[drh]

Ok, so I'm hoping we can get this working with Plex, so I can sit it on our Coffee table and swipe through the Plex screens.
I'm thinking/hoping it should be possible to program in some special gestures to bring up the "C" context menu etc :-)

[fhb]

Don't think so.. Plex doesn't need a mouse and the Trackpad is a mouse replacement. May make sense for people who don't want or can't use a real mouse, but for Plex an apple remote / Harmony is imho more reasonable.

[mitah]

You could always use "Better Touch Tool" or somethign similar to program gestures to keyboard shortcuts and navigate PLEX that way... bit I think scrolling could be a little tricky

[subtledoctor]

Actually, let's be honest, Harmonys and other remote solutions (esp. most of the iphone software remotes) are pretty clunky. In principle, this would make a great remote. So simple-looking, and takes regular batteries, etc. Click for enter/play/pause, two-finger click for menu, swipe left and right for skip back and skip forward, swipe up and down for volume up and down, two-finger swipe for scrolling through menus (with momentum scrolling!)... with the right setup it could really make an elegant and intuitive remote control, that would look a lot cooler on your coffee table than a Harmony or the like.

I suppose it would be difficult, because Plex is set up for use with keyboards, not mice, and I suspect that implementing good support for this would take some semi-serious under-the-hood changes.

But devs, you might want to think about it... it could be amazing, and any support you bake in would automatically work for everybody using Plex on laptops, as well.

[bigbearf]

I use Air Mouse and iPad with Plex on a Mac Mini via Wireless and it works great. Hope this helps.
bigbearf

[hrcolb0]

Most of the iphone remotes use gesture based control already. Why not spend the money on a used ipod touch, get the same functionality, and then some?

[rurocking]

hrcolb0, on 28 July 2010 - 01:53 AM, said:

Most of the iphone remotes use gesture based control already. Why not spend the money on a used ipod touch, get the same functionality, and then some?

I agree. I many ways the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad are a better choice because of their flexibility and usefulness.

[bennyBoy]

I'd rather use this trackpad than an ipad/ipod.
It's larger, better look, and no need of wifi.

In my opinion it would be perfect for plex.

[drh]

I don't agree with those people that are suggesting I buy an iPod Touch instead of this (its only $69 for a start). I already use an iPhone and I have tried virtually all the various App Store offerings for Plex and the only one that passes WAF and indeed the only one I like to use is the free & simple XBMControl.

I will continue to use that but I do like the idea of just having one of these track pads on my coffee table so instead of having to find my iPhone and launch and App, I could just swipe left, right and tap to play, at the end of the day those are the only basic commands you mainly use in Plex. Being able to pull up the Context menu with another gesture would be a bonus.

I have one of the new Aluminium Apple Remotes, but my Mac Mini is hidden away, so no line of sight Infrared. I haven't had chance to play with one of these trackpads yet, so if its not possible to remap gestures to keyboard commands with the out-of-the-box software update from Apple, I'm sure it won't be long before someone makes a 3rd party tool, so I'm going to pick up a couple of these when I fly out to the USA in August. Apple has got their £/$ conversions a bit screwy at the moment, the UK price is way OTT at £59 compared to the US price of $69!?!??!?!

[adriandb]

subtledoctor, on 27 July 2010 - 10:09 PM, said:

Actually, let's be honest, Harmonys and other remote solutions (esp. most of the iphone software remotes) are pretty clunky.

Clunky? The Harmony One set up I have is quite elegant actually. I control 7 or 8 devices with one remote while using single button clicks to trigger several commands to switch inputs, set audio settings, turn on/off devices, etc.

Having said that, using a large touch pad for control of Plex could be interesting. I've used Plexures on my iPhone and been really happy with it. I've never been a fan of LCD based remotes because there's no tactile feedback on the buttons. Making the control gesture based solves this issue because the user is more sure in what they've done when it's a gesture rather than trying to hit a button with your thumb that you can't even see once your thumb descends towards it and that you can't tell you've pushed because there's nothing there to feel.

[funkahdafi]

drh, on 27 July 2010 - 04:59 PM, said:

Ok, so I'm hoping we can get this working with Plex, so I can sit it on our Coffee table and swipe through the Plex screens.
I'm thinking/hoping it should be possible to program in some special gestures to bring up the "C" context menu etc :-)

I like the idea. Bring it on.

[subtledoctor]

Very good points by all. (And adrianb, I'll grant you that some Harmony remotes are clunkier than others... I've only used the cheaper and uglier ones.)

