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mortalwombat · 2011-07-29, 21:36

I am using XBMCflix and it's working, but it's kinda clumsy. I don't love how it opens a IE window with Silverlight in the background, mostly because it doesn't work too seamlessly with the remote. For example, closing netflix requires a special key mapped to alt+F4. Not to mention you have to look at the ugly red window with the redirect text on it that doesn't flow well with the rest of XBMC.

I am just curious if there is another plugin that people like.

Mallet21 · 2011-07-29, 23:28

I am using the method described in this thread with great success....it is absolutely seamless.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ch+netflix

It basically launches the Netflix addon directly from Windows Media Center.

A lot of the instructions assume you are using a Harmony remote but they are easily tweakable using an RC6 remote and EventGhost.

mortalwombat · 2011-07-30, 00:16

I considered that approach, but it isn't quite what I am hoping for...

My family is used to our existing URC remote, which I also love. It controls everything else in the entertainment center very nicely. But it's not a harmony remote. It doesn't have the LCD to add application buttons, which means it's arrow to the menu item you want, enter, watch your program, then hit exit to go back. The two biggest problems with XBMCflix is not being able to hit Exit to go back (while still maintaining the exit feature in the rest of XBMC) and not going automatically to full screen, which I figure I can probably find a workaround for, but haven't yet looked.

mortalwombat · 2011-07-30, 01:19

Oh wait... I haven't played with AutoHotKey yet (away from my system, and won't be near it all weekend. Just working it out in my head for now), but in my reading, AutoHotKey does scripting... Does this go as far as to allow me to remap the keys based on the program? So I could use a script to launch Netflix (or Hulu), and at the same time remap the exit key to close Netflix and launch XBMC? That would be really sweet, since bluecop's XBMC plugin, while really cool, seems to be dragging my system down.

I am gonna have to experiment Smile

**pkscout** · 2011-07-30, 02:13

I use PlayOn to deal with Netflix. Because PlayOn creates a UPnP interface to Netflix, it plays directly in XBMC with all the XBMC controls. Because PlayOn does transcoding, you have to decide if the quality reduction is OK for you. It also limits you to stereo sound. You also can't (as far as I can tell) fast forward or rewind through the stream.

I also use the XBMC.MyLibrary plugin to completely integrate it with the movies and TV shows in the library. That part is trickier to setup and requires some tender loving care, but it means I don't see a difference between TV I record off the air or the stuff I have in my Netflix queue.

Mallet21 · 2011-07-30, 02:54

mortalwombat Wrote:Oh wait... I haven't played with AutoHotKey yet (away from my system, and won't be near it all weekend. Just working it out in my head for now), but in my reading, AutoHotKey does scripting... Does this go as far as to allow me to remap the keys based on the program? So I could use a script to launch Netflix (or Hulu), and at the same time remap the exit key to close Netflix and launch XBMC? That would be really sweet, since bluecop's XBMC plugin, while really cool, seems to be dragging my system down.

I am gonna have to experiment

That is exactly what it does...see post #2.

mortalwombat · 2011-07-31, 21:39

Mallet21 Wrote:That is exactly what it does...see post #2.

Well, not exactly. First, I have to say, this method rocks! It is a MUCH cleaner interface. XBMCFlix is a cumbersome interface, but netflix for MCE has thumbnails, handles your queue cleaner, etc. And then there is HULU. The bluecop Hulu plugin is sweet, but it bogs XBMC down in a serious way, even when it's not in use. The interface for Hulu is also much much cleaner, so thanks for the tip on this one!

But here is my existing problem. My remote, not being a harmony remote, doesn't have application buttons. The simplest way to navigate out of a video or music or whatever is to hit "Exit" on the remote. on this remote, exit is just an escape key. That works great inside XBMC, but in these apps, it can't get you back to XBMC. I don't have a convenient key on my remote to launch the scripts to quit HULU or Netflix and launch XBMC.

I am wondering if there is a way to have the exit key behave as "esc" in XBMC, but launch one of those scripts when in one of the other applications.

patm95 · 2011-07-31, 22:00

I have a harmony 650 remote and sometimes you can find them on sale for about 50 bucks (I paid 55). Idk if it would be worth it to you or not, but might save some hassle?

mortalwombat · 2011-07-31, 22:37

There's more of a personal problem with the Harmony Remote:

My Wife just got me this existing universal remote for a gift... It's so much more than just replacing a remote. lol. Plus, her and my six year old are comfortable with this remote. It's definitely less hassle to keep this one. haha.

mortalwombat · (This post was last modified: 2011-07-31, 23:28 by mortalwombat.)

