MCE Keyboard not working.

[schumi2004]

Is it possible to have MCE Keyboard added as supported device over IR?

For example a Logitech Harmony remote with MCE Keyboard profile.

[bossanova808]

This would be awesome (and continues on from the forum thread where there's a whole bunch of people asking for this!

[arcanoia]

Official Microsoft MCE keyboard with Official Microsoft MCE USB IR, works in Xbmcbuntu v11.0.

Under Openelec Beta3 Eden, only the Media center keys work (the keyboard itself is not recognized)

Maybe this hint will be useful for a developer to easily transport the configuration of Xbmcbuntu into Openelec.

Thanks!

[schumi2004]

Maybe this will help? http://mod-mce.sourceforge.net/

[flipside101]

This would be a great function to have.

[schumi2004]

Mod-mce isn't the way to go but maybe this is?

http://cateee.net/lkddb/web-lkddb/IR_MCE_KBD_DECODER.html

[flipside101]

good find , for those that know would this help ? It mentions MCE keyboards and remotes and we already have remote use ?

[jonkristian]

You have my vote for this:-)

[cclein]

I'd love this as well.

[ArieKanarie]

Just found out the keyboard does not work. Have all my hopes set on this request. Plz :-)

[zwiffs]

would love to get this

[chemstar]

mce keyboard is by default disabled as a input device
/sys/class/rc/rc0/protocols protocol mce_kbd (disabled)

enabling device with
echo +mce_kbd > /sys/class/rc/rc0/protocols
brings it up, but very soon the input of the mce keyb. (harmony profile) is getting uncontrollable
the pressed keys will be repeated several times.

more about this problem on:
http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=4708&pid=41559#pid41559

[schumi2004]

Mmm that is interesting, thanks for the info.

Edit:
The very first key pressed was send 3 times. Going to try a few tweaks on my Harmony remote.

[flipside101]

Many thanks and good find, ive enabled it on my box and will see what happens

[schumi2004]

The very first key pressed was send 3 times. Going to try a few tweaks on my Harmony remote.

I also tried a few suggestions made to tweaking the Harmony but this doesn't have any effect, when i pres 1 time i see my IR receiver respond to it 1 time only but then it's performing the given command another 3 times. Kernel issue maybe?

Edit:
I tested it again with default settings and a latest build but now every keypress stays in a loop :(

[chemstar]

i've added following to my xorg.conf

Section "InputClass"
Identifier "Remote"
MatchProduct "Media Center Ed. eHome Infrared Remote Transceiver"
Option "Ignore" "True"
EndSection
Section "InputClass"
Identifier "Ignore MCE IR keyboard"
MatchProduct "MCE IR Keyboard/Mouse (mceusb)"
Option "Ignore" "True"
EndSection

Not all buttons are recognized using MCE KB-Profile on Harmony. Maybe it is a mapping issue. There are no undesired inputs for the working keys.

From my terminal:
irw
16d 0 KEY_EPG devinput
16d 0 KEY_EPG_UP devinput
166 0 KEY_INFO devinput
166 0 KEY_INFO_UP devinput

[schumi2004]

@chemstar thanks will try it out.

Do you also know how to see the key inputs? i tried irw and ir-keytable -t but nothing pops up.

What keys do not function according you, i only know \ not being working.

[flipside101]

looks to me that the letter keys stop working after the xorg.conf changes.

[chemstar]

on the logitech config tool i have chosen the "troubleshoot" option for the keyboard then the "MCE Keyboard responds to some commands either too many times or only occasionaly" and selected the "1". now my keyboard profile is working without repeating codes but slower compared to my keyboard. maybe it can be fixed changing some timing options.

using irw or ir-keytable -t doesn't show any inputs but xbmc is being controlled by the remote

i hope it is a step forward resolving this issue.

[schumi2004]

I also tried 1 but it still gave me repeated actions.

[chemstar]

i'm using it with the last git builds (kernel 3.6...) and the MCE Remote model 1039 (second one in the list http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/MCE_Remote#Media_Center_Remotes)

[schumi2004]

This is confusing, you was using a Logitech Harmony right?
Anyway, i'm on latest git as well, i think it has something to do with kernel instead of Harmony. Just hoping someone diggs in to this ;)

[chemstar]

Yes, logitech harmony one+ with keyboard profile.

[flipside101]

Hi all happy new year

@chemstar hows the good fight for MCE keyboard goodness going ?

