EDIT: I’ve noticed a lot of people coming across this post with the search term ‘vlc osd’. The on screen display appears when you press Shift+Left/Right, Ctrl+Up/Down/Left/Right.
Recently I noticed a presentation tool which incorporates two buttons which can control a Powerpoint presentation, pdf, slideshow, or anything that uses PgUp and PgDn buttons.
It is available for around AU$50 from Jaycar (I managed to get the same one for $20 from eBay), and comes with two parts. One, a laser pointer, has three buttons. An up and a down button, and a button which activates the laser pointer. By pressing the up and down buttons, you can remotely press the PgUp and PgDn buttons, by using a small ‘dongle’ which connects to your computer’s USB port.
Out of interest, I thought of many different uses for this (not just presentations), and using AutoHotKey, I have created a script which converts this presentation tool into a small, fairly cheap remote control for VLC, using an On Screen Display.
You may be wondering how you could control VLC with only a two button remote. Pressing ‘Up’ tells VLC to play/pause. Pressing ‘Down” brings up an on-screen menu, where you can then scroll up and down to select volume, fast forward/rewind, and jog. To select an item, simply leave the selection on one of the menu items. The easiest way to learn how to use it is to play around with it, you can try it out without the remote by just using the PgUp/PgDn keys.
Download VLC Remote OSD (190KB)
Laser Presentation Tool (AU$39.95 from Jaycar)
November 9, 2006 at 9:53 am
AAARGH!!! EVIL EXTERNALIST!!! ARISE, BUDDHA WARRIORS! BRING DOWN THIS LAZY HEATHEN STUDENT!!! UNLESS HE UPDATES, OF COURSE, which is highly unlikely because he is so engrossed in “work”, as if academic success matters anyway, blogging is so much more important… or addictive, it’s either one.
November 9, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Yeah? Come next door and say that!
September 8, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Hi,
I’m really interested in this but it doesn’t work on my pc. I get an “illegal instruction”. Where can I start to find out how co create my own OSD menu?
September 8, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Wow, I’m amazed this post is still getting hits!
I used AutoHotKey to make the script, its really easy to learn. I could send you the script if I can find it on my computer, I’ve taken down the file since nobody was downloading it and it was just taking up space on my server. Give me some way of contacting you (IM/skype/email) and I’ll send you the file if I can still find it.
September 24, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Hi again,
I’m still interested in the remote script (or program). I can get by setting pgup to play pause and pgdown to full screen but more functions would be better. The script would be the best though because then I could edit it to suit my exact preferences.
If you could send either to “punzet” (AT) “dbzmail.com” that would be fantasic.
Thanks in advance
Luke