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How to use EventGhost and Flirc for maximum XMBC awesomeness. OK folks, I’ve been really waiting for a way to interface FLIRC with XBMC. Unfortunately, the buttons that the FLIRC program provides for XBMC are pretty limited; most universal remotes come with a bajillion buttons that aren’t used under normal conditions for XBMC. Additionally, some buttons don’t really have counterparts in FLIRC or the keyboard, such as YELLOW, BLUE, RED and GREEN. Finally, the practice of editing keymaps.xml or whatever XBMC uses is painful. Because of this, I wanted to interface EventGhost’s XBMC2 plugin as well as FLIRC to maximize the capacity of my remote. Requirements: FLIRC – Duh. XBMC – Double Duh. EventGhost - WINDOWS ONLY, I don’t know any comparable linux or mac software, and don’t ask me about it. A remote control - I am using Vizio Remote Control XRV1TV 3D ($20 on amazon), which comes with the normal remote keys and a qwerty keyboard on the back. This remote is pretty kickass since it has QWERTY if you need it, and is purely IR-based, so FLIRC can program all the buttons for it. However, programming the QWERTY remote makes it more difficult than a regular universal remote. If someone could just create a sexy universal IR remote with QWERTY keys underneath it, it would make me so happy. Unfortunately, no such remote exists, and these VIZIO remotes are probably the best I’ve seen for this purpose. Someone needs to make a kickstarter for these. Technical Background: FLIRC processes signals from your remote control and turns them into keypresses on a virtual keyboard. Eventghost can intercept those keypresses using the Keyboard Plugin, and with the correct addons, can re-translate those button-presses into any arbitrary action you want. In this case, I’ll use it to program specific XBMC-related keys, but this could be extended to many other things, as long as you figure out how to do it in eventghost. Step by Step Instructions. I presume that you know how to navigate XBMC, FLIRC, and hopefully Eventghost. If not, ask someone more technically inclined to help you. 1. Verify that your remote control does not interfere with your TV! This step is very important; I found out after the fact that certain buttons on my Vizio remote work on my Element TV. Power, Info, Menu, Volume, Channel and some QWERTY keys all had effects on my TV. Since the remote isn’t programmable, there’s no way to avoid it. I used a marker to erase the labels on the buttons that had weird effects on my TV so I wouldn’t press them. If you are using a universal remote, try to select a code which has no overlap with your TV or other electronics. 2. Install FLIRC and verify it works with your remote. 3. Install XBMC and verify it works. Maybe setup your library and some videos for or something you can browse through or troubleshoot. 4. Program your basic remote keys on FLIRC. Programming your keys depends on whether you have an ordinary remote, or one with QWERTY keys. An ordinary remote is simple; just use FLIRC’s GUI to program all the keys that you can see direct equivalents for. For example, use the XBMC keyboard layout to program the keys in your remote. Don’t worry at this point if you have a lot of extra keys on your remote that don’t correspond to any keyboard keys. We’ll deal with them later. For the time being, try to map the buttons with the corresponding keys on the XBMC keyboard. (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Keyboard) For a QWERTY remote, the best way to do it is to program the QWERTY keys first, then program the non-qwerty keys (play, pause, ff etc) last. This way, you later have a way of determining which remote buttons collide (are mapped to the same key). Note that switching controllers on the FLIRC menu doesn’t change buttons you programmed on another controller. This means that you can use the extra set of buttons on the Windows Media Player controller and program it to your remote, then switch over to Full keyboard and program another set of keys without losing the WMP-labelled buttons. This allows you to map some extra keys easily. SAVE YOUR WORK AT THIS TIME. 5. Map out remaining keys with modifier keystrokes. Your remote should be pretty well-stocked to do the basics at this point. However, some buttons (color keys, special manufacturer keys etc) have no direct keyboard equivalents. Additionally, I might want to not use a particular button that is keyed to a QWERTY button. To bypass this limitation, let’s program our own keys for these buttons. I want to map out the Yellow button on my remote. To avoid collisions/overlap with other buttons, I’m going to use modifier keystrokes (control, shift, alt, windows keys etc). In this case, setting FLIRC to recognize Control-Alt-Shift-Y should be unique enough as a keystroke. Open FLIRC and go to full keyboard mode, and press the Control-Alt-Shift-Y keys on the on-screen keyboard. I then associate it with the Yellow Button on my remote. This set of keystrokes is unique enough that it is unlikely that any other program requires this keystroke. You can do this for any button, as long as it hasn’t been programmed or something. Feel free to play with any other key combination; I suggest using Control-Alt-Shift or Control-Alt-Win and go down the QWERTY keyboard to simplify mapping your buttons. SAVE YOUR WORK UNDER A DIFFERENT FILENAME SO YOU HAVE A BACKUP. 