All in One Remote using a IR & BT Tablet Device - Shield Android TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Here are my devices:
1. Vizio 4k V series TV (no BT only IR and WiFi)
2. Vizio Soundbar (SB4020E-AO; IR)
3. Playstation 4
4. Nvidia Shield 2017
I'd like to control everything with a remote. I understand I could go the Harmony route but was wondering if there was a solution by purchasing an older tablet with a IR blaster in which I could download a Universal TV remote app. Controlling the PS4 with a remote is not a big deal as I only use the PS4 for gaming so when using it I'm going to grab the DS4 controller anyway.
This would provide a large remote that is well lite in a dark environment and would allow me to controll all the devices, give me a BT keyboard for kodi searching, perform Chrome casting on the Nvidia Shield etc.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to:
1. What would be the best tablet with an IR blaster to purchase (would prefer a 8" sized screen)
2. What would be the best app to use to control the TV, soundbar and Nvidia Shield.
Thanks!

Related

Universal Remote?

Looking for a remote I can use with my TV (not connected to the internet ) to control smile functions such as channel and volume up and down power and input. Is it possible to download one from the play store or side load one if there is none? I need it to work on a Samsung plasma tv.
I appreciate your help!
I don't believe the Nexus 7 has the required IR Transmitter to accomplish this. If, however, your TV supports Bluetooth, then it very well may be possible if your TV company has released an app to do this.

Universal Remote for Ouya?

