Decorum for the Forum:
  • Be nice. If you want to be mean, try Reddit.
  • No Piracy. If you want to be a thief, there are dark places on the internet dedicated to that.
  • No Cracking. Discussions on AnyDVD, DeUHD, DVDFab, UHDKeys and similar tools are not permitted here.
  • No Spamming. If you want to make a buck, work smarter... somewhere else.
  • No Adult Content. Half the internet is dedicated to adult content. This half isn't.

Privacy Policy: Click Here to Review (updated September 30, 2020)

MCE remote not working to close programs

General support forum for Chameleon MediaCenter (formerly MM Browser)
MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:22 pm

See first attachment a for picture of my MCE remote. The product label on back says it is a Model VRC 1100, Vista MCE Remote Control.

The basic buttons work fine, but when trying to map the red button to the close window command, it never seems to work.
I have started CMD in admin mode, changed the setting in CMC to the red button, and verified that the registry is ok.
The red button does a 'few' things when mapped, like stopping a Powerdvd movie and returning to the Powerdvd home page, but
it doesn't do much else. It does not emulate the alt-F4 keystroke, although the3 alt-F4 keystroke does work from my keyboard.

I also have another remote, see the second attachment for a picture of this remote.
It is a model HA-IR01SV(TSHA-IR1) remote but no longer have the usb ir receiver for it. It shows RC6 IR on the
product label and doesn't work with the usb ir receiver that works with the MCE remote mentioned above.

Is there a way to get one of these working (would need to purchase a usb ir receiver for the second one)? If not, what is
a recommended MCE remote for use with CMC?
Thanks
Mike Aymar
Attachments
20220110_132730.jpg
20220110_132730.jpg (1.95 MiB) Viewed 3059 times
20220110_140909.jpg
20220110_140909.jpg (1.95 MiB) Viewed 3059 times

User avatar
Pauven
Posts: 2777
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:28 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Contact:

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by Pauven » Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:06 pm

Hi Mike,

Looking at the pictures, I have a guess. That first remote's red button is not actually "The Red Button", but rather "My Videos". Yes, they colored it red, but the icon on the button suggests it is the Videos button, as you can see the same icon on the 2nd remote.

Based on this, I would say that your 1st remote does not have the 4 colored buttons, sorry.

One option would be to configure the Recorded TV button to do the close action (it's the grey button on the left, just below the yellow button), or the Record button (the red circle). That should get it working for you.

To fix your other remote you would have to pick up an RC6 compatible receiver, as you mentioned. There are many options here, some external USB devices and some internal solutions too.

As far as remotes go, I would recommend sticking with RC6 compatible MCE remotes. This includes Logitech programmable remotes. These are what I use around here, so they get the most development and testing. Additionally, CMC v5 has new capabilities for configuring remotes, but we recently discovered that the new capabilities only worked with RC6 compatible remotes, so I don't think it will work with your 1st remote.

I used to think that all MCE remotes were RC6 compatible, but it's only been in the past few weeks that I've truly realized that this is not true. Your first remote is a good example of this: while it is essentially an MCE remote, it is not RC6 compatible. This is probably because it has that really nice trackpad and mouse buttons - sweet but definitely not RC6.

Hope that helps,
Paul
President, Chameleon Consulting LLC
Author, Chameleon MediaCenter

MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:38 pm

Paul
Thanks for the amazing response time on these posts. I am close to having everything working again with CMC.
You are correct that the MCE remote I have doesn't seem to be able to do the button remapping, and is probably not an RC6
compatible remote. When I program the startup button to the green start key, it only displays the properties of the CMC
shortcut and doesn't launch CMC. When I program the recorded tv button as you suggested it just jumps to the TV episodes
section of my library and doesn't stop the active program.
I have ordered an RC6 compatible receiver and hopefully it will work with my other MCE remote that is missing its receiver.
Thanks again for the awesome support.
Mike

User avatar
Pauven
Posts: 2777
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:28 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Contact:

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by Pauven » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:34 am

What version of Windows are you using?
President, Chameleon Consulting LLC
Author, Chameleon MediaCenter

MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:32 am

Paul
Microsoft 10 Pro
Version 20H2
OS Build 19042.1415
Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0 (whatever the hell this is!)
Mike

User avatar
Pauven
Posts: 2777
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:28 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Contact:

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by Pauven » Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:33 pm

That's surprising - I was expecting you to say Win7.

There is a known limitation on Win7/8.x with WMC, as you cannot reprogram the MCE specific media buttons, Microsoft blocks this. On Win10 without MCE, these buttons may be reprogrammed.

The experience you are describing sounds like the limitations on Win7/8.x, so I am surprised you encountering these issues on Win10.

