XBMC Remote Control Settings Guide

XBMC Remote Control Settings Guide

In this guide HTPCBuild.com will cover how to setup your XBMC for remote control. You’ll be able to remotely execute commands to your XBMC. This is great for those using XBMC on a HTPC and don’t like having to use a keyboard and mouse to interact with the XBMC UI.

1. Start by launching XBMC, you should be at the XBMC home screen.

2. Scroll to the right in the menu and locate “System”.

3. Now locate the submenu “Settings”. Click on “Settings” to enter the submenu.

4. Now you are in the “Settings” submenu for XBMC. Now locate the “Network” section and click on “Network”. A new submenu should open up and you should immediately see the “Service” options.

5. There are a few things you need to set in this area.

  • Allow control of XBMC via HTTP
  • Port
  • Username
  • Allow programs on other systems to control XBMC

6. Start by enabling the setting “Allow control of XBMC via HTTP”. Click on the small circle on the far right, when enabled the circle will turn blue.

7. Once you enable “Allow control of XBMC via HTTP”, a new subset of options should be editable. Start by changing the setting “Port”. The default settings is “80”. I recommend changing the port to something like “8089”. Port 80 is used by many computers for web surfing(HTTP), so you’ll want to use something different.

8. Now you can set a “username” and a “password” for your XBMC. Simply fill in a “username” and “password” you wish to use.

9. Lastly, we want to enable “Allow programs on other system to control XBMC”. Click on the small circle on the far right, when enabled the circle will turn blue.

Your all set! XBMC can now be controlled by 3rd party software. One example of this is Maraschino. Maraschino is a web-based front page for XBMC. You can use your computer to visit the Maraschino webpage, browse your XBMC library and tell XBMC to play a specific video. Enabling XBMC’s remote control features also allows you to control XBMC via software you install on your smartphone or table. You can use your smartphone or table to remotely browse your library and select which videos to play. Good bye keyboard and mouse!