I have not been able to connect an older Think Outside BT mouse to the N4. The mouse connects to the laptop. I have attempted the discovery several times and the N4 will not see the mouse.
Works
Odd, the phone was not restarted, everything the same, and this time paired the first time.
This may become a car mouse. The mouse wheel switches between home screens. Now if I could figure out how program the mouse wheel to flip through 3 or 4 selected or open apps it would be the Jetsons.
"You can use GMD Gesture Control to swipe between apps."-joshnichols189
This has been the best suggestion so far. There is something I find disorienting when using tiny touch controls for Mort, GPS, and a few others, while mounted on the dash and going down the highway. The car mouse rocked for the 2215 and the Axim.
Why would you want to use a PC mouse on a phone ? If it was a tablet then it's understandable. It's just redundant...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
External Monitor. Have not done this yet.
I have a desk with two levels, top level the N4 sits in an Griffin Arrowhead stand in front of the monitor. I see over the N4 just enough to see all of the monitor. Using the mouse gives me an unobstructed view, it is fast, and comfortable, for some task.
I have a mouse pad that I made for the car that has a slight lip and was used with my PPCs. The N4 provides navigation. entertainment, and communications and is in a vent mount. I am really bad at using the N4 while driving and I think it to be dangerous (for me). Not all finger friendly buttons are the same, some are hard to use on the road. I have failed to find a fast and easy to use task switcher as I am not sure I will root. I would like to make the mouse wheel switch between 3 or 4 apps. The car mouse allows me to use devices like the N4 ( mostly my Axim in the past) without altering my driving position.
I do miss the Axim's many hardware, mappable, indestructible, buttons. The Axim had 2 memory card slots. Back then we wanted USB OTG support so bad. My Imagio and it's buttons was a POS. Sometimes I think the N4 is a sidestep in the right direction. The biggest plus for these pretty, fragile devices is the OS, Android is greatness, Winmo was fun but at the same time hell hell.
i've tried a speedlink snappy BT mouse with no luck.
It's discovered and it pairs etc. but no cursor or response to movement/ buttons.
The same mouse works fine on my Dell laptop and a Blackberry Playbook.
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more about needing to integrate the Nexus into the livingroom. I don't know about using the bluetooth support for the harmony, but I use a Flirc USB IR receiver (its currently on a Black Friday sale for $15) that plugs in to the Nexus Player (via OTG cable and, in my case, a powered hub). There's a bit of setup required on both the pc for the Flirc and, of course, adding a new remote to your Harmony profile, but it works great. The only issue remaining is finding the correct key to have Flirc send for the Home button, but that'll be solved within a day or two. My Harmony 650 is setup not just for the Nexus Player, but also XBMC/kodi, so it controls both completely.
As for speech, I use the android tv remote app from my phone since I almost always have that with me. Works a treat.
i can confirm this approach as i have it all working now. elrondolio provided links with all the necessary information, but as someone that was new to flirc there were still a few things i had to figure out to put it all together. here is a distillation of what you need to know if you want to use flirc for IR control of the nexus player via a logitech harmony remote (in my case, the old but trusty harmony 650):
1) buy the flirc USB IR receiver dongle, still on sale for $14.95, not sure how much longer this will last.
2) buy a micro-USB adapter for flirc. this one works great and fits next to my HDMI cable, but be mindful that some HDMI cables with fat heads might crowd the adpater. costs $2 plus shipping.
3) add the nexus player to your harmony remote as a "Media Center PC > Flirc > XBMC" device as per these instructions. setup button mappings (as you prefer) that you will use for nexus player "back" and "home" buttons. in my case, i assigned the XBMC "back" command to the "previous channel" button on my remote. harmony remotes don't have "home" buttons and neither does the XBMC profile, so you need to pick something arbitrary here. i decided to assign the "PageUp" command to my harmony's "Menu" button, with the intention of mapping that command to the the corresponding keyboard combo for nexus player's "home" command in flirc (more on this in step 6). save and update your harmony remote with the new config.
4) plug your flirc+adapter into the nexus player and you should see partial functionality start working immediately. arrow keys and selection will work, back and home will not.
5) install the flirc desktop app for windows/mac/linux using these instructions.
6) plug flirc into your desktop computer and start the app to reprogram keys. reprogram as follows:
- switch to keyboard view by selecting Controllers > Full Keyboard.
- un-map the "back" button, since we need to re-map it. do this by clicking "erase" and then pressing the "back" button on your harmony remote (probably mapped to your "previous" button; check your harmony button mappings to confirm).
- map your harmony "previous" button to the "escape" key. do this by clicking on the "escape" key on the flirc keyboard image, and then pressing your "previous" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "back" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
- map your harmony "menu" button to the "alt+escape" key. do this by first clicking the "alt" key on the flirc keyboard image, then clicking the "escape" key (both should now be highlighted), and then pressing your "menu" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "PageUp" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
7) plug flirc back into your nexus player and you should now be able to fully navigate the nexus player UI.
there is one significant caveat that i have still not yet resolved, which is that the back and home button mappings do not necessarily work as expected under all apps. for example, the "back" button did not behave as expected in the TED app, and the "home" button doesn't work in XBMC. if/when i am able to resolve these minor issues i will post more updates here.
