Boxee Box remote and Logitech Harmony

[richy240]

So I am interested in replacing my dedicated HTPC with a Boxee Box, but I am concerned about the remote. I am hoping an Admin might be able to answer a couple questions...

I have tried hard to get rid and stay rid of all my remote controls, and even Boxee on my PC is controlled by a Harmony Remote. I am curious if there will be any way to continue using a different remote with Boxee. I do not very often need the keyboard that the Boxee Box remote will provide, and if I do need this I often will use my iPhone instead of another remote control.

So, what are my options? Or do I forgo the Boxee Box entirely because of this (because I would rather use my PC and existing remote than be required to have another remote control laying around). Do I need to purchase an RF Harmony remote?

I want the Boxee Box rather than a PC, but this would be a deal-breaker for me. :(

Thanks!

[amdhunter]

Hah! I just registered to post this EXACT same post. Make's me wonder how many others are thinking the same way we are.

While it is a pretty nice remote, I'd have no intention of using it. I am sure the Harmony remotes will be adapted to work later on though.

I am *this close* to pre-ordering on Amazon.

[richy240]

I am *this close* to pre-ordering on Amazon.
Me too. The only thing that is holding me back is the remote.

[dan1son]

I've seen information saying a standard IR receiver will still work, but you'll need to buy it separately. I don't think anyone will know for sure.

[darcilicious]

I've seen the same info, just can't recall where and can't seem to find the reference...

[Rulo]

Avner has said that the Boxee Box will support IR dongles. Any WMC compatible IR receiver should work. This is from Avner blog post yesterday:

Avner Ronen September 13, 2010 at 10:36 pm
CEC is cool, but I think it’s still a bit early technology. We looked at it and seems different devices manufacturers implement it in different ways, and overall the experience isn’t great.

Regarding IR, we support IR dongles compatible with Windows MCE spec.

For the iPhone/iPod remote, that is over WiFi only. For Android, there are already a few of those made by the community, and should work just as well as the iPod/iPhone remote.

This one would be a good option:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101003&cm_re=rosewill_remote_control-_-80-101-003-_-Product
:)

[richy240]

That's great news... Pre-ordering now. :)

EDIT: Ordered. I can't wait. :D

[hamish_18]

I currently use this remote and love it. Just thought I would throw that out. Only thing is I can't get my movies to work right. I can't navigate through the movie selections, like hit ok to start the movie if that makes sense. Hopefully I can find something on here about that..

[offersking]

Its long time since i first got our hands on the Boxee Box QWERTY remote. Since then the device went through something.

[flynn]

I've seen the same info, just can't recall where and can't seem to find the reference...

I saw it here as well, around :58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HmL3Gnyz9I

[flynn]

I've been testing my Harmony remote with Boxee on the PC (assuming that I can just move my IR adapter over to the Boxee Box) and the issue I see is that Boxee doesn't support enough hotkeys, limiting what we can do with our remotes.

For example, I can't toggle the watched stage of an item or folder/series of items by hitting a button. I also don't know if there are hotkeys to jump to a specific section. I haven't looked into subtitle hotkeys, but I'm hoping there's some solution there too...

How have other PC remote users dealt with this ?

[gmd024]

I've been testing my Harmony remote with Boxee on the PC (assuming that I can just move my IR adapter over to the Boxee Box) and the issue I see is that Boxee doesn't support enough hotkeys, limiting what we can do with our remotes.

For example, I can't toggle the watched stage of an item or folder/series of items by hitting a button. I also don't know if there are hotkeys to jump to a specific section. I haven't looked into subtitle hotkeys, but I'm hoping there's some solution there too...

How have other PC remote users dealt with this ?

This isn't specifically related to your Harmony issue -- but with both the Lenovo N5901 and the Rii remote/keyboards I can toggle between all choices including 'watched/unwatched' in Boxee

[flynn]

This isn't specifically related to your Harmony issue -- but with both the Lenovo N5901 and the Rii remote/keyboards I can toggle between all choices including 'watched/unwatched' in Boxee

What button do you press to toggle watched? (I'm assuming you don't mean up/down/left/right and the ok button to browse the item menus)

[gmd024]

What button do you press to toggle watched? (I'm assuming you don't mean up/down/left/right and the ok button to browse the item menus)

On both remotes, hover the pointer over watched/unwatched and the 'Enter' button toggles the choices -- the 2 remotes mentioned are basically qwerty keyboards with either a track ball or a track pad with RF for the connections

[flynn]

On both remotes, hover the pointer over watched/unwatched and the 'Enter' button toggles the choices -- the 2 remotes mentioned are basically qwerty keyboards with either a track ball or a track pad with RF for the connections

Oh I may not have been clear - I'm looking for remote support to toggle the watched state *without* browsing into the menu which includes the watched/unwatched button and clicking it. I'd like to have a button that does that for whatever is currently selected.

