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[RD James]

As an unexpected gift, I received a Harmony Elite this Xmas.
So far, it's working well. Much better than universal remotes used to be 20 years ago. Why did I spend so many years juggling remotes!?
 
But I can't get it working fully with JRiver.
When controlling JRiver only basic functions like the arrows and play/pause controls work.

It has a big list of standard Media Center commands that you can pick from.
I can't see any way to create a custom keyboard layout, just the standard Media Center commands.
It seems to send regular keyboard shortcuts via Bluetooth. Using Aqua Key Test to monitor this, it's sending:

Media Center = WIN+ALT+ENTER
Subtitles = CTRL+U
Video = CTRL+E
Music = CTRL+M
Radio = CTRL+A
Live TV = CTRL+T
Recorded TV = CTRL+O
Audio Language = CTRL+SHIFT+A
It also has a couple of others like CTRL+ALT+1/2/3

How can I use this to control JRiver?

[Al ex]

One option is to use a FLIRC dongle, where you can program all the mentioned shortcodes to your needs.

[RoderickGI]

I don't think you need extra hardware with the Elite. You just need to read the manual carefully and understand the activity based Harmony process.

You do need to set MC to accept commands from both an IR and Keyboard device. Tools/Options/Remote Control/Device & Options/Select Input Devices/ then select "Microsoft MCE" and "Remote, keyboard, gamepad, or other HID". Both should show as active.

With my old Harmony 880 there is a bit of an issue even with those settings in that MC does not seem to be able to learn some keyboard commands, so even though my Harmony can send some Windows keyboard combinations, MC won't receive them. Plus a lot of the commands conflict with standard Windows keyboard combinations, so I can't use them for other actions. Like Win+1 to 9 for example, starts the program on the task bar x positions from the left.

If you set up the Elite through the Harmony site, you should be able to find a list of commands used by the Elite there, and even reprogram what it sends.

Anyway, I don't have an Elite so can't help specifically, without reading the manual. But it uses a hub that I assume receives the Bluetooth commands, and probably resends them to your devices as IR commands, if you set it up that way, or sends them to the PC using a USB connection. Something along those lines.

[RD James]

Maybe the Elite does things differently from the older remotes.
The connection between the remote to the hub is RF.
The connection from the hub to the PC is Bluetooth and it pairs up as a "Harmony Keyboard" device - so it's just sending keyboard commands.
 
Unlike the IR commands where you have the option to customize things, there don't seem to be any options with the keyboard. It just sends predefined Windows Media Center commands, which map to the combinations posted above.
I can't find an option to remap things in JRiver to match the WMC commands.

[RoderickGI]

Ah, in that case, perhaps read these pages:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Keyboard_Hot-keys
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/User_Defined_Global_Keyboard_Shortcuts

I'm not sure the Keyboard Hot-keys are completely up to date as there have been a few new ones added recently.
Nor can I help much with the Keyboard Shortcuts, with examples and such. The documentation is a bit light on. But it is possible to create your own shortcuts.

I'm surprised that there is no way to customise the Elite. That used to be a Harmony forte. Anyway, the above may help.

[RD James]

Thanks for the wiki links.
I've got the remote mostly working now with custom resource.xml edits.
These are the only commands which the remote can send that were either available or could be remapped in JRiver.

Code: [Select]

    <!-- Harmony shortcuts -->
    <Entry Command="22000" Param="3" Global="1" Key="Win;Ctrl;Alt;Enter"/>    <!-- Media Center | Toggles Theater View -->
    <Entry Command="22000" Param="2" Global="0" Key="Ctrl;Shift;P"/>          <!-- Play Slide Show | Playing Now View -->
    <Entry Command="28000" Param="0" Global="0" Key="Ctrl;="/>                <!-- Zoom In -->
    <Entry Command="28001" Param="0" Global="0" Key="Ctrl;-"/>                <!-- Zoom Out -->
    <Entry Command="22001" Param="3" Global="0" Key="F7"/>                    <!-- F7 | Direct to Theater View Music -->
    <Entry Command="22001" Param="3" Global="0" Key="F8"/>                    <!-- F8 | Direct to Theater View Music -->
    <Entry Command="22001" Param="3" Global="0" Key="F9"/>                    <!-- F9 | Direct to Theater View Music -->
    <Entry Command="22001" Param="3" Global="0" Key="F10"/>                   <!-- F10 | Direct to Theater View Music -->

The only MCC 22001 parameter that works for me is 3 for music, but if I can get the others to work I will set the other F keys to take me directly to TV and Movies

I'm surprised that there is no way to customise the Elite. That used to be a Harmony forte. Anyway, the above may help.

