User

03.01.2010 19:57:19

The PS3 remote works fine with remove buddy until it disconnects and I try and use it again.

Sometimes, I press a button, remote buddy kicks into immediate action, displays that remote has reconnected and fires the appropriate button. This is how I would expect it to work.

Most the time however, I press a button on the remove and nothing happens, and I find I have to repeatedly press random buttons to get the remote+remote buddy to come back to life (this can take anywhere from a few to 15 seconds or so).

Sometimes, nothing I do (button pressing wise) will wake up the remote+remote buddy.

It's defiantly not batteries, even with a brand new set of batteries the behaviour is the same.

Any ideas? 

User

04.01.2010 11:51:46

Thanks for asking.

Which version of OS X are you using?

Are you using any other Bluetooth devices?

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

04.01.2010 16:06:51

MacMini running Snow Leopard 10.6.2

Have the apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse (paired but not actively being used) and the apple remote (white) which remote buddy recognises but again not actively being used. Normally I am just using the PS3 remote.

Last edited: 04.01.2010 16:14:39 

User

06.01.2010 18:17:44

Just a thought but I have the same problems and the thing I noticed...

There are dead spots in the bluetooth range, using devices directly in front of it I have no problems with. When using the remote the response is not as quick or even non-existent when using it from the couch (~5-6 ft away).

Are you having problems with the remote right in front of the mini?

Last edited: 06.01.2010 18:18:30 

User

20.01.2010 16:57:00

No it does not seem related to position.

It has been behaving for a while with almost instant recognition, but yesterday had a period where it would not respond (even when right in front of the macmini) and then went ok again, and its been ok again today.

Not really worked out any pattern to it's behaviour as yet. 

User

26.01.2010 14:44:46

I hope I'm assuming correctly that with 10.2 you actually meant 10.6.2.

Remote Buddy only manages the connection under OS 10.4 (Tiger). Under OS 10.5 (Leopard) and OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard), the Bluetooth connection is entirely managed by OS X' Bluetooth stack and drivers.

Whether or not using an Apple Bluetooth keyboard or mouse has any impact, I'm not able to tell. The OS X Bluetooth stack is entirely closed source.

The Apple Remote doesn't use Bluetooth. It uses IR and a dedicated IR Receiver.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

10.02.2010 18:29:02

Grrr... this (the BD remote+remote buddy combo) is getting annoying now.

I am certain it is not battery or signal related, it is connection (or re-connection) related.

I can sit 5ft in front of the mac-mini and I can press pause/play/sony button and nothing will happen. I begin to repeatedly press these buttons, after a while, remote buddy will respond (takes up to 30 seconds).

Ok, so now I am connected, and the remote works fine. I can walk into the kitchen with the remote which is 30ft away and still use the remote without a hitch. It also works without a hitch 5ft away same position it would not connect.

This leads me to believe it is not batteries or a signal problem. It is a wakeup problem for either the remote, the mac, or remote buddy.

Is there any way I can monitor what is happening when the remote tries to connect to the mac? Some log I can watch perhaps? 

User

07.03.2010 19:37:36

I seem to be having this problem as well. :(

configuration: 
iMac7,1 
Mac OS X 10.6.2 (32-bit kernel) 
Remote Buddy 1.16.2 
PS3 BD Remote Control (CECHZR1U)

The remote control seems to work flawlessly as long as i don't enable the power-saving feature in Remote Buddy. If i *do* enable it, then Remote Buddy fails to pick it up again when i press the buttons, at least in my experience so far (i've made three attempts now and they've all failed, but i might find it less consistent than that if i tried more). The only way to get it to pick up again is either to shut down Remote Buddy and restart it, or unpair the remote from within RB and then re-pair it.

I'll admit i really should test this more thoroughly, but the fact that RB can pick it up again after restarting the application makes me think that this is *not* an OS X issue. If it was a problem with the Bluetooth stack itself, then restarting Remote Buddy should not have any effect, correct?

I've found some further evidence to support this in System Preferences:

1. I pair my remote with Remote Buddy, then open OS X's Bluetooth preference pane. I can see that the remote is shown as connected in both Remote Buddy and the Bluetooth preferences.

2. I let the remote idle for a few minutes, after which Remote Buddy disconnects the remote. At this point the device is shown in Bluetooth preferences as 'Disconnected' (but still in the list), whilst Remote Buddy indicates 'No remote control found'.

3. I press a button on the remote. Bluetooth preferences now updates to show that the remote is CONNECTED... however, Remote Buddy still says 'No remote control found'.

Here's a screenshot illustrating that last step: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/702860/screenshots/screenshot%2020100307-122332.png

(I've also checked the Console for errors but i don't see anything particularly relevant there.) 

