Remote Control Requires Two Presses

[Croq 1]

I have to press pause two times in the Emby app on Roku in order to pause the show I'm watching.  The same thing happens with fast forward, rewind, and other buttons.  Though navigation inside the app doesn't seem to have a problem, just while I'm playing a video.  I don't have any issues with any other apps, just the Emby app.

 

Can anyone help me out?

Edited December 4, 2019 by Croq

[Luke 37062]

Hi there, how exactly are you trying to pause?

[Croq 1]

I'm hitting the pause button on my Harmony remote which is mapped to the same signal as the play/pause button on the Roku remote.  The same thing happens if I use my Roku remote.

 

And two presses are needed with fast forward, rewind, and the left and right arrows.

 

Once I have done the first two presses though, a third press will do what a normal second press would do.  So it seems like the first press is "waking up" the app to respond to remote presses, then it works as it should.  If I wait a while, the process starts again.  So, in other words, if I press the pause button three times, I get the following results with each press (again, this same thing happens whether I use the Harmony or Roku remotes, and similar experiences happen with any of the other buttons):

 

Nothing, pause, play.

[Luke 37062]

That's strange. @@denz, @@Gilgamesh_48 are you able to reproduce this?

[denz 426]

No issues just tried it now just in case there was a new update. Tried all combinations and couldn’t reproduce.

[Gilgamesh_48 943]

That's strange. @@denz, @@Gilgamesh_48 are you able to reproduce this?

Nope. I have not seen that at all. All my keypresses seem to be detected right away. I do not remember ever having a keypress missed in a VERY long time.

 

The description of the problem seems to indicate a problem with the Harmony and the Roku remote both. If it is IR remotes rather than the Harmony using a hub and the Roku remote RF then it could well be that there is some IR interference.

 

In fact, since all Rokus, except the sticks, respond to IR there could be IR noise causing problems by keeping the remote activity system in a continuous "excited" state.

 

IR "noise" is a real problem in today's households because of all the devices that are in use in most homes and it can cause many "weird" problems that appear to have other causes.

 

BTW: I use a Harmony with a hub in my living room and I have zero problems. In my bedroom I use an RF Roku remote and also have no problems there. I do not control my Rokus using IR at all. (The hub connects directly to my Roku through the network)

[ebr 14912]

I am unable to reproduce this as well.  Seems like it has to be environmental but please let us know what you find.

 

Thanks.

[speechles 1917]

@@Croq Which Roku model and what version of Roku firmware is it running? This might be happening because of the HDMI-CEC link is disturbed. First press alerts Roku to take input control. Second press works. Then something takes HDMI-CEC input control away again. You should be able to fix it by unplug the Roku. Wait 5 seconds and plug it back in. When it reboots it should realize the HDMI inputs correctly and handle HDMI-CEC correctly ever after. My RokuTV had this issue before the firmware updated to v9.2. If this is a 4K Roku model make sure it is using an HDMI cable that supports at least HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 1.4.

 

Maybe you do not have CEC enabled for that Roku model?

See here: https://support.roku.com/article/360034303013-how-do-i-enable-hdmi-cec-and-arc-on-my-tv-

 

That link explains the steps for most models of TV to get CEC to play nice with the Roku.

Edited December 4, 2019 by speechles

[Croq 1]

If it were an IR interference issue, I'd have problems in other apps, wouldn't I?  All of them work fine, no issues like I'm encountering in Emby app.  I did try pulling the power plug and reconnecting it as stated above, no change in the experience.  First press still does nothing.  I also tried disconnecting/reconnecting the HDMI cable with no luck.

 

I actually have HDMI-CEC disabled on both my receiver and TV due to an issue where I couldn't configure it where I could just turn on the receiver without the TV turning on too.  I have disabled 1-Touch Play on the Roku as that sounded HDMI-CEC'ish.  Let me know if there's something else I need to do in that regard.

 

The Roku I have is a current model Roku Ultra 4K, firmware (software) version is 9.2.0, which is current version.

 

I have a TCL Roku TV in the bedroom and will try using it tonight to see if I have the same issue there.

[Gilgamesh_48 943]

If it were an IR interference issue, I'd have problems in other apps, wouldn't I?  All of them work fine, no issues like I'm encountering in Emby app.  I did try pulling the power plug and reconnecting it as stated above, no change in the experience.  First press still does nothing.  I also tried disconnecting/reconnecting the HDMI cable with no luck.

 

...

Not necessarily because there could be something generating IR that is close to the pattern that the Roku expects. However the fact that other apps on the Roku work fine dose make i a good deal less likely.

 

There are a couple of perplexing issues here:

1. You are clearly having a VERY specific problem with remote key presses in the Emby app.

2. Several people that also have Roku Ultras (I have two Ultras) are not seeing the problem at all.

 

I do not understand how those two things could be happening.

It does not seem that there is much chance of IR interference.

The Emby app is not the cause because there is no one else reporting any issue.

