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Control iTunes playlists, etc. with ATI Remote Wonder Apps
I was looking for a way to control iTunes remotely. An inexpensive alternative to Keyspan or other remotes is the ATI Remote Wonder remote control -- you can buy them on eBay for about $20. The remote is RF based, so it works through walls.

The nice part about the remote is that the software lets you remap any key to almost anything, and it comes with preset actions you can choose for common apps like iTunes, DVD Player, and QuickTime.

By creating tiny AppleScript apps like the one below, I have assigned keys 1-9 to various playlists, so I can start iTunes and go to a selected playlist from a room in my house far from my computer, and then play, pause, skip songs, switch playlists, etc using the remote.
tell application "iTunes"
  tell playlist "Classical"
    set shuffle to true
    play
  end tell
end tell
The AppleScript will also start iTunes if it is not running.
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Control iTunes playlists, etc. with ATI Remote Wonder | 6 comments | Create New Account
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Control iTunes playlists, etc. with ATI Remote Wonder
Authored by: bakalite on Apr 10, '06 01:36:21PM

I use this remote every day. The Remote Wonder II is much better than the original, and still reasonably priced. One problem is that some key presses are sent twice, so scrolling down one page can be a pain. I assigned channel down to page down in iTunes on the remote, that way scrolling down one page in the artist list can be accomplished by selecting any artist and then hitting channel down on the remote.

I also programmed the remote so that in most cases hitting a button once will produce the "milder" action while holding it for 2 seconds will produce the "heavier" action. For example, the big red button at the top will close the current window, but if you hold it down for 2 seconds will quit the current app.

You can do the same with other items, for example, the big ATI button on my remote launches Safari if pressed once, but if held down for 2 seconds it launches iTUnes. You could do similar stuff with matinee and DVD player, VLC and mPlayer, etc.

THe only problem I have is that I can't figure out how to double click on a DVD folder and have it launch with VLC. Having to drag the folder to the VLC icon is a hassle with the remote.



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Control iTunes playlists, etc. with ATI Remote Wonder
Authored by: masterfu on Apr 10, '06 09:12:59PM

Wow, I have been wanting to do this for a long time... I have the ATI Remote Wonder II. How did you go about setting it up on your mac? The cd that came with it is obviously for PC only, so... guess there is just something I'm missing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!



[ Reply to This | # ]
Control iTunes playlists, etc. with ATI Remote Wonder
Authored by: masterfu on Apr 10, '06 09:16:41PM

Nevermind, I spoke before I did any actual investigation into it. I found the drivers.



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Mac Drivers are buried in ATI site...link
Authored by: alexmathew on Apr 11, '06 04:22:29AM

Here's the link...
https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/rwmac-201.dmg

In case the above link does not work - it is in the following page:
ATI Customer Care > Drivers and Software > Mac OS > Other Software >

Bye
AM



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Using the Remote Wonder PLUS RW+?
Authored by: alexmathew on Apr 16, '06 08:21:20AM

I got the RW+ based on this hint and I love it.. the ATI software is excellent!
However, the RW+ has new buttons called FM, Guide, TV2 ect - but they cannot be programmed - they can be assigned actions in the software but nothing happens when you use the buttons.

Anyone else using a RW+ with Mac OS X ?
Thanks
AM



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Figured it out...
Authored by: alexmathew on Apr 16, '06 04:53:17PM

You have to set the Remote ID as ALL instead of the actual ID of the Remote. All the buttons work then. RW+ and the Mac software is an amazing combination - beats the pants of AirClick anyday... Thanks ATI...
AM



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