Apple Remote Control Issues

[wakerider017]

Hey guys,

I am having some issues with my Apple Remote Control.

I have EyeTV, and if I try to use the remote to pause the TV it will launch iTunes and start playing a track (and also pause the TV). If I use the remote to fast forward a recorded program it will skip to the next track in iTunes.

It is also not working properly with the app Awaken.

It seems to want to control iTunes, even when it is not the application in focus.

This just started happening a few weeks ago and I am not sure why??

 

[rwilliams]

The Apple discussion boards (discussions.apple.com) are full of people complaining about this issue, and rightfully so. Some even think that this is not a Snow Leopard bug, but an intentional "feature" on Apple's part (which would be infinitely stupid). One workaround that I've found is to open Quicktime X (but don't open a movie). If Quicktime X is open, the remote will control other applications such as EyeTV, VLC, Plex, etc. without opening iTunes.

 

[wakerider017]

The Apple discussion boards (discussions.apple.com) are full of people complaining about this issue, and rightfully so. Some even think that this is not a Snow Leopard bug, but an intentional "feature" on Apple's part (which would be infinitely stupid). One workaround that I've found is to open Quicktime X (but don't open a movie). If Quicktime X is open, the remote will control other applications such as EyeTV, VLC, Plex, etc. without opening iTunes.

Thanks! this seems to work, but only if the itunes app is closed. (Awaken runs off iTunes, so for now this app is useless).

A big inconvenience, but I guess it will have to do for now.

 

[occamsrazor]

Yeah it is really annoying, it broke all my Plex remote functionality. How do they manage to do this? Does no-one actually test this stuff? I'll try the Quicktime X trick later - thanks.

 

[Mal]

I leave iTunes open and on the iTunes Music Store (could also just create an empty playlist, should work just as well). That way, while iTunes gets the signal as well, it doesn't do anything.

Another option, since I use Plex and I usually don't want to get up and go across the room to do that, plus I forget and then want to avoid the problem without having to relaunch Plex, is to use the iTunes Remote app on my iPod touch to just turn the volume all the way down. It only affects iTunes' volume that way, so it can play all it wants in the background, but I can't hear it. Seems to work well for me so far.

jW

 

[devburke]

The Apple discussion boards (discussions.apple.com) are full of people complaining about this issue, and rightfully so. Some even think that this is not a Snow Leopard bug, but an intentional "feature" on Apple's part (which would be infinitely stupid). One workaround that I've found is to open Quicktime X (but don't open a movie). If Quicktime X is open, the remote will control other applications such as EyeTV, VLC, Plex, etc. without opening iTunes.

Awesome, I’m glad to have a workaround! I don’t have my Apple Remote with me right now, but can you tell me if it also prevents the Menu button from opening Front Row? I want to use it with Hulu Desktop, and then Menu button gets used a lot, so if it doesn’t prevent this, then the workaround isn’t enough for me 🙁

Thanks! this seems to work, but only if the itunes app is closed. (Awaken runs off iTunes, so for now this app is useless).

A big inconvenience, but I guess it will have to do for now.

May I suggest this? It’s a great alarm clock, lightweight and versatile, plus even though it runs off of iTunes, it doesn’t require iTunes to actually open. I use it all the time. You can even use the Apple Remote to sleep it (and now with the QTX workaround, I won’t need to sleep it and then use it AGAIN to pause iTunes!)