[schumi2004]

Still can't get it to work properly.
Tried several suggestions found on stmlabs but they all fail.
Does anyone know where to look for progress on this issue in kernel?

Edit:
The most logic thing that would solve this should be the --repeat-filter parameter for lircd but when i did that the keypresses stays in loop and hardly to stop.
Editing advanced settings in xbmc "remoterepeat>800</remoterepeat" also did nothing.
Changing settings in Harmony software also a no-go

I also didn't managed to see the keypresses from console, anyone else luck with that ?

[flipside101]

ive followed chemstars route and added the echo +mce_kbd > /sys/class/rc/rc0/protocols via autostart.sh and set my repeat down to 1 in the harmony software which is working for me , chemstar also lists another solution here - http://openelec.tv/forum/105-keyboards/59188-mcekbd-input-device#60009

in which /etc/init.d/lirc needs to be editied to include

in_kernel_support() {
if [ -d /sys/class/rc ]; then
for file in find /sys/class/rc/*/ -name protocols; do
if [ "$1" = "disable" ]; then
echo "lirc" > $file
echo "+RC-6" > $file
echo "+mce_kbd" > $file
else
echo "none" > $file
for protocol in cat $file; do
echo "+${protocol}" > $file
done
fi
done
fi
}

but i (and i don't think chemstar ) have not be able to test it

[schumi2004]

@flipside101
I'll give it another attempt.
Only difference would be the delay settings but i'm not sure which delays chemstar chainged. Although i don't think this will change any effects noticed in my last attempt. (key press loop, not just 2~3 times but a real loop)

I will also try /etc/init.d/lirc solution, maybe that solves it but not sure what it does?
My guess is that it adds mce_kbd on boot so autostart.sh isn't needed anymore.

Edit:
Minor detail, OpenELEC doesn't have a file lirc located in /etc/init.d/
http://pastebin.com/MrV0xHyb

[flipside101]

Thats the problem chemstar came up against :) , maybe someone here can advise if its possible with respect to the delay ill paste what i put on the forum post "goto to the keyboard device , select troubleshooting - then the option that ends "responds to some commands either too many times or only occasionally." . On the next screen you shoudl ahve teh ability to set the value .

I just checked mine and its 0"

[schumi2004]

@flipside101
Mine is 0 also but not sure what delay settings i need to tweak because it still loops here.
Maybe it's a hardware combination. This is the IR reciever i'm using http://www.techexcess.net/images/products/HP/hp-media-center-ir-reciever-5188-1667.jpg connected on a Zotac AD02 running the latest Frodo Fusion build (git version)
The remote used is a Harmony One (not the plus version)
Loaded the MCE Keyboard profile since there isn't a SE edition but imo that shouldn't make any difference.

I'm also having trouble to display the key presses in console mode like you can do with irw or evtest.

My only hope is that the delay setting could make any difference because i tried a few other options already without luck #356 (comment)

[flipside101]

Hmm im running the Generic build of Frodo RC1 with an external IR reciever - http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/260891280399?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y and Harmony 895 using the same Profile.

Im not seeing anything in irw either

[jenkins101]

harmony needs to be in mce remote mode... not keyboard.

[schumi2004]

@jenkins101 Then what's the use of this tweak/mod or solution?
That was the whole point, to get MCE Keyboard profile working.
MCE Remote profile already works out of the box.

[flipside101]

@jenkins101 teh idea here (well for me anyway) is to get the keyboard functions working to be able to use shortcuts such as T for the subtitle switch etc

[jenkins101]

I dont know...

I just noticed the harmony things and the receiver so...

[jenkins101]

@flipside101 doesn't that already work?

[jenkins101]

you need to run lircd instead of eventlircd
then you need the mce config file for lircd
and the echo things above.
also eventlircd needs to be killed before lircd is started.

and it should work i think...

[schumi2004]

@jenkins101 i couldn't find lirc at all, any directions?
Willing to screw up my system here ;)

[jenkins101]

lircd is the command to run... there is no start script it is started from udev if needed...
only starts for xbox controller now a days

there are some threads in the forum regarding this.
could not find it now...

[schumi2004]

I think i found lircd

root ~ # ps | grep lirc
501 root 0:00 eventlircd --evmap=/etc/eventlircd.d --socket=/var/run/lirc/lircd --release=_UP
1176 root 630:06 /usr/lib/xbmc/xbmc.bin --standalone -fs --lircdev /var/run/lirc/lircd
3640 root 0:00 grep lirc
root ~ # cd /var/run/lirc/
root /var/run/lirc # ls
lircd

[jenkins101]

no lirc wont work ether...

xorg needs to be configured to handle it as a keyboard...
by default I think most event inputs that looks like a remote is blacklisted from OE xorg...