6. Install Eventghost and make a new configuration. Eventghost will give you some default configuration, which is actually pretty helpful if you want to tinker around and learn some things. But in our case, we’ll start from scratch and just click New Configuration. 7. Install the appropriate plugins. Now the only ones that we really need are Keyboard, the XBMC2 and the Task Create/Switch Events plugins. Feel free to replace the XBMC plugin with whatever one you are using (like WMP/VLC). We add Task Switcher for a later step to ensure that all buttons we map specifically to XBMC will only work when XBMC is run. At this point, you should see something similar to this. For now, right-click the XBMC2 folder, and press “Disable Item” so that we can program buttons easily. Remember to enable it later on. 8. At this point, press a button on your remote, and you should see something (an event) pop up on Eventghost’s left pane. For example, I mapped the Yellow remote button as the Control-Alt-Shift-U key, and if I press it, I see the command Keyboard.LShift+LCtrl+LAlt+U. Several lines pop up for this key combination, but just use the full command. (Ignore the LAlt and L+Alt+Printscreen stuff, this is just an artifact of taking screencaps). Whenever you press anything on your keyboard (real keyboard or FLIRC remote), this will pop up and be accessible as a command. 9. Earlier I mentioned I wanted to map the Yellow button on the remote to the “Movies” screen of XBMC. To do this, open the XBMC2 folder in Eventghost and go to Windows > Show Movies Screen. Press the Yellow button (or whatever button you want to map) to underneath the XBMC2.Show Movies Screen action. This associates pressing Yellow on the remote with XBMC’s Show Movies command. Repeat this for the other buttons you want. Once you are satisfied, right click the XBMC2 folder and enable it. Run XBMC and test the remote if you like (it helps if you run it in windowed mode (the key is “\”). Experiment with the button assignments until you are happy with it. Note that there are bajillion options you can try, which can be confusing, but with luck you can do it. Take a look at the XBMC keyboard map (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Keyboard) for whatever keys are being used by XBMC natively and try to work with or around them. Repeat as necessary for any other special keys you would like. In this way, I was able to program my remote for all the buttons I want. This step is insanely powerful; I can associate any unique keystroke I want with an XBMC action, without it overlapping with the QWERTY keyboard. I can even arbitrarily associate keystrokes with windows functions (restart/reboot/suspend etc)! Just take note which keystrokes you have used for which buttons. Note: The Buttons>Remote section and the Actions>General sections have identical macros for some commands such as direction keys. If there are identical macros, map only one, otherwise you might get multiple keypresses from one button press. Warning: It is not a good idea to associate common keystrokes with eventghost commands, especially with QWERTY remotes. You may get collisions and key interceptions which are hard to diagnose (See last section of this document for details). I suggest leaving most keys unprogrammed, and only map the special 4-button combination keystrokes for those keys you want to remap. 