Archive:List of MCE remote controls

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Revision as of 05:24, 11 October 2010 by >Ivan (→‎Unbranded MCE remote)
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This is a (probably futile) attempt to keep up with the vast range of MCE remotes out there, and give some indication of how well they work with XBMC.

This article assumes you are using build 26407 or later of XBMC. Earlier builds don't have the support for MCE remotes built in.

If you are adding a review please try to be as detailed as possible about the remote. For example:

  • What operating systems and versions of XBMC have you tested on
  • Does the remote send keystrokes or is it MS compatible?
  • If it's MS compatible have you tested reconfiguring it using the registry and did this work?


Microsoft Media Center Remote Control

Original and best! I don't know if Microsoft still sell them, but there are usually lots available on eBay. They tend to be a bit expensive but they are well made and highly configurable.

Microsoftlearningremote.jpg

There are 3 versions of this remote:

- Microsoft (Microsoft Logo at bottom of remote and on receiver)

Mcelearningsmalla.jpg (Microsoft)

- Microsoft with Teletext (Microsoft Logo at bottom of remote and on receiver) plus Red,Green,Yellow,Blue and a 'teletext' button.

Mceteletextsmall.jpg (Microsoft with Teletext)

- Dell (No Logos on remote or receiver and no TV standby or volume learning ability)

Remote-microsoft.jpg (Dell - No Learning)

All these variants of the MS remote will work out of the box with XBMC Live, though with a standard Linux install you'll need to install and configure Lirc. To get it to work on Windows you need to configure it to simulate key-presses. See Using a Microsoft remote control in Windows for details.

remote wake on USB? multi-device control? volume learning? universal-remote code available? IR transmit? linux/osx/windows?
Microsoft ? N* Y ? ? all
MS w/ Teletext ? N* Y ? ? all
Dell ? N N ? ? all

Hauppauge Media Center Remote Control Kit

Remote-hauppauge.jpg

Compatible with the Microsoft remote, and the .reg files used to reconfigure the MS remote will also work with the Hauppauge.

Note that this is not the same as the Hauppauge 45 button remote that plugs into the Hauppauge PCI card. The Hauppauge 45 button remote has caused some hair tearing and wouldn't be the first choice for an XBMC remote.

Mediagate GP-IR02BK

Remote-IR02BK.jpg

Compatible with the Microsoft remote, and the .reg files used to reconfigure the MS remote will also work with the Mediagate. The remote is currently available on Amazon UK and US.

There are some additional buttons not on the official MS remote. These can be configured using the following in the .reg file:

  27,00,00,00,04,03,04,\ ; Zoom     - sends ctrl-shift-A
  47,00,00,00,04,01,10,\ ; Music    - sends ctrl-M
  49,00,00,00,04,01,0C,\ ; Pictures - sends ctrl-I
  4A,00,00,00,04,01,08,\ ; Movies   - sends ctrl-E
  50,00,00,00,04,01,04,\ ; Radio    - sends ctrl-A
  5a,00,00,00,04,03,09   ; Teletext - sends ctrl-shift-F

DEC-200B

Remote-200B.jpg

Compatible with the MS remote. Works out of the box with XBMCLive. Not tested (so far) with the Windows and OSX versions. Don't know if it's configurable with the registry.

AVS Gear HA-IR01SV

Remote-HAIR01SV.jpg

Compatible with the MS remote. Works out of the box with XBMCLive. Not tested (so far) with the Windows and OSX versions. Don't know if it's configurable with the registry. Currently available from Amazon UK (search for HA-IR01SV). Googling suggests it is widely available.

Speedlink SL-6399

Remote-SL6399.jpg

Cheap and cheerful remote. It simulates the MS Media Center keypresses and will work out of the box on Windows, Linux and probably OSX.

Apparently there are different usb receivers that come with the remote.

ID 1241:1503 Belkin Keyboard       // all keys seem to work
ID 1241:e000 Belkin                // keys Start, RTV, Videos, Music, Pictures, MyTV don't work

There are several extra buttons not on the standard MS remote. If you want to add mappings for these keys here are the entries you need in keyboard.xml.

