So I
got my Boxee Remote, and it is nice to hold, I've yet to run around the office with my sound cranked up to test the range/RF penetration so far
here's what I see working on Dharma RC1:
XBMC Live (Ubuntu):
- Device works in Ubuntu correctly
- Every button simply reboots the app inside XBMC
XBMC Win32:
- Device works in Windows correctly
- All buttons work as expected in XBMC
Keymapping
As I expected, the keymappings are not perfect, as with all remotes. There is no dedicated back button on the front, which I see as a necessity for XBMC. The menu button takes you to the menu. And as I feared, the remote re-uses the same key for this button on the front as the back (IM LOOKIN' AT YOU PS3 REMOTES).
I set the menu key to ParentDir. I also frequently use the context menu, so I remapped it to the A key on the back. I prefer to suspend the machine as well, so I used Q as it was easy to find, and I never queue anything.
I've only tested this map on Win32, I'll mess with it on XBMC Live (Ubuntu) later on. I'm worried I'll have to switch that box to Win32 for a family-friendly version of Netflix
%APPDATA%\XBMC\userdata\keymaps\keyboard.xml
$home/.xbmc/userdata/keymaps/keyboard.xml
Code:
<keymap>
<global>
<keyboard>
<key id="61467">ParentDir</key>
<key id="61505">ContextMenu</key>
<key id="61521">XBMC.Suspend()</key>
</keyboard>
</global>
</keymap>
Questions and Help Request
1. Any ideas on what might be up on XBMC Live (Ubuntu)? When dropping to the console, all the keys respond correctly. In the XBMC app, every key press relaunches the app. I haven't yet checked the logs as I was craving some Black Ops... I will check soon.
2. I would like to emulate the push and hold functions of the Apple Remote. From the keymap for that device it appears the the remote is what actually sends a different keycode for a longer press/hold. I guess this means the Boxee Remote cannot do this? Watching the logs, it appears XBMC only hooks on keydown, and cannot hook on keyup like other Win32 apps.