Favorite Android TV Remote?

babsonnexus · May 16, 2020

Well, thanks to wonderful threads like these...

Here's How to De-Tivo Your Stream + Speed It Up

Here's How To Disable Tivo's Automatic Remote Programming

Can you side load?

... I have basically disassembled my Stream 4K, turned it into a generic Android TV device, and am very happy with what my buttons launch (and will be updating as I add more things like Channels DVR). But because of this, I'm starting to think the TiVo remote is not what I want to use, especially when I am also using a separate BT Keyboard/Mouse for additional functions.

I see there are remotes on Amazon that appear to be full remotes with keyboards on the back, and I can now map buttons to do anything I want, so I'm wondering:

Do you have a particular Android TV compatible remote that you like?
Have you tried it with the Stream 4K, and if so were there any hangups?

spiderpumpkin · May 16, 2020

I'm thinking about getting this bluetooth one for the air mouse functionality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/

rbronco21 · May 16, 2020

I love the FireTV remotes. I've had 4+ FireTVs in different versions and the latest remote with power and volume is perfect to me. I recently purchased a spare to use on my Kodi box, a Vero4K+. It may not be a simple addition to Android TV, though, but if I had one, I'd look into it.

jimpmc · May 16, 2020

rbronco21 said:
I love the FireTV remotes. I've had 4+ FireTVs in different versions and the latest remote with power and volume is perfect to me. I recently purchased a spare to use on my Kodi box, a Vero4K+. It may not be a simple addition to Android TV, though, but if I had one, I'd look into it.

Why would that be any better than the TiVo Stream 4k's remote?

ke3ju · May 17, 2020

jimpmc said:
Why would that be any better than the TiVo Stream 4k's remote?

It has Pause/Play, FFW, and RWD buttons.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

jimpmc · May 17, 2020

ke3ju said:
It has Pause/Play, FFW, and RWD buttons.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

OK, but TiVo has 10 extra buttons (numeric keys) that essentially become user-configurable with Button Mapper. THe OP was looking for a all-in-1 remote that has a keyboard and/or mouse.

babsonnexus · May 17, 2020

@jimpmc has it right on the head. I'm looking for a beloved Android TV remote that has all the buttons I'd need for a TV and A/V setup, including a keyboard and mouse. I basically want the TiVo Slide v2 remote, except with a mouse for Android TV. Nothing fancy like with the home automation stuff (I have voice control for that), really just focussed in on the Android TV experience.

babsonnexus · May 17, 2020

spiderpumpkin said:
I'm thinking about getting this bluetooth one for the air mouse functionality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/

I'm starting to think this is the only one available that:

Is shaped like a remote
Uses Bluetooth
Has a dedicated IR/BT remote side, keyboard, and air mouse
Has pretty much every button (wish it had dedicated RW/FF buttons instead of having to button map those functions somewhere)

It doesn't have a Google Assistant button, but I don't care (some might). It is not rechargeable which is fine, though not the best. Backlight is manual instead of automatic, but workable.

ke3ju · May 19, 2020

jimpmc said:
OK, but TiVo has 10 extra buttons (numeric keys) that essentially become user-configurable with Button Mapper. THe OP was looking for a all-in-1 remote that has a keyboard and/or mouse.

I tried button mapper, besides not sticking, the programmed buttons are so slow it's not worth it.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

moyekj · May 19, 2020

ke3ju said:
I tried button mapper, besides not sticking, the programmed buttons are so slow it's not worth it.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I had no problem getting the re-mapping to stick. However I did notice the re-programmed buttons are indeed much slower to respond than the non re-mapped ones.

ke3ju · May 19, 2020

babsonnexus said:
I'm starting to think this is the only one available that:

Is shaped like a remote

Uses Bluetooth

Has a dedicated IR/BT remote side, keyboard, and air mouse

Has pretty much every button (wish it had dedicated RW/FF buttons instead of having to button map those functions somewhere)

It doesn't have a Google Assistant button, but I don't care (some might). It is not rechargeable which is fine, though not the best. Backlight is manual instead of automatic, but workable.

I have this remote. It works, but if you let it sit a few minutes, it must go into some battery save mode, because when you pick it up again it takes several button pushes to wake it back up. It's good for getting out of trouble, but not very practical to use as a TV remote.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

BillyClyde · May 19, 2020

I remembered I had an old Sony GoogleTV box stored away so I dug it out and tried the awesome remote for it, the NSG-MR5U, which is Bluetooth and has a trackpad and keyboard. Unfortunately the center SELECT button and the trackpad don't work when you finally get it paired (which was an ordeal in and of itself). You can use the ENTER button on the keyboard side as SELECT. The keyboard does indeed work and so does the DVR, Guide, TV, Home, etc. buttons so this remote has some real potential if the trackpad and center SELECT buttons can be made to work properly. After some quick research, others seemed to have tried and got it working in Windows, but not much more info on Android success.