[gmd024]

Oh I may not have been clear - I'm looking for remote support to toggle the watched state *without* browsing into the menu which includes the watched/unwatched button and clicking it. I'd like to have a button that does that for whatever is currently selected.

I guess I misunderstood your question

Good Luck

[richy240]

So I have a Boxee Box now, and I have a Windows Media Center-compliant IR receiver, and lo and behold, they don't work together! (Imagine my surprise...) :mad: :mad: :mad:

What's the secret? Because if this isn't ironed out before the end of the weekend, I'm returning the Boxee Box, and probably won't be buying another one.

Anyone?

EDIT: Ok, so unplugging and reconnecting the USB IR receiver made it work, but now I'm having other problems like movies won't play over my network from a Windows server. Was this thing tested before it was released?

[gmd024]

So I have a Boxee Box now, and I have a Windows Media Center-compliant IR receiver, and lo and behold, they don't work together! (Imagine my surprise...) :mad: :mad: :mad:

What's the secret? Because if this isn't ironed out before the end of the weekend, I'm returning the Boxee Box, and probably won't be buying another one.

Anyone?

EDIT: Ok, so unplugging and reconnecting the USB IR receiver made it work, but now I'm having other problems like movies won't play over my network from a Windows server. Was this thing tested before it was released?

BD ISOs and possibly other HD content is an issue over the network (but not exclusive to the BBox)

If you connect the BBox via wireless, that could be the problem

The BBox see almost 99% of the many Tbs of content on my network either from USB HDDs of from a 7Tb HP WHS - I pretty much stream MKVs exclusivly - with about a 99% success rate

[gsivorot]

Do I have to do anything special to get my IR receiver to work with Boxee? It's Media Center compatible but not specifically made for Media Center. I setup the device in the Logitech remote software as Computer, Media Center PC -> Microsoft -> Windows Media Center but can't get it to work. Am I missing a setting in Boxee or is it my IR receiver?

This is my IR Receiver: http://store.antec.com/Product/accessory-veris_media/veris-e-z/0-761345-30123-7.aspx

[jasmel]

I too cannot get my IR receiver and remote to work. I have the Harmony One remote.

**It seems that there needs to be some sort of update in Logitech's drop down menu for the Boxee Box. Wonder who we need to poke to get a Boxee rep. to contact Logitech and provide them with the correct "codes" for the boxee.

[gmd024]

I too cannot get my IR receiver and remote to work. I have the Harmony One remote.

**It seems that there needs to be some sort of update in Logitech's drop down menu for the Boxee Box. Wonder who we need to poke to get a Boxee rep. to contact Logitech and provide them with the correct "codes" for the boxee.

It was suggested in a prev. post to turn off the BBox - plug in the Log.'s USB dongle/Ir rcv'r to the BBox - then turn on the BBox - and it solved the problem for that particular case/issue - hope it works for yours also

[jasmel]

ok, I got my boxee / WMC remote's IR USB port dongle to work with my Harmony One - only issue is when I hit power... the darn WMC remote also turns on my XBOX 360. Guess they use the same comands! (oh boy!)

[Scottbee22]

@jasmel Got the same problem.

In my case, I have my laptop (with IR receiver), my xbox (with IR receiver) and soon Il have my BB with the same IR receiver; what are you supposed to do? Is there a special device under which to put the BB?

If there is, please describe it like this.
Device Type > Company > Device > "Name"

I honestly dont think I want to buy this unless it has specific IR signals, otherwise when I start the activity it will turn on all my devices.

This is my first post and it would really help me out. Thanks in advance.

