Then ssh in and "sudo mv ..." it.

[yzeyze]

When I try and SFTP the xml file into Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/userdata or /System it tells me I don't have permission to add or delete files. :(
The file needs to go into the 'frontrow' user's folder -
/mnt/Scratch/Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata

[Dr JonboyG]

Ah, that worked perfectly - many thanks!

[darklordjames3]

So, here's a question! I've been running XBMC on my Xbox's for ages. As such, I am very use to their remote commands and already have them all in place on my Harmony's. Is there a way to run the AppleTV using my Xbox (RCA) remote codes? Is it as simple as copying my T3CH XBMC for Xbox keymap.xml over to my AppleTV?

Optionally, is there a way to teach XBMC some new remote codes from within XBMC?

Thanks!

[RKMFlorida]

I've been using XBMC for 4 or 5 years without any WAF issues whatsoever. Then I switched out the XBOX with the ATV, and the WAF went down the tubes.

I share the same question as "darklordjames3" above. I've searched the entire forum, and I cannot find any mention that the original XBOX remote will not work with the XBMC-for-Mac port on AppleTV.

Despite that, I've tried everything, from porting Keymap to the GUI configuration options under both ATV & XBMC -- and have made absolutely no progress with the XBOX remote on AppleTV.

I am sure I'm missing a post, but cannot find it. Can anyone point me to the definitive statement on why the XBOX remote will not work on AppleTV, or if it can, how to go about it?

Thank you in advance!

[davilla]

I've been using XBMC for 4 or 5 years without any WAF issues whatsoever. Then I switched out the XBOX with the ATV, and the WAF went down the tubes.

I share the same question as "darklordjames3" above. I've searched the entire forum, and I cannot find any mention that the XBMC remote will not work with the XBMC-for-Mac port on AppleTV.

Despite that, I've tried everything, from porting Keymap to the GUI configuration options under both ATV & XBMC -- and have made absolutely no progress with the XBMC remote on AppleTV.

I am sure I'm missing a post, but cannot find it. Can anyone point me to the definitive statement on why the XBMC remote will not work on AppleTV, or if it can, how to go about it?

Thank you in advance!


What do you mean by "XBMC remote" ? Give me an URL to it so I can see what it looks like.

[RKMFlorida]

Davilla - thank you for the reply. I should have said "XBOX Remote". Here is a photo from a random location provided by Google:

http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/041228171436s.jpg
http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/041228171436s.jpg

I've also tried using a "Universal Remote" with the same IR codes as the XBOX remote, on the chance that there is something about that remote specifically that ATV does not like.

Thanks again for your input!

[darklordjames3]

rusten - My understanding is that the IR receiver on the AppleTV is hardwired to only accept AppleTV remote codes. Currently there is no software method to get around this. As such, you only have the 6 AppleTV codes to work with. Using those six commands, many more commands can be built using the Launcher's "Universal Remote" option. This looks for macros comming from a universal remote that equal up to 3 AppleTV buttons. So, "Menu->Play->Forward" would equal one button on your universal remote that you could then use to map to "guide" through the keymap.

That information is about as far as I got before I gave up. :) Currently it isn't user friendly enough for me to set it up, so I went back to the Xbox.

[davilla]

Davilla - thank you for the reply. I should have said "XBOX Remote". Here is a photo from a random location provided by Google:

I've also tried using a "Universal Remote" with the same IR codes as the XBOX remote, on the chance that there is something about that remote specifically that ATV does not like.

Thanks again for your input!

Thanks for the image. Previous to the AppleTV OS r2.3 software version, there was no way to get non-Apple IR remotes to be seen by the AppleTV IR receiver. With r2.3, non-AppleTV IR remotes are now being seen. The native AppleTV OS with r2.3 can "learn" a non-Apple remote but the issue now becomes defining what the additional buttons mean. Frontrow only needs to understand the 6+4 button presses. But with a bit of dev work, we hope to expand this to other IR buttons from a non-Apple IR remote.

This is a work in progress and there is no release date set for this feature enhancement.

[RKMFlorida]

darklordjames3 - Thank you for the info. It looks like I must fall-back to the XBox as well. It's a real bummer, because the ATV is a much nicer box. I've been waiting 4+ years to eliminate the loud XBOX with something a bit more powerful.