This is not possible, correct? There is no IR "receiver" on the unit IIRC.
This will determine whether I put the Ouya in the main TV room where it's used by my wife and parents when they're over babysitting. Right now, I have the Apple TV2 and it's programmed in my Harmony so it's easy for them to use.
So, just to be sure, this can't be programmed with a universal remote?
There's no IR receiver, so the only think that comes to mind is a USB IR receiver, even then dunno what the remote would be able to actually control.
has anyone gotten cec to work with the ouya. there was a discussion on the ouya devs forum about it. cant post the link apparently
I'm curious if this would work. It's a universal remote with bluetooth for a ps3
can't post a url, but the product is SMK-Link Blu-Link - Universal remote control - Bluetooth/infrared
xMCNUGGETx said:
I'm curious if this would work. It's a universal remote with bluetooth for a ps3
can't post a url, but the product is SMK-Link Blu-Link - Universal remote control - Bluetooth/infrared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Logitech Harmony One and have the IR to Bluetooth adapter Logitech made for communication with the PS3.
I don't have my OUYA yet, but when I do get one, it will be the first thing that I attempt to use. It only simulates PS3 controller inputs, and from what I understand, PS3 controllers work with the OUYA? Obviously would have no clue how to pair the adapter with the OUYA, but will be fun to tinker nevertheless.
Regardless, for XBMC purposes, imo nothing beats Yatse on my Nexus 4. Sure it would be nice to have all-in-one with the Harmony, but Yatse is just too nice, esp with the plugins (SMS popups on the TV and auto-pause/resume for phone calls). So not end of the world, but still would be nice to see if I could with the Harmony. At very least I'd expect someone to come out with drivers and a usb dongle.
xMCNUGGETx said:
I'm curious if this would work. It's a universal remote with bluetooth for a ps3
can't post a url, but the product is SMK-Link Blu-Link - Universal remote control - Bluetooth/infrared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why did you pick this off-brand PS3 remote? The Sony branded PS3 remote has the same capabilities (bluetooth and IR), but is cheaper than SMK. The Sony branded remote is $18 right now on Amazon. The SMK one is like $30, Amazon and Target.
I don't have either device. But I have a generic IR remote with a USB receiver, and on my computer it acts as a keyboard input. I'm hoping it works on the Ouya. I think I can remap the keys using XBMC.
coachclass said:
Why did you pick this off-brand PS3 remote? The Sony branded PS3 remote has the same capabilities (bluetooth and IR), but is cheaper than SMK. The Sony branded remote is $18 right now on Amazon. The SMK one is like $30, Amazon and Target.
I don't have either device. But I have a generic IR remote with a USB receiver, and on my computer it acts as a keyboard input. I'm hoping it works on the Ouya. I think I can remap the keys using XBMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have something similar myself. USB IR receiver with a remote that has a "touch disc" on it.
The device actually shows up on Windows as a Universal HID device that works as both a mouse & keyboard.
The media keys and stuff are mapped really oddly, but if you're gonna use it to drive XBMC, you can keymap all that crap without issue.
Then you'll have to make sure you put the receiver where you can get Line Of Sight.
Honestly I am kinda on the fence about this crap at present. I HAVE my Ouya, and it plays games and junk well, but I have a couple issues that I am sort of waiting on:
-No DTS / DD audio passthrough via HDMI to a receiver
-No HDMI-CEC
-Ouya & other game controllers only work as a very limited/terrible keyboard device in current XBMC builds
-No surround sound output from Ouya system-wide (output currently "stuck" on stereo)
-Can't change Ouya output resolution (currently stuck @ 1080P) (My projector wants 720P or 1080i to do SBS 3D content)
Some / all of these are supposedly going to be fixed in software eventually and all are things that the Ouya hardware CAN do. So far my short term lazy solution has just been to use YATSE on my 7" tablet (my main mobile device), which works fine for XBMC needs. I haven't really bothered to fully set up my XBMC stuff (like my library and a nice skin and junk) because I "need" audio passthrough for it to feel like a fully baked solution I will use all the time for movies and junk.
coachclass said:
Why did you pick this off-brand PS3 remote? The Sony branded PS3 remote has the same capabilities (bluetooth and IR), but is cheaper than SMK. The Sony branded remote is $18 right now on Amazon. The SMK one is like $30, Amazon and Target.
I don't have either device. But I have a generic IR remote with a USB receiver, and on my computer it acts as a keyboard input. I'm hoping it works on the Ouya. I think I can remap the keys using XBMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wasn't aware the official remote also worked as a universal remote.. (no ps3) I saw the blue-link mentioned on the xbmc site as well as the official ps3 remote
DivinityCycle said:
Honestly I am kinda on the fence about this crap at present. I HAVE my Ouya, and it plays games and junk well, but I have a couple issues that I am sort of waiting on:
-No DTS / DD audio passthrough via HDMI to a receiver
-No HDMI-CEC
-Ouya & other game controllers only work as a very limited/terrible keyboard device in current XBMC builds
-No surround sound output from Ouya system-wide (output currently "stuck" on stereo)
-Can't change Ouya output resolution (currently stuck @ 1080P) (My projector wants 720P or 1080i to do SBS 3D content)
Some / all of these are supposedly going to be fixed in software eventually and all are things that the Ouya hardware CAN do. So far my short term lazy solution has just been to use YATSE on my 7" tablet (my main mobile device), which works fine for XBMC needs. I haven't really bothered to fully set up my XBMC stuff (like my library and a nice skin and junk) because I "need" audio passthrough for it to feel like a fully baked solution I will use all the time for movies and junk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is HDMI-CEC important if the Ouya already acts as the HTPC? Maybe you had something in mind that was different than what I was thinking of? Isn't CEC just a way for the TV device to control the source via the HDMI connection? Can't you just control the Ouya directly for whatever you wanted the CEC control to be?
Personally, a simple remote (like the Sony PS3 remote) that has IR to turn the TV on/off, and bluetooth to control the Ouya (pause/play/select) is most of what I'm looking for. Using a tablet or smartphone seem to not be as convenient for me.
---------- Post added at 06:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:26 AM ----------
xMCNUGGETx said:
wasn't aware the official remote also worked as a universal remote.. (no ps3) I saw the blue-link mentioned on the xbmc site as well as the official ps3 remote
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, the required features are to have IR (to control the TV) and bluetooth (to control the Ouya). That'll keep you from needing to hold two remotes.
If anyone has the PS3 remote and an Ouya, I'd be interested in a detail review of how they work together with XBMC. Particularly, how you navigate the menu structure with the arrow keys. It would be nice to not have to use a coffee table mouse for XBMC.
coachclass said:
How is HDMI-CEC important if the Ouya already acts as the HTPC? Maybe you had something in mind that was different than what I was thinking of? Isn't CEC just a way for the TV device to control the source via the HDMI connection? Can't you just control the Ouya directly for whatever you wanted the CEC control to be?
Personally, a simple remote (like the Sony PS3 remote) that has IR to turn the TV on/off, and bluetooth to control the Ouya (pause/play/select) is most of what I'm looking for. Using a tablet or smartphone seem to not be as convenient for me.
---------- Post added at 06:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:26 AM ----------
To me, the required features are to have IR (to control the TV) and bluetooth (to control the Ouya). That'll keep you from needing to hold two remotes.
If anyone has the PS3 remote and an Ouya, I'd be interested in a detail review of how they work together with XBMC. Particularly, how you navigate the menu structure with the arrow keys. It would be nice to not have to use a coffee table mouse for XBMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do and as far as xbmc navigation goes all the major functions work except for the pause and play button and volume but thats not a big deal since its programed to my tv. Navigating through the ouya menu isnt as good since the enter button doesnt work. Also if you have xbmc set to launch at startup and use the ps3 remote that will cause xbmc to crash initially and using the power button to turn the tv off causes the ps3 remote to lose connection to the ouya so yuo'll have to resart the ouya for it to work again. One last thing is you'll need this app to pair it since ouya cant do it out of the box https://play.google.com/store/apps/...sImNvbS5qcG4uZnJvbnRpYS53YWthLkJsdWV0b290aCJd
tennisbgc said:
Also if you have xbmc set to launch at startup and use the ps3 remote that will cause xbmc to crash initially and using the power button to turn the tv off causes the ps3 remote to lose connection to the ouya so yuo'll have to resart the ouya for it to work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I correct in thinking the PS3 remote connects to the Ouya via bluetooth? So on the PS3 remote, the power button doesn't just send the power IR signal to the TV, but also acts as a soft-off to turn off the PS3 remote? Is that why the remote is losing its connection to the Ouya
coachclass said:
Am I correct in thinking the PS3 remote connects to the Ouya via bluetooth? So on the PS3 remote, the power button doesn't just send the power IR signal to the TV, but also acts as a soft-off to turn off the PS3 remote? Is that why the remote is losing its connection to the Ouya
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes its bluetooth, It seems that the power button also shuts off the remote. Its definitly not ready for day to day yet (I just went to use it and it caused xbmc to crash)
tennisbgc said:
yes its bluetooth, It seems that the power button also shuts off the remote. Its definitly not ready for day to day yet (I just went to use it and it caused xbmc to crash)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up. That's the kind of operational thing that makes a huge difference in how a device can be used, but you'd never know it from reading the spec sheet.
My plan for the Ouya was to use the PS3 remote, but the disconnect issue might be a big deal. I have a bluetooth mouse (microsoft brand) that I know goes to sleep when not in use, but it wakes up fast and connects fast. The sleep function is really not an issue for that bluetooth mouse.

