Apple/Universal Remote in Atlantis b1 - any success stories??
#1
Guys, there seem to be lots of disjointed posts & threads about remote control in XBMC - especially Atlantis b1 - but there doesn't appear to be any sort of consensus about whether remote control is actually working properly or not, especially with Apple Remotes/Universal Remotes (esp. Harmony)

I'm having continual problems and notice that many others also seem to be having problems too, but I haven't yet heard about a success story. XBMCHelper is finally running for me, but there are all sorts of issues with play/pause/stop control etc in media playback.

So, has anyone successfully got their Apple Remote/Universal Remote control working with Atlantis? If so, can you please post some info about how you got this working, and what your config is? In particular, I'm interested in information re. Harmony remotes/Apple remote emulation and sequences.

Cheers
Gary
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#2
Maddcow Wrote:Guys, there seem to be lots of disjointed posts & threads about remote control in XBMC - especially Atlantis b1 - but there doesn't appear to be any sort of consensus about whether remote control is actually working properly or not, especially with Apple Remotes/Universal Remotes (esp. Harmony)

I'm having continual problems and notice that many others also seem to be having problems too, but I haven't yet heard about a success story. XBMCHelper is finally running for me, but there are all sorts of issues with play/pause/stop control etc in media playback.

So, has anyone successfully got their Apple Remote/Universal Remote control working with Atlantis? If so, can you please post some info about how you got this working, and what your config is? In particular, I'm interested in information re. Harmony remotes/Apple remote emulation and sequences.

The first thing to do is start simple with the updated XBMCHelper. Simple means Apple IR remote. That means NOT in universal mode (XBMC setting).

Does that give basic up/down/right/left/select/menu control?

Also if you are running any "IR helpers" like RemoteBuddy or SofaControl. That info also helps.

Based on feedback, the new XBMCHelper is pretty solid on the AppleTV in standard mode.
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#3
The basic Apple Remote functionality is working well for we, but I have not had any luck with the Universal codes.

It seems to me that the new helper does not currently recognize the Universal sequences. If that is the case, it should be easy for the developers to add the correct universal support once the basic functionality is finalized.

Keep in mind that the universal support is just an interpretation of a rapid grouping of two to three standard Apple Remote codes.
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#4
davilla Wrote:The first thing to do is start simple with the updated XBMCHelper. Simple means Apple IR remote. That means NOT in universal mode (XBMC setting).

Does that give basic up/down/right/left/select/menu control?

Also if you are running any "IR helpers" like RemoteBuddy or SofaControl. That info also helps.

Based on feedback, the new XBMCHelper is pretty solid on the AppleTV in standard mode.
Simple mode: I get basic up/down/left/right/menu no problems. I don't get play/pause/stop UNLESS the playback menu system (bottom left corner) is onscreen. When this is onscreen, I can use the direction keys to select the desired action (e.g. play/pause/stop etc) but if this is NOT onscreen, pressing the play/pause/stop keys results in a skip forward or backward. There is NO way that I can play/pause/stop with the remote.

"Advanced" mode using sequences on Harmony remote: I get basic up/down/left/right/menu no problems either. However, pressing play/stop/pause results in a change of aspect ratio with all AR info being displayed along the top of the playback window.

Here's something I still don't understand even though I've read/reread various threads: do I need to edit the existing keymap.xml in the application's System folder to add Apple Remote commands, or create a new keymap.xml in the application's UserData folder and do this? This is still as clear as mud to me, despite having read/reread countless threads and spending hours on it.

And here's something else I simply don't understand: why does my Apple Remote/Harmony Remote work fine in Plex with play/pause/stop but not in XBMC? Given that much of the code and application config is the same, why is there such a vast difference between remote control in both apps? It doesn't make sense. However, I did notice that the Plex keymap.xml contains Apple Remote commands whilst the XBMC file doesn't. But when I replaced the XBMC file with the Plex file, I still had the same problems in XBMC which leads me to believe that the problem might be in XBMC itself and possibly not my config after all.
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#5
Oh, and I don't have RemoteBuddy and no longer use Sofa Control. I also deleted all associated files (e.g. kext files etc)
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#6
Maddcow Wrote:Simple mode: I get basic up/down/left/right/menu no problems. I don't get play/pause/stop UNLESS the playback menu system (bottom left corner) is onscreen. When this is onscreen, I can use the direction keys to select the desired action (e.g. play/pause/stop etc) but if this is NOT onscreen, pressing the play/pause/stop keys results in a skip forward or backward. There is NO way that I can play/pause/stop with the remote.
Temporary workaround: hold down the menu button to get OSD and then use the directions like you mentioned, but you are correct, this is not expected behavior.

Quote:Here's something I still don't understand even though I've read/reread various threads: do I need to edit the existing keymap.xml in the application's System folder to add Apple Remote commands, or create a new keymap.xml in the application's UserData folder and do this? This is still as clear as mud to me, despite having read/reread countless threads and spending hours on it.
You won't need to change the default keymap unless you want to modify the functions of some of the keys. You don't need the Apple Remote keymap in your Keymap.xml because it isn't used. The Apple Remote commands are translated into the original Xbox Remote mapping, which is the <remote>...</remote> section in the Keymap (since that mapping is quite mature and covers all the XBMC windows that need special mapping).

Quote:which leads me to believe that the problem might be in XBMC itself and possibly not my config after all.
It is most likely an XBMC regression related to the improved support of analog events (added a few weeks back), needed for controllers like the Playstation 3 Sixaxis Controller and the Wii Remote. Should be fixed as soon the issue is tracked down.
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#7
Ah, okay then. Thanks d4rk for the clarification.....I thought I was going nuts!! Much appreciated
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Apple/Universal Remote in Atlantis b1 - any success stories??0