HOW TO Pairing bluetooth keyboard to appletv with Harmony for keyboard shortcuts

[damcclu]

With recent updates the app supports keyboard keys as shortcuts
Like P for picture in picture
and F keys 1-4
I have asked the devs to provide more key letter shortcuts since the whole keyboard is available now.

To pair a keyboard to your Appletv as far as i know this can only be done with a Harmony Hub style remote like the Elite because of the bluetooth function the hub provides.

This is how I did it a few months ago, I might have forgot a part or two but this mostly covers it.
From the harmony desktop app, add a device and select "Add computer"

Select Windows Computer

Once added i renamed the device to atvkeyboard to better keep track of it.

Next add this device to your appletv activity

Now customize your buttons
you can see i assigned the F keys to the color keys to match the channelsapp settings

Also one for PIP letter P for the LCD area.

This next part im a little rusty on how i did it but you need to pair the "windows device keyboard" using the harmony app on your iphone.
I think this covers it.
https://support.myharmony.com/en-gt/harmony-experience-with-windows

Once paired to appletv you will have 100+ keys at your disposal. assuming the channelsapp take more advantage of those keys.

[Charlyc]

Interesting I will have to try this.

[_Mike]

I thought I followed these steps correctly, but when I hit a button that I mapped on my Harmony Elite, it gives me this message:

You have to use the Harmony app to pair this device

Any ideas what I screwed up?

[Rice]

It’s been years since I set this up for a shield but from what I recall you have to use the harmony phone app to initiate the Bluetooth pairing of the hub and atv. The software on a pc can’t initiate the pair. It has to be the phone app.

[tree2369]

Anyone got the key press for the ‘TV’ button?

When I use auto pip I can’t then go into the pip menu to exit the video or enlarge.

I know P enlarges but if I want to cancel and I have auto pip on I can’t see a way to exit?

May be an Apple TV limitation.

Thanks

EDIT:
Found an inconvenient work around for now.

If anyone else wants to know

• Grab an IR remote not used in that room(I grabbed my lg remote from another room)
• Use the ‘Learn Remote’ feature of Apple TV to learn the TV button as something on the remote
• create a generic TV remote in harmony app and learn the same button as one of the commands
• add the generic tv remote to your Apple TV activity and use that command as the button you’d like to assign to the TV button