User

07.03.2010 19:55:02

I find that if I repeatedly press buttons on the DB remote after say 10-30 seconds RB will eventually spot the remote has become active again. Perhaps its an issue with the operating system notifying the application?

If it was not for this issue, the BD remote would be a really nice (read cheap) remote solution for the mac.

User

07.03.2010 20:51:41

Thanks for your posting. This is quite interesting.

It could be that the connection as such is established by the Bluetooth stack internally (=> and System Preferences reflects that) while the corresponding device for the remote has not yet been brought up by OS X for use by Remote Buddy.

In order to find out what's happening on your computer, please do the following when you encounter this particular situation as documented by your screenshot:

1) Enter

ioreg -w0 -l >~/Desktop/ioregDump.txt

into Terminal.app (found in /Applications/Utilities). That creates an ioreg-dump file named ioregDump.txt on your desktop.

2) A System Profile. Create it by starting System Profiler.app (found in /Applications/Utilities) and choose "Save as.." from the "File" menu.

Then, please send both files to info@iospirit.com, so I can have a closer look at this.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

07.03.2010 22:01:38

Done! 

User

17.03.2010 15:35:46

Thanks for your email.

I have had a look at it the day you sent it and it appears as if, on your Mac, OS X doesn't notify Remote Buddy about the freshly connected device. Due to a high workload, I haven't gotten around yet to look through the code for any errors, but I already have an idea for a workaround should it turn out the notification mechanisms of OS X is broken on some machines.

The next version of Remote Buddy should fix this issue. Please contact me again should the problems persist once the next version has been released and installed.

Sorry that this takes a bit longer than usual.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

19.03.2010 01:33:31

I am suffering from this same problem with my PS3 BD remote. I paired it, used it in XBMC to watch a movie. I then came back a few hours later (did not shut down or sleep the Mac) and the remote was not working. Re-pairing the remote with RemoteBuddy is then a process in futility.

I delete it from BT devieces, remove it from RemoteBuddy, reboot and still it won't seem to find it again.

User

25.03.2010 02:02:56

Any update on this? I can't even get the PS3 remote paired now. 

User

25.03.2010 09:59:41

I'm sorry, but this matter is a bit more complex and a fix may need some more time. I'm working on it, though.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

29.03.2010 00:10:09

So, hopefully i'm not getting ahead of myself, but it *seems* that Felix has solved my issue, and it was such a simple fix that i kind of feel silly for not noticing it myself.

The problem was that in Preferences > Hardware > Bluetooth Receiver, i had the 'Stop searching for paired remotes after...' option enabled and set to 3 minutes. I had *thought* that this option was referring to the item above it (which mentions searching on start-up), so it didn't seem relevant. But i've turned it off at Felix's suggestion, and i've gone two days now without any further issues.

I'll keep using it for a while to make sure, but for now i think my particular issue is resolved. Not sure about the others in this thread.

A suggestion for Felix: Maybe it would be wise to reword the option in question (or move it somewhere else so it doesn't seem like it's referring to the line above it)? It's very possible i'm just an idiot, but i don't know, theoretically it could happen to someone else. :)

cheers 

User

29.03.2010 08:59:46

Thanks for your post!

I believe that, right now, there are just too many options and too much control over power saving as that it could not become confusing. And even I myself didn't think about wrongly set options as the cause of the issue at first. So what I'll most likely do is to greatly simplify the interface and possibly condense it all into a single option.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

30.03.2010 07:18:36

I would give dana's suggestion a try but at the moment I can't even get the remote paired again! 

User

30.03.2010 07:49:55

Wow. 
After reading all over the net about peopel with issues pairing their PS3 remote, I stumbled across one person who tried everything and it turned out to be the batteries.

I purchased the remote about 3-4weeks ago and it came with batteries. I assumed, falsely, they would still have charged - apparently I was wrong. 

User

30.03.2010 11:07:26

Thanks for the update.

Bluetooth hardware, which uses a complex, two-way, encrypted radio wave protocol, draws a lot more power than f.ex. classic and much simpler infrared based remotes that don't have to deal with any of this complexity.

Tip: take a look at the "How to maximize battery life" section for the Sony PS3 BD Remote Control: 
http://www.iospirit.com/products/remotebuddy/hardware/#sonyps3bdremote

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

02.04.2010 19:03:35

The Preferences, Hardware, Bluetooth Receiver, General ... option to stop searching is already not ticked, so that isn't my issue (assuming remote buddy is not still implementing that option despite it being not ticked).

I discovered (no pun intended) something else recently....

My blue-tooth mouse batteries died (after many months) and so I replaced them, however I decided as I hardly use the mouse, I will leave it switched off (cover over the hole).

I have since noticed that when I switch the apple blue-tooth mouse on, OSX 10.2 can take a good long while before it will pick up the mouse. Remarkably like the problem I am having with the BD remote.

So it's beginning to look like an OSX issue.