This posting is older than 6 months and can contain outdated information.
Hi Andre,
thanks for the extensive feedback. Please find my comments below.
1) I spent a good many hours configuring the extra keys of the PS3
BD remote, since the default config only maps the 6-keys equivalent
of the apple control. All the applications now have the behaviour
one could expect for each specific key on the PS3 remote. I could
share this if you want, to save you time in the next version.
You're right. The default mapping for the BD Remote is not optimal and
rather scarce outside of a few Behaviours that are prepared for it
(iTunes, EyeTV, ..). I hope to be able to devote more time adding more
complete default mappings in the near future.
Thanks for the offer. While I can't make direct use of it (default
mappings all require actual code), I'd still love to take a look to
see how you are using it. Please send the respective preference file
to the info@ address of this domain (as seen in the imprint).
2) I don't now about the wii, but even in RB 1.7 the PS3 still
suffers from not being found in the RB wizzard, you must go to the
Preferences/Bluetooth, start pairing there, close the application
when it asks to type the passcode, and then RB can find the remote.
This is a problem with Apple's Bluetooth stack. For reasons unknown to
me, it will not provide Remote Buddy (or any sample code app from
Apple that uses the documented Bluetooth API) with the name of the
device until after you tried to set it up through the system's
Bluetooth Assistant. This, however, only seems to affect a small
number of remote/computer combinations. Right now, with the
information I have at hand, only Apple can address this problem.
3) The batteries really last for about one week (new alcaline batt).
Will play with disconnection to see if I can increase that.
Keep in mind the BD Remote will communicate with your computer even if
you don't press a button to keep the connection alive. This, of
course, consumes battery. So, if you don't need the BD Remote, you
should disconnect it, which will greatly increase the time you can use
your batteries before replacing/recharging them.
4) Could you implemente an option to print a chart with the
configuration you have for each key? I keep going back on the RB
preferences to remember which key I associated with which function,
as I just finished configuring and cannot still remember everything.
Printing them would be great.
Unless you mean actual printing to paper, it's already there. A press
on the PS button - with default mapping - will enter the menu and
display a chart with the current button mapping of the most important
buttons. Due to space limitations, not all buttons of the BD Remote
can be displayed there.
5) Having a place to check the level of batteries of PS3 and wii
remotes would be great.
This is already implemented for the Wii™ Remotes. I have an idea of
where to look for a battery power indicator for the BD Remote for now,
but I'll have to do some further research before adding support for it.
6) There's some bugs in the PS3 picure: first, the blue and yellow
buttons are swapped. In my control, at least. The interesting is
that someplaces you must configure them thinking about the phisycal
position, and other places you must consider the color. Second, the
scan right button is not clickable as all the others... and if you
select it from the list of buttons, you can see that the blue-
blinking-ring appeas much to the right, outside the picture of the
control.
The picture is based on a scan of the actual remote control. My remote
has these buttons from left to right: Red, green, yellow, blue. That's
also printed above the respective buttons.
7) In 1.7, the double-click in virtual-mouse does not work I think
it worked on 1.1, but not sure. I configure a button for double
click, but when I press it, a red circle appears and stays. Maybe it
is double-clicking too fast, or maybe it is acting like click-and-
hold? Single-clicking makes the red circle go away, but no double
clicking. Pressing two times the click button still double-click.
Did you select "Hold left button" or "Left double click" for the
button? The red circle is drawn by the Mousespot feature and indicates
that the left mouse button is currently pressed.
8) iTunes is getting me nervous. It will not go away. Everytime it
pops out of the blue. I cannot close it, it re-starts again. I have
to ignore it. Then, many times, the iTunes behaviour comes back when
I exit other behaviour, and some times it comes to front also. I
have seen other people with this problem.
Please try the - for now silently - released V1.7.3 available from
http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/download/
It should fix the problem.
9) The keys that control Quicktime when it is running from inside
front-row are different from the keys that control quicktime when it
is running stand alone. I think this is expected and programmed
behaviour, I just would like to know if you could make front-row use
the stand alone keys, as the have more options and are more
configurable (custom actions, etc.)
There's no way to change what Front Row is doing or how it reacts to
keys. As far as I know, it does not use QuickTime Player but rather
uses Quicktime directly.
10) In version 1.7, Quicktime is completelly ignoring my configured
keys while running stand alone, if I use the original configuration.
But, if I change the keys to send apple virtual-remote presses,
quicktime reacts OK. It is like if quicktime had support for apple
remote itself, and were accepting only that. The specific quicktime
control options in the configuration menu have no effect. The
problem with changing all the controls to apple virtual remote is
that you loose some options (while going fullscreen, etc). I'm
pretty sure it was OK in 1.1.
QuickTime Player has limited support for the Apple Remote itself - and
since the Virtual Remote provides a *true* Apple Remote emulation -
it'll react to it.
Which version of Quicktime are you using?
11) Mplayer and VLC will not go fullscreen. They kind of do it, but
they leave the menu bar on the top, which is annoying. Does this
have a fix?
Are they the active application at the time you want to make them
fullscreen?
Which way are you trying to have them go fullscreen? (actions, menu
items, etc.)
Best regards,
Felix
