[Apple TV] Logitech Harmony Remote support with XBMC for AppleTV?
#46
sircube Wrote:Hi, any news on this?

I've been sick and haven't had a chance yet to test the updated version of XBMChelper. If anyone gets to it before me, feel free to post your results here. I'll try to give it a go tonight.
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#47
Finally got a chance to try the updated XBMChelper, and I had some success. My log is here. Looks like I'm still holding Menu too long on most of my attempts. I did manage to get button ID 32 and 36 successfully fired.

I'll try to get these programmed into my Harmony and see how I fair there.
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#48
Hi,

I can also confirm that new xbmchelper worx. Button combinations are recognized correctly. Menu_hold timing is sensitive as Brandroid mentioned. Now I hope I can correctly enter timing it in the Harmony One.

Thanks Maestro!
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#49
cool, and thanks for the help!
About the timings: I think half a second should be fine - it was the default before, too. But if the 500ms don't work well with the Harmony the default can be changed.
Fixed XBMCHelper will be included in the next Launcher release.

cheers,
DD

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Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules. If you don't have the time to read them, please don't take the time to post in this forum!
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#50
Hey Maestro, I finally got a chance to program some sequences into my Harmony 550. XBMChelper confirms that they are firing, however they aren't being recognized by XBMC as valid keymappings.

Here is the XBMChelper log showing three sequences properly executed by the remote. Then the XBMC log showing the error while trying to fire these when viewing fullscreen video. And for good measure, here's the console log.

Can you think of a reason why XBMC wouldn't recognize the keymappings?
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#51
Hi Brandroid,

Brandroid Wrote:Hey Maestro, I finally got a chance to program some sequences into my Harmony 550. XBMChelper confirms that they are firing, however they aren't being recognized by XBMC as valid keymappings.

Here is the XBMChelper log showing three sequences properly executed by the remote.


Yep, that one looks good.

Brandroid Wrote:Then the XBMC log showing the error while trying to fire these when viewing fullscreen video. And for good measure, here's the console log.

Can you think of a reason why XBMC wouldn't recognize the keymappings?

It seems that the first log (from xbmchelper) doesn't match the other 2 (timestamps differ). For me it looks like you still use the old xbmchelper for Launcher/MultiFinder. Did you copy the new xbmchelper (the one that produced the good log) to /Applications/MultiFinder.app/Contents/Resources/ so it gets used by MultiFinder?

Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules. If you don't have the time to read them, please don't take the time to post in this forum!
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#52
MaestroDD Wrote:Hi Brandroid,
It seems that the first log (from xbmchelper) doesn't match the other 2 (timestamps differ). For me it looks like you still use the old xbmchelper for Launcher/MultiFinder. Did you copy the new xbmchelper (the one that produced the good log) to /Applications/MultiFinder.app/Contents/Resources/ so it gets used by MultiFinder?

I did not. I didn't realize that I had to put it in that location as well. I currently only have the updated version in Library/Application Support/XBMC. I'll copy it the location you mentioned and see how that goes.

Can you explain a little about the XBMChelper app? I had a feeling the error was probably mine, but I wasn't able to find any documentation on it in the wiki. I was under the impression that it was just a tool for diagnosing problems.

My current use of XBMChelper goes like this; I SSH into my ATV from my Mac and run it from the terminal using the -vu options (as you instructed), then I go to my ATV (which is now locked at the finder by XBMChelper) and attempt to enter key sequences. Then I head back to my Mac, quit the helper and view the log.

After confirming my remote was programmed properly, I started XBMC and attempted to use the same buttons. That's why my logs don't match up. Is there a way to get the XBMChelper log from the XBMC session?

Thanks again for your help Maestro. I'll report back tonight with my progress.
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#53
Brandroid Wrote:[...]

Can you explain a little about the XBMChelper app? I had a feeling the error was probably mine, but I wasn't able to find any documentation on it in the wiki. I was under the impression that it was just a tool for diagnosing problems.
[...]
sure, I'll try to:
xbmchelper is split into 2 parts:
1) translate raw IR commands from ATV's IR-interface into something like button presses
2) translate button presses to buttons/actions for XBMC (here the optional universal mode comes into play)

On the ATV platform we use 2 different approaches for launching xbmc (details).
When using the "old" Launcher approach (aka Launcher < 1.0) only translation of ATV-Buttons to XBMC buttons is needed: Finder has control over IR interface and nicely sends buttons to Launcher. So we use only part "2)" of xbmchelper and that part is directly built into Launcher < 1.0 (no external xbmchelper application)
With the MultiFinder approach (aka. Launcher >= 2.0) there is no Finder running and that's why we start the external xbmchelper to do IR-handling ("1)" and "2)" from above)

Problem is that part "2)" has bugs you discovered (no combinations with buttons +,-,...). With the MultiFinder approach you can now easily exchange the xbmchelper application with the fixed one. For Launcher 0.x approach a whole new Launcher is needed (which will probably arrive in the next days as Launcher 3.0 -> combination of Launcher 0.x and 2.x series).