[schumi2004]

Maybe @sraue can give us a few directions to look for?

[chemstar]

because of the noticeable mce hw lag i've ordered the CVSB-983 remote. i'm using only the receiver part with my harmony. my xbmc responds now as expected. even a good setup explaination is given on openelec forum. it is cheep (5-6 €) and need only some work to adapt the keyboard.xml.
another alternative would be technisat usr ir receiver or the older one trust RC-2400.
this receivers regiister themself as a keyboard devices, CVSB-983 as a mouse, keyboard and joystick.

[schumi2004]

@chemstar
So the key is to use a IR receiver that registers itself as a MCE Keyboard/mouse/joystick?
And how sure are you that this will solve my issue, repeating key presses that stay in a loop?
5~6 € isn't expensive so i can always give it a try.

[flipside101]

@chemstar
interesting as i currently dont see any real lag but then i may not be using it in as many ways as yourself for my own info can you link to the forum post fro setup . Ive seached on CVSB-983 , chinavision and china but found nada.

[schumi2004]

@flipside101
This is what i found http://openelec.tv/forum/103-infared-remotes/8556-howto-setup-chinavasion-ir-receiver-with-harmony-300i

[chemstar]

@schumi2004
like i said before i didnt have such problems. in my case every key press was correctly recognized. this remote lag is subjective for sure but with new receiver it is gone.

[schumi2004]

@chemstar
Ordered a CVSB-983 and will see what happens.

I also noticed this commit 3765e1a
Could this be a step in the right direction, i only noticed keyboard.

[CHBMB]

For thos of you with a Harmony remote like me, I tried the CVSB-983 but found a more straightforward solution with one of these: flirc.tv
Now I'm not so bothered if this gets fixed or not, especially as there's less lag than with an MCE remote. Might be worth a shot fellas.

[jenkins101]

Hi,

If this is still an issue please reopen this issue providing new logs from latest OpenELEC release.

[schumi2004]

@chemstar Although this is closed, can you tell me were you got the info from to get the CVSB-983 receive commands from a Harmony configured with a Microsoft MCE Keyboard profile? Doesn't seem to work here, i think i'm doing something wrong.

Or willing to share your keymap.xml

[Mitch2025]

@schumi2004

Were you able to ever get the Harmony One remote working with the MCE Keyboard profile? I am getting the keypress loop that you had and cannot find a way to fix it.

[schumi2004]

Nope, never got it working properly. Maybe it's a receiver issue, maybe a profile. I gave up on it.

[Mitch2025]

Well that's disappointing. I am really wanting to ditch windows and go with OpenELEC but this is holding me back since it works flawlessly in windows. I'll probably spend a few more days on this and hope I find a solution..

[schumi2004]

The most important reason for me was more custom settings but eventually with some creativity I managed to get what I wanted. I must say that I used a harmony remote and learned keys with another remote to get a complete profile and lots of keys to reconfigure.

[Mitch2025]

That's my main reason. I already have the remote setup how I want with special buttons (enable subtitles, mark as watched, etc) and am just wanting to use it in OpenELEC so I can get rid of Windows since it is causing me a ton of problems as of late (locking up, crashing, etc). It seems this issue isn't specific to OpenELEC. During my research I am finding that is happens in XBMCbuntu as well and seems to be an issue with how linux handles it.

EDIT: according to evtest, when I press a button, it gets a signal that the button has been pressed but not a signal that it has been released.

[Jayphen]

I am not getting repeated codes, and echo +mce_kbd > /sys/class/rc/rc0/protocols simply works for me. However, I lose the setting after rebooting. What are the steps for modifying autostart.sh to include this? Is it just a case of adding that line to the file?

[Mitch2025]

You just have to open it in an editor program (like notepad++) and just type
echo +mce_kbd > /sys/class/rc/rc0/protocols

into it.

If you have any issues, I suggest just buying a FLIRC. Saved me a headache. Easy to setup and it just sends keyboard commands instead of IR commands

[Jayphen]

The above seems to be working just fine for me, so I'll stick with it. I did use a FLIRC with my old setup, but my NUC has IR so I may as well make use of it.