[Q] [Request] Iconia Dock and Remote Control - Acer Iconia A500

Hi Devs/guys,
Today i have just purchased myself the official Iconia A500 Docking station and micro-HDMI cable to test this on my 1080 monior and led tv.
Initial impressions are good however i've noticed that the quality when output the HDMI is very grainey and not as crisp as i had hoped!
Anyways, whilst playing around with the dock through the TV, the remote controls seem ok to get around with easy navigation but i've had to create lots of applications shortcuts as i cannot natively access the 'apps' option with the remote. The play and pause options on the remote also are not application specific etc which is a pain.
A few ideas for this which came to mind are as follows;
1. Is it possible to fine tune or change the HDMI output settings through an application or by modifying any system files on the A500 with root? Features such as having additional hardware profiles which allow you to kill the screen on the A500 and promote all rendering power to the HDMI out so as not to reduce framerates would be nice.
2. Is it possible to create a small application with allows you intercept commands from the remote control and then apply the relevant button command to a mapped profile for a specific app or game?
Did i mention the word 'profile' enough on this?
Just my initial impressions but feel free to comment if you have the dock and remote and encountered other issue or have other ideas!
FIN

Anyone? Lol
I must be making all the boring requests

Hi ddelamareuk,
No, it's a interesting topic , but not so many users have dock and hdmi device
I think request 2 is possible. Acer make lirc related things in kernel, and lirc will make a corresponding keyinput event when it received a ir event.
I will take a research in it, even though I don't have dock station
Thanks

Hey Roggin!
I have more tech than common sense lol
Would be good then in that case if we could create a small app to trap incoming ir commands then map them to a game or app profile for whatever is active on screen!
Is it lazy that i want to do everything with remote?
Thanks for the interest!!

Related

[APP][CONCEPT][WIP] WiMi - Basic Wireless Mirroring

WiMi
Basic Wireless Mirroring for Android​
Intro
There have been times when it would have been useful to output an email, website and other file on my phone to a public monitor or display. There have been various ways of doing this over the years, the TV Out function on the old Touch Pro devices, DLNA streaming, and HDMI ports. But, so far I have not found a way to directly replicate the screen, (mirroring) without the use of wires.
I have seen many threads from people who have asked this same question, and each time they have been told it's not possible, for various reasons. This project is to explore ways in which, however crudely to begin with, we can make this happen, and I have written a short brief below of why I believe it may now be possible. I am asking for help from anybody who thinks this may be achievable, or has something to offer that may help us in any way.
Theory
To create basic DLNA mirroring of your Android device for low frame-rate applications such as mail, browsing, and others. It is important to realize that it is highly unlikely to be able to create full DLNA mirroring for applications such as games using the proposed method, but who knows what can happen?
The basic mechanism would be to take continuous screen captures, between 1 and 30 per second, compress the screen captures into a suitable file format that can then be transmitted via DLNA.
I believe this should be possible - I have read that the new Sensation Camera App can record natively in MP4, in HD, in real time, which is fantastic, because as I understand it, MP4 works perfectly with DLNA. I have also noticed that in recent versions of Android, (I think FoYo+) there are parameters for ScreenCapture.
There may be a large lag using this method, but it is a start, and for showing a web page, text conversation, book, or text message, wirelessly on another display, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
From what I understand, not all Kernels would be able to do this but I am unsure, so if anybody has any theories, let me know!
Suggested Basic Features
These are features that I think should be included as standard
1) Be able to predefine video bit-rate and frame rate via user controlled variable integers.
2) View the temp folder
3) Disable auto-orientation settings to prevent screen tearing.
Suggested Advanced Features
These suggested features are a kind of wish-list once we can get a basic app running well enough.
1) Direct camera monitoring - sending the image directly from the camera to the external display. (Probably resulting in BIG lag!)
2) Custom external screen resolution, possibly by upscaling to 720/1080 equivalent via screen density.
3) Ability to kill screen backlight, but keep capacitive control for scrolling web pages etc.
4) Output file to SD card for archiving.
5) Switch audio between device and external screen.
6) A "Start / Stop" widget.
7) Enable notification bar settings access.
If you want this concept to work, think you can help in any way, have an opinion or have anything to contribute at all, get involved!
News
I have made a blank app with the essential UI components.
IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY FUNCTIONALITY YET, IT IS JUST A DUMMY!!!!!!
Download it HERE and tell me what you think so far.
If anybody thinks they can help with the core of the app, please get in touch!
I love the idea
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Same here.

[Q] Control Text Input with Phone/Tablet/PC

hey guys, trying to find a way to input text with tools i already have. is there any apps/tweaks i can install on my nexus player that will allow me to input text (and possible use mouse/touch) with my android phone, tablet, or windows pc? entering text is a bit cumbersome with the included remote.
Android TV Remote will allow you to input text and move around with your phone:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv.remote&hl=en
For apps not yet optimized or designed for Android TV (such as Chrome, etc) you'll still need a usb otg cable and a keyboard/mouse or combo. There may be more options once root is available on the NP.