10. Configure the Enable Exclusive commands. Create a new folder (I name it Context) and move the XBMC2 folder inside it. This is a needed step in order for us to use the Enable Exclusive commands. After that, create a new macro (the orange gear thingie) and select “Enable Exclusive folder/macro”, and in the next dialog box, select the XBMC2 folder inside the Context folder. This should give you a macro that says “Enable Exclusive:XBMC2.” Create another macro in the root directory and select “Disable”, and in the next dialog box, select the same XBMC2 folder as before. Start up XBMC, and alt-tab or go to windowed mode, and look at Eventghost’s log. It should have an action “Task.Activated.XBMC” which you should drag to the “Enable Exclusive:XBMC2” macro. Similarly, there should be a “Task.Deactivated.XBMC” which you should drag to the “Disable XBMC” macro. What was the point of this whole thing? If set up correctly, this tells Eventghost to only activate the XBMC remote commands when XBMC is the active window. Once XBMC is minimized/alt-tabbed/closed, the Disable XBMC macro disables the XBMC commands to prevent other apps from recognizing the keyboard commands. Although we used combination keystrokes to map certain buttons, there is still a small chance that a keystroke will be recognized by another program, and using Enable Exclusive will prevent some of that problems. Anything in the same folder at the same level as XBMC2 will be disabled by the Enable Exclusive when it is triggered, so you could put remote commands for another application there. Finally, if you want to map other buttons to work outside XBMC (such as power or others), simply put it outside the Context folder, and it will not be subjected to the Enable-Exclusive command. 11. Sit back and enjoy! (Or swear profusely and bugger with the configuration more.) Notes and Warning: 1. Since FLIRC acts as a virtual keyboard, and since Eventghost can’t distinguish between multiple keyboards, ALL YOUR COMMANDS ARE SENT AS IF YOU TYPED IT ON ANY OF YOUR KEYBOARDS. There isn’t any way (as far as I know) to respond to commands coming from Keyboard#1 separately from commands coming from Keyboard#2. In other words, Eventghost treats all keyboard commands as coming from the same source, and can’t distinguish keystrokes from different keyboards. To sidestep this, the Eventghost forums suggest using something called the HID plugin instead of the keyboard plugin, but it doesn’t seem to work for FLIRC, and I know nothing about it. 2. When using the keyboard plugin, note that Eventghost will intercept the keystrokes if they are assigned to a particular action. As stated in the Keyboard Plugin Description: “Notice: If such a keyboard event is assigned to a macro, the plugin will block the key, so Windows or another application will not see it anymore. This is needed to permit remapping of keys as otherwise the old key would reach the target in conjunction of another action you might want to do and this is mostly not what you intend. But this blocking only happens, if a macro would actually execute in succession of the event. So if the macro or any of its parents is disabled, the keypress will pass through.” In other words, if you’ve mapped a buttonpress, eventghost will intercept it, unless that button-press is disabled. If you forget this, you might wonder why you start missing letters or have strange program behavior when you are typing while eventghost is on. Since many keypresses are pretty much universal and standard (up, down, left right, enter etc) don’t program them, and remember to use the “Enable Exclusive” macro. Only reprogram the keys if necessary. This is a necessary consequence of Note#1, since we can’t do it in a keyboard specific way. 3. The main reason why QWERTY remote programming is more difficult than regular remote programming is you could have collisions between keystrokes (eg. the space button in the QWERTY keyboard works as the pause button in XBMC, but you might want them to be totally separate for your remote). You have to take note which keys correspond to which. Coupled with Note #2, this is why my suggestion is “Only reprogram the keys if necessary.” 4. I still don’t know how to associate XBMC addons to eventghost applications. For example, I want to figure out if I can map the Pandora or XBMCflix app to a button, but so far I don’t know. Online guides mention JSON or some other thing in Eventghost, but I can’t get any namespaces to appear in the JSON options in eventghost. 5. Eventghost has some features which can get around some limitations of FLIRC (Long keypresses, context-dependent button presses, button timing features), but its requires reading and diving into Eventghost. Using these options, I was able to get my HTPC and TV to turn on/off simultaneously with one button. However, the wakeup button requires setting the command-line interface (see elsewhere in the flirc forums on how to do that), and does not actually map a physical button keyboard, but some sort of device-based means to go from suspend mode to normal mode. 6. FLIRC still has some bugs which make the process a little tricky. For example, I had a FLIRC-related bug which prevented me from deleting and remapping several keys. Also, using the command line interface “keys” flag does not show keys with modifiers (see step 5), so try to remember the keystrokes you use for them. All and all, it can be done with some hard work and enough ADHD.

