I love the look and feel of the OSMC remote which came with my 4k. However I wish it had just a couple more dedicated buttons (toggle watched, subtitle search, subtitle offset), though I understand that everyone has their own “most used” feature buttons. What would be a REAL treat would be a double sided remote with a keyboard on the back. The old Boxee remotes have a similar look and feel to the OSMC one with a nice keyboard on the back, albeit with a couple less buttons on the front. I would happily pay more for a Vero 4k with a keyboard remote, which gets me quick access to KODI commands and easy text entry when searching etc… I would also be the first in line to order such a remote for my existing four 4ks…
Cheers,
Robert
Hi Robert
Thanks for your feedback.
I’m glad you like the current look and feel of the remote. We don’t want to add too many buttons to the remote, and while we do get requests to add more, we think we have the balance fairly right.
We don’t have plans to add a keyboard to the remote at this time unfortunately.
Sam
Hi Sam,
Well, that’s what Feature Requests is for, right? Toss out an idea and see what sticks…
No worries.
RLW
Love the remote but would really like forward / reverse functionality (not skipping as it currently is).
Not the end of the world for me, but a nice to have.
The old remote had FF and RW functionality but we swapped this for volume keys.
You can use Keymap Editor to add it back
I use an iPad running the Kodi remote app most of the time, gives me access to everything, including a keyboard when I need it, plus the TV remote for basic functions. Works very well. Never used the Vero remote.
The remote could use just a couple extra buttons, in my opinion. I had to sacrifice one of the existing functions to enable subtitle toggle on/off (a must-have button for me). People tend to have their own idiosyncratic uses of Kodi, so having one or two wildcard buttons is always good.
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I Apsolutly endorse OSMC team to think about those wildcard, blank buttons on new revision of the remote if there will be any. I suggest 3 blank configurable buttons on disposal for users to program whatever they want. There is surely enough space on remote to do this and wont need to do any extensive designe or technicality on factory side of things and shouldn’t up the price either. Also a back (lit) keyboard would be so, so nice, so that I dont need to use my smartphone for typing. I think is easly doable with OSMC vendor for remote.
It’s anticipated that with Kodi 18 (possibly before) the longpress feature will be functional for the OSMC remote. This will provide for multiple functions for configured buttons. We aren’t too keen on adding more buttons to the remote itself.
Long presses are acceptable for infrequently used functions, such as entering settings. Mixing long and short presses for basic functions, however, is a straight road to UX hell.
Thanks for providing your opinion under the color of fact. If you don’t like the OSMC remote, you have dozens of options available from third parties that can be used with OSMC to provide you with the UX you desire.
Thanks for misinterpreting and misquotimg my opinion. I like the OSMC remote. I would support the addition of one or two wildcard buttons, as stated above.
Combining short and long presses for frequent functions is bad UX, which is why they are almost never used in consumer devices. Plenty of usability studies on that, if you care to read them.
I think a problem with keeping the form factor we currently have and adding a couple of extra buttons is that accidental presses then become inevitable.
Sam
I for one am looking forward to ability to use long presses. They can certainly be a road to “UX hell”, but really that’s the user’s choice. For my personal needs, a long press to toggle watched status and one to bring up the subtitle downloader is all I would care to program in.
But by all means, assign macros to fill out an online mortgage application if you desire… just don’t clog up a good support thread at OSMC, trying to figure out why your pizza order didn’t go through.
I don’t see a lot of free space for additional physical buttons on the existing remote, without running the risk of accidentally pressing them with your thumb heel while stretching for an upper button. I like the format factor a lot and it’s obvious the OSMC team put some real thought into physical feel and practical use. But form factor doesn’t have to go out the window if a keyboard was added… I know, quit your barking, Phydeaux, Sam already said it’ll be a cold day in hell before a keyboard will be added (paraphrasing slightly). But check out these comparisons.
Woof!
