Rii Mini i8

Version	Status	Date Updated	Updated By
710	Unknown	N/A	N/A
810	Unknown	N/A	N/A
1004	working	7th July 2013	Jamo
1204	Unknown	N/A	N/A
1404	Unknown	N/A	N/A
Usage Information

Summary

The Rii mini i8 remote is a WiFi (2.4GHz) wireless keyboard/mouse combination. It is small and handy and includes multimedia keys and a full keyboard and touchpad. At the time of writing, it is the author's favourite and most functional remote control. The touchpad allows the user to control UI2-type controls while having a full keyboard and multi-media keys accessible allows quick and effective access to media functions like pause, and volume adjustment/ mute. The full keyboard makes web browsing and text-intensive functions like naming media / playlists easy. WiFi rather than IR communication means the remote doesn't have to have line-of-site to the media director and the battery life is excellent.

The remote should be plug and play with LinuxMCE as a device template exists which should detect the i8 as soon as it's wifi dongle is plugged into a usb dock on the media director. If it is not detected it may be necessary to modify the vendor id section in the device template to allow for a broader range of usb ids.

Keys

Standard Keyboard keys

The device has a full qwerty keyboard which allows entering of text when required. Standard UI2 functionality is also obtained, remembering the following-

• Fx - Function keys to initiate UI2 commands (like Menu, ambience, etc)
• Letters and Numbers allowing you to jump to a position in a media grid/list (eg. press "K" to jump to media starting with the letter "K")
• PgUp, PgDn keys allowing you to page (scroll) an entire media grid screen at a time

Touchpad Control

The touchpad allows you to control the UI2 pointer by moving your finger on the pad. It also, by default, allows left-click action by tapping. There are also two specific mouse "buttons" on the keyboard for both of the mouse buttons (left and right click) - one set on either side of the touch pad and another set on the left of the keyboard.

Arrow Keys and OK

On the right of the touchpad is a set of directional arrow keys with "OK" button inside. These work to move through menus or grids for finer control than using the pointer. The OK is useful for selecting buttons / options in the UI.

Multimedia Keys

The multimedia keys on the left of the touchpad allow quick and easy control of any media that is playing. There is a Skip left, Skip right (prev track, next track) button, a Volume up and Volume Down button as well as a pause/play button. All work as expected with media that is playing. There is also a mute button to the left of the touchpad that will mute volume.

Keys not mapped

There are 5 special keys that have not been mapped as yet -

• "play" key - looks like a play arrow with a circle around it on the left of the touchpad
• "mail" key on the left of the touchpad
• "search" key on the right of the touchpad
• "home" key on the right of the touchpad
• "e" key on the right of the touchpad

Any could be mapped to some function but I will leave that to later editors of the template to find a use for these keys.