The Formovie Theater has a Bluetooth only remote control, and getting new devices on Harmony remotes is next to nothing since Logitech discontinued the remotes. Harmony's can control a number of Bluetooth devices (like the FireTV), but it has to know what it's connecting to for the profile to work. I tried a number of different BT enabled TV models, but I couldn't get anything to connect and control it. Most profiles just wanted to connect as a normal keyboard, which doesn't allow for things like turning it on and off.
Flirc says they support Harmony remotes as well as FireTV, Shield (which is Android TV), and other media center software, so I thought I'd give it a shot. First, let me say the GUI to configure this device leaves a bit to be desired and their documentation is not very good (the reason I'm not giving this the full 5 stars). However, I was shocked to find that after programming the Flirc it was able to fully control the Formovie Theater including power on/off. The only thing I can't control (which the original remote doesn't do either) is the selected input.
After opening the Flirc GUI I went through their preset configurations and assumed I would want the Shield one since it's an Android TV, but since it didn't have power buttons this didn't seem right. I found more information saying to use the Flirc Kodi profile in Harmony, but then it would show up as a media player and not a display device which is needed. A quick search online brought me to a blog where someone had put together a script for doing custom remote assignments (search for "Controlling Android TV and Kodi with Logitech Harmony and Flirc"). It showed a table of the values it was filling in and what they do. With this script I programmed the Flirc using a Sony Android TV remote I had, and then used the model of the TV to program the Harmony remote (this flags it as a display device). The hassle of searching for random documentation needs to be solved. Their support site gives a handful of HID codes for use on the command line, but then basically says "go find them yourself in the IEEE USB HID spec" without giving a link to the spec.
Now at first the Harmony remote couldn't control the Flirc but the Sony TV remote could. To solve this issue I left the Harmony configured as the Sony TV, and reprogrammed the Flirc using the Harmony remote instead. After that both the Harmony and TV remote could control it. Not sure why that made a difference, but apparently the Harmony does things just enough differently that Flirc didn't recognize the commands.
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Product Description
Flirc: Tiny but Simple
The USB Flirc makes it easy to control your devices.
It even adds functionality to devices that ship with overly simplistic remotes.
Plug it in. Set it up. It just works.
The USB Flirc works anywhere with anything
The Flirc can be set up to work with virtually any box that has a USB plug, from the Raspberry Pi to the Fire TV to a gigantic Windows Media Center.
While its primary use is with Media Centers and Set Top boxes, you can pair it with virtually any remote control and any box/computer, which means it even works for advancing slides while giving presentations from your laptop or navigating a webpage from across the room.
With a little elbow grease, you can actually use one to launch applications, start up games, and put your PC to sleep.
Universal Remote Support
If you have a universal remote, there is almost certain a USB Flirc profile available to work with. And if not, you can program a universal remote to work with the USB Flirc just like any other remote might.
Plug n Play
Once you've paired your Flirc and remote with the software, you can keep using the two across computers, laptops, and other devices, no software necessary. Just unplug the Flirc from your computer and plug it into your Shield or Pi. It will continue to "just work."
Compatible with
- Raspberry Pi
- NVIDIA Shield
- Fire TV (with USB ports)
- Windows, Mac, and Linux
- All IR remotes, including universal remotes with profiles
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Works well to pair an Apple Remote to a 2018 Mac Mini without an IR receiver
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2018
This is a nice device with capabilities that go well beyond what I needed it for. Be aware that you will need to go to the company's website and download software to use this. For some reason, and this is absolutely meant to be ding against the company who makes this product, they don't notify you of this software download requirement -- even inside the packaged product. So go to flirc dot tv slash downloads to get the software.My use case was to pair the small white Apple Mac Remote to a new 2018 Apple Mac Mini for use in a media center, because the latest generation of Mac Minis no longer comes with an IR port. Specifically, I needed player controls for volume up, volume down, play, rewind, and fast forward. The software for this FLIRC hardware allows you to assign any key to any action. It does this pictorially onscreen by showing you keyboard layouts (of your choice), and allowing you to click on a pictured key, then asking you to press the button on whatever remote you have to assign it to that key. If you make a mistake, you can click on an onscreen erase button to erase that button assignment.In my case, since the play and volume controls are media controls, I need to select Media Keys from the Controllers menu, to assign the keys. Five minute in total.It's worthwhile pointing out that this USB device is small and won't stick out very far the computer when plugged in. On a Mac Mini, that means that it will probably be out of line of sight from the remote. I plugged mine into a USB hub that was in line of sight, but you could also use a USB extension cable or maybe turn the mini so its ports are facing forward (an ugly, but workable solution).I gave this IR receiver 4 stars because of the hidden software download requirement. If they had slipped a piece of paper with instructions into the packaging or even sent an email with the instructions, I would have given it 5 stars.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2018
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Shirushi
It works and easy to setup.
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Thibault
Perfect with Shield TV Pro
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Thibault
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 23, 2020
This little receiver is incredible. It allows me to add any Shield TV Pro button on Broadlink RM Mini and control via Alexa. It wouldn't be possible without it so very glad I came across it.
Instructions weren't very clear in my case, they do have an helpful community but I remember it took me a couple of hours to find how to set it up when I bought it a couple of months ago.
So I'm going to explain the process on here, if that can be helpful to others:
What's needed:
- Logitech Harmony Remote
- Broadlink RM Mini 3
Method:
- Add the Flirc receiver in the Harmony app. For that you need to add a new "Entertainment device" then "Flirc" as manufacturer name and "FireTV" as model name. It will work with Shield TV Pro.
- Assign Flirc to the media activity where you use your Shield TV, you should how have all the commands Flirc will use to control your Shield TV.
- Just make sure all buttons like Play, Volume etc work fine. If you need to know which buttons are assigned to the remote for Settings etc I suggest looking where they are set on the remote. If you've got missing ones, you can re-assign them on the Harmony remote using Flirc as a device.
Now to create Alexa routines:
- Link Alexa in the Broadlink app
- Add a new custom (this is very important) remote in the Broadlink app and name it as Shield TV
- Tap the learn button function in the new remote you've created
- Add each command using the Harmony remote
- Create routines in the Broadlink app, they should now be exported to your Echo.
This is an example of the routines I have:
- Break - Pause TV + Screensaver (great for OLED TVs to prevent burn in)
- I'm back - Select + Play (If screensaver was on)
- Screensaver (Can be set with Long Press Settings in Shield and added as a new command in the Broadlink remote, just press a bit longer than other buttons)
- Pause/Play the TV
- Volume Up
- Volume Up by 2, 3 or 4
- Volume Down
- Volume Down by 2, 3 or 4
- Select
I suggest to use Sonos Beam with Alexa integrated as she can automatically turn the volume down on wake word to hear every command better. To me that's icing on the cake, if you care about having a good setup.
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R. Evans
5 Star potential, but major bugs make it a 3 for now!
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The Very Angry Maker
Excellent Addition to my PI Media Centre
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