Just to make sure, did you:

1) Run CMC with Admin Rights (needed to update the Registry)
2) Click the button to Update the Registry
3) Reboot

Also, have you installed WMC on Win10, or do you run any other remote control configuration software like Ghostly or AdvancedMCERemoteMapper? I've wondered if installing WMC on Win10 would reintroduce those Win7/8 limitations. And if you are using other tools to configure or manage your remotes, they would likely compete with CMC's config.
President, Chameleon Consulting LLC
Author, Chameleon MediaCenter

MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:05 pm

I haven't tried to install WMC on Windows 10 and don't know if that is even possible. Haven't installed the other two apps either.
I have updated the registry in CMC for mapping the MCE remote buttons and done the proper steps to get it to stick. CMC then reports that the registry matches and an update is not needed.
The current MCE remote I am using (not the RC6 one) installs drivers in several device categories (Human Interface devices, Keyboards, Mice and other pointing devices, and Universal Serial Bus controllers), however it never installs the Microsoft eHome USB driver anywhere, just generic USB drivers.
The current MCE remote works fine with all the buttons in CMC and PowerDVD, but just doesn't do the mapping. You felt that this was because the remote and receiver weren't RC6 but I haven't received the RC6 receiver I ordered on eBay yet so can't provide testing data on that.
There is another 'quirk' using the current MCE remote. It does the chapter skip forward and back in PowerDVD, but doesn't perform the fast forward and rewind commands. These two buttons don't work in Microsoft Media player either, but they do work in Kodi. Not sure what is going on there, but that's a problem to deal with later on.
Thanks
Mike

MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:44 pm

Another idea.
Can you send me the info on what registry entries are being edited when the MCE button mapping is done? Also, what these registry entries look like when 'none' is selected vs when 'recorded tv' is selected?
Would only need info for the Button to close programs.
I could then see what is happening, if anything, in my registry.
Thanks
Mike

User avatar
Pauven
Posts: 2777
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:28 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Contact:

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by Pauven » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:12 pm

MikeA wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:05 pm The current MCE remote I am using (not the RC6 one) installs drivers in several device categories (Human Interface devices, Keyboards, Mice and other pointing devices, and Universal Serial Bus controllers), however it never installs the Microsoft eHome USB driver anywhere, just generic USB drivers.
To me, this sounds like the reason CMC can't reconfigure this remote. RC6 remotes are integrated into Windows, and CMC updates that configuration. Your non-RC6 remote likely uses completely separate configuration data, so CMC can't reconfigure it.

MikeA wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:44 pm Can you send me the info on what registry entries are being edited when the MCE button mapping is done? Also, what these registry entries look like when 'none' is selected vs when 'recorded tv' is selected
I can do better than that.

In CMC, enable Debug Logging and Save. Then close and re-open CMC. You can then turn Debug Logging back off, and exit CMC.

Then go to the Logs folder. There you will find several debug log files that were created when you launched CMC with Debug Logging enabled. The one you are interested in is the DebugLog_MCERegCheck.txt file. It shows the registry key, the value, and even shows what those values mean.

But fair warning, the Registry data is not easy like you might be hoping. It's a long string of binary data that configures a predefined list of buttons with specific actions per button. It also probably doesn't have anything to do with your non-RC6 remote.

I can't take credit for engineering this solution - I programmed this based upon the public source code for the AdvancedMCERemoteMapper tool, though I did add my own enhancements to it. If you like this approach but want even more capability, you can try that tool which is fully configurable, whereas CMC only lets you configure a few buttons in predefined ways. But I doubt it will work for your non-RC6 remote.

You also may want to take a look at Event Ghost, which has support for dozens and dozens of different remotes, far beyond just RC6. It might just support your remote, and let you reconfigure it to do what you want. It's a lot more fully featured than CMC and event AdvancedMCERemoteMapper, but it's also a lot more work to setup.
President, Chameleon Consulting LLC
Author, Chameleon MediaCenter

MikeA
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:55 pm

Re: MCE remote not working to close programs

Post by MikeA » Tue Jun 28, 2022 4:44 pm

Paul
Having problems again with mapping MCE remote buttons. Neither of the mappings sticks after restarting CMC in Administrator mode. The hot key to start CMC (ctrl-alt-8) does work.
I had this working fine with my RC6 remote (the one with the large green button with the multi-color windows logo) and a compatible receiver I purchased.
'However, it has stopped working 2-3 months ago and I can't figure out what is going wrong. The only difference from the info I provided earlier is that my computer reports it is now using Windows 10 version 19042.1526, and not the version 19042.1415 that it reported earlier. I thought I had turned off autoupdating in Windows, since no new OS updates have been installed in my computer recently, but 19042-1526 did slip through. 19042.1412 was released on December 14, 2021, and 19042.1526 was released on February 8, 2022. The most current version of Windows 10 is now apparently 19042.1767, released June 20, 2022.
Is there a known problem with 19042-1526 or later versions with respect to button mapping?
Any other ideas?
Thanks
Mike

Post Reply