How can I command the FLIRC to open a program when I push a button on my Harmony One remote? I'd liked it to open XBMC, is this even possible?

Hi, I'm using Rasbmc on my Rasperry Pi with Flirc and Apple Remote (silver). I've configured Flirc on Windows 7 using version 0.96 and controller 'XBMC' as shown in the attached file. How can I use the volume up/volume down buttons during playing a video without loosing the existing configuration? How can I use the 'informaton' button (to see codec) during playing a video without loosing the existing configuration? Is it possible to use one button on my Apple Remote for different keys in XBMC depending on the area in Xbmc? (e.g. Video, Settings, ...) Regards, Christian

This topic will most likely be useful only to Finnish users, since the Procaster 8-in-1 remote is a product of a Finnish electronics store Verkkokauppa.com. I bought the remote to control my Raspberry Pi with Flirc. Here's what I used to configure the remote: First I defined the device to be controlled as a DVB. Then I selected Skymaster model 301 from the list, since it was the first one I found that had all the buttons usable. Then I just selected the XBMC layout from the configuration application and defined the buttons. It's a pretty nice basic remote, especially since it only costs 10 euros. The sides are made from a rubber of some kind, so the grip is quite good and it won't slide on tables. If you have questions about the remote just reply to this post.

Here is my bedroom setup using Flirc with a android TV Stick. Works Great!!! Thanks Guys!! http://youtu.be/wCRn0lmAuL0

Sorry if this has been covered, I quickly read through 5 pages of topics. ;) I am really interested in this product, will it work with XBMC for Android? Thanks.

Hi; Thanks for the great help around here. I have tried to setup Flirc and my Harmony One without success. I have read many installation procedures and I am confused. I have programmed FLIRC with keyboard layout but keys needed to be pressed twice to work, and even though the delay to execution was huge (so I canned that one). Next, I programmed MCE Keyboard and MCPC in the remote and linked them with an action to launch XBMC automatically using WIN-7 command and then use the keyboard layout i programmed. That did not work either... WISH LIST: Have XBMC as a command in remote When pressed a) I need TV on and HDMI 3 selected B) XBMC launched on the PC then control from there with a keyboard layout. ASSUMPTION: A second TV profile would not work since I need my TV to switch to HDMI 3 and so on... is this correct? I realize that this list might be a bit pretentious but I would like the convenience this offers. QUESTIONS Is this possible to do If yes, what is the best way to program it Thanks in advance

Ok, I am at first base with this. This is the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJHG2K8NQas These are the scripts including the keyboard.xml https://www.dropbox....Z/XBMCEyeTV.zip Features that I have added to the remote are: 1. Screenshots (automatically upload to photo stream) 2. Blacklight 3. Growl notifications toggle (incomplete) and a few more custom app controls as you can see... PS: I dont mean to post such a large image but I cant seem to resize it here.

Hello My DirecTV RC65 - Programmed For DirecTV Reciever Cause I Do Not Use DirecTV No More But I Can Only Scroll One At A Time cant long press and have it keep going and it makes it difficult to scroll through lists

Please consider [also] having amazon perform fulfillment. Prime members (like myself) would then receive the device within two days, or one day for an additional $4. http://fba.amazon.com http://www.amazon.co...odeId=200229160 compare your costs https://sellercentra...calculator.html :) I hope to use fLirc with XBMCbuntu and a not so old Philips dvp5992 remote (DVD/divx player. $45 cheap pseudo htpc alternative). XBMC Eden on a lightly used Dell business workstation.

I'm curious to know if anybody running XBMCbuntu (or any other Linux setup) has successfully programmed a Logitech Harmony remote for full functionality. I installed the Flirc GUI within XBMCbuntu, which seemed to record the basic functionality. I had to use the terminal command line to record advanced keystrokes. Within XBMC, however, I get almost no real functionality. Only the directional buttons "work," and that is occasional and usually scrolls in whatever direction it chooses, regardless of the actual input. I think the problem may be in the device or activity setup within the Logitech Harmony software. Obviously, neither XBMC nor Flirc have profiles within the software, but some users running Linux XBMC builds have reported success in the past. Unfortunately, I've never been able to replicate. The device profiles I've tried include DVD Player, MCE Keyboard and a Panasonic/Samsung TV as suggested by a user in another thread. No joy, but it could be that I'm setting up the activity improperly or customizing the buttons differently... haven't found any advice on those fronts. Any suggestions on what device profile should be used, how the activity should be setup, or how the buttons should be customized? Really looking for help here, I'm on my last nerve finding a working solution. Thanks in advance.

