Apple Remote

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Apple Remote

Developer	Apple Inc.
Type	A remote used to control the Apple TV, iPods and iPhones (with dock), and Macs with infrared ports
Release date	October, 2005
Website	Apple — iMac — Front Row

The Apple Remote is a remote control made for use with Apple products with infrared capabilities released after October 2005. The device was announced by Steve Jobs on October 12, 2005. The remote is largely based on the interface of the first generation iPod Shuffle and has only six buttons. The six buttons on the remote are for Menu, Play/Pause, Volume Up/Down, Previous/Rewind, and Next/Fast-forward. The remote was originally designed to interact with Front Row in the iMac G5 and is also compatible with the MacBook. The Mac Mini with Apple Remote support was announced on February 26, 2006. The Apple TV also ships with and utilizes the Apple Remote. There is no Apple Remote support on the Mac Pro.

The remote was designed to attach magnetically to the side of the late G5 and early Intel iMacs. These models integrated several hidden magnets in the bottom right corner which attract the remote's battery. This is also possible with the frame of MacBook screens. As of February 2008, the MacBook and MacBook Pro no longer include an Apple Remote in the package, though it remains compatible and available as an option. As of March 2009, the iMac and Mac Mini also no longer ship with an Apple Remote in the package.

In October of 2009 the original white plastic remote was replaced with a thinner and longer aluminum version. The new aluminum remote was released along with the 27 inch aluminum iMacs and Multi-Touch Magic Mouse. It also introduced a few changes in the six-button layout. The Play/Pause button was moved out of the center of the directional buttons, placing it aside the Menu button (under the directional buttons). The symbols for the Volume Up/Down and Next/Fast-forward buttons were replaced with small dots. This was to make it more obvious that the buttons were also used to move up, down, left, and right within menus. All of the buttons became black and embossed within the aluminum. Along with the new design, the price was dropped to $19.99.

The Front Row application allows users to browse and play music, view videos (DVDs and downloaded files) and browse photos. The Apple Remote is also compatible with the iPod Hi-Fi^[1] and the Universal Dock.^[2] The functions for the iPod Universal Dock allow for music and media control, though the remote is not able to control the menus within the iPod. The battery is accessed by pushing a small, blunt object, such as a paper clip or a 3.5 mm headphone plug, into a tiny indent at the bottom right edge of the remote, revealing the compartment which houses the CR2032 lithium 3.0 V button cell.^[3]

Contents 1 Shortcuts 1.1 Pairing 1.2 Sleep 1.3 Boot options 1.4 iPhone application 2 Application compatibility 2.1 VLC compatibility 3 Hardware compatibility 3.1 Compatibility with older Macs 3.2 iPod compatibility 3.3 Compatibility with other devices 4 Boot Camp compatibility 5 MacBook and iMac resting place 6 Infrared interference 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Shortcuts

[edit] Pairing

A device can be configured to respond only to a certain remote. This can be achieved by holding the Apple Remote close enough to the device with which it is to be paired, and then pressing and holding the "Menu" and "Next" (or "Play") buttons for five seconds. Pairing can be removed by deactivating it under the Mac OS X "Security" System Preference pane. Only users with administrative privileges are allowed to pair their remote; in a non-administrator account, pressing the buttons will have no effect and nothing will be displayed.^[4] Pairing can be very useful because some users who have both an iMac and Apple TV nearby experience issues with remotes working with both devices.

[edit] Sleep

Users can put iMacs, MacBook Pros, MacBooks, Intel Mac Minis, Apple TVs, or docked iPods into sleep mode by holding down the Play/Pause button on the Apple Remote. Devices can also be awakened by pressing any button on the remote.

[edit] Boot options

Holding down the Menu button on the remote while starting up an Intel Macintosh enters the Startup Manager^[5] (same as holding the Option key at startup). The remote can then be used to cycle through all bootable partitions and can then confirm them by pressing the Play/Pause button. This can be especially useful for Boot Camp users who might frequently use this feature to boot into Windows partitions on the Intel Macs. The remote can also eject CDs or DVDs in this menu by selecting the disc and then pressing the + (Volume Up) button on the remote.

[edit] iPhone application

An equivalent application offered by Apple, available for the iPhone/iPod Touch and available in the iTunes App Store is called Remote and allows control of iTunes on the Mac and Windows over Wi-Fi after a pairing process, along with the Apple TV through a visual interface presenting all playlists in the iTunes or Apple TV library.

[edit] Application compatibility

The remote can be used to control presentations in Apple Keynote (on both Intel Macs & PowerPC Macs), OpenOffice.org Impress presentations or presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint 2008, picture slide shows in iPhoto and Aperture, QuickTime, DVD Player, and audio in iTunes. A range of software has been developed that facilitates control over other applications by assigning keystrokes and AppleScripts to individual buttons.

