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onesojourner · 2009-11-01, 06:18

I had to read a few threads to get this going so I thought I would put up a little easy to follow how to. You should be able to install all the software you need through synaptic. Just install the wii remote event client and you should be in business.

To use the WiiRemote:
1. Open a terminal window and type/paste xbmc-wiiremote (do not press enter yet)
2. Press 1 and 2 on the WiiRemote
3. press enter
4. leave this terminal open and open xbmc

You should see xbmc recognize the WiiRemote. You can press the power button on the WiiRemote to save battery. To reconnect press the 1 and 2 again. As long as you leave the terminal window with xbmc-wiiremote open you will be able to do this, even if you exit/open xbmc. I just leave the terminal window open on a separate work space and I never have to see it.

Ikarus · 2009-11-04, 00:38

onesojourner Wrote:I had to read a few threads to get this going so I thought I would put up a little easy to follow how to. You should be able to install all the software you need through synaptic. Just install the wii remote event client and you should be in business.

To use the WiiRemote:
1. Open a terminal window and type/paste xbmc-wiiremote (do not press enter yet)
2. Press 1 and 2 on the WiiRemote
3. press enter
4. leave this terminal open and open xbmc

You should see xbmc recognize the WiiRemote. You can press the power button on the WiiRemote to save battery. To reconnect press the 1 and 2 again. As long as you leave the terminal window with xbmc-wiiremote open you will be able to do this, even if you exit/open xbmc. I just leave the terminal window open on a separate work space and I never have to see it.

It doesn't work for me. The pairing works (xbmc-wiiremote reports the connecting and disconnecting of the remote and the two outermost LEDs on the Wii are lit while connected), but xbmc does not react to any of the Wii buttons. It just sits there and goes to screen saver mode after a while. What am I missing?

Mape · 2009-11-04, 02:04

i think u gotta install bluez utils 1st try this

sudo apt-get install bluez-utils

then do

sudo nano /etc/rc.local

add this to the bottom and above the line that says exit 0. press CTRL+X to save it

xbmc-wiiremote

reboot and u should be able to pair a Wii remote by pressing 1+2 or behind the battery cover is a little Red button , press that and it will also pair up.

one dissadvantage to using wii remotes is they eat battery life very very fast.

Ikarus · (This post was last modified: 2009-11-04, 02:26 by Ikarus.)

Mape Wrote:i think u gotta install bluez utils 1st try this

sudo apt-get install bluez-utils

then do

sudo nano /etc/rc.local

add this to the bottom and above the line that says exit 0. press CTRL+X to save it

xbmc-wiiremote

reboot and u should be able to pair a Wii remote by pressing 1+2

I have done all this and as I said, I have no problems pairing the remote. When I start xbmc-wiiremote from the command line manually for testing, I see the pairing/unpairing notifications in the terminal and the two outside LEDs stay lit while it is paired. The same happens after booting with the start from rc.local after I press the 1 and 2 keys. What doesn't seem to happen is the xbmc process being notified about any of the Wii remote key events.

Ikarus · (This post was last modified: 2009-11-09, 09:02 by Ikarus.)

Turns out I had the loopback device setup commented out in /etc/network/interfaces, so XBMC's event server did not see any of the remote's messages. It works now. Thanks!

donabi · 2009-11-09, 13:44

you can add it easily to autostart in ubuntu.
just type xbmc-wiiremote into the autostart-manager.
works great for me. only needs to pair (while xbmc allready has been started).
i don't have to open the terminal after booting.
i have xbmc in autostart, too.

voyager_mp · 2009-11-09, 15:02

can anyone tell what xbmc-wiiremote is, and where do i get it in source ?

pumkinut · 2009-11-09, 17:23

voyager_mp Wrote:can anyone tell what xbmc-wiiremote is, and where do i get it in source ?

It's one of the event clients for remotes that's included with XBMC, the source is included with the XBMC source.

BTW, if you want to include the xbmc-wiiremote command in the startup scripts, ala /etc/rc.local, you should make sure the script is executable and that it exists at all. On my install, rc.local was not there, so I had to create it.

Code:
#!/bin/sh

xbmc-wiiremote &

exit 0

To make the script executable, if it already isn't.

Code:
chmod +x /etc/rc.local

Also, make sure bluez-utils is installed.

Ikarus · 2009-11-09, 21:34

The installation of bluez-utils claimed quite a bit over 100MB on my 1GB USB stick XBMC Live installation. That did hurt a bit. I saw lots of stuff flashing by that didn't seem like it had a whole lot to do with what I was trying to achieve.

Other than that, the Wii makes for a pretty cool remote. I'm not bothered too much by it eating up batteries, since I'm using rechargables. The only thing missing is the ability to remotely power on/off the XBMC box.

pumkinut · 2009-11-10, 01:11

Given that the requirements for a USB thumbdrive installation are 2GB, from http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=XBMC_Live#XBMC_Live_minimum_and_recommended_hardware_requirements. I don't see how trying to make everything fit on a 1GB drive should be considered a problem.

Ikarus · 2009-11-10, 02:26

pumkinut Wrote:Given that the requirements for a USB thumbdrive installation are 2GB, from http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=XBMC_Live#XBMC_Live_minimum_and_recommended_hardware_requirements. I don't see how trying to make everything fit on a 1GB drive should be considered a problem.

It does fit comfortably in 1GB without installing bluez_utils and even with it, it still fits, even though it's getting a bit tight. All I'm saying is that ideally one wouldn't have to spend >100MB just for getting the Wii remote to connect. That's a very minor complaint though in the great scheme of things. Awesome work, everyone!

luggio · 2009-11-17, 15:08

hi guys,
i'm trying to use the wiimote with xbmc but after the wiimote has paired it keeps connetting and disconneting.
While it's connected(it last a bunch of seconds before disconnection) i can use xbmc, even the pointer works(i've made my own sensor bar).
I'm running karmic 64.
I already installed bluez-utils
The other issue is when i press the red button it switches off my pc instead of showing the menu.

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance

jackfrost1282 · 2009-11-18, 20:29

luggio Wrote:hi guys,
i'm trying to use the wiimote with xbmc but after the wiimote has paired it keeps connetting and disconneting.
While it's connected(it last a bunch of seconds before disconnection) i can use xbmc, even the pointer works(i've made my own sensor bar).
I'm running karmic 64.
I already installed bluez-utils
The other issue is when i press the red button it switches off my pc instead of showing the menu.

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance

same problem

**outleradam** · 2009-11-18, 20:44

luggio Wrote:hi guys,
i'm trying to use the wiimote with xbmc but after the wiimote has paired it keeps connetting and disconneting.
While it's connected(it last a bunch of seconds before disconnection) i can use xbmc, even the pointer works(i've made my own sensor bar).
I'm running karmic 64.
I already installed bluez-utils
The other issue is when i press the red button it switches off my pc instead of showing the menu.

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance

the red button is mapped to do so in the keymap folder. I think if you remap it to s or xbmc.ActivateWindow(shutdownmenu) or just ActivateWindow(shutdownmenu) instead of xbmc.shutdown() it will work.

Ikarus · 2009-11-22, 04:19

I just discovered a weird problem. If I disconnect the Wii remote for the purpose of saving battery life, XBMC will stop playing after 2 to 3 minutes. The log file says something about EOF reached and error reading file. Anyone else seeing this?