Develop Bugs

Best 3rd Party Bluetooth Controller?

Have a Shield Tablet and i have ordered the official Nvidia wireless controller from Amazon but they are taking forever to send it (currently doesnt even have a shipping estimate and i pre-ordered it). Im considering getting an affordable bluetooth controller for the time being (and using it as a secondary controller later).
The issue is all of the controllers ive come across have very mixed reviews. I dont need anything fancy just something thats functional and reliable. Id like it to offer analog sticks and all the required buttons.
So whats the best brand/model 3rd party controller thats 100% functional on the shield tablet?
Thanks

I'm gonna try the Moga Pro, kinda expensive but I shouldn't have to buy the Nvidia one if I have it.

The one for the Amazon Kindle Fire TV works quite well.

Moga pro looks awasome
LG-D855 cihazımdan Tapatalk kullanılarak gönderildi

Moga Pro. Had the first Moga Pro and updated to the Moga Power Pro when that came out too.

how do you map your 3rd party controller's buttons? I have the Asus controller that I ordered with my Nexus Player. It seems to work great, I just need to map the power button on the controller as being the start button.

I own a couple of the Nvidia Shield controllers, and they're great and all. Particularly as they were made for the console, they work pretty well. But after taking a look into the Power A Moga Pro, have decided to order a couple of them. Despite their steep price, they seem to be well worth it. Especially as I can also use the MP with a phone.

Certain members of my family, namely my luddite partner, have found the official shield remote complicated to use. For our second Shield this time I ordered the Amazon Kindle Fire Voice TV Remote, as it has all of the buttons on the official Shield remote, but the addition of a pause, fast forward, rewind, and menu buttons. It also has properly labelled Android buttons for home and back. I have hoped this will encourage her to use Kodi etc. more.
We have been using it for two or three days now and my first impressions are these; this is much cheaper than the official remote, it is a very nice bit of kit although being made of plastic is does not have the same premium feel as the official remote, and the buttons make noise when you click them which I personally find ever slightly cheapens the experience. That is not to say it feels cheap - it is of good build quality. Opting for this remote you also lose the functionality of a micro USB port to charge, and instead have to use batteries, starting with those included, and you will also lose the 3.5mm headphones jack port. The voice control does work but you need to hold the button down to speak rather pressing it just once - we have had some issues with voice not working, as in not responding at all to the audio of our voices, and Android apparently getting stuck on the screen where it listens. To resolve this we needed to cold reboot the shield. Sometimes it also takes a few button presses to get the Shield to start responding, but once it does it keeps working at least for that session. We have our shield behind the TV so I am not sure whether that may be a factor with the signal or not.
All of that said, I would still recommend this over the official remote and not just because of the difference in price. For the room this Shield is in we are less likely to need to use the headphones, and we always have the game controller for that.

I am retracting my recommendation for using the Amazon Fire TV Voice Remote with the Shield, it just has too many issues, half the time it does not work and a reboot is required, and often it takes several keypresses to get a response on screen, and often I cannot boot the shield using the remote, even pressing the different buttons repeatedly.
I started using the official remote again and it was a relief, it is overpriced, it lacks rewind, fast forward etc. buttons, but it just works all of the time.

I've got a Razer Serval, can't map the buttons, so it's pretty crap really

Promising voice remote with IR programmable buttons
BPR1 BPR1S Plus 2.4G
BPR1 / BPR1S / BPR1S Plus Air Mouse Remote Control | Boxput Official
Please Note : it Maybe can Not use well on Samsung and LG Smart Tv directly. Due to the special systems of Samsung and LG TVs, There will be compatibility issues.many remote controls cannot be perfectly compatible. if Samsung or LG Smart Tv connecte android tv box , you can use our remote...
boxput.com
sold on aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803606647035.html
looks like the only downside is weird "boxput" logo
I ordered and waiting to arrive to test...

how good is the ir emitter?

