Kodi Community Forum

Hello,

I'm a noob trying to get an IR remote (Xbox 360 HD-DVD remote lying around) to work with Kodi. I'm running Kodi from RetroPie and I have a USB IR receiver. The USB IR receiver seems to work fine (the raspberry pi detects it with the mceusb driver. It's seemingly paired with the remote okay as well.

I'm trying to follow this guide

I'm able to create the file with the remote scancodes, but the remote doesn't work in Kodi or RetroPie. I think the problem might be related to the EV_KEY event type not showing up. When I press a button on my remote, I see an EV_MSC and an EV_SYN event, but no EV_KEY.

Any ideas why EV_KEY isn't showing up? It seems fundamental but I have no idea what the issue might be.

I'm very new to this so it's possible I did something dumb. I haven't tried LIRC. I just stumbled on the ir-table guide first so I tried that. Should I try using lirc? It's currently not installed. I also have inputlirc uninstalled.

I don't think you need LIRC - the only time I got into using that was with an IR detector plugged into the GPIO connector. If using the usb connector, the device is seen as a mouse or keyboard

Run "ir-keytable -r" and see check if the correct keysyms are loaded and if "rc-6" is listed under enabled protocols. You can also check for enabled and supported protocols by running ir-keytable without any options.

If rc-6 is supported (most but not all USB IR receivers support it) but not enabled you can enabled it with "ir-keytable -p rc-6".

In LibreELEC we are using this keymap for the XBOX 360 remote (haven't tested it myself as I don't have such a remote):


so long,

Hias

(2017-03-19, 08:51)dandnsmith Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think you need LIRC - the only time I got into using that was with an IR detector plugged into the GPIO connector. If using the usb connector, the device is seen as a mouse or keyboard

Some IR receivers (FLIRC?) follow that model and don't require LIRC to be running. However other IR solutions, including RC6 MCE IR receivers - which are popular with Kodi users, do require LIRC to be correctly configured.

IME MCE RC6 remotes and USB receivers work OOTB with most LibreElec installs - though in some cases you have to copy the right config file across.

On a Pi you can solder a suitable £0.99 or less TSOP - nothing else required - to three pins on the GPIO header, and that will give you IR reception in LibreElec. (I have done this with a Zero W)

(2017-03-20, 14:33)noggin Wrote: [ -> ]However other IR solutions, including RC6 MCE IR receivers - which are popular with Kodi users, do require LIRC to be correctly configured.

This is no longer 100% true. Most IR receivers and remotes are now supported by the kernel rc framework which means decoding is done inside the kernel and you no longer need to configure and run userspace lircd.

This even works on RPi with an IR receiver connected to GPIO, just use the gpio-ir overlay instead of lirc-rpi and an MCE remote will work out of the box (for other remotes add the rc-map-name option and/or configure the via ir-keytable or rc_maps.cfg):

Userspace lircd is still useful for remotes using odd protocols that are not supported via in-kernel decoding. So it's not completely obsolete but in most cases you no longer need it. And IMO in-kernel decoding is a lot easier to configure and use compared to lircd, so if you have the choice you should use it

BTW: The next LibreELEC release 8.0.1 will include a bunch of improvements in this area, for example support for user-configurable rc_maps.cfg.

so long,

Hias

(2017-03-20, 19:36)HiassofT Wrote: [ -> ]

(2017-03-20, 14:33)noggin Wrote: [ -> ]However other IR solutions, including RC6 MCE IR receivers - which are popular with Kodi users, do require LIRC to be correctly configured.

This is no longer 100% true. Most IR receivers and remotes are now supported by the kernel rc framework which means decoding is done inside the kernel and you no longer need to configure and run userspace lircd.

This even works on RPi with an IR receiver connected to GPIO, just use the gpio-ir overlay instead of lirc-rpi and an MCE remote will work out of the box (for other remotes add the rc-map-name option and/or configure the via ir-keytable or rc_maps.cfg):

Code:

dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=18,gpio_pull=1

Userspace lircd is still useful for remotes using odd protocols that are not supported via in-kernel decoding. So it's not completely obsolete but in most cases you no longer need it. And IMO in-kernel decoding is a lot easier to configure and use compared to lircd, so if you have the choice you should use it

BTW: The next LibreELEC release 8.0.1 will include a bunch of improvements in this area, for example support for user-configurable rc_maps.cfg.

so long,

Hias

Happy to stand corrected

Thank you so much for the replies! I'm double-checking to make sure the receiver is actually detecting my remote right now. Windows appears to detect it (EventGhost is logging inputs), but Kodi for Windows doesn't work with the remote out of the box. I don't know if I need to use the advanced MCE remote mapper or not, but I haven't had time to try that.