Specs:
- Xbox 360
- Dell XPS 1640 Laptop
- Samsung Plasma TV 42"
- Pioneer 5.1 Theater System
- Boxee Box <-- Theoretically

[jasmel]

@ Scottbee22

I don't have a fix for this. I had to just program the Harmony One to just turn on the TV and set the Receiver to the correct Input 'HDMI 3' from Boxee.

I have been using my iPhone to control the Boxee... love the gestures feature of the Boxee iPhone App!

[stabu]

I take it the Harmony can not power the boxee on. I know it will bring it back from standby but not if its fully off.

[ScottAllyn]

I take it the Harmony can not power the boxee on. I know it will bring it back from standby but not if its fully off.

I doubt that any IR remote can turn the Boxee Box back on once it's turned off; there's no power to the USB ports when the Box is off, so the IR signal will never be received, much less interpreted.

[twistybox]

There are about 16 different remote IDs for MCE codes. I don't know if Boxee supports multiple IDs, nor if the XBOX does. But conceivably if one could limit the ID being listened to (like in MCE itself) then that would solve the problem of multiple devices listening to the same commands.

The other way is for Boxee to create a set of codes specifically for its device and then distribute them as Pronto Hex as well as sending them to Logitech for inclusion in the Harmony DB. The MCE receiver can understand a lot of different IR if the software is written to support it. At the very least Boxee can use the same RC5/6 protocol as MCE and just change up the device number so it's not the same as any MCE ID - and easily change the function numbers of the commands themselves as well. Not to mention creating any number of commands they want, not being limited to the ones found with MCE remotes.

[daviddagenais]

Tried my 3 different types of logitech remotes with a MCE or MCE2 compatible IR receiver and I cant get anything to work. Regardless if I power down the boxee and plug in the usb then power it back up, none of those steps help. I even tried to select different media centers in the logitech setup but its still a no go.

If anyone has some of the logitech remotes and got them to work please let me know how you set them up in the logitech app.

[gmd024]

Tried my 3 different types of logitech remotes with a MCE or MCE2 compatible IR receiver and I cant get anything to work. Regardless if I power down the boxee and plug in the usb then power it back up, none of those steps help. I even tried to select different media centers in the logitech setup but its still a no go.

If anyone has some of the logitech remotes and got them to work please let me know how you set them up in the logitech app.

I don't have/use any Log. remotes - but maybe describing which ones you are having issues with (ie..remote & IR model #'s) would help with someone else giving some advise

[cavemanmac]

Alright, I guess I'll finally post something on these forums as I've been haunting enough. I have the Harmony 900 and this IR receiver.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130404627555

I've set it up with the logitech software as a Windows Media Center computer which controlled the Box but not very well. I have found the command for "Info" brings up the menu but the directional buttons register two commands on the Box and so you can't really use it. What we need is for someone at Boxee to submit equivalent commands to logitech. The only commands that we really need are the directionals, select/ok, menu and play/pause.

[cavemanmac]

I should also say that this setup is with the newest firmware but on the old .9 the directional commands worked properly.

[twistybox]

Actually we need a lot more commands than the ones you listed. :) Simply duplicating the commands from the included remote isn't enough to adequately integrate the Boxee Box within a well designed and automated home theater system.

Many commands for a number of functions that currently necessitate navigating the menu structure would also be very welcome, along with some discrete versions: every supported skip command/time, discrete pause, discrete play, stop, on, standby, off, home, Movies, TV Shows, Photos, Music, Subtitle ON, Subtitle OFF, Subtitle toggle, Subtitle next, Audio track, Info, etc...

Updated IR remote support for Boxee being worked on in this thread:
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=29521

[cavemanmac]

True but the remote only sends commands for the ones I listed. If the programmers have more to give then sure by all means but if I can get the simple navigation commands to work with my Harmony I'd be happy. The power/standby command would be nice though.

[daviddagenais]

As requested here is what I have. (3 x harmony 700 and a harmony 1000). I also purchased my ir receivers from twistedmelon (http://twistedmelon.com/mira/hardware.html).

I've tried to set up the harmony software using multiple setups and nothign worked. I tried the twisted melon setup, tried the boxee setup and all the windows media centre setups I can think of. I cant even get 1 button to work. I see the ir flashing when I hit the remote but thats it. No activity on the boxee box at all.