Smart IR control with the Edge

Warning this is a long post grab some tea or coffee.
Coming from a Note 2 the IR capabilities on a phone was a new concept for me. I played around with performing some smart control with peel and a few other apps. Nothing really fit like a professional Universal Remote branded custom programmed remote. Much like a very advanced version of Logitech Harmony. I wanted the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) . This means multiple rooms, devices, scenarios with single button clicks with a remote that changes given its room location and control type. Out Note Edge if you didn't know has an amazing wide spectrum infrared transmitter that can work with a mind blowing array of proprietary devices. Like Xbox and MCE machines to name a few. Its simply needs a powerful app to drive it with a deep code library.
So I stumbled on the app in the play store called "Smart IR Remote - Anymote" . Before I go further I'll point out that I'm not affiliated with any developer and have no benefit to point this app out. I'm just a gadget junkie and a fan of great tech but I digress. This app is not on the cheep side. Its around $6 if I recall. What turned me on to it was its continuous and constant development record, the developer is interacting with users regularly and it met my minimum requirents for experiments.
Setup can be as simple as a Logitech on the basic side or complex as the professional grade. It is your choice . What struck me with aww was the adaptability to create custom remotes WITH full macro or "scene" in the pro world and integrate that in to a one button. Take multiple remotes and combine buttons from all of them to one uber remote. Control WiFi devises along with it. Yup multiple pathway control. Holy cow I was so excited I finally found something to rival some of the most expensive remotes I have ever owned for $6 bucks. It is even equipped with thermostat library's along with some home control capacity. So my brain was tingling with logic layouts and control schemes.
After some serious testing in my house im happy to report only one obscure devise did not have a library entry for its IR codes. One email to the Dev and he was on it. I have set up multiple rooms with a minimum of 3 scenes per room via macro and custom remote setup. My setup works like this . the default remote is the "Home remote" that has buttons labeled per room. Select the room you want to control, Master Bedroom for example and the Master bedroom remote pops up. Then just select one of the action options like "Chrome Cast" turns the TV on pauses and switches the input to the proper location. Then a Chromecast remote pops up with volume and other actions like "Watch Movie". This turns on my HTPC that basicly cone out of sleep, flips the input on the TV to whatever its on and brings up the HTPC remote with all the functions for navigation select and volume. Cool part on this particular scene is if you change it to something else you simply add the sleep option in the macro and the HTPC will go to sleep if you want to change to something else.
It can get far more complex but I used this on my wife's phone that has IR and have had successful WAF !
So play have fun with the infrared on your phone. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to post some examples both simple and complex. Hope this helps someone else and be sure to give a thanks if it did . Cheers.
Reserved
Nice review just some questions, can you use the edge display? It s compatible with logitech squeezebox e logitech link in wifi?
Thank you
Inviato dal mio SM-N910F utilizzando Tapatalk
danilos2k said:
Nice review just some questions, can you use the edge display? It s compatible with logitech squeezebox e logitech link in wifi?
Thank you
Inviato dal mio SM-N910F utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The edge display is not effected. Works just like with any other app. You can add a app icon in to the edge display as a shortcut. Not app specific but handy for any apps you use regularly.
As for question 2 the short answer is no. I had to lookup the Logitech Squeezebox since I don't have one. It looks like they don't have a library entry for it but I'm sending a message to the Dev team and inviting them to this forum.
Great post! I too tend to find the IR capabilitied that Samsung phones have a very cool feature. It amazes me that so many people dont even take advantage of it, but then again there are so many people that dont tske advantage or know how to use 90% of the features on their phones. I sold my friend a nice Sony LED TV a couple weeks ago and after a few hours he called me asking for the remote because the buttons on the side were a pain to deal with and he didnt have a universal remote.. I was blown away by this because not only had i sold him my Galaxy S5 over a month prior to the TV, he had the Galaxy s4 for probably a year befote the 5, and when i told him to just use his phone its better anyway he had no clue what i was talking about... Anyway, sorry to ramble. Lol Thanks again for the info.
thank you
That's what keeps us, the developers, going. Seeing appreciation like yours makes me want to improve the product, makes me ashamed of the occasional bugs you probably encountered, but all things added, leads to a better product.
By the way, @Cab121, make sure to make a backup of your remotes in Settings -> Backup / Restore. You seem to have put a lot of work into yourself, and only I know how many customers relied on (eventually broken) Helium backups when switching roms, cleared the app data accidentally or not knowing what they were doing, losing precious of their work.
As for some of the other questions in the thread:
- using the Edge - No, right now Smart IR Remote doesn't make use of the Edge feature. It's certainly something we want to add, but we have so much stuff on our platter right now that it might take a while to get on this. Have you seen AnyMote Home ?
- Logitech Squeezebox - yes, that's supported over InfraRed, in our Game / Media Manager category
- Logitech Link - sorry, access to that is closed. We've tried, but no luck.
By the way, if anyone has any support questions (missing devices, bugs, stuff like that..) please email [email protected] - that way you have the highest (guaranteed) chances of getting a reply.
Source: I'm one of the Smart IR Remote - AnyMote devs.