The request for a keyboard comes up a lot. I’d like to clarify that the issue is not with the dimensions of the remote. When I say it would bulk things, it’s regarding the fact that the remote is used by many people around the world.
The day we’d chuck a QWERTY keyboard on, we’d have Germans asking for QWERTZ etc. Then you can accidentally press a key and it becomes cumbersome and you find yourself having to watch your fingers. If you put it on the table, you’ve accidentally pressed something.
Then there is a question of a user having to know when to delegate a command to the remote or the keyboard.
There is a better solution to a keyboard. We are testing it.
We’re a few years off any changes however, but a keyboard to me feels like a BlackBerry in 2008. Useful, but limited, and certainly not applicable to the wider market. If you want a keyboard, the OSMC remote isn’t the solution.
Your photo appears to show the remote from the Boxee Box. Without being harsh: there’s a reason they’re out of business.
Sam
I can certainly understand the point about keyboard layout and language/character diversity. And perhaps that’s enough to be end of story, no worries, just a thought.
However your other points hold water like cheesecloth. I’ve used the Boxee remote for years and it’s never failed to be a joy as a keyboard. The normal remote side is a couple buttons shy of ideal though. I’ve never accidentally pushed a keyboard button while handling the remote or setting it down on a table or, well, ever. The buttons simply are not that floppy. Delegate a command to the remote or the keyboard… Huh? Why the heck would anyone do that. “c” brings up the context menu and so does the button assigned to context on the remote side, and the problem is… too many ways of doing something?
But you have a better option in mind in the future, that’s great. Seriously, that’s not sarcasm, I’ll be excited to see a new way as long as it’s not voice control or smartphone based. I love a good remote I can hold in one hand, not have to look at to operate, just stab buttons in the dark with authority. I can look down at it for the little used buttons and keyboard when needed.
Would love the keyboard on the old BlackBerry devices, but touchscreen for the remote controls would prevent me from considering it at all.
Boxee Box? I’ve never owned one or even seen one used. I just have a couple of their excellent RF remotes. In fact I have a spare still factory fresh in cellophane I’m tempted to send you…
Cheers,
Robert
It’s definitely a big one for us. Our larger markets are Germany, France, Netherlands and Spain. We can’t produce a variety of remotes unfortunately.
I think there would be the confusion of users not knowing how to do something out of the box.
I’ve a lot of remotes around (including the Boxee Remote), but I’m not really happy with them. I find that the only real need to enter text is to search for something. There may be other scenarios, but they are far less frequent.
Unfortunately we’ll never be able to please everyone, but I do read every piece of feedback, and admittedly, I have got a couple of ideas from this very thread.
Sam
Bring back the Motorola (Pulse-Eight) NYXboard Hybrid! Now That was a remote worth having. I have two of them and wish I was an electronics guru and could refurbish them because they were the shizzle and got used to death…
Sure, it was about as sleek and sexy as a Massey Ferguson combine, but it fit in my hand, felt substantial, had a nice layout with a generous but not overwhelming amount of buttons and a nice keyboard on the back. Was RF, which is a requirement really, but also was an IR learning remote for your other gear.
Yep, would seed fund an effort to bring that back. Frick, suddenly I want to drag my Nakamichi Dragon out of the closet…
Cheers,
Robert
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For initial setup, a keyboard is nice…entering your media locations using the Kodi on-screen keyboard can be painful.
After that, though, I don’t really need to “search” for anything…I only need the first letter to get close enough. For that, having a number pad is a huge help, since Kodi has remote numbers mapped to SMS-style letters.
And, I’d wager that people that do use a keyboard on an everyday basis for a lot of text entry in Kodi wouldn’t need to have one on the remote…they’d already have a Bluetooth keyboard.
Other than a number pad, I think adding the 4 “color” buttons to the remote and longpress support would cover 99% of what a user would need, especially if you had an easy-to-use keymap editor in My OSMC.
Or an app like “Yatse” which does the job and has a much bigger functionality than any hardware keyboard. Most users probably have their smartphones around anyway… IMHO 
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