[gmd024]

This may be an obvious suggestion but I don't see mention of it here -- Have you powered off the BBox - plugged in the USB connected IR - and then powered up the BBox -- I have to do this on a couple of USB connected devices before the BBox will recognize them

[daviddagenais]

Yes that was the first thing I tried doing. Even so if someone got it to work it woul be great if they could post detailed instructions of what they did in the logitech app

Regardless doing the power off and plug it in made no difference

[esch]

The Boxee Box was checked with a basic windows media center compliant IR-USB remote.
if there's a request to enhance support in this area, I suggest opening an feature request in JIRA and voting, or post it the feature request forums http://forums.boxee.tv/forumdisplay.php?f=12

[twistybox]

It might be that the Boxee software uses a specific vendor and product ID and that my device isn't recognized. My receiver is most definitely MCE(2) - it works perfectly well in Vista or Win7 Media Center without any additional software installation.

A number of people had purchased the receiver to use with the desktop version of Boxee but I don't know if they were using third-party software with it, such as Event Ghost, Girder, etc..

I'll have to follow up with Boxee about this.

[daviddagenais]

Could you please let me know what ir device was tested so I can purchase it

Thanks

[esch]

no Specific vendor or product ID.
several Microsoft media center remotes (the remote should be MS media center complaint) were checked in plug, restart and play mode.

[twistybox]

There are a number of ways to detect and configure an MCE receiver/transceiver. If you're not using VID/PID then you need to check something else. That something else, let's say it's product description or name for instance, is also not the same for all products.

I'll contact you guys with a log of the extended USB details and I can also send you as many receivers as you'd like. They're very small and make an ideal addition to the Box for integrating into a home theater environment and linking up automation with the rest of the equipment in the room/house.

[daviddagenais]

I currently have 4 of your ir units. Looking to get them to work with my logitech remotes and boxee boxes

[Ph8]

Everyone,

I created the Following Jira ticket:
http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-7292

May not be worded exactly as needed, but feel free to vote\add to it :)

I also started the following thread in the Feature Request forum.

http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?p=129716#post129716

[twistybox]

David, you can return those units if you wish or you can wait until such time as I've heard back from Boxee about supporting them. I'll be contacting them directly shortly about this.

[daviddagenais]

no worries about returning them. It's best if i can keep them and then when you hear back at least you have someone to test it with 3 different kinds of remotes to give you feedback.

[cavemanmac]

Update - The update has broken the info=menu but I've gotten the directionals and center button commands down and all that I really need now is the menu button to work and I'd be happy enough.

[ghugrim]

The Boxee Box was checked with a basic windows media center compliant IR-USB remote.
if there's a request to enhance support in this area, I suggest opening an feature request in JIRA and voting, or post it the feature request forums http://forums.boxee.tv/forumdisplay.php?f=12

So does anyone know what IR-USB remotes work for sure with the Boxee box? I didnt want to go out and purchase a few without some feedback on what to get for my logitech.

[gmd024]

So does anyone know what IR-USB remotes work for sure with the Boxee box? I didnt want to go out and purchase a few without some feedback on what to get for my logitech.

Use the search feature to querry your IR/Remote question - there's quite a few threads on the subject

[jasmel]

I was using this one:

HP Media Center IR Remote Control & USB Receiver (http://www.amazon.com/HP-Center-Remote-Control-Receiver/dp/B00415LA8Q/?tag=justmymusic-20)

But as I stated either on this tread or another ... when I set it up with my Harmony One remote and hit "Watch Boxee" it also turns on my XBOX 360... I am guessing the XBOX360 and the media center code's for "On" are the same.

Wonder if anybody else is having the XBOX 360 and Boxee IR issue.

[daviddagenais]

I think the issue here is no one has actually provided a link or model number of an ir blaster that actually works with the boxee box

[Ph8]

I was using this one:

HP Media Center IR Remote Control & USB Receiver (http://www.amazon.com/HP-Center-Remote-Control-Receiver/dp/B00415LA8Q/?tag=justmymusic-20)

But as I stated either on this tread or another ... when I set it up with my Harmony One remote and hit "Watch Boxee" it also turns on my XBOX 360... I am guessing the XBOX360 and the media center code's for "On" are the same.

Wonder if anybody else is having the XBOX 360 and Boxee IR issue.

Have you tired a different media PC selection on the Harmony remote? I belive someone has used the Ortek VRC-1100 with some success. My guess is the same as you, it appears which ever code is set up for the remote is on the same command that the XBOX uses.


