Widget: Kodi / XBMC Remote

Former Member over 9 years ago

Kodi Remote is a widget that lets your watch act as a remote for your Kodi / XBMC media player.

You can find Kodi Remote here: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/0d111315-c613-4ece-b90f-500c0a6af103

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kodi / XBMC media player;
Garmin device with at least Connect IQ 1.2
Android or iOS device running Garmin Connect Mobile

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings up your media player
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enable remote control via HTTP on your media player:

Start your media player;
Go to System>Settings>Services>Web server;
Make sure the checkbox after "Allow remote control via HTTP" is checked;
If you get a message Web Server: "Failed to start", you probably have some other service running on port 80. In that case change the number and try again;
Write down the number after "Port", you'll need that later.

Now you have enabled remote control, you'll need to know the address of you media player. Typicly you'll want to control your media player from whithin your home network. If you want, you can setup your media player for remote control over the internet. In that case I'll assume you know what you're doing and you won't need my explanaition.

Find the address of media player running on Windows computer:

Type "Windows-key" + "cmd" to open a command prompt;
Type "ipconfig";
Write down the value after "IPv4 Address", which typicly looks something like "192.168.xxx.xxx". This is the address of your media player.

Find the address of media player running on other device (ie Raspberry Pi):

Go to you internet router (you can find the address by typing the commands above and looking for the value after "Default Gateway");
Most routers have a web interface that can tell you the ip-address of all connected machines. Look up that address for your media player

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings up your Garmin watch
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Garmin watch will control the media player through your phone. This means that, assuming you're setting this up for remote control within your home network, your phone needs to be connected to your WiFi network for this to work.

You can set up up to 3 Kodi / XBMC media players using the Connect IQ app settings You can find a general explanation about app settings here: https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?332843-How-to-App-Settings

To set up a media player you have to provide an URL and a name and optional username and password:

For name, type anything you like;
The URL should have the form "http://{address}:{port}/". If port is 80 (the default), you don't need to provide the port.
Examples: "http://192.168.0.5/" or "http://192.168.0.5:8001/"
If you've setup your Kodi / XBMC media player with a username and password, you'll need to enter them, else leave these settings empty;
If you have more than 1 Kodi / XBMC media player, you can add them also. In that case you need to set the checkboxes to enable them.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version history
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
V1.2:

Added ability to control Kodi with username/password protection;
Added multiple configurations for button selection order for non touch screen devices

V1.1: Added support for all other devices
V1.0: Initial version, only for touch enabled devices (Vivoactive, Epix, FR630)

rootpd over 9 years ago

Password protection

Hi,

thanks for the great widget :).
My Kodi instance is running on non-default port and is password protected. Port probably isn't an issue but any plans for a form for credentials?

Thanks!

Former Member over 9 years ago

Hi,

thanks for the great widget :).
My Kodi instance is running on non-default port and is password protected. Port probably isn't an issue but any plans for a form for credentials?

Thanks!

You can specify port in the Address: http: //address: port/

Password is something I 've looked into and is on my todo list. It will take some effort of encoding it properly, so I can't make any promises.

Former Member over 9 years ago

Hi,

thanks for the great widget :).
My Kodi instance is running on non-default port and is password protected. Port probably isn't an issue but any plans for a form for credentials?

Thanks!

I've uploaded a new version. It's now possible to set a password.

dabunz over 9 years ago

Edit the url

Hi there,

It sounds very promising, which is why I decided to give it a go, my problem is that it seems I'm unable to edit the url? It shows me a blue link, and upon clicking this, it takes me to the "localhost" webpage... I must be doing something wrong here, could you point me in the right direction?

*I have been able to change the url from the Connect App, the "problem" there is that all keys are completely mixed up, good thing they are named, could be a mess otherwise :)

Former Member over 9 years ago

Hi there,

It sounds very promising, which is why I decided to give it a go, my problem is that it seems I'm unable to edit the url? It shows me a blue link, and upon clicking this, it takes me to the "localhost" webpage... I must be doing something wrong here, could you point me in the right direction?

See this thread for more information about user settings: https://forums.garmin.com/showthread...o-App-Settings.
If you still can't get this to work, can you tell me which tool you're using to set this up? Garmin Express, Garmin Connect Mobile for Android or Garmin Connect Mobile for iOS?

dabunz over 9 years ago

See this thread for more information about user settings: https://forums.garmin.com/showthread...o-App-Settings.
If you still can't get this to work, can you tell me which tool you're using to set this up? Garmin Express, Garmin Connect Mobile for Android or Garmin Connect Mobile for iOS?

When you look at the following screenshot, you can see that I have tried to edit the url in Garmin Express, on windows 7

This does not work for me, it will just open the link in the browser.

Former Member over 9 years ago

When you look at the following screenshot, you can see that I have tried to edit the url in Garmin Express, on windows 7

This does not work for me, it will just open the link in the browser.

Thanks for the update.
I can't see your picture, but I see the same in my Garmin Express. I did not test this with GE 4.1.11 before. GE 4.1.10 worked ok.
I think this is a bug in Garmin Express. It should allow you to change the url. I'll report this at Garmin.

In the mean time I advise you to change the URL using Garmin Connect Mobile. You should have no problem there.

Former Member over 9 years ago

Cannot change url settings

Tried both Garmin Connect and Express, using express I have the same problem as above, url is just a hyperlink that can't be changed.
using Garmin Connect, when I click "save" after changing the url, it opens up safari with the same edit page, and if I click "Edit" again, it downloads a binary file :confused:

stevenrwalter over 9 years ago

Any chance you'd be willing to post the code to github as an open source project?

Former Member over 9 years ago

No, I won't put it on GitHub (at the moment). If you're interested to know about how some specific parts are implemented (for instance communication with Kodi or Http basic authentication encoding), I'd be willing to share that info with you. Please send me a PM.