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manoflinux
Visitor

Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth remote

I mean modern smartphones(android/iphone) have accelerometers and bluetooth.
That should be all the hardware you need to emulate the roku bluetooth remote.
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7 REPLIES 7
mastermesh
Visitor

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

there's android remote on the market. 😉
http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=46566&p=359897#p359897 -channel lists/tools
http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=63553&p=409506#p409506 -fta
http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=64096 -linear channels
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gonzotek
Visitor

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

"manoflinux" wrote:
I mean modern smartphones(android/iphone) have accelerometers and bluetooth.
That should be all the hardware you need to emulate the roku bluetooth remote.

Can one sniff bluetooth traffic? I've never looked into it from that side of things, but Roku hasn't published any specs on the bt remote protocol (nor have they yet updated the ECP documentation to do it over the network). I know bt has profiles for HID, serial, and audio devices and such, but which one are they using?
Remoku.tv - A free web app for Roku Remote Control!
Want to control your Roku from nearly any phone, computer or tablet? Get started at http://help.remoku.tv
by Apps4TV - Applications for television and beyond: http://www.apps4tv.com
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manoflinux
Visitor

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

yes I know there is an android remote on the market, but unless things have changed its a wifi remote program like remoku.
and yes you can sniff bluetooth traffic from what I have heard. I dont know that much about it though.
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EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

"manoflinux" wrote:
I mean modern smartphones(android/iphone) have accelerometers and bluetooth.
That should be all the hardware you need to emulate the roku bluetooth remote.


Unfortunately Roku (the company) are withholding the information about how to send accelerator commands over wifi.
Same for bluetooth and there things get worse because Apple has limited BT stack and does not approve apps that use profiles different from headphones and such
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manoflinux
Visitor

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

sorry but there are other smartphones besides apples.
And the fact that they wont "approve" innovative apps tells me I would never want one.
Remember jail breaking is legal due to federal court decision so what apple whats is not really much of a barrier, and there are alternate app stores, even for android!!
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EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

"manoflinux" wrote:
sorry but there are other smartphones besides apples.
And the fact that they wont "approve" innovative apps tells me I would never want one.
Remember jail breaking is legal due to federal court decision so what apple whats is not really much of a barrier, and there are alternate app stores, even for android!!

<shrug> religious rants aside,
there is no point of using Bluetooth when both devices are already connected to the same LAN. BT is not inherently faster or anything, it is just a cheaper way to produce hardware without demanding wifi capabilities. But smart phones already have tcp/ip connectivity. Presumably BT should use less energy but the speed with which Roku's BT remote goes through batteries questions the wisdom of that. Communicating over sockets is well-developed, compared to that talking in BT is exotics.

So? Roku just has to provide way of pushing accelerometer data over tcp/ip, and we can build remote apps for your favorite iOS/Android/WindowsPhone/webOS/Nokia/<insert-your-favorite-dead-OS-here>.
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manoflinux
Visitor

Re: Why not a smartphone program to emulate the bluetooth re

thanks appreciate the vote of support, but why the link to a plate cutting machine company in your message?

P.S. EnTerr, the right to use a device you own any way you see fit it not a religious idea. Its a basic freedom that has allowed the "garage inventor" to make many advances that would not have been possible otherwise.
If the original manufacturer of the bicycle parts the Wright brothers used in the Kitty Hawk had got wind of what they were doing and shut it down because "We made those parts and if man was meant to fly he would have wings" were would we be now?
Or better yet when they got the local machinist to make their own parts the bicycle company struck back with "you learned how to make a plane by working on our bikes so its our intellectual property and we don't like airplanes so you can't build one"
That is what is happening today.
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