So i threw together a quick java app to remote control my xbmc pc. this app will send all keystrokes from another pc through the event server to your xbmc linux pc. I'm going to use this temporarily until i get a wireless keyboard or MCE input for my harmony remote...
to run the app just refer to your java jre such as: "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin\java" -jar "C:\Users\<userName>\Documents\remote\remoteClient.jar"
http://www.mediafire.com/?mzwdjxtnwox
Why not just use SSH or TightVNC?
hmmm.... your talking about a remote desktop. I never tried to remote desktop while XBMC was running because I would imagine that wouldnt work that well over vnc - slower and how the graphics would translate.
This is just giving me a temporary way of sending keystrokes from a different pc on my local network to XBMC. Right now I only have a wired keyboard hooked up and I have to sit like 3 feet in from of the tv to control everything. With this app, i can use my laptop or any other pc from around the house to send commands to the computer.
The only part that it is not working with is when you need to enter text. I don't know why the event server doesn't take the same keystrokes when the virtual keyboard shows up on the screen of XBMC?
How the hell do you control XBMC from SSH??
And btw, VNC sends keystrokes but i don't get anything visual.
dbldown768, why not get a wireless keyboard or a remote?
spozen Wrote:How the hell to you control XBMC from SSH. And VNC sends keystrokes but i don't get anything visual.
dbldown768, why not get a wirelless keyboard or a remote?
that is the plan in the future... i couldnt decide if i should use the harmony remote or just get a wireless keyboard. for for now, since my laptop is normally next to the couch, i'll just use this...
The VNC works but you get a black screen. ENABLE Compiz and you get video - and other issues <sigh>
The DiNovo Mini keyboard might be something to look at although in my case it's only used when there's no laptop next to me. A Harmony would probably be fine 99.9% of the time - I use an MCE remote and have used a Harmony and they both work well. Generally unless you dump to desktop no keyboard is needed IMO but the DiNovo is an excellent compromise. I just bought a new netbook, now THAT might make a nice remote
This Java app looks worthwhile too IMO, my thanks to you for having built it! I want to try to find a good one for my iPhone too!
Well, I use a remote, but when I need a keyboard, I use VNC. However, I probably should've pointed out that I can see my tv from my desktop...
...is there a way, utilizing event server, to have XBMC running on machine #1 (in one room of the house) and on machine #2 (in a different room), and pressing buttons and navigating through menus on machine #2 is controlling machine #1?? If this could be done, it would be VERY cool (and would solve a problem I am having difficulty getting past).
The way this would help me is that I have XBMC installed in my theater but I frequently listen to music in my library and do not want to have to go back into the theater (not to mention turn on the projector) to change playlists, etc. If the above were possible, I could utilize a cheap homemade PC (or even an EEE PC) to remote control the theater machine, while still enjoying the fantastic XBMC GUI.
Is there any way to set this up this way? As far as I have seen, there are not settings in XBMC that would enable the "remote" machine to be set up to control another machine through the XBMC interface.
This would be completely awesome.
jkrellner Wrote:...is there a way, utilizing event server, to have XBMC running on machine #1 (in one room of the house) and on machine #2 (in a different room), and pressing buttons and navigating through menus on machine #2 is controlling machine #1?? If this could be done, it would be VERY cool (and would solve a problem I am having difficulty getting past).
The way this would help me is that I have XBMC installed in my theater but I frequently listen to music in my library and do not want to have to go back into the theater (not to mention turn on the projector) to change playlists, etc. If the above were possible, I could utilize a cheap homemade PC (or even an EEE PC) to remote control the theater machine, while still enjoying the fantastic XBMC GUI.
Is there any way to set this up this way? As far as I have seen, there are not settings in XBMC that would enable the "remote" machine to be set up to control another machine through the XBMC interface.
This would be completely awesome.
I think your best bet would be to use the HTTP server that is built in to XBMC. All you would need to do is go to your theater's ip addres and port through a web browser and you can change or add songs to your playlists without any problems. If you had two different instances of XBMC running, there would be know way for sure to know that the menus are in sync - as far as i know. So even if you were passing keystrokes from one to the other, it is possible that your menus would not match up.
I recently came across this interface as well (
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=40958) if you would rather use your phone...
The problem with the webserver is you can't see which song xbmc is currently playing.
dbldown768 Wrote:I think your best bet would be to use the HTTP server that is built in to XBMC. All you would need to do is go to your theater's ip addres and port through a web browser and you can change or add songs to your playlists without any problems. If you had two different instances of XBMC running, there would be know way for sure to know that the menus are in sync - as far as i know. So even if you were passing keystrokes from one to the other, it is possible that your menus would not match up.
The HTTP server is not ideal for me. It is just not as robust as the native XBMC interface. I have downloaded an AJAX version that slightly improves it, but I think further development of that has been abandoned. I want to have totally seamless control.
I think that, if I am to use the HTTP server, I will have to come up with my own interface, which I do not see having the time to do anytime soon.
dbldown768 Wrote:I recently came across this interface as well (http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=40958) if you would rather use your phone...
AFAIK, the best way currently available to remote control XBMC, hands down, is to use the iPod/iPhone XBMC Remote available in the iTunes App Store. It generally works pretty well, and is stable enough. If I had known it would work this well, I would not have bought the touchscreen in the first place. But now that I have the touchscreen, I would like to use it!
What is the point of the event server functionality, if not something like this??
Quote:The problem with the webserver is you can't see which song xbmc is currently playing.
i thought you could, but I forgot, and your right.
i believe the original intent of the eventServer was for XBMC developers to create and easy way to interface the XBMC application to different types of hardware controllers, such as joysticks, remote controls, wii controllers, phones, ps3 controllers and other hardware. It was an interface designed so that other developers had a standard to program against when needing to send commands to their xbmc. From the little i know, its mostly used on the localhost. For my application I had to allow outside pcs the ability to use it by setting the flag in the configuration.
The eventserver can look for stuff on a remote machine no problem. You have to configure it to do this (IIRC it's in advancedsettings.xml) as it is, ofcourse, a potential security issue.
Cheers,
Jonathan