<t mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, TV power, 3)</t>          <!-- TV power -->
<menu>Notification(Key, More, 3)</menu>                   <!-- More -->
<z mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, Aspect, 3)</z>      <!-- Aspect -->
<e mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Red/Videos, 3)</e>        <!-- Red/Videos -->
<m mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Green/Music, 3)</m>       <!-- Green/Music -->
<i mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Yellow/Pictures, 3)</i>   <!-- Yellow/Pictures -->
<t mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, Blue/MyTV, 3)</t>   <!-- Blue/MyTV -->
<g mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Guide, 3)</g>             <!-- Guide -->
<o mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, RTV, 3)</o>               <!-- RTV -->
<f1>Notification(Key, Help, 3)</f1>                       <!-- Help -->
<return mod="alt">Notification(Key, Maximise, 3)</return> <!-- Maximise/restore -->
<a mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Radio, 3)</a>             <!-- Radio -->
<m mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, DVD, 3)</m>         <!-- DVD -->
<a mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, Audio, 3)</a>       <!-- Audio -->
<u mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Title, 3)</u>             <!-- Title -->

Unbranded MCE remote

Remote-unbranded.jpg

There is no manufacturer's name on this remote or the manual, though it may be a Chinavasion CVSB-983 or Acowin AURC-001. It can be used with Logitech Harmony Remote Software by picking Computer>>Media Center PC>>Chinavasion>>CVSB-983.

They are available on Ebay for as little as $2 ($10ish after S&H). It's cheap and feels a bit flimsy, but it works well enough. It simulates the MS Media Center keypresses and will work out of the box on Windows, Linux and probably OSX. It also simulates a mouse, although it's no match for a proper mouse or trackpad.

It isn't very configurable and certain buttons don't work as they should. For example, the fast forward and rewind buttons skip forward or backwards instead of moving gradually.

If you want to add mappings for the four coloured keys here are the entries you need in keyboard.xml. The other keys can't be trapped.

<f1 mod="ctrl,alt">Notification(Key, Green, 3)</f1>  <!-- Green -->
<f2 mod="ctrl,alt">Notification(Key, Orange, 3)</f2> <!-- Orange -->
<f3 mod="ctrl,alt">Notification(Key, Blue, 3)</f3>   <!-- Blue -->
<f4 mod="ctrl,alt">Notification(Key, Yellow, 3)</f4> <!-- Yellow -->

Update 16th Jan: the rewind button sends three keypresses, left, then ctrl-left, then ctrl-shift-B. The left press causes the video to jump back 30 seconds. With the later releases of XBMC the ctrl-shift-B then starts the rewind (release v9.11 ignores ctrl-keypresses).

GoTView PC Remote

The GoTView PC Remote control looks exactly like the "unbranded remote" above. It is also detected as MCE remote by lircd, but has slightly different keycodes, which are incompatiable with xbmc defaults. To make things work correctly, add something like the following before the </keyboard> </global> lines in your /usr/local/share/xbmc/system/keymaps/keyboard.xml file

 
      <one mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ContextMenu</one>
      <two mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(PlayerControls)</two>
      <three mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(music)</three>
      <four mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(pictures)</four>
      <five mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(video)</five>
      <home mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(MusicPlaylist)</home>
      <r mod="ctrl">Queue</r>
      <h mod="ctrl,alt,shift">Info</h>
      <b mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(MusicOSD)</b>
      <f mod="ctrl,alt,shift">ActivateWindow(VisualisationPresetList)</f>
      

VRC-1100

Remote-VRC1100.jpg

There is no manufacturer's name on this remote or the manual, but they appear to be from Ortek (http://www.ortek.com/product.asp?pid=103&cname=Mobility). They are widely available on eBay. Maplin UK also sell an own-brand remote control (product code N18HC) that seems to be identical. The remote simulates the MS Media Center keypresses and will work out of the box on Windows, Linux and probably OSX. It also simulates a mouse, although it's no match for a proper mouse or trackpad.

Note that the the i button sends a right mouse click, which isn't much use in XBMC as the right click can't be mapped to an action. There is no way round this without using some helper app like Eventghost, but the Info action could be mapped to one of the other buttons.

If you want to add mappings for the four coloured keys and the four keys below them here are the entries you need in keyboard.xml. The top left (Internet Explorer) key can't be trapped.