Nice write-up @jaypm. Mapping "esc" to the button on the harmony you want for back works fine as it makes "back" work in most Nexus apps. For kodi, however, you'll need to swap what "esc" and "backspace" do. You can do so in kodi by going in to "Programs", "Program Add-ons", "Get More..." then choose to install "Keymap Editor". Go back a level and click "Keymap Editor" to open it. Click the "Edit" option then "Global" and finally "Navigation". Scroll down to "Back" and, with a keyboard attached to your Nexus, map the "esc" key. Next click the "Previous Menu" and map the "backspace" key from your keyboard.
Now your chosen "Back" button on the remote works everywhere, not only for other Nexus apps, but kodi as well.
Menu has yet to be solved properly but as you say, "alt-esc" does work in some situations. Hopefully more eyes in the flirc forums will get a solution sooner rather than later. I'd suggest all those with a Flirc visit and post there.
I was able to get my Harmony Hub setup using the method at this link...
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmo...and-Harmony/m-p/1337271/highlight/true#M16174
Seems to be that the NP and activity needs to be added from the phone app for the Bluetooth sync to initialize on the hub? I first tried adding everything from myharmony.com and then couldn't figure out how to start the Bluetooth sync. The instructions at that link did get me working 100% though. Oh and as a side note, the "Media Center" command acts as the "home" button on the NP.
Thank you. Worked perfectly. Now I can control the Nexus Player with my Harmony 550. I mapped the Back to Exit on the remote, and Home to Menu on the remote. Also set these two buttons on the programmable softkeys so they are visible.
I have no idea how or why, but my Sony Bravia remote controls the Nexus Player.
Did you ever figure out why back and home work in some apps but not others? Once I go into Netflix, I'm stuck.
jaypm said:
i can confirm this approach as i have it all working now. elrondolio provided links with all the necessary information, but as someone that was new to flirc there were still a few things i had to figure out to put it all together. here is a distillation of what you need to know if you want to use flirc for IR control of the nexus player via a logitech harmony remote (in my case, the old but trusty harmony 650):
1) buy the flirc USB IR receiver dongle, still on sale for $14.95, not sure how much longer this will last.
2) buy a micro-USB adapter for flirc. this one works great and fits next to my HDMI cable, but be mindful that some HDMI cables with fat heads might crowd the adpater. costs $2 plus shipping.
3) add the nexus player to your harmony remote as a "Media Center PC > Flirc > XBMC" device as per these instructions. setup button mappings (as you prefer) that you will use for nexus player "back" and "home" buttons. in my case, i assigned the XBMC "back" command to the "previous channel" button on my remote. harmony remotes don't have "home" buttons and neither does the XBMC profile, so you need to pick something arbitrary here. i decided to assign the "PageUp" command to my harmony's "Menu" button, with the intention of mapping that command to the the corresponding keyboard combo for nexus player's "home" command in flirc (more on this in step 6). save and update your harmony remote with the new config.
4) plug your flirc+adapter into the nexus player and you should see partial functionality start working immediately. arrow keys and selection will work, back and home will not.
5) install the flirc desktop app for windows/mac/linux using these instructions.
6) plug flirc into your desktop computer and start the app to reprogram keys. reprogram as follows:
- switch to keyboard view by selecting Controllers > Full Keyboard.
- un-map the "back" button, since we need to re-map it. do this by clicking "erase" and then pressing the "back" button on your harmony remote (probably mapped to your "previous" button; check your harmony button mappings to confirm).
- map your harmony "previous" button to the "escape" key. do this by clicking on the "escape" key on the flirc keyboard image, and then pressing your "previous" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "back" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
- map your harmony "menu" button to the "alt+escape" key. do this by first clicking the "alt" key on the flirc keyboard image, then clicking the "escape" key (both should now be highlighted), and then pressing your "menu" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "PageUp" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
7) plug flirc back into your nexus player and you should now be able to fully navigate the nexus player UI.
there is one significant caveat that i have still not yet resolved, which is that the back and home button mappings do not necessarily work as expected under all apps. for example, the "back" button did not behave as expected in the TED app, and the "home" button doesn't work in XBMC. if/when i am able to resolve these minor issues i will post more updates here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to get the Logitech Harmony Smart Remote/Hub mostly working using this method (only key not working is the menu button):
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Hub-Based-Remotes/Asus-Nexus-Player-and-Harmony/td-p/1337271
Using this route, you don't need FLIRC
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the Logitech Harmony Smart remote control.
