"Netflix in Windows Media Center" remote control problem

Question

Installation of the plug-in worked perfectly on my Dell XPS M1530 with Windows Vista Ultimate.  But I've run into an issue with some (important) buttons on the remote control not working during movie playback.  In fact, every button that should function does indeed work with these these notable exceptions:

• Play
• Pause

The strange thing is that even he fast forward/reverse buttons work.  However once Netflix goes into skip ahead/back mode, the only way to return to the movie is to press stop and Restart with the Select/OK button.  Well, other than walking across the room and using the mouse/keyboard on the laptop.

Anybody else notice this limitation?  Any known workarounds?

Oh, and just in case it comes up... I know the remote works.  I use the same remote with Windows Media Player, and the Play button does double duty:  it acts as a Play/Pause toggle.  That sort of makes me think there could be other IR codes for discrete Play & Pause, but so far I haven't stumbled upon any useful information in that regard.  I'm using a Harmony 880... so I have some flexibility if someone has some insight or can point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Well perhaps someone noticed this issue independent of this thread... I setup Windows 7 Home Premium on this laptop over the weekend, and for giggles I installed the current NetFlix plug-in.  To my delight, this issue has been addressed.

I know that there was a Vista Media Center (and maybe a Sliverlight) change pushed through Windows Update recently as well... but I didn't get around to trying it before I pulled the trigger on the upgrade.  So the issue might be fixed on Vista as well now.

Thanks Microsoft!!

Answer 2

Hi all,

My forward button was also not working in media center and the steps suggested in the articles given by the

Microsoft engg. did the trick for me.

Try giving one more shot!!!

Thanks

Answer 3

I'm really surprised that no-one else is chiming in here as popular as Netflix streaming is.  I already own an XBOX 360 for my main television; the purpose of this exercise is to allow occasional use on a bedroom TV (not going to buy a separate Roku or XBOX just for this!).

In my free time, I think I've gained some insight on why the problem is occurring, but unfortunately I still don't see any way to workaround the problem from an end-user standpoint.

I believe the fundamental problem here is that the Silverlight player as implemented in this plug-in does not respond to any keyboard shortcuts for Play/Pause.  When you go into a browser and watch a movie, the player responds to the Spacebar as a Play/Pause toggle.  However, try the same thing out in VMC + this plug-in, and nothing happens.  The documented VMC keyboard shortcuts (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/productdoc/rmtview/htm/keyboardshortcutsinwindowsremoteview.mspx?mfr=true) for Play (Ctrl+Shift+P) and Pause (Ctrl+P) also do nothing.

The XPS M1530 seems to implement the remote control as a keyboard emulator -- that way no special drivers are needed.  But since Netflix will only respond to a mouse click on the Play/Pause button, it seriously limits what can be done via remote control.

So IMHO, the only way to make this work in VMC is a patch to this plug-in.

Answer 4

Hi Gulrez,

Thanks for the reply.  This has never worked for me with the "Netflix in Windows Media Center" plug-in.

As I mentioned above, I know that the remote control is sending commands.  The Play & Pause buttons work as expected with other media in VMC.  Windows Media Player (outside of VMC) on the same laptop responds to the Play button on the remote as a Play/Pause toggle.  To elaborate, one press of the Play button starts playback, another press pauses, and a third resumes playback.

Also, I'm pretty ____ about drivers and updates... I've exhausted all of the obvious avenues there.  I've called both Dell and Netflix support.  Dell wasn't all that helpful; Netflix ran me through some troubleshooting steps, but once they saw that playback could start, they said the issue needed to be handled by Microsoft Support.  Thus the reason for my post here.

The laptop (XPS M1530) ships with a small remote control (see picture ), and that remote behaves the exact same way.  So this doesn't seem to be a Harmony remote problem per se... unless it has to do with the specific IR codes that are being sent.  But VMC seems to be black box in that regard, I haven't found any info about different codes for the Play/Pause buttons.

So let me ask my question another way:  has anybody seen Play/Pause work in this plug-in with a remote control?

Answer 5

Hi Blackbird714,

Let us know if it was working before.

That’s a bit strange issue. I found out from the Logitech website that t here are three reasons due to which a button may not work correctly:

1. No command is mapped to the button
2. The command mapped to the button is incorrect and does not work
3. The button is defective

I) I would suggest installing the latest drivers for the remote from the link mentioned below

Harmony® 880 Advanced Universal Remote

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/440/372&hub=1&selectedcrid=410&selectedcid=372&cl=us,en

II) If the issue is not fixed after updating the drivers as well, I would suggest following the steps provided in the following article:

A button on my Harmony 880 isn't working correctlyhttp://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=9796

Hope it helps!

Thanks and Regards,

Gulrez.

---

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer