(2014-05-05, 17:12)Matt Devo Wrote: (2014-05-05, 16:22)Hostirad Wrote: [...]
Next big test is to see whether the bluetooth keyboard I use with my Samsung UN50F6400 can alternate back and forth between controlling the TV and controlling the Chromebox. The whole point of this project has been to simplify my home theater by ditching my PC that still runs Windows XP (ha-ha) with its own oversized wireless keyboard for the Chromebox dedicated to XBMC (and the Chrome browser if I need it), controlled by the same compact bluetooth keyboard that controls the TV. Crossing my fingers, here I go.
you can only have the BT device connected with either the TV or ChromeBox, switching between the two isn't exactly practical
It's not that I want the keyboard to switch back and forth between the TV and Chromebox in one session. That would indeed be awkward and impractical. I only desire to use one wireless keyboard in my home theater system, sometimes to operate the TV and sometimes to operate the Chromebox. Currently I use my
Samsung VG-KBD2000/ZA Keyboard to operate my Samsung Smart TV (because of its many extra keys specially designed to control the TV) and a separate Iomega wireless keyboard to control my Windows XP PC (because I found that managing bluetooth connections with XP was a pain). The hope is to ditch the old XP computer (and its rather large wireless keyboard) completely in favor of the Chromebox and the single Samsung bluetooth keyboard. It's bad enough to have many remotes sitting on the coffee table, much less more than one wireless keyboard.
The Samsung VG-KBD2000/ZA Keyboard is designed to support 3 different bluetooth connections. One is dedicated to the TV, and the other two to devices of your choice.
I was in fact able to assign one of the additional connections to the Chromebox and use the keyboard
after choosing the keyboard in the OpenELEC bluetooth menu. Choosing the keyboard had to be done with a separately connected mouse, either wired or wireless. Which is unfortunate, since the Samsung keyboard includes a built-in mousepad that works fine
after the keyboard is chosen in the OpenELEC bluetooth menu. It seems that there is no option to have OpenELEC remember the keyboard and reconnect automatically the next time. So, having an extra mouse connected and needing to select the Samsung keyboard each time is a little inconvenient, but the system does work.