<t mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, Yellow, 3)</t> <!-- Yellow button -->
<m mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Blue, 3)</m>         <!-- Blue button -->
<i mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Green, 3)</i>        <!-- Green button -->
<e mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, Red, 3)</e>          <!-- Red button -->
<o mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, u/Yellow, 3)</o>     <!-- Button under Yellow -->
<g mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, u/Blue, 3)</g>       <!-- Button under Blue -->
<t mod="ctrl">Notification(Key, u/Green, 3)</t>      <!-- Button under Green -->
<m mod="ctrl,shift">Notification(Key, u/Red, 3)</m>  <!-- Button under Red -->


For full linux support see http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/8827

XBox DVD Remote

Remote-xbox1.jpg

The original DVD remote for XBox 1. This is a simple well working remote, almost out of the box experience and it has a good support in xbmc.
See wiring and lirc config

This remote won't work "out of the box" with Windows as it doesn't send keystrokes and can't be configured to do so. It can be made to work with a helper app like Eventghost or IR Server Suite. See http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=45337 for the details.

Philips 5100 4in1 Vista MCE Remote

Philips5100-4in1 landscape.jpg

Philips have produced a family of remotes in this range designed for different sales regions each with different features. This one has the ability to control 4 devices (PC, TV, Sat, Amp) and can be programmed using the manufacturer codes database supplied. It also has the ability to learn functions from other remotes to replace any of its buttons, making it very versatile once customised to your home cinema setup. However, the keys are not backlit and the supplied infra-red usb reciever only works with Vista or Windows 7.

Note: Also works with the Official Microsoft MCE reciever as it sends the same signals (RC-6), meaning it can be used on Windows XP via this reciever.

Discontinued - (Can be found on ebay UK)

HP MCE Remote

Hpremote.jpg (Older)

HPRemotenewer.jpg (Newer)

Both versions are compatible with the Microsoft remote, and the .reg files used to reconfigure the MS remote will also work with the HP remote.

On Windows XP Pro SP3 the receiver was recognised and installed automatically. There are reports that Windows XP may not automatically detect the receiver unless you edit irbus.inf as described in http://it.megocollector.com/?p=8. It is not clear when this hack is needed.

With the Remote-XBMC.reg config all the buttons work in XBMC except for the "T" and "Print" buttons. To configure these buttons add the following to the .reg file:

  4E,00,00,00,04,01,22,\ ; Print button on HP remote - sends ctrl-5
  5A,00,00,00,04,01,23,\ ; T button on HP remote     - sends ctrl-6

Asrock Remote

NB this is preliminary information based on a discussion in the forum.

AsrockRemote.jpg

The Asrock ION PCs come with a remote control. This is compatible with the Microsoft remote, and in Windows 7 (and possibly Vista) the .reg files used to reconfigure the MS remote will also work with the Asrock remote. The .reg files will not work in Windows XP because Windows XP does not detect the remote as an eHome device and install the eHome driver. It is possible the eHome drive could be installed with suitable modifications to irbus.inf (see the review of the HP remote above) but so far this has not been explored.

With the Remote-XBMC.reg config all the buttons work in XBMC except for the four buttons in the row above the coloured buttons. To configure these buttons to send the standard Media center keyboard shortcuts add the following to the .reg file:

  47,00,00,00,04,01,10,\ ; Asrock remote: Music    - sends ctrl-M
  49,00,00,00,04,01,0C,\ ; Asrock remote: Pictures - sends ctrl-I
  4A,00,00,00,04,01,08,\ ; Asrock remote: Movies   - sends ctrl-E
  50,00,00,00,04,01,04,\ ; Asrock remote: Radio    - sends ctrl-A

Microsoft MCE Keyboard Remote

Microsoftmcekeyboard.jpg

Similar to the buttons to the Microsoft MCE remote, but with a full keyboard and a 'nipple' for moving the mouse. Range is limited and it requires a direct line of sight to the receiver. Can be operated on the users lap. The keyboard has a very nice feel, though the mouse nipple is hard to use.

Works with the Official Microsoft MCE receiver and with compatible RC6 receivers like the HP receiver.

AURC-002

AURC002.jpg

Manufactured by Acowin Industrial Limited; see http://www.acowin.com.hk/product535.html. Microsoft MCE clone with a cloned HP receiver. Compatible with the .reg files used to reconfigure the official Microsoft remote and receiver.

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows

XBox360WirelessController.jpg

The Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows, which is sold my Mircosoft with a separate receiver, works with XBMC 9.11 on Windows XP with Standard Microsoft Drivers.

The File Xbox360EventClient.exe from this Forum-Post [Mirror] (MD5: 4B69791B1DC2DA4400B5912CFF9EFED0) need to run in the Background. The default Keymapping is optimal.