Davilla - Here's something interesting. With the ATV 2.3 "Universal" programming, I tested several IR remotes. Many of them were recognized when "programming" the ATV's Univeral section. However, the XBOX was one that the ATV would not recognize. In other words, even when programming the ATV, it saw no sign of IR coming from the XBOX remote or a Universal remote programmed to send XBOX IR commands.

However, using the actual XBOX remote is not important. What is important, is making a few more buttons available. This way we can use a Universal remote and get slightly more functionality than a D-Pad and Back button, which is essentially the limit of a ATV Remote.

However, even if I program the ATV Universal remote, none of those codes pass through to the XBMC application.

I've gone through the application thoroughly, and I can tell you that the lack of remote capabilities is the only major issue I see in moving away from the XBOX at this point. As a result, it would seem this should be a fairly important task on the ATC-XBMC development project.

What is the major issue; is it that the ATV will not pass raw IR to the applications? Does everything have to go through a closed IR class provided by ATV, rather than accessing a raw serial/communications class? At this point, it seems like it could help further the project if there were some specific definitions of the project requirements to enable this..

Thanks again for your input!

[davilla]

Davilla - Here's something interesting. With the ATV 2.3 "Universal" programming, I tested several IR remotes. Many of them were recognized when "programming" the ATV's Univeral section. However, the XBOX was one that the ATV would not recognize. In other words, even when programming the ATV, it saw no sign of IR coming from the XBOX remote or a Universal remote programmed to send XBOX IR commands.


The MS MCE IR remote is another one that is not recognized. The Hauppauge remote from the HD-PVR is as every other IR remote that I tried.

However, even if I program the ATV Universal remote, none of those codes pass through to the XBMC application.

I've gone through the application thoroughly, and I can tell you that the lack of remote capabilities is the only major issue I see in moving away from the XBOX at this point. As a result, it would seem this should be a fairly important task on the ATC-XBMC development project.

That is correct, Launcher 0.9 will only pass one set of IR buttons. Launcher 2.3 uses a modified XBMCHelper and this could be altered to pass more buttons. There was some work done with Plex to do this and adopting these changes is planned.

What is the major issue; is it that the ATV will not pass raw IR to the applications? Does everything have to go through a closed IR class provided by ATV, rather than accessing a raw serial/communications class? At this point, it seems like it could help further the project if there were some specific definitions of the project requirements to enable this..


Under Launcher 0.9, IR is handled using Frontrow/Backrow classes, there is a way to override this but the risk is causing problems in problems with Frontrow. Under Launcher 2.3, adding more IR buttons is possible and will most likely happen there first.

[DevinCook]

I thought the official design was now to add event servers and have them talk to XBMC, avoiding having to change the source.

[davilla]

Launcher 0.9 -> talks via EventClient protocol

Launcher 2.3 -> XBMCHelper is an EventClient

[RKMFlorida]

I'm not sure I understand.

If you have the IR handler (XBMCHelper) written and integrated in 2.3, and you have the full functionality present in XBMC (actual actuals, and all glue between the actions and IR) -- where does the hurdle come in?

Would it help if I sent a developer an XBMC remote to test?

There are several very key components that make life magnitudes easier on XBMC once you have the full-featured remote. For example, I have subtitles mapped to a button, angle change (stretch). Most importantly there is the 10-minute skip ahead/behind because XBMC's FF/Rewind don't work all that hot, and the menu'ing capability when you're on an item and you need to invoke the context manual.

On a separate note, is there anywhere one can download the Keymap.xml shown in this forum? It's not included with the SourceForge build that I had downloaded. I guess it has some of these features by holding keys longer? For example, holding Play longer will trigger context menus?

[DevinCook]

The good news is that Keymap.xml can be found on your ATV at /Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/system

The bad news is I copied it over and it doesn't seem to be getting read (at least I don't see it popping up in the log).

Also the DisplayRemoteCodes flag in the AdvanceSettings.xml doesn't seem to affect anything.

[davilla]

I'm not sure I understand.

If you have the IR handler (XBMCHelper) written and integrated in 2.3, and you have the full functionality present in XBMC (actual actuals, and all glue between the actions and IR) -- where does the hurdle come in?

Would it help if I sent a developer an XBMC remote to test?

There are several very key components that make life magnitudes easier on XBMC once you have the full-featured remote. For example, I have subtitles mapped to a button, angle change (stretch). Most importantly there is the 10-minute skip ahead/behind because XBMC's FF/Rewind don't work all that hot, and the menu'ing capability when you're on an item and you need to invoke the context manual.