im waiting on my s4 mini, and I guess I should have asked this before I bought mine, but previously I bought an lg volt to test out the ir capabilities. it worked, but it kind of sucked as I had to point straight at the device in question. its not a deal breaker, but I was hoping that the s4 mini would be higher quality hardware, and that maybe the ir emitter works better in it? when using an apple remote, or tv remote, I can point almost anywhere, sometimes even the opposite direction, which was nice, as I didn't have to neccesarily point directly at the sensor.
again, not a deal breaker. just curious

unvaluablespace said:
im waiting on my s4 mini, and I guess I should have asked this before I bought mine, but previously I bought an lg volt to test out the ir capabilities. it worked, but it kind of sucked as I had to point straight at the device in question. its not a deal breaker, but I was hoping that the s4 mini would be higher quality hardware, and that maybe the ir emitter works better in it? when using an apple remote, or tv remote, I can point almost anywhere, sometimes even the opposite direction, which was nice, as I didn't have to neccesarily point directly at the sensor.
again, not a deal breaker. just curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The IR on the S4 Mini works quite fine in a 90 degree range (45 on both sides) and does work beyond that also. To work in the opposite direction, there has to be a reflective surface and the angle should be right

unvaluablespace said:
im waiting on my s4 mini, and I guess I should have asked this before I bought mine, but previously I bought an lg volt to test out the ir capabilities. it worked, but it kind of sucked as I had to point straight at the device in question. its not a deal breaker, but I was hoping that the s4 mini would be higher quality hardware, and that maybe the ir emitter works better in it? when using an apple remote, or tv remote, I can point almost anywhere, sometimes even the opposite direction, which was nice, as I didn't have to neccesarily point directly at the sensor.
again, not a deal breaker. just curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The IR blaster is unfortunately abit weak! I use it all the time for all my electronics at home, so it's of course usable. But you do need to point it pretty much straight on the receiver to get it to work.

osvanberg said:
The IR blaster is unfortunately abit weak! I use it all the time for all my electronics at home, so it's of course usable. But you do need to point it pretty much straight on the receiver to get it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine
Which app are you using for the IR ?

gladson1976 said:
Mine works fine
Which app are you using for the IR ?
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Click to collapse
Well mine workes fine as well, not just as powerful as I would like. Have tested many apps, there all the same in this regard. It's not the apps in this case, it's the HW. But I use "Smart IR Remote - Anymote" from Color Tiger! The app is a killer, the best!

osvanberg said:
Well mine workes fine as well, not just as powerful as I would like. Have tested many apps, there all the same in this regard. It's not the apps in this case, it's the HW. But I use "Smart IR Remote - Anymote" from Color Tiger! The app is a killer, the best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
both of your replies seem to indicate that its not perfect, but probably better than the lg volt. kind of a bummer, but not a big deal. my guess would be that these ir emitters on devices as small as these just aren't big enough to blast the ir as well as a remote with a bigger window. still, as long as it works reliably when pointing at the screen, very nice.
osvanberg, when I get my s4 mini, im going to give smart ir remote a shot, but have you heard of or tried unified remote? the design is a little bland/flat, but I believe you can customize your own buttons. it also has a wide range of remotes for Bluetooth and wifi, as well as ir. since I don't have a device with ir just yet, I cant confirm, but it looks like you can actually teach unified remote specific button commands via ir. personally, im going to use this to essentially emulate all of my tv remote's buttons, as most ir apps tend to just emulate basic button commands, and sometimes you need the full remote. if unified remote app works for me, then I wont need to pull out my remote for certain situations (enabling 3d mode, for example)

unvaluablespace said:
both of your replies seem to indicate that its not perfect, but probably better than the lg volt. kind of a bummer, but not a big deal. my guess would be that these ir emitters on devices as small as these just aren't big enough to blast the ir as well as a remote with a bigger window. still, as long as it works reliably when pointing at the screen, very nice.
osvanberg, when I get my s4 mini, im going to give smart ir remote a shot, but have you heard of or tried unified remote? the design is a little bland/flat, but I believe you can customize your own buttons. it also has a wide range of remotes for Bluetooth and wifi, as well as ir. since I don't have a device with ir just yet, I cant confirm, but it looks like you can actually teach unified remote specific button commands via ir. personally, im going to use this to essentially emulate all of my tv remote's buttons, as most ir apps tend to just emulate basic button commands, and sometimes you need the full remote. if unified remote app works for me, then I wont need to pull out my remote for certain situations (enabling 3d mode, for example)
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Click to collapse
Yeah I think you're correct in your estimation.
No I haven't tried the specific app you mentions. But all I can say is that Smart IR Remote is fantastic! I have 100% functionality of ALL my buttons for my : Samsung TV, LG Dvd, Sony Blu-ray, Mede8er Steamer and my YAMAHA receiver/amplifier.
You can customize each bottom separately if you need - add what you want and delete what you don't need. Change apperence, colors, feedback, etc. You can also easily create your own macro commands and therefore combine many actions (ex. All electronics ON/OFF) in the action for one button.
There's also both IR and WiFi remotes to add. Many hundreds of thousands in total. And if one command is missing? Just inform the dev, in my case they added the (one) missing button on my Mede8er Streamer in just 2 days. So now I have every single button/command available! ?