I think the issue here is no one has actually provided a link or model number of an ir blaster that actually works with the boxee box

Its becasue there is none that is "fully" supported. As you can see there are many people suing different MCE remote, IR, ect combinations and get them to work. Until Boxee beefs up the IR remote mapping support there wont be a 1 to 1 mapping yet. I know people ahve had success with an MCE remote bought from amazon (its posted over at AVS) and that the oly real thing that doesnt work is the Power button, but then again, it shouldnt work as the IR port goes dead when the box is fully off.

Ill ahve my IR reciever from an MCE remote next week so Ill be able to test it out finally, Im not expecting miracles, but since I rarely turn the box off, I dont think Ill have much troubles.

[replicant]

Any updates guys/gals? Was looking at getting a boxee box after the holidays and was hoping to use my Harmony 550 (I have a Mira IR unit to try).

[Ph8]

Well Ive had success with the Ortek VRC-1100 IR receiver and my Harmony One. It doesnt fully work, but most of the basic functions that I use do have key mappings that do get picked up by the Boxee Box.

The best thing to do is plug in the IR receiver and make sure that the Harmony is programmed for the MCE remote that you have. Nothing is promised, but you may have success.

The more reports of different receivers that do\dont work the better.

[flynn]

Well Ive had success with the Ortek VRC-1100 IR receiver and my Harmony One. It doesnt fully work, but most of the basic functions that I use do have key mappings that do get picked up by the Boxee Box.

The best thing to do is plug in the IR receiver and make sure that the Harmony is programmed for the MCE remote that you have. Nothing is promised, but you may have success.

The more reports of different receivers that do\dont work the better.

And I've had the same success with my Harmony 550 and some noname IR USB receiver.

What exactly are the remaining issues for Harmony remotes? What am I missing out on that other remotes aren't?

[phil78]

Avner has said that the Boxee Box will support IR dongles. Any WMC compatible IR receiver should work. This is from Avner blog post yesterday:


September 13, 2010 at 10:36 pm
CEC is cool, but I think it’s still a bit early technology. We looked at it and seems different devices manufacturers implement it in different ways, and overall the experience isn’t great.


Thanks for sharing that post by Avner here. I am using the DLink Boxee Box and I'd say it would be a pretty good user experience if CEC would work. The buttons I use frequently on the boxee remote are up, down, left, right, enter and back. From what I've read the control codes are somewhat standard (with every vendor having it's own brand name for it). Even if that's not the case I am pretty sure people would be eager to help and create mappings for their equipment for those basic commands. Also nice of course would be if the DLink Boxee Box would boot when activated via cec and shutdown properly.

Anyone knows if there's already at least some support for reading hdmi cec "traffic" on the Dlink Boxee Box?

[cavemanmac]

I can't get the menu command to work. Can anyone get the directionals, ok and menu buttons to work? If so which receiver are you using?

This is what I have:

http://www.hootoo.com/src0151mce-mce-remote-control-white-mouse-emulating-capability-p-52165.html

[cavemanmac]

Has anyone got a receiver that will accept the proper menu command? I can only get the directionals and ok buttons from this one:

http://www.hootoo.com/src0151mce-mce-remote-control-white-mouse-emulating-capability-p-52165.html

[daviddagenais]

Well I have a USB IR receiver and cannot seem to get any of my harmony remotes to work. COuld someone explain exatly what the settings are they are selecting in the logitech software? Do you simply set up the remote like any other and have the config get dumped to the remote? It's not like the logitech 1000 where you have to put the remote and the ir blaster via usb to the computer to program correct?

I simply keep the ir blaster conencted to the boxee box and I program my logitech remote via the logitech software.

[Ph8]

David, have you programmed your Harmony for the remote that came with the IR receiver? The receiver has to be MCE2 compliant in order to work. with the Ortek one I ahve as soon as I plugged it in it worked, no need for a reboot or any extra leg work. I plugged the "device" type into the harmony software and update the remote after that it all worked as I expected it to.

[daviddagenais]

i purchased the ir receiver separately. I got them from twisted melon as someone suggested on one of the boxee threads. Unfortunately I don't think they work with any of my logitech remotes. 650, 700, 900 and the 1000. Unless I am programming the remote wrong in the logitech app but I pretty well tried everything.

