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[haggis999]

Almost all of the MKV rips of my Blu-ray collection have both a stereo and multi-channel audio track. They also have subtitle tracks, as my wife is hard of hearing (some of my MKVs even have subtitles in more than one language). I can switch between all these options when using MC on my Windows PC. All it requires is a right mouse click on the video being played. However, I have failed to find any remote control facility in either Gizmo, JRemote or MO 4Media that supports such selections.

Have I missed something obvious or is this a rather glaring omission from these apps? If Gizmo, JRemote and MO 4Media can't do this, is there another remote solution that can?

[dduvall]

I have the same question/need

[haggis999]

I have the same question/need

Given that I raised this question four days ago and have not yet received any positive response, I think we have to assume that neither Gizmo, JRemote, MO 4Media nor Panel offer any facility for selecting subtitles and audio streams. Since posting my question, I have found similar requests dating back several years, but this requirement continues to be ignored.

During my lifetime, there has been a significant change for the better in the way that both legal systems and society in general respond to the needs of people who suffer from disabilities. It is therefore rather disappointing that the needs of deaf people who need subtitles (such as my wife), are not being given a higher priority by those who develop remote apps for the JRiver platform 

[cncb]

I have this in the Android TV playback for MO 4Media.  I will consider adding this for mobile playback.

[haggis999]

I have this in the Android TV playback for MO 4Media.  I will consider adding this for mobile playback.

I'm grateful to have prompted a response from at least one of the developers of those four remote solutions. However, movie playback on mobile devices is only of minor importance to me and is not something my wife ever does. What I really need is to be able to control subtitles, etc, on the television that is connected via HDMI to the Windows PC running JRiver.

[Hendrik]

What I really need is to be able to control subtitles, etc, on the television that is connected via HDMI to the Windows PC running JRiver.

That has always been possible, and it seemed like you acknowledged that in your first post as well.
You can do it with the mouse in the context menu, or with a keyboard or remote through the playback OSD (press up/down arrows to access the audio or subtitle pages).

[haggis999]

That has always been possible, and it seemed like you acknowledged that in your first post as well.
You can do it with the mouse in the context menu, or with a keyboard or remote through the playback OSD (press up/down arrows to access the audio or subtitle pages).

Hmm. In what sense do you consider a keyboard or mouse action to be a remote solution?

When you drive a television via an HTPC you would not normally have any keyboard or mouse. An app on a phone or tablet is how the system is controlled, which is why this debate is centred on Gizmo, JRemote, MO 4Media and Panel.

[cncb]

MO 4Media (and I think JRemote too) has a "Theater View Remote" interface that can be used for this.  It sends key presses to MC so you could do the selection in the OSD like Hendrik describes.

[haggis999]

MO 4Media (and I think JRemote too) has a "Theater View Remote" interface that can be used for this.  It sends key presses to MC so you could do the selection in the OSD like Hendrik describes.

After some searching, I found that if you stepped back to the first screen on JRemote after selecting a movie then there was a button called Remote that enables you to swipe up and down on the screen to activate the OSD. It's far from being an intuitive interface but at least it works. Many thanks for bringing that to my attention 

However, I have failed to find the equivalent feature within MO 4Media.


EDIT:  My previous comments implied that the developers of the remote apps for JRiver might have been lacking in sympathy for deaf users. I must now apologise for that unwarranted suggestion, but perhaps they could have done more to publicise their efforts in this area. None of the previous threads I found where users were asking for advice on this subject ever mentioned an OSD-based solution and 168 people read my post before cncb came up with the answer, so it is clearly not widely known among the JRiver community. I'd never even heard of the OSD before and I always assumed that if any subtitle and/or audio selection facility existed then it would be located on the remote app's Playing Now screen (as it was on the Oppo interface I used to use for playing my MKV files).

In an attempt to make this thread a comprehensive guide to the topic, I have been looking again at all the remote apps. Gizmo passes the test, as I have now found that if you tap the 3 dots icon at the top right of Gizmo's Home screen this offers you the ability to select Mode. If you then select 'Use device as Theater View remote' you get a screen where up and down swipes allow navigation of JRiver's OSD.

As far as I can see, no such facility exists within Panel and I've still not found how to do it in MO 4Media.

   
 

[RoderickGI]

As far as I can see, no such facility exists within Panel and I've still not found how to do it in MO 4Media.

Press the top right corner where the current Zone is listed (and I think that is a remote control symbol as well).
Make sure the correct Zone is selected, usually "Player" on a Server, if you haven't changed the defaults.
Press the Remote Control icon in the top right corner.

So basically, assuming that you have the correct Zone selected already, double tap in the top right corner.

Works well, even in the free version.

[jmone]

You can also use a std Universal Remote Control (I use Logitech) for control of your TV/AVR/ and MC HTPC from the one remote.  The same 5 Navigation Keys on JRemote is also the same on a Universal Remote Control to access the menu and navigate Theaterview.

[JimH]

You can also use a std Universal Remote Control (I use Logitech) for control of your TV/AVR/ and MC HTPC from the one remote.  The same 5 Navigation Keys on JRemote is also the same on a Universal Remote Control to access the menu and navigate Theaterview.

That's good advice.  Theater View can be navigated with any device that has four arrow keys and an OK or Enter button.  You could try using Theater View with your keyboard to see how this works.

[Hendrik]

When you drive a television via an HTPC you would not normally have any keyboard or mouse. An app on a phone or tablet is how the system is controlled, which is why this debate is centred on Gizmo, JRemote, MO 4Media and Panel.

The majority of people would use a physical remote control, which makes this far easier then working with some clunky phone. In my opinion. No phone app could ever replace my universal remote, which I can just grab and use. No unlocking, no navigating to the right app and the right feature in an app, just using!

