MP accepts DirectInput even in background (1 Viewer)

[Nobi-chan]

MediaPortal Version: 1.0 RC1 and 0.2.3.0
MediaPortal Skin: BlueTwo
Windows Version: XP SP2/SP3
CPU Type: Intel Pentium D
Memory: 2 Gb
Video Card: ATI Radeon 1650/nVidia GeForceFX 5200
Remote: PS2 gamepad/XBOX gamepad

Hi all,

I've got MediaPortal set up to use my gamepad as a remote using the DirectInput plugin. Unfortunately, MP receives input from these gamepads even when it's in the background.

I discovered this while trying to set up the MyEmulators plugin; I noticed that MP was still being controlled while I was playing a game. I discovered that if I even put MP in the background by launching another app (like FireFox), it would still accept input from the gamepads.

I've replicated this on two different computers, running two different versions of MP and using two different gamepads (see hardware details above). The PS2 gamepad just uses the generic Windows HID driver, while the XBOX gamepad uses the XBCD driver available here. I've seen other posts with this same issue (see here and here), but never an actual fix. In MP 1.0 RC1, there's a setting under General HID devices to only accept input while MP is in the foreground, but 1) this setting has no effect on this behavior, and 2) I'm not sure it's supposed to have any effect on DirectInput devices since it's under a different section in the configuration; it may be working as expected.

I could kind of solve this by using something like Xpadder to map my gamepad buttons to keys, but one of the most important commands to me is Context Menu, which has a hotkey of F9. The function keys are pretty much off-limits when configuring controls for most emulators, so whichever button I mapped that to would be useless if I tried to play a game. Also, I can't possibly be the only person with this problem, so it'd be nice if it could be fixed.

If this is expected behavior or a known issue, please let me know and I can delete this post (maybe? I can at least mark it fixed.).

Of course I'll be glad to help troubleshoot or give more details if needed. Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[diehard2]

Its actually not a bug, but a feature. MP losing focus is one of the biggest PITAs for end users. So, remotes that don't require focus are great (X10, directinput, etc). So, even if you lose focus, you don't have to break out the keyboard and restart. I agree it would be annoying if you're launching an emulator, but we don't actively support an emulator setup. Perhaps the author of that plugin could come up with a workaround.

 

[Nobi-chan]

Yeah, I was half-expecting that to be the answer. I'll try out MyPrograms as a possible replacement in the meantime, then, and ask the MyEmulators developer about adding an option like the Wait for Exit option in MyPrograms. Thanks for your help!

 

[Herculezz]

Anyone found a workaround for this yet? I am having this same problem. I am using MP to launch my kids lego star wars games but when there playing the controller still controls MP and when the enter or key relative to on the controller is pressed boom another game launches.

 

[Nobi-chan]

The MyPrograms plugin worked well for me. It's very easy to set up, too.

 

[Herculezz]

does it work in 1.0?