Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Overview



This application for S60 edition 5 and Symbian^3 phones such as Nokia N8, N97, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 Music Express etc, allows you to use your phone as a remote control for any device which supports the Bluetooth Audio Video Remote Control (AVRCP) profile. For example you can control:

• iTunes, iDVD or QuickTime players on Apple MAC with OS X.
• iTunes, Spotify, BsPlayer or WinDvd players on Microsoft Vista or Windows7 with Bluetooth.

Bluetooth Remote Control is available from a number of application stores.

For Nokia phones including N97, N97 mini, 5800 XpressMusic, 5239, 5530 XpressMusic Nokia's OVI store.

For Samsung phones including i8910 Samsung Application Store.

For Sony Ericsson phones including Satio available soon from Sony Ericsson Play Now.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


The following is a list of frequently asked questions:

1. “The name of the device I want to control does not appear on the remote?”
The remote has not made a Bluetooth connection with the target device, see operation.

2 “I cannot find the device I want to control in the list when I press connect?”
Make sure the device you want to control has its Bluetooth set to discoverable mode.

3 “The device name shows but nothing happens when I press play?”
Make sure that the target application is ready to play and has focus.

4 “The device name shows when I connect, but after pressing a key either the device name disappears or an error is displayed”
The most likely explanation for this is that the device you are trying to control does not support the Bluetooth (AVRCP) Audio Video Control Profile. If the device is a PC you may be able to get new Bluetooth drivers. Broadcom Bluetooth drivers support AVRCP or contact your PC or Bluetooth supplier for support. If your device works with Bluetooth Stereo Headphones then it must support AVRCP and will work with Bluetooth Remote.


5 “The backward and forward buttons do not behave as I expect”.
The behaviour of target devices differs according to application. For example when receiving backward some applications will go back to the start of a track, others will go to the previous track, or may do nothing at all.

6 “I cannot connect to Microsoft Vista?”
The Microsoft Vista Bluetooth Software driver does not contain AVRCP so you may need to upgrade your driver. If your PC has Bluetooth built in then it is likely to have to have the required Bluetooth software. If it does not then install the driver from Broadcom Bluetooth which does support AVRCP.

7 “I cannot connect to Microsoft XP or Windows 2000?”
Microsoft XP and 2000 do not support the Bluetooth AVRCP profile.

8 "Does it work with Windows 7?"
Yes, it has now been tested with iTunes on Win7 64bit home. Thanks to "cyto" for testing.

9 "Sony Playstation 3 uses Bluetooth, can this be used with PS3 to control music or video?"
I have not been able to test this but I think it will not work because although the PS3 uses Bluetooth it does not support the AVRCP profile. I believe the PS3 uses the HID (Human device interface) profile which is for keyboards, joysticks, mice etc, rather than AVRCP which is for audio and video remote control. If I get any more information I'll post here. If anybody has tried this please let me know at support@camtek.fsnet.co.uk

10 "What PC Bluetooth drivers support AVRCP?"
Broadcom Widcomm does support AVRCP, Microsoft does not. If anybody has tried any other drivers please let me know at support@camtek.fsnet.co.uk

11 "How can I find out if a device supports AVRCP?"
Apart from the published specification you could use a tool like ViewSDP to check if the device claims to support AVRCP using Bluetooth Service discovery (SDP).  If a computer works with Bluetooth Stereo headphones then it should work with Bluetooth remote as headphones will use A2DP and AVRCP profiles.

12 "What phones can run Bluetooth Remote"
Bluetooth remote is for Symbian^1(also called S60 Edition 5) and Symbian^3 phones, including:
Nokia N8
Nokia N97, N97 mini
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, 5235, 5230, 5530
Nokia X6, C6
Sony Ericsson Satio
Samsung i8910 HD

Technical

This application uses the Bluetooth Audio Video Remote Control (AVRCP) Profile, see www.bluetooth.com for more details.


Email support@camtek.fsnet.co.uk

Operation:




First make a Bluetooth connection between your phone and your player:

1. Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled and in discoverable mode on your player.
2. Pair with the device from your phone using Settings->Connectivity->Bluetooth Options->New paired devices.
3. Set the player as authorised using the authorised tab in the phone Bluetooth settings.

Then start Bluetooth Remote and connect using Options->Connect and select your device.
Once connected the Bluetooth name of the player is displayed at the top of the remote application, you can use the play, pause, stop buttons etc.