osvanberg said:
Well mine workes fine as well, not just as powerful as I would like. Have tested many apps, there all the same in this regard. It's not the apps in this case, it's the HW. But I use "Smart IR Remote - Anymote" from Color Tiger! The app is a killer, the best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the "Galaxy Universal Remote" which works just as well for me

[App idea] Use the IR LED as an IR Blaster

The Note 7 doesn't have an IR blaster... but it does have an IR LED that is used for the iris unlocking feature. I wonder if someone will be able to write an app that uses that as an IR blaster. Since it is front facing, it might be a challenge to use the screen and aim the blaster towards a device, but its better than nothing.

That would be great if possible

It would be pointless as you'd have to point the phone face forward (Back glass towards you, front display towards TV) to send a command to a TV, whereas when you point it faceforward, you can't see whats on the screen.

90° is also possible.

Would love this idea! I proposed it on a separate posting. I wear glasses, it's possible that my glasses can reflect the IR towards the TV/Device. =)

someone will hit a goldmine if they bring this idea to reality, I wouldn't mind checking the mirror to see if my fingers are hitting the correct buttons while my screen faces the TV

Actually, there would be no need for a mirror if one button was made per screen, so on and off button is big on the screen, swipe right to volume up and down, also you can use the hardware buttons like the volume up and down.

How about if you incorporated say a two second delay so that when you change a setting you then have time to point the IR at the tv etc. or keep sending the signal until you get the change you are after.

It's truly a crying freaking shame that we should even have to resort to this on a phone that is supposed to have "everything"! Samsung, in their infinite wisdom has apparently determined that an IR Blaster is no longer wanted or needed by the general public, but an iris scanner is so much more necessary and useful! (Peel remote app has 50M downloads on the Play Store... Go figure, Samsung).
I would LOVE if someone could figure out a way to utilize the iris scanner's IR light as an IR Blaster, even if the phone has to be held in a somewhat unorthodox manner to use it. At least then the iris scanner wouldn't be a complete loss for me, because I will NOT be using it for its intended purpose.
Kev

I'm using the Galaxy Note 3 to control my air-conditioner, TV, wall mounted Projector...... That wouldn't work after get this new released phone.

IR bounces off of walls so I think this would still work great without any awkward positioning as I used to use my IR blaster on the note 4 by bouncing it off of the ceiling almost 100 percent of the time. I'm definitely hopeful someone can figure this out!

mrmorgan123 said:
IR bounces off of walls so I think this would still work great without any awkward positioning as I used to use my IR blaster on the note 4 by bouncing it off of the ceiling almost 100 percent of the time. I'm definitely hopeful someone can figure this out!
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Click to collapse
I was writing that when I saw your post.

Note 7 IR
That would be awesome!, i rarely use the IR blaster in my phone but when i use it is because i really need it and that makes me really happy, so is a shame that is not present on the Note 7, and just an idea but since the IRIS scanner will send and receive a signal maybe just maybe if some smart guy get this to work as a IR remote, could it potentially also learn codes from a remote controller? Don't know if technically possible but i have to dream a little.

I think this would maybe be possible with a rooted app, but for some reason I doubt they will release any api changes to allow control of the IR LED

The other samsung phone had ir blaster and no one use them. They ended up gettog removed. I doybt samsung will bring it back. Also believe the iris led is different from the normal remote ir

Sorry guys, the iris/camera IR is a completely different type of IR laser. Doing this would be like turning the back flash into an IR laser. Its not happening.

