2004-11-14, 20:04
hi,
this topic has been discussed and answered before, but i thought i might make it easy for some of the newer people (of which i am one). it took me a few days to find all the steps, so here is my little contribution to make it easy for other people. with xbmc 1.1, volume control has been implemented with the use of the right joystick on the gamepad. however, if you have the remote control with the dongle for the xbox, microsoft did not see fit to provide volume specific buttons on the remote. it is relatively easy to remap buttons on your remote to have volume control from whichever buttons you like. this info was taken from the online manual as well as numerous postings in these forums.
1). choose which buttons are most suitable for you to remap. as i don't use the numbered buttons in either mp3 playback or watching videos, i have remapped buttons 2 and 5. any buttons can be remapped, just be aware that you will lose whatever function has been mapped to the buttons you choose. for video playback, some of you may not want to remap the number buttons as they are used to jump to the exact time you specify. i find it just as easy to use the ff and skip + buttons, so i do not use the number buttons while watching a video.
2). open up your keymap.xml file in notepad.exe. you will need to ftp the file to a pc. it is found in the xboxmediacenter directory, the same directory which contains xboxmediacenter.xml.
3). this file is divided up into global settings, and individual settings for specific on screen actions. from the very first section entitled <global>, cut out the section for "remote button 2". make sure you cut from <action> to </action>.
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
</action>
4). go down to the very last section in this file entitled "virtual keyboard". paste the above section at the end of this section. make sure that you paste above </window> as that closes this particular section. if you do this, you will ensure that every time the virtual keyboard pops up, a 2 will remain a 2. it is very handy to have this section remain as is. you won't need to be adjusting the volume when the virtual keyboard is onscreen so it is a good idea to keep the keyboard whole.
5). go back to the top of the file, and cut out the section for "remote button 5" from the <global> section. it is exactly 3 sections below where "remote button 2" used to be.
<action>
<description>remote button 5</description>
<id>63</id>
<remote>5</remote>
</action>
6). go back down to the "virtual keyboard" section and paste it in exactly as you did for remote button 2. it does not matter if you paste it in above or below remote button 2 just as long as it is between <window> and </window>.
7). in notepad's menu, select edit - find... and type in the word "volume". don't include quotation marks, just search for the actual word. you will find either volumeup or volumedown, they are one after the other. in the volumeup section, add the following line :
<remote>2</remote>.
that action will now look like this :
<action>
<description>volumeup</description>
<id>88</id>
<gamepad>rightthumbstickup</gamepad>
<remote>2</remote>
<keyboard>+</keyboard>
</action>
8). just below that section is the section for volumedown. add the following line to this section :
<remote>5</remote>
the section will now look like this :
<action>
<description>volumedown</description>
<id>89</id>
<gamepad>rightthumbstickdown</gamepad>
<remote>5</remote>
<keyboard>-</keyboard>
</action>
now you will have volume control via the remote, mapped to the 2 and 5 keys. this will be for all areas except full screen video and picture slideshows. if you also want to have volume control in video playback, continue with these next few steps.
9). go to the notepad menu commands and choose edit - find.... search for the phrase "fullscreen video specific actions". do not include the quotation marks, just search for the actual phrase. this section controls buttons specifically for fullscreen video playback.
10). scroll down in the list in this section until you find the portion that maps the number buttons on your remote. find the one for "remote button 2". it will look like this :
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
<keyboard>2</keyboard>
</action>
delete this action. make sure you delete from <action> to </action>.
11). 3 actions lower than remote button 2, you will find the section for "remote button 5". delete this action as well. make sure you delete from <action> to </action>.
12). save your file. make sure it maintains the same name "keymap.xml". ftp it back to your xbox, and overwrite your existing keymap.xml file which is in the xboxmediacenter directory (or whatever you have called that directory). it will be in the same directory as xboxmediacenter.xml.
now just reboot your xbox and enjoy a movie or mp3 with full volume control! what i do is i have the sound outputed to my stereo. i crank the stereo, and then reduce volume with the xbox remote. that way you have full control over the volume. otherwise you would obviously only be able to crank the sound as loud as your stereo volume was set to.
all sections in xmbc have a corresponding section in the keymap.xml file. if you want to extend volume control to other sections (such as digital pictures when playing mp3s at the same time), simply edit the corresponding section in the keymap.xml file exactly as you have done for the full screen video section.
thanks for all postings which made this explanation possible,
r. :evil:
this topic has been discussed and answered before, but i thought i might make it easy for some of the newer people (of which i am one). it took me a few days to find all the steps, so here is my little contribution to make it easy for other people. with xbmc 1.1, volume control has been implemented with the use of the right joystick on the gamepad. however, if you have the remote control with the dongle for the xbox, microsoft did not see fit to provide volume specific buttons on the remote. it is relatively easy to remap buttons on your remote to have volume control from whichever buttons you like. this info was taken from the online manual as well as numerous postings in these forums.