On a separate note, is there anywhere one can download the Keymap.xml shown in this forum? It's not included with the SourceForge build that I had downloaded. I guess it has some of these features by holding keys longer? For example, holding Play longer will trigger context menus?

It's not as trivial as you are making it. If your XBOX remote is not seen by the AppleTV under 2.3 in "learning mode", then XBMCHelper also cannot see it. The AppleTV IR receiver is NOT a general purpose IR receiver. It's a micro-controller that has IR receiver capabilities and seems blind to certain IR remotes.

Does not matter how badly you want it, if the AppleTV IR receiver does not pass XBOX IR remote signals, nether Launcher 0.9 nor XBMCHelper will be able to work around this.

[darklordjames3]

"Does not matter how badly you want it, if the AppleTV IR receiver does not pass XBOX IR remote signals, nether Launcher 0.9 nor XBMCHelper will be able to work around this."

Forgetting about the Xbox Remote, is there in place support already for some other remote? For example, I can load up any remote I please into my Harmony. Does ATV XBMC already have, say, Sony DVD player remote codes already working, or any other brand of DVD player/DVR (the most similar type of keys to what XBMC uses)?

[davilla]

readers are not paying attention :)

Under Launcher 0.9, IR is handled using Frontrow/Backrow classes, there is a way to override this but the risk is causing problems in problems with Frontrow. Under Launcher 2.3, adding more IR buttons is possible and will most likely happen there first.

If you're asking me to drop what I doing and work on this, sorry not going to happen. It's in the queue and it pops out when it's done or close. No time frame as to when this will occur.

[RKMFlorida]

First - I'm certainly paying attention. If you read my replies and believe differently, quote it. I want to again state very explicitly: I'm not requesting you figure out how to make the ATV recognize XBOX remotes. We've resolved that, and we're on to Universal remotes or ANY alternative to the 6-button clicklet remote.

The issue, as it stands, is this:

If you have the XBMCHelper written, to pass IR events ... If XBMC handles the rest of the functionality, then I am asking ... is it fair to say that all that is left is the "glue" or essentially interop code to get UNIVERAL remotes, those which ATV DOES understand, to work?

If so, great, the project is defined and that specific task can be listed in the to-do's and prioritized.

If not, is there something I can provide you to help? Although I'm a developer, I'm not familiar with the XBMC code-base. Therefore, while I can't personally code it, I'll contribute money/testing/whatever else I can.

[jmarshall]

I believe davilla's last reply was to darklordjames3.

In any case, you don't need to be familiar with the entire XBMC codebase - you just need to be familiar with the XBMCHelper codebase (a single file pretty much) and be willing to explore how the new OS for the appletv does it's stuff :)

Essentially, XBMCHelper gets all the reports from the IR remote and translates this into something that it then sends on to XBMC (it's an XBMC EventClient) in a format it understands.

I should think that one thing that would be really good is if someone explored the various structs and codes and so on that are presented on remote button presses to figure out how it all works. I doubt any of Apple's new stuff is documented in any way, if it is, then information on that would be great as well :)

Cheers,
Jonathan

[davilla]

If you have the XBMCHelper written, to pass IR events ... If XBMC handles the rest of the functionality, then I am asking ... is it fair to say that all that is left is the "glue" or essentially interop code to get UNIVERAL remotes, those which ATV DOES understand, to work?


see http://pastebin.com/m4ffde570

defaults read /mnt/Scratch/Users/frontrow/Library/Application\ Support/Front\ Row/OtherRemotes/ActiveRemotes

defaults is an app that manipulates a plist. Here we are using it to dump the contents of the plist. The target here is ActiveRemotes.plist. This contains the button mapping from the non-Apple remote to a command (Play, Left, Right, etc). This plist is created and setup by Frontrow.

XBMCHelper needs to read this list and setup a mapping from the CommandPattern to EventClient actions. The CommandPattern is what comes from the HID IR event. Right now XBMCHelper ignores non-apple remotes. It can tell the difference between individual Apple remotes and non Apple remotes.

Anyone that want to play around with this needs to look at XBMCHelper in the googlecode project as there are differences between this one and the one in the XBMC svn.