This does work with the Nexus Player, and it works pretty well. It doesn't do the voice recognition, but I haven't found I use that feature. The smart remote is a pretty solid addition to the living room. I have it set up to switch between my DirectTV DVR, FireStick and Nexus Player. The DirectTV and Firestick route through the AMP, but the Nexus has to go straight to the TV, due to issues with HDCP when routed through the Amp.
Hope that helps.
Shoot, it would be nice to have a bluetooth connection to the NP. Unfortunately, I use iRule and the iTach so Infrared is how I would get it to work. Maybe I will look into the Harmony ultimate home though . . .
xaudiblex said:
I was able to get the Logitech Harmony Smart Remote/Hub mostly working using this method (only key not working is the menu button):
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Hub-Based-Remotes/Asus-Nexus-Player-and-Harmony/td-p/1337271
Using this route, you don't need FLIRC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
e_rocm said:
Did you ever figure out why back and home work in some apps but not others? Once I go into Netflix, I'm stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALT + ESC was the key combination I was using before to act as the HOME button but it didn't work inside of all apps. I recently found out that ALT + TAB works in all cases so that's the ideal key combination to use.
VG-KBD2000
It could be great. It isn't . But the bang for the buck is definitely there.
Wish it would do more. But it wasn't designed for this .
It would be great if I could figure out how to reconfigure some of the non working buttons for specific functions. Maybe some one else can or knows of an app for that.
I posted this info below as a reply in another thread.
I picked this up for my Samsung TV ( doesn't work with mine - no Bluetooth )
But, it works with my Sony GoogleTv and my FTV stick with settings apk side-loaded
the nice thing with this keyboard is that you can pair it with 3 different devices.
It has a selector button on the top to choose which one.
I haven't played with it very long and am trying to figure out what works and what doesn't
To use the touch-pad a switch on the bottom needs to be slid to "mouse mode"
I can't use the TV specific buttons on the right side of the keyboard. Wish i knew how to get them to work with the GoogleTv - it has an Ir blaster built in and will control volume,channel,etc
It will power my TV on and off - it has an Ir transmitter. But, that is all that does - strange
They are marked down to $39 at Best Buy and there are usually many open boxed ones to be had for less. Original price was about $100
But, they are mostly useless for the Samsung Tvs that they do work on - Most of apps do not support the keyboard or so I have read.
Wish the was some sort of unifying remote that I could connect to it and then plug into my TV though.
If you get one, the touchpad goes into a sleep mode after 30 seconds or so. I've read that hitting any button will wake it up. I didn't know that at first and was pairing it , unpairing it and powering it off.
If anyone else picks one of these up, Please post your findings
Hi,
I'm thinking about buying this because it will work with my TV and it will work with the Fire Stick.
Since you've had a chance to use it a bit, is it still a good keyboard to use? I would be using this to control the Xfinity app.
Thanks!
sorry for the late reply, I still use the keyboard every time I use the stick.
I still try using other controllers (and wukong app). But, after getting frustrated use the samsung keyboard. If it would work on the tv for volume and other functions, I'd retire my sony google tv. My family uses the google tv every day . My son prefers the older netflix app on it and the controller works for him. He is 5 years old.
This keyboard works on very few samsung models.
I've tried the Nyko playpad pro and it's hot garbage. I've ordered 2 of them and they've both arrived dead. won't power on or anything. I've read a lot of reviews on it and see that you have to be lucky to get a working on. I'm looking for a bluetooth controller that works and a way to reconfigure the buttons on it. Is this possible? I want to use the controller for my Shield Tablet as well as the Shield TV. Someone thought it was a good idea to not allow you to remap sprint and crouch on DOOM 3, which is super infuriating.
If you are willing to root, there are a lot of options. Honestly, the sixaxis controller app and any Playstation controller are about the best configuration you can find. You can map the controller buttons to literally any key press that android can register, including touching the screen. It also let's you emulate a mouse with either joystick and toggle it on and off. Something I wish was built into the Shield controller.
But, if root isn't an option, you could try the MOGA controller with this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.sandstorm.mogaime.gui&hl=en.
I hear MOGA makes decent controllers, but I have never used one personally.
Hello there,
I was trying these days to get the Shield TV to do some home automation stuff for me based on the buttons I pressed on my universal IR remote. And, since the IR remote (a OneFor All 7980) has a device definition copied from a Logitech Harmony (I think this is the only way to get hold of an official definition for the Shield) I thought that all the mapped buttons would work. Well, I was proved the contrary. Things like the number keys, colored keys, ABXY and bumper key are not recognized by the Shield. I've put Tasker to good use (great automation software, by the way) to show me what keys are pressed, tried two other software remotes (AnyMote and Sure, both having the Shield TV in their respective databases), but nothing. An interesting find is that the Shield recognizes the ABXY and bumper keys from the game controller. But not from IR.
In this case I thought of trying to interact with the community and find out if these commands ever worked on the Shield TV. I assume they did, since all remote commands sets have them. But how do I bring them back? Or how do I work around this limitation?
Thanks!