(2017-03-20, 14:33)noggin Wrote: [ -> ]

(2017-03-19, 08:51)dandnsmith Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think you need LIRC - the only time I got into using that was with an IR detector plugged into the GPIO connector. If using the usb connector, the device is seen as a mouse or keyboard

Some IR receivers (FLIRC?) follow that model and don't require LIRC to be running. However other IR solutions, including RC6 MCE IR receivers - which are popular with Kodi users, do require LIRC to be correctly configured.

IME MCE RC6 remotes and USB receivers work OOTB with most LibreElec installs - though in some cases you have to copy the right config file across.

On a Pi you can solder a suitable £0.99 or less TSOP - nothing else required - to three pins on the GPIO header, and that will give you IR reception in LibreElec. (I have done this with a Zero W)

Thanks, I briefly saw some examples of that. Can you configure what each remote button does even doing that?

(2017-03-19, 22:32)HiassofT Wrote: [ -> ]Run "ir-keytable -r" and see check if the correct keysyms are loaded and if "rc-6" is listed under enabled protocols. You can also check for enabled and supported protocols by running ir-keytable without any options.

If rc-6 is supported (most but not all USB IR receivers support it) but not enabled you can enabled it with "ir-keytable -p rc-6".
.
In LibreELEC we are using this keymap for the XBOX 360 remote (haven't tested it myself as I don't have such a remote):

Code:

# table xbox_360, type: RC6
0x800f7400 KEY_NUMERIC_0
...
0x800f7481 KEY_PLAYPAUSE

so long,

Hias

Thanks, RC-6 is definitebly enabled on the USB IR receiver.

(2017-03-20, 19:36)HiassofT Wrote: [ -> ]

(2017-03-20, 14:33)noggin Wrote: [ -> ]However other IR solutions, including RC6 MCE IR receivers - which are popular with Kodi users, do require LIRC to be correctly configured.

This is no longer 100% true. Most IR receivers and remotes are now supported by the kernel rc framework which means decoding is done inside the kernel and you no longer need to configure and run userspace lircd.

This even works on RPi with an IR receiver connected to GPIO, just use the gpio-ir overlay instead of lirc-rpi and an MCE remote will work out of the box (for other remotes add the rc-map-name option and/or configure the via ir-keytable or rc_maps.cfg):

Code:

dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=18,gpio_pull=1

Userspace lircd is still useful for remotes using odd protocols that are not supported via in-kernel decoding. So it's not completely obsolete but in most cases you no longer need it. And IMO in-kernel decoding is a lot easier to configure and use compared to lircd, so if you have the choice you should use it

BTW: The next LibreELEC release 8.0.1 will include a bunch of improvements in this area, for example support for user-configurable rc_maps.cfg.

so long,

Hias

Thanks, is there a difference between running Kodi from LibreELEC or from RetroPie?

It seems like trying the GPIO method is the way to go if I want to avoid this USB hassle...

The TL;DR read seems to be :

GPIO IR can now be used two ways - kernel based and LIRC user-space based. Which is used will partially be influenced by the dtoverlay you use in config.txt.

If the Kernel supports your IR remote control then it is probably better. If your remote isn't supported by in-kernel drivers, then LIRC is the way to go.

(In my case I usually use RC6 IR USB receivers and remotes - Maplin had them on eBay for £3.99 at one point - but for the Pi Zero W I wanted to avoid using the single USB port - so used a GPIO solution with a small Hauppauge remote I had from an old USB DVB-T tuner. I use lirc for this with LibreElec.)

If you are seeing MSC events with scancode then most probably your keytable wasn't loaded (via rc_maps.cfg).