[edit] VLC compatibility

In response to the new Intel processors, a small piece of software called the Apple Remote Helper has surfaced to allow remote use in the VLC media player. Play, pause, volume, and skip buttons all work normally. It should be noted, however, that the volume buttons change VLC's volume, and not the system volume. Starting with release 0.8.6-test1 VLC itself supports the Apple Remote.

[edit] Hardware compatibility

[edit] Compatibility with older Macs

Using the third-party remote software mira (from Twisted Melon) or Remote Buddy (from IOSPIRIT GmbH) users of older Macs can use the Apple Remote with a USB-based IR receiver. Most new Mac models come equipped with a built-in infrared receiver, but previous generation products lack any such IR device. Even the Mac Pro desktops released in the summer of 2006 lack built-in IR. Using Remote Buddy or mira, it is possible to connect an external USB receiver such as the Windows Media Center Edition eHome receiver, and use the Apple Remote on older machines with full support for sleep, pairing, low battery detection, and Front Row. In addition, Remote Buddy is able to emulate events of an Apple Remote on these systems, enabling users to use software written for the Apple Remote in exactly the same way as with newer Macs.

[edit] iPod compatibility

An iPod placed in a dock featuring an IR sensor can be controlled via the Apple Remote. However, the remote's menu functionality does not work on the iPod.

[edit] Compatibility with other devices

The Apple Remote can also be used to control the iPod Hi-Fi and Freecom's internet radio MusicPal.

[edit] Boot Camp compatibility

As of Boot Camp 1.2, the remote has been given some compatibility when a user is running Windows. If the user has iTunes installed on the Windows partition, pressing the Menu button on the remote will load the program. As well as this, the remote has the ability to control both Windows Media Player and iTunes, as well as system Volume Control. Additionally, the remote also has the ability to control the audio program foobar2000 and the freeware media program Media Player Classic. Programs must have focus for the remote to control them. Skipping tracks and pausing/playing functionality are available under the programs.

[edit] MacBook and iMac resting place

Earlier models of the iMac featured a magnetic rest for the remote,^[6] which was later taken out.

The MacBook features magnets in its lid (primarily intended for the magnetic latch) which also act as rests for the Apple Remote.

[edit] Infrared interference

Because many electrical appliances use infrared remote (IR) controls, concurrent use of the Apple Remote with other IR remotes may scramble communications and generate interference, preventing stable use. Remotes should be used individually to circumvent the problem.^[7]

[edit] See also

• Apple TV
• Front Row
• iMac
• iPod
• iPod Hi-Fi
• MacBook Air
• MacBook Pro
• Mac Mini
• Remote (Apple software)
• Remote control

[edit] References

1. ^ "Using the Apple Remote with iPod Hi-Fi". Apple Inc. April 14, 2008. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303347. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
2. ^ "Pairing the Apple Remote with the iPod Universal Dock". Apple Inc. January 8, 2007. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302782. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
3. ^ "How to replace the Apple Remote battery". Apple Inc. June 6, 2008. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302543. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
4. ^ "Pairing your Apple Remote with your computer". Apple Inc. December 4, 2008. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302545. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
5. ^ "Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume". Apple Inc. March 23, 2009. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106178. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
6. ^ "iMac (Mid 2007): No Remote rest for Apple Remote". Apple Inc. August 13, 2007. http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24898?viewlocale=en_US. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
7. ^ "Apple TV: IR interference can prevent your remote from working". Apple Inc. March 22, 2007. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305171. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e Apple hardware since 1998 Consumer computers eMac · iMac (G3: Tray, Slot; G4; G5; Core; Core 2: Polycarbonate, Aluminum) · Mac mini (G4; Core; Core 2: Server) Professional computers Mac Pro · Power Mac (G3: Outrigger, Minitower, AIO, B&W, Server; G4: Graphite, Quicksilver, MDD, Server, Cube; G5) · Xserve (G4, CN; G5, CN; Intel) Notebook computers iBook (G3: Clamshell, Dual USB; G4) · MacBook (Core; Core 2: Polycarbonate (Polycarbonate, Unibody), Aluminum) · MacBook Air · MacBook Pro (Core; Core 2: Discrete, Unibody) · PowerBook (2400c (Japan only), G3: Wallstreet, Lombard, Pismo; G4: Titanium, Aluminum) Consumer electronics Apple TV · Displays (Cinema, Studio) · iPhone · iPod (Classic: 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, Photo, 5G, 6G; Mini: 1G, 2G; iPod+HP; Shuffle: 1G, 2G, 3G; Nano: 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G; Touch: 1G, 2G, 3G) · Newton (MessagePad: 2000, 2100; eMate 300) Accessories AirPort (Card: B, G, N; Base Station: Graphite, Snow, Extreme G, N, Express G, N) · iPod (Click Wheel, Dock Connector, Camera Connector, iPod Hi-Fi, Nike+iPod) · iSight · Keyboard (Pro, Wireless) · Mouse (Pro, Wireless, Mighty, Magic) · Remote · SuperDrive · Time Capsule · USB Modem · Xserve RAID Italics indicate discontinued products. See also: Apple hardware before 1998.