[haggis999]

Press the top right corner where the current Zone is listed (and I think that is a remote control symbol as well).
Make sure the correct Zone is selected, usually "Player" on a Server, if you haven't changed the defaults.
Press the Remote Control icon in the top right corner.

So basically, assuming that you have the correct Zone selected already, double tap in the top right corner.

Works well, even in the free version.

Thanks for that advice. It does indeed provide another solution to my problem, albeit well-hidden and non-intuitive. That particular screen gives the impression that it is totally dedicated to zone selection and it never occurred to me to look there for anything related to subtitle and audio selection.

[haggis999]

My AV system is controlled using a 13-year-old Universal Remote Controls MX-850 programmable remote (bought shortly before URC stopped selling such kit to end users in the UK), but this is driven by IR codes and I failed to find any IR code listing for JRiver. Please clarify how it can be used to operate the OSD menus.

EDIT by JMONE - Sorry edited your post instead of quoting it - may have lost some of your comments.

[Hendrik]

Most PCs don't come with an IR receiver, but if you have a HTPC IR receiver you can usually program either the receiver or the remote to send appropriate commands.

One programmable receiver is for example FLIRC, just plug it into a USB port with line of sight to your remote and it can work with almost any remote.

[JimH]

Up or Down arrow should bring up the On Screen Display.  Left and Right arrow change settings.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/OSD

[jmone]

My AV system is controlled using a 13-year-old Universal Remote Controls MX-850 programmable remote (bought shortly before URC stopped selling such kit to end users in the UK), but this is driven by IR codes and I failed to find any IR code listing for JRiver. Please clarify how it can be used to operate the OSD menus.

I'm unfamiliar with the MX-850 but I image the process is similar to the Logitech.  Firstly you need your HTPC to have a IR receiver, and only a few do (like the Intel NUC).  Good news is you can add one for a few dollars.  Just search for "ir usb receiver" and plug it into the USB port on your PC.
 In the remote SW you then add a "Windows PC" as the device (not MC) and you are good to go.  The other alternative is if your PC has BT some of the newer (but much more expensive) RC's also now support BT as well as IR.   

[RoderickGI]

My AV system is controlled using a 13-year-old Universal Remote Controls MX-850 programmable remote (bought shortly before URC stopped selling such kit to end users in the UK), but this is driven by IR codes and I failed to find any IR code listing for JRiver. Please clarify how it can be used to operate the OSD menus.

As Hendrik says, you need to have an Infrared Receiver on your HTPC to use an IR Remote with it. Note that MC uses the MCE (same as WMC) IR Remote commands, so your MX-850 would have to be able to emulate those commands, if it doesn't send them natively. MC can also accept IR Commands for other Remotes, Keyboards, Gamepads, and HID devices, if you have that turned on. There are a few older WMC remotes that don't properly support MCE commands, so just take note.

However you are already using Gizmo, and that has a Theatre View remote capability, as does MO 4Media, as discussed above. So you already have a device that has the capability to drive Theatre View via the OSD.


EDIT: Lots of advice flowing. Lots of options! 

[haggis999]

As Hendrik says, you need to have an Infrared Receiver on your HTPC to use an IR Remote with it. Note that MC uses the MCE (same as WMC) IR Remote commands, so your MX-850 would have to be able to emulate those commands, if it doesn't send them natively. MC can also accept IR Commands for other Remotes, Keyboards, Gamepads, and HID devices, if you have that turned on. There are a few older WMC remotes that don't properly support MCE commands, so just take note.

However you are already using Gizmo, and that has a Theatre View remote capability, as does MO 4Media, as discussed above. So you already have a device that has the capability to drive Theatre View via the OSD.


EDIT: Lots of advice flowing. Lots of options! 

After a week of silence, this thread has indeed started to blossom!

With hindsight, the need for an IR receiver to be attached to the PC is fairly obvious. Once I have acquired such a device, the list of WMC IR codes I found at http://www.etcwiki.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Center_Infrared_Remote_Codes should enable me to program my MX-850 remote with the required cursor control codes (it may even already have the correct codes).

When you say MCE, are you referring to Windows XP Media Center Edition? How do MCE commands differ from Windows Media Center commands?

If I can get my MX-850 remote to trigger the OSD then it might take fewer button presses than doing it via the Theater View option in apps like Gizmo. I already use the MX-850 as my primary AV volume control.
 

[RoderickGI]

How do MCE commands differ from Windows Media Center commands?

Same. The IR commands have always been called the MCE Commands, in my experience. Then name carried forward from the XP version.

You will notice on the link you shared that MCE is used everywhere in the naming of commands.

[haggis999]

Same. The IR commands have always been called the MCE Commands, in my experience. Then name carried forward from the XP version.

You will notice on the link you shared that MCE is used everywhere in the naming of commands.

Thanks for the clarification.

BTW, I now have a FLIRC USB IR receiver on order from Amazon.

[haggis999]

I have now received a Flirc IR receiver. After downloading the associated software from the Flirc website, I am now able to teach Flirc to use any button on any IR remote to operate the four cursor control keys that let you trigger and navigate JRiver's On Screen Display (OSD) and thus gain access to the subtitle and audio stream settings.

My original question has now been answered. In addition to this IR option, it has now become clear that Gizmo, JRemote and MO 4Media (but not Panel) all provide subtitle/audio selection solutions - though they are not advertised as such. I would much prefer a more explicit facility that is easily available from the Playing Now screen. Hiding it away under a Theater View option that many people may not wish to use (and thus ignore) is guaranteed to lead to continuing confusion. You can use the OSD independently of Theater View.