I just wish I could find a way to have winhotkey enable or disable actions tied to Esc from autohotkey

Edit: Just figured it out. In AutoHotKey, you can map keys conditionally. So, in the Netflix .ahk file, I added:

Code:
#IfWinActive Windows Media Center

Esc::Run C:\XBMC_Custom_Files\XBMC.ahk

#IfWinActive

and in the Hulu .afk file I added:

Code:
#IfWinActive Hulu Desktop

Esc::Run C:\XBMC_Custom_Files\XBMC.ahk

#IfWinActive

These bits simply map the Escape key to the script that closes the current app and launches xbmc. It works a treat!

Lastly, this was opening multiple instances of the AutoHotKey scripts, so I added #SingleInstance force to the top of each, which only allows one instance of each to run, but still allows full functionality. Thank you all for your help Smile

glennt · 2011-07-31, 23:59

FWIW, as a long time URC owner (URC "Home Theater Master" MX-500), and someone who have the Harmony 700 and Harmony One a shot (and subsequently returned), I much prefer URC remotes. They're built so much better, with better button feel. There are limitations to the MX-500, but I haven't decided on a replacement URC remote just yet (not that it would help your situation anyway.)

At any rate, I'm facing the same dilemma currently. Short of mapping a soft key as an sort of "exit to XBMC", I haven't decided what to do.

I don't know which URC remote you have is, but one possibility that I like is adding an AutoHotKey script that is triggered by the XBMC "activity" macro. On the MX-500, there are 3 dedicated macro buttons (M1, M2 and M3) at the bottom, plus each soft key can trigger a press-and-hold activated macro. Whichever is used to normally turn on the TV, receiver, PC, plus switch the inputs would also trigger the script.

I would likely trigger the script at the beginning of the macro, since the PC will come up to XBMC in most cases anyway. If you press it again, it simply sends the trigger for the script again, then "Power On" and input changes to the TV and receiver again. I use discrete On and input commands for those, so there is no issue there. I haven't looked to see about discrete on and off commands for Windows yet. Currently, it would toggle the PC back and forth between waking and sleeping. I'm still copying movies and such, so I haven't even come close to looking into this. I don't even have a IR receiver yet for that matter.

bluray · 2011-08-01, 00:30

Mallet21 Wrote:I am using the method described in this thread with great success....it is absolutely seamless.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ch+netflix

It basically launches the Netflix addon directly from Windows Media Center.

A lot of the instructions assume you are using a Harmony remote but they are easily tweakable using an RC6 remote and EventGhost.

if this is the case, why not use mce by itself. i uses both mce and xbmc, but mostly mce. i like all the add-on stuffs (netflix, directv2pc, hulu, etc) on mce. it's seamlessly integrated, and it can playback dts-hd and truehd audio codecs flawless too.

Mallet21 · (This post was last modified: 2011-08-01, 03:21 by Mallet21.)

mortalwombat Wrote:But here is my existing problem. My remote, not being a harmony remote, doesn't have application buttons. The simplest way to navigate out of a video or music or whatever is to hit "Exit" on the remote. on this remote, exit is just an escape key. That works great inside XBMC, but in these apps, it can't get you back to XBMC. I don't have a convenient key on my remote to launch the scripts to quit HULU or Netflix and launch XBMC.

I am wondering if there is a way to have the exit key behave as "esc" in XBMC, but launch one of those scripts when in one of the other applications.

I'm using EventGhost (treats the remote like a keyboard)with my WMC remote and I have mapped the different applications/AHK scripts (XBMC, HuluDesktop, Netflix) to the yellow, green and red buttons on my remote. If i am in XBMC and want to switch to Netflix, i simply hit the red button on my remote and a.) Xbmc closes completely and b.) Netflix launches. To go back to to XBMC i hit the yellow button on my remote and Netflix closes then XBMC launches.

prentice · 2012-04-16, 02:30

(2011-08-01, 03:15)Mallet21 Wrote: I'm using EventGhost (treats the remote like a keyboard)with my WMC remote and I have mapped the different applications/AHK scripts (XBMC, HuluDesktop, Netflix) to the yellow, green and red buttons on my remote. If i am in XBMC and want to switch to Netflix, i simply hit the red button on my remote and a.) Xbmc closes completely and b.) Netflix launches. To go back to to XBMC i hit the yellow button on my remote and Netflix closes then XBMC launches.

I am doing this, but the normal XBMC controls (left, right, up, down), space to pause, do not work for me in Netflix. I've found that only Cntrl-P works to pause/play in Netflix.

How is this working for you?