You can customize IR commands but not Bluetooth commands.
After searching there is a workaround which is to pair the remote to the PC as a PlayStation 3 Remote, which is also Bluetooth, and run PS3BluMote on the PC.
This lets you remap all of the keys on the remote at the PC end.
It works, except keys don't seem to repeat. So I can't really navigate Theater View very well.
 
Instructions: https://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Hub-Based-Remotes/Control-PC-with-the-Harmony-Ultimate-Bluetooth-or-Wireless/m-p/1072407/highlight/true#M4172
PS3BluMote application: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B3RTucUBY2bwY3BOd3ZLd2pGS1k
 
I think if you already had a FLIRC set up it would work better.
But the FLIRC adapter is 2x the cost of the Bluetooth adapter that I was already using on my PC and it would mean having to set up IR extenders since it requires line-of-sight.

[imugli]

I just had a quick glance at a review of the elite. Apparently you still add devices as per all other harmony-s. In that case, have you looked for the Windows media center pc device? MC emulates the Windows MCE remotes, so that *should* set you in the right direction.

There's an IR receiver on the underside apparently, so if you can get your hands on an MCE remote, once you show the elite a few button commands it should recognise it.

[RD James]

I just had a quick glance at a review of the elite. Apparently you still add devices as per all other harmony-s. In that case, have you looked for the Windows media center pc device? MC emulates the Windows MCE remotes, so that *should* set you in the right direction.

There's an IR receiver on the underside apparently, so if you can get your hands on an MCE remote, once you show the elite a few button commands it should recognise it.

Yes, it will work as a WMC remote, but I don't have an IR receiver for my computer - nor do I want one, because it means routing an IR blaster to it.
Bluetooth doesn't need line of sight or a bulky adapter and my PC already has Bluetooth support.

[RoderickGI]

It sounds like you are making progress. Without studying the device, or having one to set up, I don't think I can add much.

Except maybe to ask if the hub can receive commands via RF, then send them to the PC via BT, and then emulate IR commands on the PC?

That could allow use of the extended Windows MCE command set in the setup, without the need for an IR Receiver (except for setup perhaps, in which case you use the one under the hub that Imugli mentions). That would probably require some Harmony IR emulation software running on the PC though. But that is the sort of thing I would be looking for.

I am really surprised that it isn't straight forward though. Logitech seem to have over complicated the device in order to make it flexible, or dropped the ball on this one.

Regardless, I guess it is giving you a challenge to work on! 

[user38]

I have a Harmony Elite.

The easiest solution is to buy a windows media remote like the Hauppauge MCE Remote Control Kit:  http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=&&bid=2&sid=36275.  Then you add the remote to the Harmony as a windows media PC device.  I selected Microsoft MCE-1039.  It works perfectly for me but I did have to make a few adjustments.

There is a caveat.  The windows media center remote will only work if windows media center is installed.  That isn't a problem if you are running windows 7 but windows media center is not supported in Windows 10.

Stephen

[Daveyravey]

I use a logitech harmony 900 and use a windows media center remote similar to this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-windows-media-centre-remote-control-/272094189274

Harmony is then replicated the media center inputs via rf so its out of site. Works perfectly and you dont need windows media center installed.

[RD James]

The tweaks that I made using the keyboard shortcuts seem to be mostly working for me now using the Bluetooth commands, so I've not had to get an IR receiver for the system.
 
The only remaining issue is the way that JRiver handles direct-access shortcuts in theater view.
The stock MCC commands don't work if you have replaced all of the default views.
There needs to be another MCC command which sends commands to top-level items based on their position, instead of specific hard-coded views.

[Mustang1993]

I have a creative sound blaster Fatal1ty card that came with the RM-1800 remote control.  I've been able to setup my Logitech Harmony Companion to emulate the RM-1800 and I can control Windows Media Player using it.  Can I somehow make it control JRiver MC 19 also ?

[Guybrush]

I have a Harmony Elite. Has anyone found a way to make the arrow buttons navigate through the tree in MC standard view? I've not converted to theater view yet and prefer to do movies/music/bluray discs, pictures, etc. through the standard view. It would be nice if I could rely on my remote to move back and forth between them rather than a keyboard.

[RoderickGI]

I have a creative sound blaster Fatal1ty card that came with the RM-1800 remote control.  I've been able to setup my Logitech Harmony Companion to emulate the RM-1800 and I can control Windows Media Player using it.  Can I somehow make it control JRiver MC 19 also ?

You have to use the Logitech MCE or "MC HTPC SE" IR remote command set definition. I don't know if you can do that while you have the Logitech set up to emulate the RM-1800, but possibly, given that you can customise a Logitech and add command from multiple command sets.

Make sure that MC is set up to receive MCE commands.

A search of the forum will find lots of discussion. Search for Logitech, MCE, Remote, Green Button, etc.

[jmang]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to note a few things about my experience using a Harmony remote (in my case the Harmony Smart Control) with MC 22 that may clarify how this can be done successfully.