But I was thinking about this, and I realized it raises the broader issue not just of trackpad support, but mouse support. Think about it: whenever you start Plex, your mouse becomes a useless piece of plastic hanging off your computer. This is naturally because Plex has no pointer, and we all just accept it. But why shouldn't Plex still use the mouse? Not the tracking functions, but all mice these days have scroll wheels or some equivalent, which are great for scrolling through long menu lists of our media; and most have multiple buttons that could be assigned to functions like select, menu, c, etc.

Then, if Plex had basic mouse support, then more specific trackpad support with multitouch gestures etc. would be natural (and hopefully easy) to implement.

I would go so far as to say this thread should count as a feature request, and go in that forum, in hopes that the Devs would notice it and agree.

[drh]

Don't forget you can turn on mouse support in plex settings, but i don't want to go down that route anyway, I'm really only interested in mapping the trackpad gestures to the current keyboard actions, I think that will surfice and it should keep everything outside of plex and under the OSX hood.

[mattnad]

For home theater applications, a full featured remote seems like the best solution. A trackpad solution may work for Plex alone, but it can't control the monitor/tv or the receiver so you're still looking at other remotes sitting around. The Harmony product range is broad and some are less clunky than others. I'm a fan of the older 550 which is small, well laid out, and cheap, really dislike the 890 (but have it for the RF capability for hidden electronics) and might someday upgrade to the One (but not today).

[Tom Wynne]

+1 for the use of the new Trackpad with Plex. I've tried all of the solutions above (bluetooth keyboard, iphone, touch, and harmony remote). The Harmony has been the most usable solution so far, but in my experience isn't all that responsive with Plex (maybe it's the Harmony models I own). The simplicity of the Trackpad would be great with Plex. I actually bought a 2nd one for this intent and was disappointed to find it doesn't work *at all*.

Anyway, here's hoping!

[funkahdafi]

drh, on 29 July 2010 - 09:42 PM, said:

Don't forget you can turn on mouse support in plex settings, but i don't want to go down that route anyway, I'm really only interested in mapping the trackpad gestures to the current keyboard actions, I think that will surfice and it should keep everything outside of plex and under the OSX hood.

If you have an iPad or iPhone, I suggest checking out Rowmote. It's a little remote control app that has a touchpad surface and maps gestures to standard remote control clicks. Works perfectly in Plex.

[Tom Wynne]

funkahdafi, on 03 August 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:

If you have an iPad or iPhone, I suggest checking out Rowmote. It's a little remote control app that has a touchpad surface and maps gestures to standard remote control clicks. Works perfectly in Plex.

Just had a look at this (and bought it) but I don't see any way to 'map' gestures, certainly not in a way that works with Plex. The remote buttons work fine, but I really want to just be able to flick through lists etc. Is that possible?

[funkahdafi]

Tom Wynne, on 03 August 2010 - 05:43 PM, said:

Just had a look at this (and bought it) but I don't see any way to 'map' gestures, certainly not in a way that works with Plex. The remote buttons work fine, but I really want to just be able to flick through lists etc. Is that possible?

Actually, and I am sorry if I misled you, I am not sure whether it is in the iPhone version. It is in the iPad version. And the gestures are pre-mapped. Swiping left is like pressing left cursor key (or left on the remote). Right swiping = right, etc.

....I just checked.... the trackpad feature is also available on the iPhone, but you need Rowmote Pro (the more expensive version).

Sorry for the mess.

Nevertheless - it works perfectly on the iPad.

[Tom Wynne]

funkahdafi, on 03 August 2010 - 06:11 PM, said:

Actually, and I am sorry if I misled you, I am not sure whether it is in the iPhone version. It is in the iPad version. And the gestures are pre-mapped. Swiping left is like pressing left cursor key (or left on the remote). Right swiping = right, etc.

....I just checked.... the trackpad feature is also available on the iPhone, but you need Rowmote Pro (the more expensive version).

Sorry for the mess.

Nevertheless - it works perfectly on the iPad.

You're right - the iPad version is much closer to what I want (although the iPad makes for a rather large 'remote'!) Bizarrely there doesn't seem to be any feature parity between iPad/iPhone versions at all. The gestures don't work at all the same from the iPhone. Maybe this is coming. I'll drop them an email...

[funkahdafi]

Tom Wynne, on 03 August 2010 - 06:26 PM, said:

You're right - the iPad version is much closer to what I want (although the iPad makes for a rather large 'remote'!) Bizarrely there doesn't seem to be any feature parity between iPad/iPhone versions at all. The gestures don't work at all the same from the iPhone. Maybe this is coming. I'll drop them an email...

I just wondered the same thing after reading the iPhone version description. The iPhone pro version seems to be closer to the iPad version, but then again, there is a pro version for the iPad as well.