[Ph8]

In that case youll need to contact twisty to see what he\she recommends for Harmony settings. It doesnt look like twisty has had an update since thier last post regarding a response from Boxee.

[daviddagenais]

last I heard was that he had contacted boxee but nothing more then that. I do know he is busy so who knows.

Do you know of another usb ir adapter that might work where I can only purchase the adapter and not an entire set "retote + ir blaster"

[Look30]

I just ordered Boxee not knowing that Harmony is not supported. I hate to say thin but it will go back ASAP ... And I'm not talking about my beloved Harmony ...

[Ph8]

last I heard was that he had contacted boxee but nothing more then that. I do know he is busy so who knows.

Do you know of another usb ir adapter that might work where I can only purchase the adapter and not an entire set "retote + ir blaster"

Head over to AVS there is a Boxee Box remote thread :) There is an HP ir receiver that be bought seperately, but there seems to be an issue with multiple selections from one button press. You can turn down the sensitivity, but it will then make the rest of the navigation slower.

Also, its all a matter of how much your willling to spend. I paid ~14$ shipped for my remote\ir receiver combo. The HP one is a little cheaper I believe, but not by much.

[daviddagenais]

exactly which model did you get for the 14 bucks?

I would just throw away the remote and keep my harmony ones.

[minel]

went through this whole thread and my quesiton is:

I want to get a Logitech Harmony 650 tmrw. I understand I need to get a usb IR dongle. I only care about the 6 buttons on the front.

As of today, are those working? :)

Hope I don't get bashed on too much :S

Thanks!

[daviddagenais]

thats exactly all that I want to work with my 650 also and other logitech remotes also. Just the buttons on the opposite side of the qwerty.

[Ph8]

exactly which model did you get for the 14 bucks?

I would just throw away the remote and keep my harmony ones.

I got the no name Ortek from Amazon that can be found in the AVS thread :).....

[minel]

so basically I can't use the Logitech Harmony 650 with BoxeeBox right now :( or can I? I already have the remote.. just wondering about the USB IR receiver

[Ph8]

so basically I can't use the Logitech Harmony 650 with BoxeeBox right now :( or can I? I already have the remote.. just wondering about the USB IR receiver

???? As long as you have a compatible IR reciever for both the Boxee Box and the Harmony it should work for basic functions. Im currently using my Harmony One and am able to do most of the.basic.functions I need it to.

[minel]

???? As long as you have a compatible IR reciever for both the Boxee Box and the Harmony it should work for basic functions. Im currently using my Harmony One and am able to do most of the.basic.functions I need it to.

are you able to give me a link with the exact IR usb dongle you're using? I'll get the same and try it ... all I want is the simple side of the Boxee Box remote... do not care about the back side too much :)

[daviddagenais]

Is there a list or link to these compatible IR USB receivers? I have a couple and they don't work so the next ones I purchase I want to make sure they work.

[minel]

Is there a list or link to these compatible IR USB receivers? I have a couple and they don't work so the next ones I purchase I want to make sure they work.

I purchased this:

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Control-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B00224ZDFY/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

will use only IR receiver though. This is the one they were talking about on AVSForum... it gives you basic functionality

[Ph8]

I purchased this:

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Control-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B00224ZDFY/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

will use only IR receiver though. This is the one they were talking about on AVSForum... it gives you basic functionality

Thats the one I have :).....We are trying to gather a list of specific things over on AVS that we would like to see transfered over, so that it can be added. The more people we have helping out the better :).

[minel]

Thats the one I have :).....We are trying to gather a list of specific things over on AVS that we would like to see transfered over, so that it can be added. The more people we have helping out the better :).

Thanks very much for the confirmation :) Can't wait... my first ever Logitech Harmony remote :D

[twistybox]

I've now verified that the Box works with the older revision of my IR receiver, but not with the new one I'm currently selling. The good news is that this should be a rather simple fix.

In the brief time I've played with IR and Boxee, I've been able to test most of the MCE commands. They typically do what you'd expect and allow a few dedicated/discrete commands not possible with the included Boxee remote.

