Not sure if anything like this is possible would it be possible to add support for third party remote? I admit I'm a TiVo convert and really miss the functionality of the TiVo remote was just thinking it would be great if that could somehow be added to Channels. I believe their is a Bluetooth version of TiVo remote although there multiple others including some with their own USB dongle. Thoughts?
What device are you trying to use the remote with?
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FireTV which has Bluetooth support although I would consider Android TV box if third party remote could be added. Beyond the device supporting the remote, I would think channels would need to have some way to map or configure buttons. I realize it may not be plug and play but it would make the DVR experience better for end user. Thanks for considering it.
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Many third party remotes already work with FireTV and Android TV, and Android TV will recognize many of the buttons and map them to standard Android key codes which the app understands.
Harmony Companion reportedly supports Fire TV. Can Channels DVR app be configured or is option in Channels app to map the buttons so that pushing the "Guide" button on remote brings up the EPG, DVR opens DVR, 30 sec skip, etc? I don't mind programming the remote if there is an option to configure Channels app so that it will work. Does Channels app support keyboard commands which could be mapped to a remote?
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The skip buttons should work already. Here are the current mappings available:
PGUP: channel up
PGDOWN: channel down
[: seek to last commercial marker
]: seek to next commercial marker
BACKSPACE: jump to last channel
SPACE: pause/resume
Clicking Guide in the player should bring up the in-player guide. Clicking numbers on the Guide tab should navigate to an entry in the guide.
Thank you. I will probably get a Harmony remote and let everyone know how it works out with Channels. Sort of doubt you'd know the answer but figured I'd ask. Tivo sells a remote with a USB Bluetooth dongle. Is there anyway that could be configured or buttons to be remapped in a Channels DVR config file to work?
Not sure how those work, but I'm guessing it might be recognized by Android OS. You can try google to see if anyone has tried using it with an Android TV device.
I have the TiVo Bluetooth remote ("VOX" and "Pro Slide") and can confirm that while it will pair via Bluetooth to an Android TV device (NVIDIA Shield and TiVo Stream 4K), certain (essential) keys are not mapped to standard Android Keycodes and therefore the remote is not sufficiently functional over Bluetooth.
Directional buttons work, OK, Channel Up & Down, Play/Pause/FF/Rew, Back, Guide: they all work, and Channels (naturally) functions well given those standard keycode commands.
However, the main issue is that the "TiVo" button doesn't send a standard HOME key code, and therefore there's no way to get to the Android TV home screen. That's the unfortunate deal-killer. Other helpful keys such as "Live TV" are also using proprietary keycode commands and thus don't get interpreted by Android TV, though that is less critical. Additionally, an like Button Mapper doesn't work to "map" these keys because they are not recognized by the OS.
I checked with the Button Mapper developer, who said the following:
some buttons simply don't register with the Accessibility service. They are basically hard-coded and bypass the Android/Linux input subsystem.
My solution was to use a FLIRC IR dongle and the TiVo remote in IR mode (not Bluetooth/RF). While not quite as responsive or convenient as Bluetooth, it enables you to program the FLIRC to receive any IR signal and map it to a command. Through this method I was able to program the TiVo button to act as the Home button, Live TV, remap the Netflix button to DVR, etc.
The Channels Button intercepter handles these commands on the OS level so it's a pretty seamless experience.
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This would be a huge sell at home - the old tivo remote working with Apple TV and Channels DVR. https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2020/01/16/how-to-control-your-apple-tv-with-a-tivo-remote/
Update! (3/19/21) Purchased a Tivo remote off amazon. Configured it to work with my TV (Samsung) for volume / power. Then configured it to work with my Apple TV for the other buttons supported by the learn function under the settings menu. This is a huge crowd pleaser in my home from die-hard Tivo lovers. Don't waste your time/money with other remotes, get the https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYYKA04 for $35 and you will be very happy with your set up.
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I do the same! After 20 years of TiVo, old habits die hard. I still love the ergonomics of this TiVo "peanut" remote. That it works as well with Channels as it does, is a great thing indeed.
Thats awesome- I was a tivo user for nearly 20 years until I finally moved to channels dvr almost a year ago. I still get annoyed with the apple 4k remote, I sometimes switch back to the spectrum apple tv remote I bought for $12. The biggest issue is when my parents come over, they get confused on how to watch live tv (they still have tivo at home).
Can you program the Guide and Tivo (recordings) button for channels? I thought in a test version of channel you could with the spectrum apple remote.
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They do make an android tv peanut in large form factor with google assistant , and android home key vs. tivo button at the top. Not too much is different. I bought a lot of 12 of them, from a liquidator because they are backlit and made by URC just like the original tivo remotes including the slide, oe peanut, vox, and lux remotes. It was a poor mans lux remote with dimmer leds, and android vs tivo. It pairs via BT, but i do not believe it has an IR mode, I had to send them back for this reason. And I loved them btw, because the shield would loose the pairing after about 10 minutes. Its hard coded in the remote to pair with the streaming boxes from the cable company that they were prepared for. After a deep dive, i realized that the firmware was programmed by the cable company and could not be altered without a deployment tool supplied by URC for customization. Basically the remote required a pair button on the box and while it is BT LE , it would not stick to a pairing on either shield, zidoo, or other box. I tried at least 2, including a tivo roamio with dongle. It wont even talk to the dongle. Again a URC tivo remote, but cannot be open paired to other devices. They went back , and i ate the shipping but I offloaded 12-14 of them. I have some flircs laying around, and may give that a try , I have both an appletv 4k< so will have to use the learn function in IR mode as for android tv, shield 2019 and tivo stream devices, I get out the flirc adapters i have and see what I can do there. I too have tried button remapper pro and reports similar results. For now I have a harmony Elite that can work in both apple tv and Shield with Microsoft computer mapped into the activity and can hit all the required shortcuts such as:
i = info
r = record
c = closed captioning
p = pip window
page up = channel up
page down channel down
] comm skip fwd
There might be a few more I am forgetting.
F2, F3, F4, F1 for colored buttons Red, Green , Yellow, Blue
I too am migrating for sure from Tivo, and would like to utilize by lux remote (3) of them, Vox Remotes (3-4), I also have the Tivo BT adapters for the Vox, Lux, so I will test with those a bit as well to see if any of the commands are made available through that. I can live without the tivo remote, but I don't want to.
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So I paired my old Tivo Slide remote and it works great, except it won't play a show from Recordings if you hit play on a highlighted recording. You have to hit select/OK, then the Watch button. So something's wonky between what the ATV maps to the Tivo play and pause buttons and the single play/pause button on the ATV remote.
Playback works fine after that, you just can't play a show directly from Recordings without an extra button press.