[sho]

Maybe it's best to link to the Wiki page in the first post and make sure that one is up to date (instead of maintaining many instances).

http://blog.xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Apple_Remote

[DevinCook]

Has anyone build a remote file for using a remote with no volume control on the ATV, using a receiver instead? That way the up/down arrows could serve a more useful purpose.

[garyi]

Hi I have read through this thread and am none the wiser for my question:

I would like to use my mac mini instead of appletv for XBMC. Will the standard apple remote work in the same was as it does on the appletv?

Or can I pull up harmony remote software, find Xbox remote and use these commands through XBMC on a mini?

Sorry if this has been answered but there is a lot of conflicting information. I don't want to tear my home network apart if its not going to work.

[DevinCook]

I've tried and tried and haven't gotten Universal Remote mode to work. I turned it on in Multi-Finder and in XBMC, and set the timing to 1 sec to make it easier to test, without any luck. At 1 second I should be able to duplicate commands by hand, but I'm also using a Crestron system to create IR codes with precise timing. Still nothing.

Anyone else have any luck?

[DevinCook]

Ok, I tracked down the issue. You've got to replace the XMBChelper app.

More info here:

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39209

[Hilbe]

Has there been any discussion to import the Harmony settings from Plex? Plex has hacked together a ton of Apple Remotes to make many, many available buttons to Plex. They even have a Plex Player hardware device listed in the Harmony software now. I assume a similar method could be used in XBMC...

[brucek2]

I'm a brand new user of XBMC on ATV. I've got the current ATV version (2.3.1), and XBMC Atlantis (bf1). I believe I've properly followed the instructions on the site as to installation.

My issue is that my ATV Remote is not performing as documented in the first post. In particular, the "+" key increases volume and the "-" key decreases volume. This leaves me without any way to seek through a video file other than 30 seconds at a time, which is very painful.

I have indeed read through this thread but am afraid I don't have enough context to understand what it may be trying to tell me. I see that there's a possibility of needing to change a keymap file or a XBMChelper application or both. I don't immediately know how to do either of those things and the hints I've seen in this thread seem geared to people who already knew 90% of what they needed to know to do it. I also looked at the Apple and ATV Faqs with no more luck.

Any suggestions for me?

[tyche]

My issue is that my ATV Remote is not performing as documented in the first post. In particular, the "+" key increases volume and the "-" key decreases volume. This leaves me without any way to seek through a video file other than 30 seconds at a time, which is very painful.

Any suggestions for me?

You need to modify the Keymap.xml file and save it in your home directory where custom settings stay when you do xbmc upgrades.

You have a couple options

1) Try this modified keymap : http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=235349&postcount=38

and save it in : /Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata

2) Make your own changes.
Copy the keymap.xml file from
/Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/system/Keymap.xml
to
/Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata/Keymap.xml

then edit it. Look for the AppleRemote sections and you'll probably see entries for Volume Up / Volume Down on your +/- keys. Change them to BigStepForward & BigStepBack.

(directories aren't 100% accurate as I'm doing this in my head. But that's a rough estimate where to look)

[brucek2]

Thanks Tyche. That was enough to get me sorted.

[jelockwood]

Has there been any discussion to import the Harmony settings from Plex? Plex has hacked together a ton of Apple Remotes to make many, many available buttons to Plex. They even have a Plex Player hardware device listed in the Harmony software now. I assume a similar method could be used in XBMC...

I agree, the Plex solution seems light years ahead of the current state of what XBMC can do regarding supporting remotes on Apples.

For those less clear on how Apple remotes work, and how Plex has utilised this, here is a summary of what is happening.

An Apple Remote can be 'paired' to an individual Mac (or AppleTV) so that if for example you have both a Mac and an AppleTV in the same room and each has an Apple Remote, then the Mac would respond only to its remote, and the AppleTV would respond only to its. This is obviously a useful capability.

Note: By default, Macs and AppleTVs are not paired to an individual remote and would accept commands from any Apple remote.

The interesting part is how this is done, from memory I believe this works based on the fact that a Mac (or AppleTV) can actually accept 256 different and unique remote codes, these are divided in to 16 sets of 16 (apologies if I misremember the correct numbers). If a Mac (or AppleTV) is not paired to a remote then each set of 16 is treated as identical to the others. So if it received button 1 from set 1, and button 1 from set 2 they would be treated identically. When however a Mac (or AppleTV) is paired to a remote, then that remote would be using one specific set out of the 16 different possible sets and the Mac or AppleTV would ignore the commands from the other 15 sets. This potentially means in one room you could have 16 different pairings.

