Edit: Raspbmc RC4 now has CEC enabled out of the box – No need to enable the XBMC web server. It uses the newer libCEC which has significantly better support for different manufacturer CEC-based implementations, so chances are it will work just fine with your CEC-enabled TV.
CEC is a specification that allows control of CEC-enabled devices that are attached through HDMI.
Raspbmc has included a basic implementation of CEC in version RC3, meaning you can now control your Raspberry Pi installation from your CEC-enabled TV remote (well in theory, anyway).
You’ll need a CEC-enabled TV or amplifier that is connectioned to your Raspberry Pi via the HDMI connector. Not all CEC-enabled devices are created equally, though, and might support a different subset of the specification. This means that CEC on your device might not interface with XBMC at all, or some of the remote buttons won’t be mapped correctly. On the Samsung Anynet+ (Samsung’s version of CEC) TV I tested on, the arrow keys and enter was working, but pause, play, stop etc. wasn’t. Your mileage may vary.
Support for CEC was only included in Raspbmc from version RC3, but it is not present in the normal XBMC build. It is enabled by default, but in order for it to work, you need to activate XBMC’s web server:
- Go to Settings -> Network -> Services
- Set “Allow control of XBMC via HTTP” to on.
- Set the username to “xbmc” and leave the password blank
- Make sure the port is set to 8080
Enabling CEC control of XBMC on your TV should be simple – select the source input and select the XBMC CEC device input (The TV should automatically pick up XBMC as a CEC device).
Looks like the need to enable the web server for CEC support in Raspbmc should no longer be required in RC4 (soon to be released). Commit log here: http://svn.stmlabs.com/revision.php?repname=raspbmc&path=%2F&rev=414&peg=414
But which keys do what?
How to submit “movies” to a folder?
It generally supports only the most basic of operations, such as the arrow keys for navigating, enter and escape (go back).
For operations where you need to enter text, you can still use the OSD keyboard using your TV remote, or plug in an additional keyboard just until the setup of Raspbmc is completed.
My tv control didn’t work so what do I us as a remote control
If you have a mobile with Android, you can try the Yatse remote app, it works well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree&hl=en
So, do you need to buy an HDMI CEC adapter at all? If so then where would you get one locally? JHB specifically 😉
Raspberry Pi with Raspbmc has CEC support built in, so you won’t need any hardware adapters, provided your TV is supported and you are using an HDMI cable to your TV.
How do I know if my TV is supported?
just try 🙂
i pluuged to my samsung tv and surprisingly i was able to navigate in the menus of kodi (last xbmc name on my raspberry)