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MediaPortal 1
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MP 1.12: Changing from Centarea Remote to Generic HID - how to map Buttons properly?
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<blockquote data-quote="CyberSimian" data-source="post: 1170100" data-attributes="member: 141969"><p>I have continued to investigate this, and I have now identified what additional definitions are needed in "Centarea HID.xml" in order to workaround the regression present in MP 1.12/1.13. But the solution will <strong>definitely</strong> have some disadvantages, which may make it unacceptable.</p><p></p><p>My testing regime is to use the on-screen keyboard ("Virtual Keyboard") in "Search in Titles" in the TV menu, and the objective is to be able to use a real keyboard to type a text string. Typing upper and lower case alphabetics now works, as does typing numeric digits (both the qwerty digits and the numpad digits). But typing the miscellaneous characters presented more of a problem, which I have only just solved.</p><p></p><p>On my UK keyboard there are 36 miscellaneous characters, some of which I use in the names of recordings (e.g. "(", ")", "[", "]", "-", "_", "."). I would therefore want to be able to type these when using the "File Rename" dialogue (which also uses the on-screen keyboard). The problem with the miscellaneous characters can be illustrated by considering the right parenthesis ")" as an example.</p><p></p><p>The ")" character has a decimal value of 41, so I initially created a definition for <strong>code="41"</strong>; but that did not work. Since on the UK keyboard the parentheses are on the uppercase shift, I thought that the SHIFT flag might be set, so I then tried <strong>code="1041"</strong> (the first "1" is the flag for the SHIFT key); but that did not work either. It finally occurred to me that the "Centarea HID" might be receiving the decimal value for the <em>unshifted</em> key, which on the UK keyboard is "0". So I tried the value for SHIFT_0, which is <strong>code="1048"</strong>, and that worked! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>But now we have a problem, because the locations of the miscellaneous characters on the keyboard vary from one country to another. The result is that every country would need to have its own version of "Centarea HID.xml". <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> I will provide a version for the UK keyboard, and I think that most programmers will be able to modify it for their locality. But I think that it would be too difficult for someone who is not an experienced computer professional. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /></p><p></p><p>Another problem concerns the BACKSPACE key that I described in my previous post. I added two further definitions: one allows BACKSPACE to pass through unchanged in the on-screen keyboard (so it works as normal), and the other maps ESCAPE to "return to previous panel". So this provides normal behaviour for the keyboard in MP. But what are the side effects?</p><p></p><p>The first is the effect on the remote control. When in the on-screen keyboard, the "Return" button on the remote now acts as BACKSPACE, and not as "Return". Instead, the "Clear" button now acts as "Return".</p><p></p><p>The other effect is using the keyboard to navigate within MP. Although ESCAPE in the on-screen keyboard acts as "return to previous panel", on all other panels it is BACKSPACE that does that. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite9" alt=":eek:" title="Eek! :eek:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":eek:" /> Now it would be possible to modify the definitions so that ESCAPE acted as "return to previous panel" everywhere within MP. But that would result in the "Return" button on the remote never acting as "Return"; it would always be the "Clear" button that acted as "Return".</p><p></p><p>So, it <em>is</em> possible to get consistent behaviour using the keyboard and using the remote, but at the cost of a few buttons on the remote not performing their expected functions. Would this be acceptable? Maybe yes, maybe no. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite5" alt=":confused:" title="Confused :confused:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":confused:" /></p><p></p><p>In conclusion I would say that there is no free lunch. There are two reasons for choosing the Ortek/Hama remote:</p><p></p><p>(1) It does not suffer from the toggle-codes bug that is present in the driver for the "Microsoft eHome Infrared Transceiver".</p><p></p><p>(2) The IR receiver does not go AWOL when waking from sleep or hibernation.</p><p></p><p>and these are the reasons why I purchased it. Nevertheless, I would still recommend MP users purchasing:</p><p></p><p><strong>a WMC-compatible RC6 remote control that is sold with its own IR reciever which plugs into a USB socket</strong>.</p><p></p><p>-- from CyberSimian in the UK</p><p></p><p>PS: I will post my completed "Centarea HID.xml" file in a day or two.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CyberSimian, post: 1170100, member: 141969"] I have continued to investigate this, and I have now identified what additional definitions are needed in "Centarea HID.xml" in order to workaround the regression present in MP 1.12/1.13. But the solution will [B]definitely[/B] have some disadvantages, which may make it unacceptable. My testing regime is to use the on-screen keyboard ("Virtual Keyboard") in "Search in Titles" in the TV menu, and the objective is to be able to use a real keyboard to type a text string. Typing upper and lower case alphabetics now works, as does typing numeric digits (both the qwerty digits and the numpad digits). But typing the miscellaneous characters presented more of a problem, which I have only just solved. On my UK keyboard there are 36 miscellaneous characters, some of which I use in the names of recordings (e.g. "(", ")", "[", "]", "-", "_", "."). I would therefore want to be able to type these when using the "File Rename" dialogue (which also uses the on-screen keyboard). The problem with the miscellaneous characters can be illustrated by considering the right parenthesis ")" as an example. The ")" character has a decimal value of 41, so I initially created a definition for [B]code="41"[/B]; but that did not work. Since on the UK keyboard the parentheses are on the uppercase shift, I thought that the SHIFT flag might be set, so I then tried [B]code="1041"[/B] (the first "1" is the flag for the SHIFT key); but that did not work either. It finally occurred to me that the "Centarea HID" might be receiving the decimal value for the [I]unshifted[/I] key, which on the UK keyboard is "0". So I tried the value for SHIFT_0, which is [B]code="1048"[/B], and that worked! :) But now we have a problem, because the locations of the miscellaneous characters on the keyboard vary from one country to another. The result is that every country would need to have its own version of "Centarea HID.xml". :( I will provide a version for the UK keyboard, and I think that most programmers will be able to modify it for their locality. But I think that it would be too difficult for someone who is not an experienced computer professional. :( Another problem concerns the BACKSPACE key that I described in my previous post. I added two further definitions: one allows BACKSPACE to pass through unchanged in the on-screen keyboard (so it works as normal), and the other maps ESCAPE to "return to previous panel". So this provides normal behaviour for the keyboard in MP. But what are the side effects? The first is the effect on the remote control. When in the on-screen keyboard, the "Return" button on the remote now acts as BACKSPACE, and not as "Return". Instead, the "Clear" button now acts as "Return". The other effect is using the keyboard to navigate within MP. Although ESCAPE in the on-screen keyboard acts as "return to previous panel", on all other panels it is BACKSPACE that does that. :eek: Now it would be possible to modify the definitions so that ESCAPE acted as "return to previous panel" everywhere within MP. But that would result in the "Return" button on the remote never acting as "Return"; it would always be the "Clear" button that acted as "Return". So, it [I]is[/I] possible to get consistent behaviour using the keyboard and using the remote, but at the cost of a few buttons on the remote not performing their expected functions. Would this be acceptable? Maybe yes, maybe no. :confused: In conclusion I would say that there is no free lunch. There are two reasons for choosing the Ortek/Hama remote: (1) It does not suffer from the toggle-codes bug that is present in the driver for the "Microsoft eHome Infrared Transceiver". (2) The IR receiver does not go AWOL when waking from sleep or hibernation. and these are the reasons why I purchased it. Nevertheless, I would still recommend MP users purchasing: [B]a WMC-compatible RC6 remote control that is sold with its own IR reciever which plugs into a USB socket[/B]. -- from CyberSimian in the UK PS: I will post my completed "Centarea HID.xml" file in a day or two. [/QUOTE]
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MP 1.12: Changing from Centarea Remote to Generic HID - how to map Buttons properly?
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