Xbox Controller Support STILL Broken❌ since PMP/Plex HTPC name-change

Plex Players Desktop Players
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Player Version#: Plex HTPC (for Windows Home Theater PCs)
Windows 10 or later (64-bit Intel or AMD processors only)
1.33.2.3525-140e01eb, February 8, 2023

Every since PMP became Plex HTPC (May 25, 2022), I’ve never been able to get a wireless (via USB receiver) Xbox Controller🎮 (360, One, Series, etc) to work properly, or at all. I’m experiencing the same issue as others, that the Plex Logs show the Controller being detected BUT NOT any button presses/inputs. Using custom JSON Inputmaps becomes irrelevant if the button presses are not being detected. Also USB receivers work better with :video_game:s than Bluetooth, and I have the USB receivers, so I should be able to use them–out of the box–like I did back with PMP.

The webpage for Plex HTPC Input Maps lists the default Windows location as: “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\inputmaps\defaults”, BUT the directory in Windows just shows “…\default” (without the S). Not sure if this is causing issues or not, but thought I’d point that out.

Also, my Plex account is using the “Enter PIN” method to login at the start. Could this be causing :video_game: issues (for some odd reason)? The Logs correctly detect Keyboard inputs when entering the PIN, but NOT :video_game: button presses.

Every new version since the re-name, I’ve read the same forum posts saying “Oh, this is a :beetle:with SDL/SDL2, it should be fixed in next Plex HTPC update.” Can a Plex Dev please confirm that this :beetle:is even on the radar?

Years ago (when HTPC was PMP), two features initially sold me on Plex: the UI, and the out-of-the-box :video_game: support. It’s kinda sad that the latter seems to have become neglected and broken, when it initially worked fantastic. :broken_heart:

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I presume that you mean the logs don’t show any controller inputs, correct? The app logs all inputs it sees from SDL regardless of whether they map to any commands or not so this not showing in the logs means no input maps will be able to correct it.
Does it make a difference if the controller is connected before or after the app launch?

Unfortunately, much of this kind of thing (assuming I understand your issue correctly) is up to SDL to correct and there is very little we can do about it.

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(A) :video_game::green_circle:, launch Plex HTPC (via :computer_mouse:) = doesn’t work. :x:
(B) :video_game::green_circle:, launch Plex HTPC (via :computer_mouse:), remove & reinsert :video_game::battery:, turn :video_game::green_circle: = doesn’t work. :x:
(C) :video_game::red_circle:, launch Plex HTPC (via :computer_mouse:), turn :video_game::green_circle: = works…but only until you exit Plex HTPC, then you’re back at (A)/(B) above.:white_check_mark::face_with_spiral_eyes::x:

Most people who set up “living room/TV” PCs use only a wireless :video_game:with it (i.e… no :computer_mouse:nor :keyboard:), and usually use a program similar to Controller Companion to navigate the desktop and launch different apps (Steam BPM, Plex HTPC, RetroArch, etc.). Turn the PC on, grab :video_game:, turn it on, sit, and play.

This is why (C) is frustratingly broken in current Plex HTPC: you can’t launch Plex HTPC when your only input device (i.e. the🎮) is OFF🔴; but if it’s ON🟢and you launch Plex HTPC, it STILL doesn’t work. This is the conundrum. :arrows_counterclockwise::rage:

Did PMP-TV (in the “Before Times”, as Plex puts it) use SDL for :video_game:-mapping and inputs? If not, what did it use?

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Chiming in to say that I’m experiencing exactly the same issue as @briareos411. I can also speak for a close friend of mine who too has this exact issue.

Controller support is broken! I can reproduce this with a variety of Xbox Controllers – they all don’t work properly. This bug has been present since the first release of Plex HTPC. Please fix it!

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This is definitely not an SDL issue, as no other SDL app or game I’ve ever played exhibits this particular buggy behavior.

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Though the excessive emojis make me :nauseated_face: I have the same experience. In previous versions (I don’t know at what point it changed) Plex HTPC would not respond to controller input if the controller was already connected to the PC before the app started. I would always have to first start Plex HTPC, and then turn on the controller for Plex HTPC to respond to input.

It appears that Plex does detect the controller, but does not log any input behavior from it.

Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.185 [30652] INFO - Starting Plex HTPC version: 1.34.1.3578-e078bda7
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.185 [30652] INFO - Running on: Windows 10 Version 2009 [10.0.22621] x86_64
...
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.662 [30696] INFO - [Input/SDL] Found 1 joysticks
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.663 [30696] INFO - [Input/SDL] JoyStick #0 is Xbox One Elite 2 Controller with 16 buttons and 6 axes
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.663 [32300] INFO - [InputManager/SDL] Successfully inited input
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.663 [30696] INFO - [Input/SDL] Detected device was added.
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.663 [30696] INFO - [Input/SDL] Found 1 joysticks
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.663 [30696] INFO - [Input/SDL] JoyStick #0 is Xbox One Elite 2 Controller with 16 buttons and 6 axes
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.664 [6200] INFO - libCEC was successfully initialized, found version 262151
Mar 07, 2023 21:55:52.666 [32300] INFO - [InputManager/CEC] Successfully inited input

I then see input event log lines from the keyboard, but none from the controller.
This happens both when the controller is connected via wireless dongle, and by USB-C cable.

For what it’s worth, there was discussion of this same issue over a year ago.

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Sorry bout that; force o’ habit. At my job, the majority of the customers/clients I support are kinda…lazy…when it comes to reading; but respond much better to visuals (ie. emojis).

Also, I’m assuming Plex does not use any forum search bots to parse for keywords (ex: “controller”, “SDL”, etc.) and keyword frequency to highlight the top Plex issues. I hoped that the emojis would make it easier for Plex [Support] Forum users to glean the topic from them. :video_game:

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Plex HTPC (for Windows Home Theater PCs) version: 1.38.2.3738-02a27646 (April 21, 2023)
Controller :video_game: support remains just as BROKEN as it has been for MONTHS. :x::-1:

Did PMP-TV use SDL for input-mapping? If not, what did it use?

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Same issue. It does work if you turn off the controller first, then launch Plex HTPC. Once Plex is loaded, then turn on the controller and it functions as it should. If this is a SDL issue, then has someone reported it to them?

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Have the same issue.

It only works if controller is turned on after plex htpc have started

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Plex HTPC (for Windows Home Theater PCs) version: 1.44.1.3926-348b5bfa (July 31, 2023)
Xbox Controller :video_game: support STILL BROKEN. :x:

Plex has a CEO, CPO and six–SIX!–Vice Presidents of [Blah-Blah-Blah].
What happened to all the programmers??

Is there a public Plex Blog that lists what is currently in the works?

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Plex HTPC (for Windows Home Theater PCs) version: 1.47.1.3971-8b24dbb6 (September 7, 2023)
Xbox Controller :video_game: support (wireless via USB dongle/receiver) STILL just as BROKEN as it has been for over a YEAR (+4 MONTHS!). :spiral_calendar: :x:

Side: Has anyone tested to see if this same issue persists on the Linux version of Plex HTPC?
(Though I’ve heard getting the Xbox USB receiver to work on Linux is a hurdle in itself.)

Out of curiosity, I also tested something today:
I found an old download of PMP (version 2.58.0.1076-38e019da-windows-x64), installed it on Windows 11, plugged in the receiver, and synced the :video_game:. And it worked, out-of-the-box, JUST. FINE.

:technologist:What code/modules did PMP use that Plex HTPC doesn’t?

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