TV Remote

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A webOS remote reaches an app two ways. The Magic Remote acts as a pointer, and the direction and colour keys arrive as key presses.

Two Ways In

The notes below are how SDL-webOS handles it on Wayland. Another toolkit sees the same compositor, so the shape holds even if the API does not.

Magic Remote as a Pointer

The pointer arrives as ordinary SDL mouse motion and button events. Nothing special to switch on.

Cursor visibility is the surprise. The TV shows and hides the pointer on its own, and tells you by sending a key, not a mouse event: SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CURSOR_SHOW and SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CURSOR_HIDE. Watch for those if your UI changes with the pointer on screen.

Three hints tune it. SDL_WEBOS_CURSOR_SLEEP_TIME sets the idle time before the pointer goes away, SDL_WEBOS_CURSOR_FREQUENCY sets its update rate, and SDL_WEBOS_CURSOR_CALIBRATION_DISABLE stops the TV restoring the last pointer position.

Remote Keys as a Keyboard

Direction and OK arrive as arrow keys and return. The rest come in on scancodes SDL-webOS adds above the standard range, all named SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_*.

Handle Both

Keys

Back Button

The TV keeps Back for itself unless you ask for it. Set SDL_WEBOS_ACCESS_POLICY_KEYS_BACK to true and the press arrives as SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_BACK. Leave it alone and you never see the key, because the TV acts on it instead.

Exit, Home, Guide and the Meta key work the same way, each behind its own SDL_WEBOS_ACCESS_POLICY_KEYS_* hint. All of them default to off, so claiming a key is always a deliberate act. Claim only what you handle. A Back button you swallow and ignore leaves the viewer stuck in your app.

Key Codes

Key	Scancode
Back	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_BACK`
Exit	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_EXIT`
Home	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_HOME`
Guide	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_GUIDE`
Channel up, channel down	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CH_UP`, `SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CH_DOWN`
Red, green, yellow, blue	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_RED` and friends
Cursor shown, cursor hidden	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CURSOR_SHOW`, `SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_CURSOR_HIDE`
Numbered remote keys	`SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_1` to `SDL_SCANCODE_WEBOS_12`

From SDL_scancode.h in SDL-webOS.