Xbox 360 Controller and Media Center

[Skrying]

Just curious if its possible to use the Xbox 360 controller to control Windows Media Center (Vista edition). I don't want to do a extender setup, I'm looking at solely the Xbox 360 controller (wireless one specifically) as a device to control Media Center. Would be nifty to knock out a gaming controller and remote in one device.

Thanks!

 

[pjbliverpool]

No, its not possible, this is a major irk I have with the system. I think I started a thread here about it in fact. There are loads of missed opportunities with the 360 control pad. e.g. the big X button could open the games explorer and the gamepad could be used to navigate and start games from it, thus cutting the key/mouse out completely for gamepad based games.

 

[Skrying]

No, its not possible, this is a major irk I have with the system. I think I started a thread here about it in fact. There are loads of missed opportunities with the 360 control pad. e.g. the big X button could open the games explorer and the gamepad could be used to navigate and start games from it, thus cutting the key/mouse out completely for gamepad based games.

It is possible, just not the way you imagine. I asked at a few other places and ended up being sent to two programs, one free one not, both do the same thing, Xpadder is the free one, I have not used it yet but seems nice. It basically allows you to assign keyboard keys to the buttons on the controller (any controller btw, not just the 360 one) and emulate a mouse also, so you can basically get every function going on.

 

[AlNom]

do the joysticks function like those laptop pointers?

 

[Skrying]

do the joysticks function like those laptop pointers?

I'm not sure, as I don't have a game pad handy right now to test it out with. I would assume its similar but probably more accurate, as I've never found laptop pointers to be of any real use except in a pinch.

 

[AlNom]

Ah ok, cool. I'm sorta in the same situation as you, but I never really thought of using the gamepad for controlling things. The cordless keyboard works fine most of the time except for finer mouse control of course; the tab button gets abused a lot .

 

[pjbliverpool]

It is possible, just not the way you imagine. I asked at a few other places and ended up being sent to two programs, one free one not, both do the same thing, Xpadder is the free one, I have not used it yet but seems nice. It basically allows you to assign keyboard keys to the buttons on the controller (any controller btw, not just the 360 one) and emulate a mouse also, so you can basically get every function going on.

Cheers, could be just what im looking for! Only problem will be if it interferes with games were the pad works properly. Lets go find out!

 

[tabs]

I an surprised to find that Win 7 Media Centre doesn't support the 360 controller either. Has anyone found a satisfactory work around? I'd be interested to hear if Xpadder turned out to be a good solution.

 

[homerdog]

Xpadder is perfect for controlling the media center. Map the arrow keys to the D-pad, Enter to A, and Backspace to B. I even have the left thumbstick set to control the mouse and the shoulder buttons set to right and left click, though I never have to use it.

 

[BRiT]

My Xbox360 Media Remote that came with the HD-DVD drive worked to control my Media Center. I didn't find this out until I noticed when I was turning off the xbox360 my PC was also turning off.

 

[pjbliverpool]

My Xbox360 Media Remote that came with the HD-DVD drive worked to control my Media Center. I didn't find this out until I noticed when I was turning off the xbox360 my PC was also turning off.

What communicationmethoddoes it use? i.e. bluetooth, infrared etc... I have the infrared remote withmy 360 but thatsjust theone that came with it as standard.

 

[tabs]

At first it seemed as though XPadder was a pay only application with no trial, but it seems XPadder 5.3 and older are still free. You can get the free version from Softpedia.

 

[tabs]

...and when running it I'm presented with a "Does not support this version of windows" message. No Win 7 love then. Bah.

 

[BRiT]

The remote uses I.R. It works well with the Adaptec AVC 3610 tuner.

 

[pjbliverpool]

The remote uses I.R. It works well with the Adaptec AVC 3610 tuner.

Cheers! I might have to look that up.

 

[brain_stew]

My Xbox360 Media Remote that came with the HD-DVD drive worked to control my Media Center. I didn't find this out until I noticed when I was turning off the xbox360 my PC was also turning off.

Know of any cheap ir adapters that work with the remote then?

 

[Blazkowicz]

Zsnes is one program that works great with the X360 controller. I had it set that way : d-pad (and left stick), colourful buttons, digital triggers, select/start set as SNES controls ; left analog trigger is fast-forward ; right analog brings up the menu, allowing to load other games ; up/down on the right stick does save state/load state.

while slightly off-topic, that's at least one app good for gamepad use without fiddling much.