I noticed when I was programming my flirc that after programming period (.) and comma (,), when I tried to map w and O, they responded with period and comma. I am using a Harmony One, configured for Samsung LN46C650L1F TV. Yellow is programmed to Skip Back, which is comma (,) Green is programmed to Skip Forward which is period (.) C is programmed to o B is programmed to w Any ideas why this is happening? To record perio and comma, I state: flirc record . flirc record , Should the command be different? Thanks!

Having a heck of a time getting the flirc to play nice with both xbmc and mc7. I does anybody have any experience with using this reg file? http://xbmccustomreg...ourceforge.net/ Just trying to make this as wife proof as possible before I leave on business. mc7 strictly for live tv. xbmc for everything else. I am confused in the order in which all steps should be taken and which options to use. Basically everything. In the logitech software - add media center pc -> microsoft -> se. In the flirc software which configuration option do I use? windows media (which has no up/down chan buttons btw)? Full keyboard? xbmc. I have configured this option and enabled the MCE remote addon in xbmc and had 0 luck. Not sure what else to do... Is there anybody else out there with a similar setup that can make suggestions? Once this is all said and done will be happy to create a tutorial for the site as this has lead to much frustration. thank you

Can someone write up a tutorial on how to setup a harmony to work with XBMC running of a new Mac mini. Or maybe a video tutorial? I love XBMC and its connected to my HDTV but controlling it with a keyboard is so lame. Thanks so much P.s. First time on any type of forum, forgive me if i break any forum etiquette

Just received my Flircs and starting to program them. Have some issues: 1 the right arrow key does not do anything 2 Mute button brings up Info or OSD depending on where in XBMC I am 3. Parent Directory button acts as Back, Back button goes to home screen 4. power button does nothing 5 OSD button does nothing. Have reprogrammed the unit twice with the same results Am using the recommended Panasonic TV on a Harmony 525 All the keys work as expected from the keyboard. Is there a reason the Contect menu is not included in the XBMC controller? WHich key is the Flirc using for Mute as it is not listed on the XBMC wiki keyboard list

First thanks eskro for suggesting Flirc on XBMC forums and thanks to you for making such a little beautiful product. I've tried so many remote mini keyboards and IR receivers that I've given up on trying and settled for a full size wireless keyboard to control the XBMC. That is until I found out about Flirc and eskro's enthusiasm made me order one. So here it is my little retreat corner. XBMC box is a i3 530 CPU on some ASUS main board with 2GB ram and a 32G SSD running Xbmc Live in Linux. For audio and video I use a passively cooled Zotac GT210. Box is a standard and cheap mATX case with a silent Corsair PSU. The other bits include a Samsung 55" LCD, Denon AVR-1909 with Monitor Audio BR2-AV Speakers, Apple Airport Express for AirPlay, PS3, X360 and Wii. For lighting the room I used warm white LED strips controlled by a 3ch IR controller. All devices are hidden inside open back cupboards with absolutely no wires in sight. Everything is controlled with just 1 remote (thanks to Flirc :P), a Harmony 700. Here it is, ducktaped to the side of the case, until I'll find a more elegant solution. Thanks to remote wake-from-sleep, I don't need to open that door too much so it could be a while. And with season decorations.

Just got my two flircs and having my first play tonight. I am using a Harmony 650 with the device set to MCE keyboard. I want to do this as I want maximum flexibility to map as many things as possible. XBMC install is Openelec 1.0.2 I am also using the full keyboard mode in flirc. I am getting a lot of 'Button already exists' errors as I try and record my remote. A by a lot - I mean, basically every button I push. Meaning I pretty much can't record anything. (Of course I know I can use plex/boxee mode with the Harmony but this defeats the whole purpose of the flirc for me). I have tried just the 'minimalist' profile to record the arrows and enter - can't even get through that. It would seem the flirc needs to have finer grained distinction between the signals - Jason - any help??