Notable functions:

Menu = Home screen (jumps directly to the home screen)
VIDEO = TV Shows (jumps directly to the TV show list)
Pictures = Pictures
Music = Music
Mute = Mute
Channel +/- = Page up and down in lists
POWER = turn Boxee Box OFF !!Note!! Can't turn it back on (USB on Box doesn't seem to support low power mode)
INFO = Shows detailed playback/media information (debug-style presentation, but useful info, like audio and video codecs and resolution)
Number buttons = jump to letter of the alphabet in lists (letters are the same as on your phone's number pad - Harmony remotes have printed letters on them as well)

Notable oddities:

There doesn't seem to be any way to jump directly to MOVIES. This is easy to fix by simply assigning one of the MCE button codes to do this - there are plenty still available.
PLAY = doesn't seem to do anything
PAUSE = Play/Pause toggle
Power = Since IR can't power on the device, this should put the Box into Sleep rather than OFF, IMO.

I'll post any news about the current revision of my IR receivers when I have more information.

[replicant]

Which device and activity settings did you use in the harmony software?thanks!

[twistybox]

Sorry for the late followup. Lost track of this thread....


In your Harmony software, choose Add Device, Manufacturer=Microsoft and Product/model=MCE (or Media Center) - it should bring up a working match for you. Rename the device "Boxee" so you know what it is.

Then just add that device to an activity along with your TV and sound system, etc. Whatever you need ON/active for use with Boxee. Set the activity to NOT power off the MCE device (your Boxee Box) and in fact don't put the power command on any buttons.

The reason for this is that the MCE power command will turn the Box off completely which will require the use of the original remote (or button on the box itself) to turn it back on.

I'm hoping the Box can run USB low power when it's off and we can use an IR remote to turn it on in the future. MCE receivers support a low power wake command to the host.

If you have more than one product that responds to MCE codes, I'm not sure how you can choose different MCE IDs from the Harmony software. If anyone is using another universal remote, such as those from URC, then different IDs are readily available. If you need to, you could always get the different commands as Pronto Hex codes and send them to Harmony's support staff to put onto your remote config manually.

[PlasmaX23]

I'm running Boxee on my HTPC (XP 32bit). I purchased a usb IR receiver (like 5 bucks on ebay) and setup my logitech 890. One thing I did have to do is use the learn IR codes feature and copy the provided remote commands then assign them. FYI if you want to do something like this you are going to spend some time programming your logitech remote to get functionality to your liking. I also had to use a piece of software to remap windows hot keys. This works great but does take a bit of time to setup! The only issues are when watching a movie: play, stop, FF,and RW do not work. You can get this functionality by pressing enter then using the arrow keys so it's not too big of a deal. I know I have it all mapped correctly because Cyberlink DVD functions properly. I think Boxee just needs to set up there player like everyone else WMP,Cyberlink,XBMC (except VLC they use Space for play and pause). I have about 1TB (DNS 324 NAS) of varying formats M2TS, AVI, MPG4, MKV... I have not yet found a format it will not play. With that said My HTPC is much more powerful than the Boxee Box.

[twistybox]

Sounds like you need more work in setting up your remote.

Since you're running it in Windows you can actually get every button on your remote working with a unique function in Boxee, including all the transport commands (play, ffwd, etc). It's pretty straight forward if you look into a third party remote app like Event Ghost or about half a dozen others.

Though you may need to toss that cheaper $5 receiver and get something that actually handles arbitrary codes so that you don't have to learn anything with the remote and so it will be supported by one of the remote apps. The receivers I sell work well for this. :)

[santiagodraco]

What Boxee needs to do is release an IR remote with receiver and make their next version IR compatible out of the box. The fact that we have to go through this mess is pretty absurd. Very poor design on their part.

Thank god some of us who know can somewhat recover by buying extra hardware... too bad for everyone else who has to suffer through the use of the current boxee remote with it's impossible to read keys. D-Link and Boxee I hope you guys are reading these threads!

[twistybox]

To be fair, IR will not be a suitable solution for the qwerty keyboard, so the remote would still need a radio-based solution for that, such as proprietary RF or Bluetooth. That will add a significant cost to the box from a BOM (bill of materials) perspective.

Plus if Boxee supplied their own IR receiver, I'd have no market to sell mine to Boxee customers :) I'm thinking of releasing a remote as well, but that's still in the consideration stages.

[b_scott]

Sorry for the late followup. Lost track of this thread....


In your Harmony software, choose Add Device, Manufacturer=Microsoft and Product/model=MCE (or Media Center) - it should bring up a working match for you. Rename the device "Boxee" so you know what it is.

