Last Updated on 2015-02-26.

[:en]The official list of supported MCE remote controls is quite good, but unfortunately many of the recommended models are not available any more.

So I decided to create my own list of compatible, recommended USB remotes and will try to keep them updated.

Every remote below meets these requirements:

• OpenELEC / Kodi / MCE compatible
• All (or most) buttons working in Kodi
• USB IR receiver included

For mapping of non-default buttons, you can use the addon Keymap Editor.

Note: Mouse pointer keys are not really necessary for Kodi.

 

Model	Avg. Price	Availability	Notes	Mouse keys	Test state	Batteries	My rating
Zotac IR remote	17 €	bad	Only usable if  receiver model is OVU710001. No key-repeats.	no	OK	2x CR2032	75 of 100
Xenta PC remote	6 €	good	Only if you rarely need number keys.	yes	OK, but see notes below (2)	1x CR2025	50 of 100
PC remote (other model)	6 €	good	Only if you rarely need number keys	yes	OK, but see notes below (2)	2x AAA	45 of 100
Hama MCE remote	15 €	good	Also available under other names like “auvisio”	yes	OK	2x AAA	70 of 100
HP MCE remote	18 €	good	My current favorite. See notes below (1)	no	OK	2x AAA	90 of 100
MultimediaComputer Remote Control	10 €	good	Good price-performance ratio, but does not always remember mouse/keyboard toggle state	yes	OK	2x AAA	70 of 100

 

Notes

(1) Although the price is quite high, the HP MCE remote is my current favorite. It offers all needed keys including numbers, and both the remote and receiver are good quality products. In OpenELEC, it is recognized as remote, so “irw” command and several tools are able to show keypresses and handle keys for special cases. Basically all keys are predefined and working. The receiver gets every signal, no matter where you point the remote. Key repeating (e.g. for volume adjustment) is also supported.

One single deficit: If buttons are pressed very shortly, the receiver gets them but irw or OE/Kodi does not. But it’s something to get used to easily.

Update 2018-06: The “new” HP MCE remotes got some keys replaced, in my opinion those are better for Kodi usage. E.g. you have red/green/yellow/blue keys on top instead of Radio, Music etc. Tested with Kodi, the new keys can be programmed with the Key Editor addon, e.g. you can use the Red key for the context menu, which was not possible with the Radio key before.

Comparison:

(left = new, right = old)

 

In addition, the new USB IR receiver is much smaller than the old one.

 

(2) Full Name (lsusb) is “1d57:ad02 Xenta SE340D PC Remote Control”. It basically works out of the box, but has some major disadvantages if you want to e.g. use it for less popular features:

• OpenElec recognizes this remote as HID keyboard and mouse. So “irexec” cannot be used to run commands, which would be useful when kodi.bin is not running.
• SSH “irw” command does not show any output. As a workaround, turn on debug log and watch /storage/.kodi/temp/kodi.log.
• Power button seems to only work once, you then have to reconnect USB.
• After booting or rebooting with connected IR receiver, it does not work in general until you reconnect. See this post for a workaround.

hp mce usb receiver irhp mce remotes[:]