[Q] Sony remote pair

My Nexus Player somehow linked up to my Sony TV remote. Any idea how this happened? My Nexus Player remote unpairs constantly and I think that is the reason why.
Actually I fought a lot with my LG to get the tv's remote to pair with nexus, so my case was the other way around. It seems that in order to use the tv remote with the player I had to enable HDMI-CEC on my TV. This HDMI-CEC has different names on different tvs. For LG is Simplink, for Sony I believe it's Bravia Sync. If you disable this, I think the remote will not pair. However, there is a chance the the TV will not switch to Player input when casting a video. I have them both paired (nexus player remote and tv remote) and I have no problems.

Controlling your nexus player using your TV remote control.

Today I have coincidentally discovered that I can control my nexus player with my Hisense LTDN50K220 TV remote control. It has full functionality of nexus remote. Anyone also experienced this with another TV?
Yes. It is called "HDMI-CEC".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#CEC
I have a Panasonic that automatically turns on and switches to the correct HDMI input any time I send a cast from my phone to the NP or anytime I push a button on my NP remote. And I can also control the NP with my TV remote as well. HDMI-CEC is pretty damn cool

Looking for android tv remote that will work with volume on a smart hisense tv?

Alright so I got a smart hisense android tv but I don't use the smart part of it because it's got terrible hardware but I got a good deal on the TV. Anyway I have a good android tv box that I have plugged into the tv and I use it for everything. The remote the android tv box came with works with the hisense tv for volume but I'm looking for an alternate remote that includes a keyboard and air mouse functions. I've tried [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XMF5YN1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) and I can't get this to copy the hisense tv IR signal for volume, I found 2 different guides that supposedly work on this remote to copy signals for buttons and it just doesnt work.
Like the title states I'm looking for a remote for android tv boxes and it need air mouse and it has to work with a smart tv volume. I did verify the smart hisense tv is controlled by an ir blaster on the front

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