First, if your Harmony remote model includes a Hub and your computer has built-in Bluetooth you can pair it with the Hub rather than having to DIY an IR setup.  The Harmony will appear as a Bluetooth keyboard among your computer's Bluetooth devices.  I configured my Harmony "Device" as a Microsoft Windows computer although it's actually a Raspberry Pi.

Second, several of the buttons on the Harmony should work OOB: play, pause and stop particularly.

Finally, to customize more buttons on your remote to do useful things you will need to remap them on the Harmony side and/or the computer side.  I customized my system so that buttons on my Harmony remote perform mouse cursor movement and click functions as well as keyboard functions.

If you are interested in how to configure your own Harmony/Linux/JRiver setup and would like further info please let me know by replying to this thread.

[jpu018]

Hi
A very interesting post of yours, and I'm still interested, however my OS is windows (10), not linux.

[ogenec]

I'm interested. Just got the Id and would like to pair with my Harmony Hub.

[jmang]

jpu: I can't tell you much about Windows key mapping from personal experience because, as I said, I'm using a Raspberry Pi running Raspian (Debian).  When you create your PC device in the Harmony app you get a whole bunch of available keycodes that mostly correspond with Windows MCE.  To see what shortcut keys are available in JRiver MC you can look here: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Keyboard_Hot-keys.  The Wiki entry says it's out of date, but I believe most of the info there is still correct.  To customize your remote you will need to remap some of the keycodes the Hub generates to the JRiver keycodes for the actions you want the remote buttons to activate.  To do this you will need to either directly edit the keycodes in the Windows Registry or use a remapping program like SharpKeys to do it.  I hope this helps.

[jmang]

ogenec: which Id are you using?  If it's the IdPi which I understand is configured as an "appliance" you probably don't have access to the O/S which would mean you can't remap keycodes.  If it's one of the Windows/Intel NUC Ids I can only tell you what I told jpu018 above, and if those machines are configured as appliances like the IdPi you may not have O/S access to remap keycodes either.  Hope this helps.

[HtpcUserAri]

I've had good luck with the mce remote control remapping tool from the kodi site:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=164252
For example, I put the JRiver icon on the windows task bar in the first position and then used the tool to remap the mce remote green button to the "Win+1" keys to launch JRiver MC.
Similar with the keyboard shortcuts from the JRiver wiki.
Remember to use the tool to save the values to registry and reboot to see the changes working.

On that note... Are there keyboard shortcuts for Guide or for TV Recordings?

[JimH]

I've had good luck with the mce remote control remapping tool from the kodi site:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=164252
For example, I put the JRiver icon on the windows task bar in the first position and then used the tool to remap the mce remote green button to the "Win+1" keys to launch JRiver MC.

The Green button will launch MC without any modification.  Run Media Server on Startup.  Set it under Tools > Options > Startup.

[RoderickGI]

Plus on this;

Similar with the keyboard shortcuts from the JRiver wiki.
Remember to use the tool to save the values to registry and reboot to see the changes working.

All default MCE Remote buttons work in MC without any remote control remapping of buttons, or mapping to keyboard commands. You do NOT need to have MC learn MCE Remote control commands associated with default MCE Remote Control buttons. I suspect that you are making a lot of unnecessary work for yourself.

But the above is the simple answer. MC doesn't handle additional IR Commands well. I started mapping all IR Commands MC can "see" to learn, but I got sidetracked and haven't got back to it yet. Basically, I want MC to learn more IR Commands so that I can map them to extra MC MCC Commands. Currently, that is problematic.

On that note... Are there keyboard shortcuts for Guide or for TV Recordings?

The "Guide" button on an MCE remote opens the Guide in Theatre View in MC.
The "Recorded TV" button on an MCE remote takes you to the "Theatre View > Video > Shows" menu item in MC, which under a default MC Theatre View configuration is where recorded TV is shown.

Take a look at these;
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,112064.0.html
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,112062.msg774387.html#msg774387
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,102236.msg709210.html#msg709210

A search of the forum will find lots of discussions. Search for Logitech, MCE, Remote, Green Button, etc.

[RD James]

The Harmony does not act as an MCE remote when connected via Bluetooth, but thanks for the suggestions.
After making the changes outlined here, I haven't had any issues.
IR may be more flexible purely as a remote, but it's inherently less reliable and Bluetooth works fine after the custom Resources.xml edits.
Bluetooth also lets you control your PC easily via your phone with a full keyboard and touchpad in the Harmony app. Admittedly neither of those is great, but they work in a pinch.

[RoderickGI]

Excellent RD.

My new comment was actually addressed at Adoucette. who seems to be making work for himself.

[jmone]

I have several Harmony Remotes and they all just work, never had to do anything with my PC or MC (including two hubs, one using IR and the other BT for controlling the HTPC).