 

It occurs to me that there is one thing that has, in the past, caused weird problems with Rokus that seemed to impact only one or two apps. That issue is having an SD card installed. Roku actually does not really behave well with an SD card installed in some cases. BTW: The SD card really does not give much advantage or the Roku. All it really does is, sometimes, slightly speed up app loading. I do not have an SD card installed and I really do not see any slowness at all.

[Croq 1]

I can try removing the SD card to see if that helps.

 

Note too that I tried on my TCL Roku TV in a completely different room and am experiencing the same issues.  I'll try disconnecting the Harmony Hub in that room as that's the only thing I can think of that might be interfering with the operation (though it doesn't seem highly likely to me, especially since I don't have any issues in any other apps).

[speechles 1917]

The Roku ultra does not use IR. It uses WiFi direct. The RokuTV uses an IR remote and should work just fine with single presses. It is the WiFi direct remotes require double presses, right?

 

It most likely is the harmony hub capturing input. The first press of the Roku remote will "wake" the Roku to take input. The second press goes to the Roku. Because you have disabled HDMI-CEC the harmony hub cannot send commands the way it normally does and forward that first press to the Roku after it wakes/takes-control.

 

With HDMI-CEC disabled I cannot see how this can work with the harmony hub. Doesn't it require HDMI-CEC enabled? Never used one. But to communicate properly with WiFi direct remote controls it probably needs HDMI-CEC to talk directly to the connected device over HDMI rather than communicate through the remote controls WiFi direct protocol.

 

See here: https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/understanding-hdmi-and-cec

 

 

It may also be the repeat setting is too high or too low

 

See here: https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/adjusting-a-devices-command-repeats

Edited December 5, 2019 by speechles

[Gilgamesh_48 943]

The Roku ultra does not use IR. It uses WiFi direct. The RokuTV uses an IR remote and should work just fine with single presses. It is the WiFi direct remotes require double presses, right?

 

It most likely is the harmony hub capturing input. The first press of the Roku remote will "wake" the Roku to take input. The second press goes to the Roku. Because you have disabled HDMI-CEC the harmony hub cannot send commands the way it normally does and forward that first press to the Roku after it wakes/takes-control.

 

With HDMI-CEC disabled I cannot see how this can work with the harmony hub. Doesn't it require HDMI-CEC enabled? Never used one. But to communicate properly with WiFi direct remote controls it probably needs HDMI-CEC to talk directly to the connected device over HDMI rather than communicate through the remote controls WiFi direct protocol.

 

See here: https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/understanding-hdmi-and-cec

 

 

It may also be the repeat setting is too high or too low

 

See here: https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/adjusting-a-devices-command-repeats

But the Ultra. like all Rokus except the sticks does respond to IR commands.

 

The Harmony hub controls the Roku through the network exactly like the Roku remote apps that run under Android. It does not need or use CEC. I use a Harmony Hub and have CEC disabled and everything works fine. The Hub will use what is available and will use IR to control most TVs and many other devices.

 

The "repeats" setting is possible BUT I kind of doubt that is it because the OP said he was seeing the same thing using the Roku's original remote and he is seeing it on his Roku TV.

 

Personally I am quite stumped as to even possibilities. I do wonder if some other device is attempting to control the Emby app directly and causing problems with all the Emby devices on the local network. I think I remember a setting to turn that ability on/off in the Emby app's settings. It might be a good idea to turn that off.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Gilgamesh_48

[Croq 1]

I don't think the Harmony Hub is the problem though since it also happens when I use my Roku remote.  Plus, I unplugged the hub and got the same experience.  I tried turning off the feature that allows apps to control the Roku, but all that did was to make my navigation buttons respond really slow, at least on the Harmony (which makes me think that it's using something other than IR to interact with the Roku's).

 

One thing I did notice on the Roku TV (which is having the same issue) is that when I pressed Play/Pause button the first time, I got the "be-doop" sound, but no response in Emby channel.  Second press as usual paused the program.  Not sure if that adds anything to figuring out what's going on.

 

Note that on the Plex app, or any other app I have tried on Roku, I don't have this problem.  First button press works as it should.

 

This is a really weird problem.

[playloud 10]

One thing I did notice on the Roku TV (which is having the same issue) is that when I pressed Play/Pause button the first time, I got the "be-doop" sound, but no response in Emby channel.  Second press as usual paused the program.  

 

This happens for me as well using the Roku remote on Roku TV

[speechles 1917]

Lets find out what causes this. Since it occurs with a RokuTV with an IR remote that makes this easier to check.

 

How are you attempting to pause? Are you pressing OK on the remote then pressing OK again to pause? If so this isn't correct. OK opens the OSD putting focus on the last button used there. Usually this is the play/pause. This means two presses of OK will either play or pause if the OSD is closed. This is expected behavior. If this isn't the case just clearing this part up. OK isn't a transport control. OK opens the OSD.

 

The transport controls below should always invoke the seek bar of the Roku video player on the first press of these.

 

1) Left/Right on D-pad - show seek bar and goes into manual seek mode

2) Fast forward and Rewind - show seek bar and go into auto seek mode with 3 speeds user can change with multiple kepress

3) Play/Pause - pause playback, show seek bar and goes into manual seek mode.. or .. continue playback and hide seek bar

 

I cannot reproduce this at all on any devices I have. We need to find out W T F is going on.