I hate the fact that they removed the IR blaster from Samsung phones, but rather than trying to figure out a way to make the iris scanner work which I dont think is possible, you guys can make your own IR blaster, or just order one off eBay for $1.00 USD.
here is the item number for one to type into eBay.
262417705324

You wouldnt have to hold it in an akward position because IR works in almost any way you could be holding it. It just bounces off the walls or something. I dont know how it works, but i can turn on my TV even if i hold my HTC One M9 in the opposite dirrection.
But yeah, i think somebody could probably make that work.

i'd be down for an IR blaster to use in the 3.5mm port if they could make it smaller, like the "pressy" accessory that was on kickstarter a couple years ago. What they have currently is just too big, and from what the auction says, it looks like you have to use a specific app to get it to work. Does anyone know if using the app mentioned in the ebay listing is mandatory? Or if we can use any IR remote app?
only way to get sammy to put this back in future phones is to get a group to write them directly or to start a petitition. Petitions mostly don't do anything so in order to pique sammy's interest, it would have to be a large number of signatures... not sure how many people usually get with online petitions, but i wonder what number would be noticeable for sammy to at least think about it.

[1QUOTE=Pops_G;68018323]The Note 7 doesn't have an IR blaster... but it does have an IR LED that is used for the iris unlocking feature. I wonder if someone will be able to write an app that uses that as an IR blaster. Since it is front facing, it might be a challenge to use the screen and aim the blaster towards a device, but its better than nothing.[/QUOTE]
Does anyone know how the ir led is powered and or have scamatics im thinking its a simple on off circuit with no way of carrying anything usefull but i could be wrong im just guessing

Remote

I have a smart TV, a cable box & nVidia Shield (on it's way)... The cable box is a POS from the dark ages & doesn't register any channels on the Smart TV (LG WebOS 3.0).
Can I get a remote that will operate all three devices? I'm considering the Logitech Harmony, which would be ideal, coz I also want to install a hub... but details of the remote are sketchy... Also looking at the K400 keyboard as a remote...?
BTW, I tried operating the cable box using Peel in the past, but it refused to work...

I bought a re-furb "Logitech harmony ultimate hub" (no remote included, just works via phone app) back in november, to match up with my echo dot....Works perfectly! It controls my non-smart Samsung plasma TV, my smart Yamaha receiver, samsung Blu-ray player, Samsung cable box, and of course the sheild TV. I also have a very old k400, and that works very well with the shield as well.

I'm not sure exactly that the newest Harmony Remotes bring, sans being perhaps able to talk to ZigBee Lighting Devices. I'm not awre of any of the newer Remotes having either a Gyro, (Air Mouse), or a Mic (for Google Now etc...)
So as long as you only need a good IR Blaster I would suggest scouring Fleebay for a Harmony One, or to cover your basic Bluetooth (i.e. PlayStation 3 - Blu-ray Players), the Harmony One Plus.
Both of these should now be about half, to a third of the price of a newer Harmony remote, and are just as good... Or even better than the newer remotes in that these still have a full Numpad on them I think the Elite will only give you a soft Touch Numpad. Which may or may not be as simple to deal with.
In my experience with it I would prefer the hard Numpad. But that's just me.

[NO IR REMOTE FOR LG G6][SOLVED] Broadlink RM Mini 3

One of my few complaints with the LG G6 was the lacking IR blaster. I don't watch much TV, but my TV remote is missing and has been for years. I do use the Bluetooth sound bar a lot though and got used to having the convenience of having a IR Blaster. So with the the pending shipment of the Google Home I was researching home control capabilities and I came across this:
https://youtu.be/WHw9YRQNhRY
Bought it off AliExpress and it took about 3 weeks for shipping (I think you can get it off Amazon, also).
I was up and running within minutes and now have an IR blaster for the LG G6. Best of all it's WiFi based so it works from anywhere in the home (I can control sound volume from 2 rooms over) and I don't have to worry about awkward positions trying to get the phone to "see" the TV IR receiver. It supposedly has a lot more functionality, but I don't think I'll ever use it for anything more than a IR blaster.
I've read it can integrate with Google Home, but not having my Google Home I can not yet comment on that.
It was $15 and well worth it for just the IR blaster alone. Plus ALL my devices can use it (tablets, other phones, etc.).
Just figure I'd put this here for anyone else missing their IR blaster.
Keep in mind it does NOT have the devices pre-programmed so you'll need to "learn" each button function manually, but it's a one time set up thing and it took moments. I actually used my old phone to teach it the TV codes.
It does not come with a wall outlet plug, just the USB-A to the USB-Micro, so you'll need to acquire one somewhere else (I have a drawer full).
It's extremely simple device thus far.
Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