https://www.amazon.com/SONY-NSG-MR5U-BLUETOOTH-REMOTE-CONTROL/dp/B00GEAZEX8

Maybe some of you folks much smarter than I in this arena can get it going? For $12 it may be well worth it!

jimpmc · May 19, 2020

BillyClyde said:
I remembered I had an old Sony GoogleTV box stored away so I dug it out and tried the awesome remote for it, the NSG-MR5U, which is Bluetooth and has a trackpad and keyboard. Unfortunately the center SELECT button and the trackpad don't work when you finally get it paired (which was an ordeal in and of itself). You can use the ENTER button on the keyboard side as SELECT. The keyboard does indeed work and so does the DVR, Guide, TV, Home, etc. buttons so this remote has some real potential if the trackpad and center SELECT buttons can be made to work properly. After some quick research, others seemed to have tried and got it working in Windows, but not much more info on Android success.

https://www.amazon.com/SONY-NSG-MR5U-BLUETOOTH-REMOTE-CONTROL/dp/B00GEAZEX8

Maybe some of you folks much smarter than I in this arena can get it going? For $12 it may be well worth it!

Can you use Button Mapper to at least remap those buttons from whatever they are set up as to the D-Pad equivalent?

BillyClyde · May 20, 2020

jimpmc said:
Can you use Button Mapper to at least remap those buttons from whatever they are set up as to the D-Pad equivalent?

I haven't tried it yet but I do recall reading that does work. It's only the center SELECT button that doesn't work, not the whole up/down/left/right circle. Those do work. The mouse/trackpad does not work. Not sure there is a way to fix that in a button mapper.

babsonnexus · May 20, 2020

With Button Mapper, you don't have to remap every button. You can pick which buttons you want to do different things for and so long as it recognizes the press being sent it will let you do something with it. You can also make a button do different things whether you double tap or long press.

Dan203 · May 20, 2020

spiderpumpkin said:
I'm thinking about getting this bluetooth one for the air mouse functionality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/

Is that real? All the "photos" look like CGI renders.

siratfus · May 25, 2020

Do any of you know what the SHORTCUT does in BUTTON MAPPER? It's an option in the drop down menu, but it's just a blank page with nothing to choose, no instructions. It's just an unfinished app?

jimpmc · May 25, 2020

siratfus said:
Do any of you know what the SHORTCUT does in BUTTON MAPPER? It's an option in the drop down menu, but it's just a blank page with nothing to choose, no instructions. It's just an unfinished app?

I think that would be for phones only where you have set a shortcut in the launcher.

babsonnexus · Jun 1, 2020

I ended up buying this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B082WCMRQL

It is the same as the one noted above, just a couple of bucks cheaper. Basically, some factory makes it generically and brands slap their names on it and sell to outlets. Just be fair warned that the directions are written like a combination of a non-English speaker and a 12-year-old texting. It took quite a bit to even figure out how to get into pairing mode!

The airmouse/keyboard components works fantastic. I was afraid of accidentally hitting the keys on the back while using the front side and vice-versa, but it actually has some type of sensor that tells which way is up and only activates those keys (as well as backlights them). Response was fine, and there was a lot you could do with button mapper to make the experience even better.

However, I could not for the life of me get the IR to work. I finally got the correct directions and got a couple of keys programmed and it is making the color of an IR blast coming out, but nothing happens. Further, those 4 colored keys on the bottom are ONLY for IR, which is rather useless for me. I wanted those to be BT buttons to do other things that the TiVo Stream Remote does have (like Guide and DVR). Thus, I think this remote is a bust.

Overall, $18 for a very good BT airmouse and keyboard is a fine purchase, so I recommend picking it up if you want one of those. Incidentally, I figured out how to make the floating keyboard appear by installing a different keyboard from the Play Store and setting it as default. See: Internal keyboard disappears for a little more detail. This way, I can at least use a BT keyboard without issue!

Finally, I also discovered that if you disconnect the TiVo Remote that every time you reboot and will try to force you to reconnect to it. You can just get around this by hitting back or home, but it could be annoying. Thus far, though, I think I'm still on the TiVo remote with button mapper + a BT keyboard/mouse for those purposes.

arefin932 · Aug 31, 2020

Does the Volume buttons work in the remote without any tweaking? I have tried with the following remote (Use USB dongle) that I had, but I could not get the volume buttons to work. Everything else works.

US $6.71 35% OFF|G20 G20S Gyro Smart Voice Remote Control IR Learning 2.4G Wireless Fly Air Mouse for X96 Mini H96 MAX X99 Android TV Box vs G10|Remote Controls| - AliExpress

Favorite Android TV Remote?

Top Contributors this Month