 

On my RokuTV in the CEC settings I do have "1-touch play" enabled. Make sure you do as well and see if this fixes it on your RokuTV.

 

 

Make sure you are using the Emby Beta of the Roku app. If you still have an issue with the Beta app we can go from there.

 

 

Please give details what this is you are playing when this happens and what screen you got there from.

Example: This happens when playing Live TV channels and I start the video player from the guide on channel 100. After it plays a bit it has the issue. This gives us an avenue to reproduce it ourselves.

 

We need the full steps from entry onto the video player. This could be focus being lost somewhere and constantly recovered. It is hard to tell without knowing the "breadcrumb trail" to attempt to repeat the scenario. Please get back to us in this thread. We want to solve this. Thanks and apologies for the problem. Happy Holidays.

Edited December 7, 2019 by speechles

[Croq 1]

Thanks for the follow-up, and sorry for not responding, the holidays and other year-end stuff got in the way.  I'll look at getting the beta version of the Emby app and hopefully post some updates in the next few days.

 

To answer one of your questions:

 

To pause, I'm pressing the play/pause button.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Croq

[Luke 37062]

Thanks for the follow-up, and sorry for not responding, the holidays and other year-end stuff got in the way.  I'll look at getting the beta version of the Emby app and hopefully post some updates in the next few days.

 

To answer one of your questions:

 

To pause, I'm pressing the play/pause button.

 

Thanks ! Let us know how you get on.

[Croq 1]

How are you attempting to pause? Are you pressing OK on the remote then pressing OK again to pause? If so this isn't correct. OK opens the OSD putting focus on the last button used there. Usually this is the play/pause. This means two presses of OK will either play or pause if the OSD is closed. This is expected behavior. If this isn't the case just clearing this part up. OK isn't a transport control. OK opens the OSD.

 

The transport controls below should always invoke the seek bar of the Roku video player on the first press of these.

 

1) Left/Right on D-pad - show seek bar and goes into manual seek mode

2) Fast forward and Rewind - show seek bar and go into auto seek mode with 3 speeds user can change with multiple kepress

3) Play/Pause - pause playback, show seek bar and goes into manual seek mode.. or .. continue playback and hide seek bar

 

I cannot reproduce this at all on any devices I have. We need to find out W T F is going on.

 

On my RokuTV in the CEC settings I do have "1-touch play" enabled. Make sure you do as well and see if this fixes it on your RokuTV.

 

 

Make sure you are using the Emby Beta of the Roku app. If you still have an issue with the Beta app we can go from there.

 

 

Please give details what this is you are playing when this happens and what screen you got there from.

Example: This happens when playing Live TV channels and I start the video player from the guide on channel 100. After it plays a bit it has the issue. This gives us an avenue to reproduce it ourselves.

 

We need the full steps from entry onto the video player. This could be focus being lost somewhere and constantly recovered. It is hard to tell without knowing the "breadcrumb trail" to attempt to repeat the scenario. Please get back to us in this thread. We want to solve this. Thanks and apologies for the problem. Happy Holidays.

Okay, I finally got time to do some testing.  I loaded up the Emby Beta app for my testing.

 

First, I am not using the OK button to play/pause, I press the normal play/pause button on the remote.

 

For all of the transport controls you mentioned, it requires two presses to get it to do what I want.  As noted in previous posts, I do hear the "be doop" sound from Roku on the first press, but nothing else happens.  On the second press, it's doing what I want it to do.  Also note that this does not happen when navigating the app when not in playback mode.  All the navigation buttons work with the first press whenever not in playback mode.

 

I tried both options of the CEC settings you referenced, and they both operate the same way.

 

My steps to reproduce are:

 

1. Run the Emby app
2. Navigate to a video, and press OK button to bring up video info screen, then again to play the video.
3. No waiting is needed at this point, play/pause, arrows, etc., always require the given button to be pressed twice.
4. Once the OSD is up, further presses happen with one press.

[Luke 37062]

Thanks for that. @@denz are you able to reproduce?

[denz 426]

I will try tonight with those steps to see can I reproduce.

[speechles 1917]

I think I have this figured out. I believe it is related to the ECP keypresses used to pass-through keypresses to the video player from the input handler. I am positive that is what is happening. I put up some fixes to push to Beta that should solve this. We can try to see if that solves the problem. I cannot replicate the issue I can only try to find where we do things wrong and do them better. That is exactly what I have done.

 

There are two fixes: One to the video player and the keypress task. The second to the RestartApp task that happens when you change languages. If you change languages and the app doesn't automagically restart it is the same issue as the keypress task issue. 

 

The two fixes I put up should solve all these issue related to ECP keypresses and remote control keypresses using harmony remotes.

[denz 426]

Yes I can reproduce it.

[ebr 14912]

Please test this with the latest beta (.207).

[ebr 14912]

@@Croq @@denz Can anyone confirm if this is fixed?