HTH,
stephan

Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules. If you don't have the time to read them, please don't take the time to post in this forum!
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#54
Ahh, now it's making sense! I'll definitely replace XBMChelper in the MultiFinder.app and see how it goes. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Best regards,
Branden
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#55
Eureka! After replacing the XBMChelper within the MultiFinder, I have finally successfully fired off some sequences with the desired results. I tried pause, stop, and play multiple times. I'll add more sequences now that I've confirmed that I can get it to work.

I did notice the occasional hiccup. Maybe one out of five times, the sequence would not be recognized (the volume would move up or down). What should I have my delay set to within the system preferences of XBMC? It's currently set to 500ms. If I increase it, will it improve the likelihood of the sequence firing properly? Universal mode is set to "always running." Do these settings sound good to you?

Edit: Here are the logs from the console and XBMC for this, the most successful session to date!
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#56
Brandroid,

still struggling with Harmony programming. I have the good results with Apple Remote for universal remote commands but not with sequence programmed in Hamrony One.
How have you captured the stop_hold event? As a RAW command? Or have you used the "analyzed" way for capturing it?

cheers,
sircube
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#57
sircube Wrote:Brandroid,

still struggling with Harmony programming. I have the good results with Apple Remote for universal remote commands but not with sequence programmed in Hamrony One.
How have you captured the stop_hold event? As a RAW command? Or have you used the "analyzed" way for capturing it?

cheers,
sircube

I captured the sequence using the Raw mode. Enter the sequence just as you would in front of the ATV. It worked perfectly for me. I still just have a problem with the sequence being ignored at least once during each viewing of a video.
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#58
Brandroid Wrote:[..]
I did notice the occasional hiccup. Maybe one out of five times, the sequence would not be recognized (the volume would move up or down). What should I have my delay set to within the system preferences of XBMC? It's currently set to 500ms. If I increase it, will it improve the likelihood of the sequence firing properly? Universal mode is set to "always running." Do these settings sound good to you?
[...]
Settings in XBMC for the remote are currently ignored on ATV, but the 500ms is default for xbmchelper. To debug the problem you can again use xbmchelper standalone and check the timestamps. e.g.:
Code:
2009-02-17 20:42:02.002 xbmchelper[190] [DEBUG] Starting sequence with token 14
2009-02-17 20:42:02.002 xbmchelper[190] (released) Menu holding
2009-02-17 20:42:02.502 xbmchelper[190] [DEBUG] XBMCClientWrapperImpl::sendSequence: sent sequence 14 as button 8
2009-02-17 20:42:04.238 xbmchelper[190] (pressed) Volume up
was just slow: Menu_H was pressed 20:42:02.002, Volume up followed 20:42:04.238, which is 2.2 seconds later and thus 1.7 seconds too late.
Please test it with xbmchelper first and check if the sequences are recognized. If they are properly recognized there and not while xbmc is running, it has maybe something to do with the load on the ATV and needs further testing and new ideas Smile

details about settings in XBMC and why they're not working on ATV:
XBMC does not know in which mode it is running (MultiFinder or not) and thus is not allowed to launch it's own xbmchelper (same for boxee and their boxeeservice). The helper that comes with the apps is simply deleted on installation. Boxee and XBMC were allowed to use their own helper in the beginning but that caused too many problems with Frontrow beeing unusable because of a running IR-helper.

Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules. If you don't have the time to read them, please don't take the time to post in this forum!
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#59
MaestroDD Wrote:was just slow: Menu_H was pressed 20:42:02.002, Volume up followed 20:42:04.238, which is 2.2 seconds later and thus 1.7 seconds too late.
Please test it with xbmchelper first and check if the sequences are recognized. If they are properly recognized there and not while xbmc is running, it has maybe something to do with the load on the ATV and needs further testing and new ideas Smile

I think that's exactly what's happening. I haven't had much time to use it in a real-world setting (not watching much TV this week), but it appears to take place when I try to use a button at the beginning of a video stream. Maybe there is just too much being processed at that time, and the sequence is not recognized. XBMChelper running standalone consistently shows my sequences firing correctly from the Harmony.

I'll attempt to use it more this week and let you know how it's working for me. I'll also add some more sequences and see how well they work when navigating around the menus etc (i.e. not watching a stream).

Thanks again for guidance on this Maestro!

Regards,
Branden
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#60
Now that you have got it working through some trial-&-error, could you type up a little step by step, of which files to place where?

I have a Pronto remote, and would love to utilize these commands.
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[Apple TV] Logitech Harmony Remote support with XBMC for AppleTV?0