Media Keys (on a keyboard)

raoul_1101

raoul_1101

Member
Hi all,

I'm wondering how media keys on a keyboard work. I used to think that the keys were simply a key combo. What I'm confused about, is the key combos for Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player are different, yet my keyboard's media buttons work on both..

Any ideas?
 
You have to install a driver for keyboards with media keys, etc. The driver tells the computer how to interpret the signals coming from the respective buttons. So it's not sending a key-combination, but another signal altogether - much like a joypad or any other non-standard input device.
 
Some keyboards are different

Some use a usb button controller and some have the buttons linked through software and then to the media player. Also some are linked to a process (.exe) and then to the media player (IE: Winamp)
 
Damn. The reason being, I'm configuring a PS3 Bluetooth remote on my windows 7 machine, but windows doesn't automatically configure the buttons on the remote to functions. So, I downloaded a program where I can set each button on the remote to do a key combo. Looks like I might be stuck then, unless someday someone comes out with a driver for it.

Thanks all!
 
Well, what programs do you intend to control with the remote? Virtually every mediaplayer application I've ever seen has shortcut keys to do just about everything (ie +/- for volume, <enter> for fullscreen, etc etc). Just find the keyboard shortcut for actions/commands/whatever in different programs (you can edit a lot of them), and then map those keys to the controller using whatever program you downloaded...

That would work, right?

Alternatively, you could just buy a new remote w/ the appropriate drivers on a CD for like $10-$30.
 
Well, yeah, that's what I resorted to. I will only use the remote for Media Center at this point. I'll just say f*** it to Media Player.

As for the remote, I wanted a bluetooth remote- PS3 seemed the easiest (and one of the only I could find) option.

Thanks all, though, I'll tough it out.

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top