Bluetooth controller through Shield

[podonnell 47]

Hi,

I sometimes use a bluetooth controller with my LG TV, and I am able to open the Emby app and subsequently use that bluetooth controller within the LG TV Emby app.

When I tried this with my NVIDIA Shield, I am able to launch Emby, but the controller is unresponsive within Emby itself. Is there a way to fix this?

[Luke 42077]

HI, what version number of the Emby android app do you have on the Shield?

[podonnell 47]

25 minutes ago, Luke said:

HI, what version number of the Emby android app do you have on the Shield?

3.4.20

[ebr 16169]

What, exactly, does the BT controller emulate?  A mouse?  A remote control?

[podonnell 47]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

What, exactly, does the BT controller emulate?  A mouse?  A remote control?

It's a playstation controller, with LG it lets me use it as a remote control essentially.
Shield / Android TV the inputs do nothing once Emby is launched.

[ebr 16169]

Just out of curiosity, does it work with the TV app?

[podonnell 47]

1 hour ago, ebr said:

Just out of curiosity, does it work with the TV app?

It does, yeah. That is what made me inquire to begin with -- as the TV-paired controller is able to both launch and control the app.
That made me think the functionality is there with Emby to begin with, and maybe there's something I missed with the Shield version.

Edited January 22, 2025 by podonnell

[ebr 16169]

19 hours ago, podonnell said:

It does, yeah. That is what made me inquire to begin with -- as the TV-paired controller is able to both launch and control the app.
That made me think the functionality is there with Emby to begin with, and maybe there's something I missed with the Shield version.

Hi.  I meant specifically Emby for Android TV on the same device.

[podonnell 47]

On 1/23/2025 at 10:19 AM, ebr said:

Hi.  I meant specifically Emby for Android TV on the same device.

Ah, is that the other Emby version that is on Google Play? I can try to download that and test.

[podonnell 47]

On 1/23/2025 at 10:19 AM, ebr said:

Hi.  I meant specifically Emby for Android TV on the same device.

Confirmed. The Emby for Android TV has no issues with the bluetooth remote. Seems the issue is exclusive to the “Emby” app. 

[podonnell 47]

Was this helpful in identifying the issue? Seems like there is some difference in how a bluetooth controller works between the two versions of these apps.

[Luke 42077]

Hi, what bluetooth controller?

[podonnell 47]

5 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, what bluetooth controller?

I have tried with a few playstation controllers. I mention it a bit above. It works on the Emby for Android TV on the same device, but the 'Emby' app seems to ignore any input from the controller.

[ebr 16169]

5 hours ago, podonnell said:

Was this helpful in identifying the issue? Seems like there is some difference in how a bluetooth controller works between the two versions of these apps.

Hi.  The TV app is specifically looking for and processing game-controller inputs because the first device for Android TV that was produced actually had a game controller as its only input.

Virtually no devices since then (all the way back in 2015) use game controllers though so that's probably why the standard app is ignoring them.

[Luke 42077]

Are you able to navigate the operating system with it?

[podonnell 47]

1 hour ago, ebr said:

Hi.  The TV app is specifically looking for and processing game-controller inputs because the first device for Android TV that was produced actually had a game controller as its only input.

Virtually no devices since then (all the way back in 2015) use game controllers though so that's probably why the standard app is ignoring them.

I'm confused...

The LG TV version of 'Emby' works with the controller.
The Shield version of 'Emby for Android TV' works with the controller.

Only the 'Emby' app on Shield does not work.

So we know that the Shield device itself as well as one of the Emby apps does work with controller input.
It seems like this functionality is just missing from the 'Emby' version on Shield.

What may also be helpful to know - This controller is paired to the Shield itself and not in Emby in any way, and I think Shield/LG is just passing bluetooth commands through to the app. I don't think Emby knows a controller from a regular bluetooth remote in this case. It just seems like the passthrough of external remotes is not working on the 'Emby' app for Shield.

 

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Are you able to navigate the operating system with it?

Yes. As well as control the 'Emby for Android TV' version of the app.

[ebr 16169]

Yeah, the TV version of the app is using the standard Android framework for handling navigation (plus enhancements we made for "special" keys on the controller).  So anything that works on the device in general here should work in that app as well.

The standard Android app does not use the Android framework for its navigation and that is why it isn't seeing those inputs.

[Neminem 1518]

So yet another thing the old TV app does better than the "Soon to be pushed" AIO app, can't handle.

 

[podonnell 47]

I was linked here from my thread, so I will link that here as it sounds like this is another feature that is missing.

In short, bluetooth controllers are not passing inputs to the app.