Any way to get a Android TV like experience?

Currently it's kinda hard to navigate because it's not possible to type with joycons. Apps like YouTube are also impossible to use in docked mode. Does anyone already experimented a bit and got a better experience?
You could try to remote control your switch with your smartphone.
Something like DroidMote should work. I might try DroidMote myself but the Server app is paid and I don't really want to add my Google account to the switch (I am not using GAPPS on switch). Maybe buying it on my phone, backing up with Titanium Backup and restoring it on the switch will do the trick.
You *may* be able to get an android tv bluetooth remote and connect it. I have not tried.
Kodi can give you a great dashboard for an htpc setup with a custom theme. You can even have it auto launch when you boot into android so you never see the android interface just a nice tv setup. That's how I have my Android tv boxes. I use one of these style remotes as well for the keyboard:
https://www.amazon.com/ILEBYGO-Back...e+tv+keyboard&qid=1564503866&s=gateway&sr=8-4
You will want to use Android TV apps for landscape apps like youtube etc.
I use one of these when it's in docked mode. Just have the dongle plugged into the dock and you have an easy to use mouse and keyboard.
https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Rii-Wireless-Keyboard-Raspberry/dp/B00Z81U3YY
Try hal launcher and the leakback keyboard.
sorry for kidnapping your thread, but when you use docked mode, does it go to fullscreen? Mine stays with black bars up and down... would say that it's not outputting the correct resolution...
Just want to recommend airscreen so you can use it as a Chromecast.
Replace the default launcher with TV Launcher or HALauncher. Use a blue tooth or wireless keyboard until the soft keyboard get fix. The current Amazon Fire TV remote can be paired using blue tooth and works with this android build.
I think would be great if someone with more experience could port this solution https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByIKEmoQi-hpYXBpbV9Sb3JFeVk
It is way to convert Shield Tablet into Android TV Shield. I've found this pdf with guide and files in zips folder. It obviously doesn't flash because Lineage has different file structure, but maybe it doesn't require much tweaking. It would be great, because it comes with Chromecast support and there are plenty Android TV apps which require full Android TV structure.
The scripts itself seems compatable, the only thing that needs proper porting would be TV Gapps. If anyone can port these successfully let me know.
Think it shouldn't be to hard to transform the OS into a Android TV. Just don't have a Switch to play with it, but i really like the Idea... Think i will grab a Switch around Christmas and make it happen...
is it technically possible to implement framerate switching and widevine level 1 support for drm protected content playback in hd in the switch android port?
see my questions here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ni...wers/to-change-tv-refreshrate-docked-t3992615
i'm really curious about that.
would be awesome to watch stuff with the proper refreshrate for smooth playback and the drm protected content in hd in docked mode

[Guide] Getting and setting up initial control in RetroArch w/o config file

Until now I ran RetroPie on a Raspberry. Now I got a cheap TV box for basically free and was thinking why do I need 2 "boxes" sitting next to the TV? That is how I came across RetroArch. Installation on the TV box is straight forward - also starting. But that is where the fast track ended as I have a "Generic USB Controller". With a bit of luck and playing with the config file I was kind of able moving through the top menu but did not make it to any submenu. Also any USB/bluetooth keyboard that I have was not successful.
The trick is to know that RetroArch seems to be developed for touch screens. OK, give it a try and touch your TV I now have fingerprints on it but no reaction from RetroArch...
Step 1:
Grab any touch screen sensitive device you can get your hands on, e.g. smartphone, tablet, etc.
Download and install TeamViewer Remote Control
Step 2:
Fire up your Android TV box
Download and install TeamViewer Quick Support
IMPORTANT: Download and install the TeamViewer Quick Support Add-On
Step 3:
Start TeamViewer Quick Support on the TV box
Start TeamViewer Remote Control on your mobile/tablet/... and enter the ID from the quick support from your TV box
Agree to and approve to any questions
I could now control my TV box remotely via my 2nd device, started RetroArch and, in there, was able going through all menus and setup my "Generic USB Controller". After saving the setup/config (remotely), I could navigate through the menus as usual by only using the Generic USB Controller.
Note: This does not solve the problem with the controls in the games - in case you have them!
FAQ
Q: After entering the ID for the remote control I cannot connect to the TV box.
A: Install the Quick Support Add-On - that is needed to make the remote control work (at least it was for my case/setup).
Q: I cannot install the Quick Support Add-On.
A: If installation of the Add-On fails or is not possible directly from the app, either download the Add-On as seperate apk or give it a try via the full TeamViewer app.
Q: My controller is now working in RetroArch's menus but not in the games.
A: This is known challenge with RetroArch. My solution was just to get a foot in the door for controlling the menus in RetroArch in case that your controller/keyboard is not recognized by default.

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