I would guess the way the Apple Remote itself learns which set to use (when in Paired mode) depends on how long you hold down the buttons to trigger the Mac or AppleTV in to pairing, 1 second might be set 1, 2 seconds might be set 2, and so on.

What Plex has done is in their software which is still using the same Mac IR receiver (Plex is not available for AppleTV) can therefore as the Apple hardware can receive 16x16=256 different IR commands, the Plex software treats these as all different allowing you to define far more than 16 buttons. The drawback is that you can no longer use pairing to prevent (Apple) remote control conflicts.

This single feature is one that might by itself be enough to persuade me to use Plex rather than XBMC, I am actually currently building a media server and testing both Plex and XBMC.

[Doraemonn]

Actually the latest beta for XBMCHelper, coupled with the new keymaps.xml, works identically to Plex. So much so that I now use the same Harmony configuration (including custom buttons) for both Plex and XBMC.

The problem is that the version of the IR helper currently in the SVN doesn't work too well, so you need to hack in the one supplied by this thread (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49420). Once you do that, the world is your oyster.

[MaestroDD]

The beta version of XBMCHelper (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49420) is for use with XBMC Babylon and should work quite well. If not please post it in that thread.

Current svn supports the Harmony and it can be activated in System->AppleRemote
Looks like we travelled light years in a few weeks :P

[Doraemonn]

The beta version of XBMCHelper (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49420) is for use with XBMC Babylon and should work quite well. If not please post it in that thread.

Current svn supports the Harmony and it can be activated in System->AppleRemote


It does support the Harmony, but for some reason not all commands work. the same Keymap file that works with your beta does not work with the SVN version - only basic controls work but no advanced mappings.

[jmarshall]

Which ones don't work exactly and I'll try it out here.

[MaestroDD]

It does support the Harmony, but for some reason not all commands work. the same Keymap file that works with your beta does not work with the SVN version - only basic controls work but no advanced mappings.

hm, can't reproduce. Did you switch to the proper remote in Settings->System->AppleRemote?

Please feel free to create a new thread with issues you find with XBMCHelper in current svn. Make sure you use a recent version (>=r20247), there was a little bugger (swapped left/right - again)

cheers,
mdd

[DevinCook]

So I'm a bit confused as to the status of XBMCHelper in regaurds to ATV.

Does the update support other remotes (trained via Frontrow) now?

Has the configuration for displaying remote codes now work for the ATV?


Thanks

[MaestroDD]

So I'm a bit confused as to the status of XBMCHelper in regaurds to ATV.

Does the update support other remotes (trained via Frontrow) now?

see http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48332
Trained/Learned remotes should work with Launcher 3.0

[DevinCook]

Wow, thanks, I wish I new earlier. My hours of cursing the ATV are over.

Now if someone could figure out how to slip in a couple of extra buttons...

Oh well, this is truly wonderful.

[El Massman]

has anyone previously posted or can post a keymap.xml with the same button mapping as plex? so the remote behaves exactly the same? i've tried making my own with no luck and have searched in vein. any help would be appreciated.

many thanks.

[BDPNA]

I too am using my Harmony set up as a "Plex" device in the Harmony software.

With the latest SVN I am seeing most functions work, including Menu to launch the XBMC app from the desktop. But for some reason the fast forward and rewind buttons are functioning the same as chapter forward and chapter back.

Help?

Using latest XBMCHelper beta as well as Keymap.xml from the XBMCHelper thread.

Is it as simple as setting up my Mac Mini as another device in the Harmony software (not Plex)?

[El Massman]

would someone be able to explain why i don't get the same keymapping as stated in the the first post? am i missing something really obvious here? i've been using the latest SVN builds as they're released and the controls have never been as stated in the first post. i spent a little while editing the keymap.xml yesterday and upon closer inspection of the first post it seems that all i've done is to recreate that. so why am i not getting the right controls as default? any help would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks,

mass

[MaestroDD]

would someone be able to explain why i don't get the same keymapping as stated in the the first post? am i missing something really obvious here? i've been using the latest SVN builds as they're released and the controls have never been as stated in the first post. i spent a little while editing the keymap.xml yesterday and upon closer inspection of the first post it seems that all i've done is to recreate that. so why am i not getting the right controls as default? any help would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks,

mass

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=47124