good find

I can verify this works with Google Home, although not natively. It requires IfTTT along with a spare Android phone to act as a server with the Tasker app, RM Plug in app, and Join app installed. But it actually works well.
Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

some help to you guys who want to find those IR Blasters for phones, try searching for 3.5mm headphone ir remote, they are cheap and aliexpress have some of it, is helpful since LG remove the native IR Blaster.

skyfox99 said:
I was up and running within minutes and now have an IR blaster for the LG G6. Best of all it's WiFi based so it works from anywhere in the home (I can control sound volume from 2 rooms over) and I don't have to worry about awkward positions trying to get the phone to "see" the TV IR receiver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's WiFi based, its not an IR blaster. An IR Blaster literally shoots infrared waves...
Also, you're missing the functionality of using your phone as a remote on all devices, you are limited to only controlling devices on your local network...

So you pulled up a thread that's over a year old to dispute it... And...
An IR blaster doesn't literally shoot anything. IR blasters are basically light bulbs, essentially, that emit light. Maybe you were meaning figuratively?
This device is an IR Transceiver. It literally emits Infrared light to control IR devices.
There is a model that is also a RF transceiver which I hadn't looked into in depth since I don't have any RF devices to control. Although with cheap RF modules out there for wall outlets, lights, etc. I have been considering looking into it further.
This IR Blaster merely receives the commands to transmit via WiFi communication. Sorry if there was confusion in the way I presented the information.
It's been over a year I've been using this IR Blaster and it's 98% up time is worth it alone just for the integration with my Google Home units. I rarely even have to use my phone now as it's all voice controlled. When I need to, the app is accessible but slower than just saying "Hey, Google."
Hope that helps clear up any confusion.
Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

The RM Mini is now supported by Google Home natively. It's still a little cumbersome, but far more simple to set up and NO longer requires a server running, and using multiple apps to make it work. It just requires you download the broadlink app (called "ihc"). Set up your device, learn your codes, create scene within the app, and then sign into the service via the Google Home services section. It will import all your scenes you've created.
Works flawlessly so far.
Best part is it's voice activated so I don't have to touch my phone to do anything, but can still use the app if needed.

Need ir remote link please
Hello sun_is_shinning. Just curious if you might have a link to the audio Jack ir blaster. I love my LG G5 since it has the built-in ir blaster. I dont mind trying the wifi remote blaster, but find the built-in ir blaster too convenient to lose

mastercoin said:
Hello sun_is_shinning. Just curious if you might have a link to the audio Jack ir blaster. I love my LG G5 since it has the built-in ir blaster. I dont mind trying the wifi remote blaster, but find the built-in ir blaster too convenient to lose
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to mention i find this IR Blasters but never try one or another, i make one for myself with a LED from a remote and soldering to one 3,5 headphone jack i have around, it did work fine with anyremote but you need to be under 20 centimeters to make it work because headphone jack power is low and cant make it work with more range from the device you are controling.
here they are:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-5...lgo_pvid=b81aae45-2dc2-43aa-90eb-70e0cc6893da
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Min...lgo_pvid=b81aae45-2dc2-43aa-90eb-70e0cc6893da
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Uni...lgo_pvid=b81aae45-2dc2-43aa-90eb-70e0cc6893da
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For...lgo_pvid=b81aae45-2dc2-43aa-90eb-70e0cc6893da

@Sun_is_shining. Thank you for replying. I purchased 2 LG G5 phones. I have found the built in IR transmitters good enough to use for many TV’s. With the Quic Remote Android app, I have experienced many happy memories secretly controlling many hospital, auto dealership, & other waiting rooms broadcasting boring tv shows, moronic commericals
If I need to try the above, posted links I will reply much sooner than this reply.
Happy holidays