1). choose which buttons are most suitable for you to remap. as i don't use the numbered buttons in either mp3 playback or watching videos, i have remapped buttons 2 and 5. any buttons can be remapped, just be aware that you will lose whatever function has been mapped to the buttons you choose. for video playback, some of you may not want to remap the number buttons as they are used to jump to the exact time you specify. i find it just as easy to use the ff and skip + buttons, so i do not use the number buttons while watching a video.
2). open up your keymap.xml file in notepad.exe. you will need to ftp the file to a pc. it is found in the xboxmediacenter directory, the same directory which contains xboxmediacenter.xml.
3). this file is divided up into global settings, and individual settings for specific on screen actions. from the very first section entitled <global>, cut out the section for "remote button 2". make sure you cut from <action> to </action>.
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
</action>
4). go down to the very last section in this file entitled "virtual keyboard". paste the above section at the end of this section. make sure that you paste above </window> as that closes this particular section. if you do this, you will ensure that every time the virtual keyboard pops up, a 2 will remain a 2. it is very handy to have this section remain as is. you won't need to be adjusting the volume when the virtual keyboard is onscreen so it is a good idea to keep the keyboard whole.
5). go back to the top of the file, and cut out the section for "remote button 5" from the <global> section. it is exactly 3 sections below where "remote button 2" used to be.
<action>
<description>remote button 5</description>
<id>63</id>
<remote>5</remote>
</action>
6). go back down to the "virtual keyboard" section and paste it in exactly as you did for remote button 2. it does not matter if you paste it in above or below remote button 2 just as long as it is between <window> and </window>.
7). in notepad's menu, select edit - find... and type in the word "volume". don't include quotation marks, just search for the actual word. you will find either volumeup or volumedown, they are one after the other. in the volumeup section, add the following line :
<remote>2</remote>.
that action will now look like this :
<action>
<description>volumeup</description>
<id>88</id>
<gamepad>rightthumbstickup</gamepad>
<remote>2</remote>
<keyboard>+</keyboard>
</action>
8). just below that section is the section for volumedown. add the following line to this section :
<remote>5</remote>
the section will now look like this :
<action>
<description>volumedown</description>
<id>89</id>
<gamepad>rightthumbstickdown</gamepad>
<remote>5</remote>
<keyboard>-</keyboard>
</action>
now you will have volume control via the remote, mapped to the 2 and 5 keys. this will be for all areas except full screen video and picture slideshows. if you also want to have volume control in video playback, continue with these next few steps.
9). go to the notepad menu commands and choose edit - find.... search for the phrase "fullscreen video specific actions". do not include the quotation marks, just search for the actual phrase. this section controls buttons specifically for fullscreen video playback.
10). scroll down in the list in this section until you find the portion that maps the number buttons on your remote. find the one for "remote button 2". it will look like this :
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
<keyboard>2</keyboard>
</action>
delete this action. make sure you delete from <action> to </action>.
11). 3 actions lower than remote button 2, you will find the section for "remote button 5". delete this action as well. make sure you delete from <action> to </action>.
12). save your file. make sure it maintains the same name "keymap.xml". ftp it back to your xbox, and overwrite your existing keymap.xml file which is in the xboxmediacenter directory (or whatever you have called that directory). it will be in the same directory as xboxmediacenter.xml.
now just reboot your xbox and enjoy a movie or mp3 with full volume control! what i do is i have the sound outputed to my stereo. i crank the stereo, and then reduce volume with the xbox remote. that way you have full control over the volume. otherwise you would obviously only be able to crank the sound as loud as your stereo volume was set to.
all sections in xmbc have a corresponding section in the keymap.xml file. if you want to extend volume control to other sections (such as digital pictures when playing mp3s at the same time), simply edit the corresponding section in the keymap.xml file exactly as you have done for the full screen video section.
thanks for all postings which made this explanation possible,
r. :evil:
