nessMediaCenter & EyeTV

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Oliver has pointed out to us that one can not only integrate "Front Row" in the EyeTV "on-screen menu" and thereby invoke it, but also any other program. So, for example, nessMediaCenter...

To do this, start the Terminal application (in the Utilities folder) and then enter the following command:
defaults write com.elgato.eyetv FrontRowReplacementAppPath -string "/Applications/nessMediaCenter.app"

Then it appears in the EyeTV "on-screen menu" under "More" a new menu item "Front Row", which starts nessMediaCenter. If you have specified "Open MediaCenter at startup" in the settings of nessMediaCenter, then the media center will also be displayed automatically.

However after the start of nessMediaCenter arise a few obstacles to the shared use of the Apple remote control, which Oliver has pointed out:
1.) EyeTV can not be activated again.
2.) EyeTV can be remotely controlled only limited because nessMediaCenter absorpts the Apple remote control commands in exclusive mode and passes only a few commands (forward & backward rewind, play & stop) to EyeTV when EyeTV is active.

Therefore, we have expanded a pre-release version of nessMediaCenter:
1.) If nessMediaCenter is specified as "FrontRowReplacementAppPath", then "Exit" in the MediaCenter activates EyeTV and opens the TV display. But of course only if in the nessMediaCenter settings "Shutdown computer after selection of exit" is not activated.
2.) The Apple remote control now also allows advanced control of EyeTV by nessMediaCenter when EyeTV is active. After some discussions & critic, we modified the control to match the standard of EyeTV.

Because MENU always activates the MediaCenter of nessMediaCenter (and continue to be so), MENU HOLD must be pressed instead of only MENU to show & hide the on-screen menu of EyeTV.

If the default behavior of EyeTV was modified by "apple remote menu button behavior", then the exclusive access to the Apple remote control can be deactivated in nessMediaCenter. Afterwards MENU activates the "on-screen menu" in EyeTV, but the media center can not be activated in other applications like iTunes (and there are fewer remote control commands in nessMediaCenter).

Addendum: now a pre-release version of nessViewer is also a available.

Keywords: Apple, EyeTV, MediaCenter, remote control