Then just add that device to an activity along with your TV and sound system, etc. Whatever you need ON/active for use with Boxee. Set the activity to NOT power off the MCE device (your Boxee Box) and in fact don't put the power command on any buttons.

The reason for this is that the MCE power command will turn the Box off completely which will require the use of the original remote (or button on the box itself) to turn it back on.

I'm hoping the Box can run USB low power when it's off and we can use an IR remote to turn it on in the future. MCE receivers support a low power wake command to the host.

If you have more than one product that responds to MCE codes, I'm not sure how you can choose different MCE IDs from the Harmony software. If anyone is using another universal remote, such as those from URC, then different IDs are readily available. If you need to, you could always get the different commands as Pronto Hex codes and send them to Harmony's support staff to put onto your remote config manually.

when I do this in my Harmony One software (7.7) it doesn't allow me to assign any buttons to Media Center PC. It just lets me select the device and then when I hit the drop down for the action, there is nothing - just a checkmark. Then it clears when I save.

[twistybox]

If the button list for a particular device is completely blank, then that's the wrong device. I don't know why Harmony bothers to store blank devices, but you'll need to choose a different one.

With Harmony remotes (it doesn't matter which one nor which version of the software you're using) pick the following:

Computer/Media Center PC -> Hewlett Packard -> Media Center

That device has a full complement of buttons which can be changed around at will via the device settings. If you add that device to an activity, you can then also change the activity buttons and pick from whatever devices you've added to that activity. This is the recommended way to go of course, since activity-based control is generally what you want so you can also turn on your TV and audio system, etc.

[b_scott]

sorry, I forgot i had to enter the device and not write Boxee when I originally added it. Working on it now. Is there a definitive list for the HP Center commands?

[twistybox]

There is a list, but it will hopefully soon be irrelevant.

Please consult these threads:

http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=29521

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1290828

And look at this spreadsheet to find out what the buttons currently do. The RED columns will contain what they SHOULD do (in a future update) later this week.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlXVOBl0er7tdEZlVmE2NllpNGZTLVBpZzl3SkltU UE&hl=en&authkey=CODAo8sH

[b_scott]

thanks. With the HP remote setup, I can't seem to find a way to bring up Movies.

[twistybox]

thanks. With the HP remote setup, I can't seem to find a way to bring up Movies.

Boxee doesn't support bringing up movies from an IR remote. That's one of the things I'm fixing.

Please see the spreadsheet I linked for a full list of what is currently supported by Boxee in the Global (all sections) and Playback modes.

[b_scott]

thanks. so it looks like Play doesn't work - but hitting Pause again does (from your chart, says "bug")

I notice the IR shines the red light when I'm pressing volume which is mapped to my receiver.

I notice it shines for everything - which makes sense, but it's REALLY bright. Is there a way to turn it off, or a good way to tape over it so I don't see it? I know it's there for a reason, but i'm just particular :)

[twistybox]

Manta TR1 flashes its LED when it sees any IR signal.

And yes, "Play" doesn't work because it's not mapped to "Play" in Boxee's software.

[b_scott]

thanks. I've gotten it pretty usable - only glaring omission is of course the Movies button which I know you are working on :)

now to figure out a way to dim the LED somehow - that sucker is blinding! :eek:

[KevinSartori]

I also found that LED to be way too bright. First I tried covering part of the window with electrical tape, but you could still see the LED light up. I found that opening it and covering the LED itself was the only way to entirely block the light without interfering with the IR sensor.

On the bottom of the IR receiver, you can see four rubber feet. If you "pick off" the two front feet, you'll see that there are two screws there. Those are the two screws that hold the IR receiver together. You can unscrew those, take the IR receiver apart and put a small piece of black electrical tape over the LED. Make sure you don't cover the IR sensor, though.

It should go without saying that this will undoubtedly void your warranty. So maybe make sure the IR receiver works fine before you open it up!

I hope Twistybox doesn't mind me posting this info...

[twistybox]

I don't mind. But, don't break anything. I can tell when a receiver has been opened. :)

You can also try simply positioning the receiver so that you don't see the LED. While IR is "line of sight" light does bounce around, so you can get pretty liberal with placement. Trial and error of course, depending on how your system/room are set up.