Apple Remote
Design
Plastic (2005)
The original Apple Remote was designed with six buttons and made of white plastic. Its shape and layout resembled the first-generation iPod Shuffle.. A circular Play/Pause/Select button sat in the center of a larger four-button circle of (clockwise): Volume Up, Next/Fast-forward, Volume Down and Previous/Rewind. A separate Menu button was positioned below. The price was set at US$29.00.
Functions
The Apple Remote's original function was to enable navigation in Front Row, which allows users to browse and play music, view videos (DVDs and downloaded files) and browse photos. Although Front Row was removed from OS X 10.7 and later, some Apple software still works with the remote. It can still be used to control presentations in Apple Keynote, slide shows in iPhoto and Aperture, DVD films via DVD Player, and to play video and audio in iTunes and QuickTime. Other software that is still compatible includes Elgato's EyeTV 3.5, and VLC media player. The remote can also be used to run presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint 2008 or in OpenOffice.org Impress.
Other functions controlled by the remote can include putting a device into sleep mode, selecting a partition to boot from on startup, and ejecting optical discs.[6] A device can be configured to respond only to a particular remote.[7]
iPods
An iPod placed in a dock featuring an IR sensor can be used with the remote for music and media control.[8] The iPod's menus cannot be operated with the remote. The Apple Remote can also be used to control the iPod Hi-Fi or third party devices tailored to it.[9]
Boot Camp
Starting with Boot Camp 1.2, the remote has some functionality when a user is running Windows. If iTunes is installed on the Windows partition, pressing the Menu button on the remote will start the program. The remote's media controls also support Windows Media Player, as well as system volume control.[10] Other third party programs may also utilize the remote's capabilities; media applications such a foobar2000 and Media Player Classic allow users to control their functions via the remote. Applications must be in focus for the remote to control them. Boot Camp 5, released on March 14, 2013, also includes drivers for the remote control.[11]
iOS App
Apple offers a free 'Remote' app for iOS devices (available in the Apple App Store) which allows for wireless control of iTunes on Mac/Windows computers or the Apple TV.
Compatibility
| Model | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| MacBook | Original – Mid 2009 (Except White Unibody) |
| MacBook Air | Original – Mid 2009 |
| MacBook Pro | Original – Mid 2012 (Except Retina)[16] |
| iMac[17] | G5 – September 2012 |
| Mac mini | Early 2006 – Late 2014 |
| Mac Pro | None |
Earlier models of the iMac with polycarbonate enclosures featured a magnetic rest for the remote,[18] which was later removed.
Use with new MacBook Airs, Retina MacBook Pros and older Macs[edit]
Using the Apple Remote with newer MacBook Air, Retina MacBook, or other Mac models without a built-in IR receiver requires a USB-based infrared receiver and additional software from a third party.
Using Remote Buddy (from IOSPIRIT GmbH) or mira (from Twisted Melon), it is possible to connect an external USB receiver such as the Windows Media Center Edition eHome receiver, and use the Apple Remote on these machines with full support for sleep, pairing, low-battery detection and controlling a variety of Apple and third party software. In addition, Remote Buddy is able to emulate events of an Apple Remote on these systems, enabling users to use software written for the Apple Remote in exactly the same way as with Macs that have a built-in infrared receiver.
For the Apple computers without built-in infrared receiver, there is a miniature USB receiver (USBA or USBC versions), the SmartGUS,[19] which allows to give back to iMac, MacBook and Mac Pro, the infrared functionality. In this case, all compatible software (iTunes, Keynote, PowerPoint, OpenOffice Impress, QuickTime Player, iPhoto, VLC, Kodi, Remote Buddy, Mira ...) can use the features of the Apple Remote, the same as with the legacy built-in infrared receiver.
Infrared interference[edit]
Because many electrical appliances use infrared remote (IR) controls, concurrent use of the Apple Remote with other IR remotes may scramble communications and generate interference, preventing stable use. Remotes should be used individually to circumvent the problem.[20]
Technical details[edit]
The Apple Remote uses a modified NEC IR protocol[1] which consists of a differential PPM encoding on a 1:3 duty cycle 38 kHz 950 nm infrared carrier. There are 32 bits of encoded data between the AGC leader and the stop bit:[21]
| Protocol | on (µs) | off (µs) | total (µs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| leader | 9000 | 4500 | 13500 |
| 0 bit | 560 | 560 | 1120 |
| 1 bit | 560 | 1690 | 2250 |
| stop | 560 | N/A | 560 |
While the Apple Remote uses the NEC IR protocol for the timing, the 32-bit data package is in a different format. It consists of two 16 bit LSB words.
| Bits | Type | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Vendor | This is always 0x43f and can be used to identify an Apple Remote |
| 5 | Command Page | 0x0 for the pairing and other commands, 0xe for the different buttons |
| 8 | Device ID | A unique device ID, used to allow pairing of a remote to a specific device. It can be changed with the pairing command |
| 7 | Command | Actual command for the Command Page |
| 1 | Odd parity | All 32 bits added together have to equal 1 |
This is the internal page table (command page 0x00):
| Value | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0x01 | Pairing | Menu + Select for 5s (pair & increment the Device ID) or Menu + Next for 5s (just pair) |
| 0x02 | Factory Defaults | Menu + Previous for 5s |
| 0x03 | Low Battery | Old (white) Apple Remote |
| 0x07 | Low Battery | New Apple Remote |
This is the command page table (command page 0x0e):
| Value | Button | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 0x01 | Menu | Menu |
| 0x02 | Play/Pause, Select | Play/Pause, Select (On the white model this is the combined Play/Pause and Select button; on the aluminum model, this code is sent by both the Play/Pause and Select buttons together with a prefix.) |
| 0x03 | Right | Next/Fast-Forward |
| 0x04 | Left | Previous/Rewind |
| 0x05 | Up | Volume Up |
| 0x06 | Down | Volume Down |
| 0x07 | Play+Up | Play/Pause + Up pressed together |
| 0x08 | Play+Down | Play/Pause + Down pressed together |
| 0x09 | Play+Next | Play/Pause + Next pressed together |
| 0x0a | Play+Previous | Play/Pause + Previous pressed together |
| 0x0b | Menu+Up | Menu + Up pressed together |
| 0x0c | Menu+Down | Menu + Down pressed together |
| 0x0d | Menu+Play/Pause | Menu + Play/Pause pressed together |
| 0x0e | Menu+Next | Menu + Next pressed together |
| 0x0f | Menu+Previous | Menu + Previous pressed together |
| 0x2e | Select | Select button prefix, on aluminum model only |
| 0x2f | Play/Pause | Play/Pause prefix, on aluminum model only |
To maintain backward compatibility with older devices such as the iPod Hi-Fi, the aluminum Apple Remote does not replace the existing IR code for Play/Pause/Select. Instead, to allow newer devices to distinguish between the separate Select and Play/Pause buttons, it sends two IR codes for each press of those: a prefix code (0x2e and 0x2f, respectively), followed by the original Play/Pause code (0x02). Older devices ignore the prefix code and thus interpret either button as Play/Pause, while newer devices interpret both codes and use them to determine which button is being pressed.
Please use the latter info for reference only. Please research YOUR device for which this is being purchased for compatibility compliance. These have uses outside of their intended purpose and are useful for other DIY builds and projects. These are new and tested. Batteries are NOT INCLUDED.
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