Try to load the keytable manually:

The output should look like this (testing here with an rc-5 remote):

Then run ir-keytable -t. You should now see the KEY events:

If you still don't get KEY events post the scancodes of a few keys and/or compare them with the scancodes in your keytable. I used the following keytable for my remote:

If it worked so far, manually check if autoloading via /etc/rc_maps.cfg works:

It should look like this (testing here on LibreELEC with slightly different paths):
Note that the "Wrote XX keycodes to driver" should be the same as in ir-keytable -w. If your keymap contains a header (commented first line with table and type) you'll also see the "protocol changed to...".

If you get no output at all or if you get an error like "can't load table ...." check your rc_maps.cfg file.

so long,

Hias

I seem to have taken a couple steps backwards. I tried starting over and deleting ir-keytable and reinstalling it. Now when I go to "sudo ir-keytable --test --device=/dev/input/event4", nothing gets detected. Is it possible that the remote does not have the right code for the receiver? Does the code on the remote matter? Are there random cfg files I may need to delete? I deleted the config file in /etc/rc_keymaps/

Thanks

(2017-03-21, 19:55)HiassofT Wrote: [ -> ]If you are seeing MSC events with scancode then most probably your keytable wasn't loaded (via rc_maps.cfg).

Try to load the keytable manually:

Code:

ir-keytable -c -p rc-6 -w path/to/xbox_360

The output should look like this (testing here with an rc-5 remote):

Code:

# ir-keytable -c -p rc-5 -w rc_keymaps/justboom
Read justboom table
Old keytable cleared
Wrote 12 keycode(s) to driver
Protocols changed to rc-5

Then run ir-keytable -t. You should now see the KEY events:

Code:

# ir-keytable -t
Testing events. Please, press CTRL-C to abort.
1490117664.994119: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x101a
1490117664.994119: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_UP(0x0001)
1490117664.994119: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
1490117665.108030: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x101a
1490117665.108030: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
1490117665.256126: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x101a
1490117665.256126: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
1490117665.502753: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_UP(0x0001)
1490117665.502753: event type EV_SYN(0x00).
1490117665.529420: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_up: KEY_UP(0x0001)
1490117665.529420: event type EV_SYN(0x00).

If you still don't get KEY events post the scancodes of a few keys and/or compare them with the scancodes in your keytable. I used the following keytable for my remote:

Code:

# table justboom, type: RC5
0x101a KEY_UP
0x101b KEY_DOWN
0x1013 KEY_LEFT
0x1014 KEY_RIGHT
0x1015 KEY_OK
0x1010 KEY_HOME
0x1012 KEY_MUTE
0x1011 KEY_POWER
0x1016 KEY_MENU
0x1017 KEY_BACK
0x1018 KEY_VOLUMEDOWN
0x1014 KEY_VOLUMEUP

If it worked so far, manually check if autoloading via /etc/rc_maps.cfg works:

Code:

ir-keytable -a /etc/rc_maps.cfg -s rc0

It should look like this (testing here on LibreELEC with slightly different paths):

Code:

# ir-keytable -a rc_maps.cfg -s rc0
Old keytable cleared
Wrote 12 keycode(s) to driver
Protocols changed to rc-5

Note that the "Wrote XX keycodes to driver" should be the same as in ir-keytable -w. If your keymap contains a header (commented first line with table and type) you'll also see the "protocol changed to...".

If you get no output at all or if you get an error like "can't load table ...." check your rc_maps.cfg file.

so long,

Hias

(2017-03-28, 07:07)mister_eff Wrote: [ -> ]I seem to have taken a couple steps backwards. I tried starting over and deleting ir-keytable and reinstalling it. Now when I go to "sudo ir-keytable --test --device=/dev/input/event4", nothing gets detected. Is it possible that the remote does not have the right code for the receiver? Does the code on the remote matter? Are there random cfg files I may need to delete? I deleted the config file in /etc/rc_keymaps/

Short answer: all of it matters. If you have the wrong protocol configured none of your IR signals will be decoded. And if you have a wrong or no keytable loaded the decoded scancodes can't be translated into keycodes.

You shouldn't delete any files, if you setup rc_maps.cfg correctly only the one matching your IR receiver will be loaded.

BTW: better run ir-keytable without the --device parameter, the input/event number can change. If you have more than 1 IR receiver you can use -s rc0 or -s rc1 ... to select the correct rc device.

so long,

Hias