For Mac OS 10.6.x Snow Leopard:

Due to a new Apple issue, Mira will not obtain exclusive access in Mac OS 10.6.0 and 10.6.1. Mac OS 10.6.2 should correct the problem - it is recommended that all customers update to this version.

Customers affected by this issue may notice two actions taking place when some remote buttons are pressed, such as Front Row launching in addition to the Launch Menu when pressing the Menu button in the Global Profile.

If the 10.6.2 update does not imediately fix the issue, as a temporary but very stable measure, please download and install CandelAir from our friends at IOSpirit. This software is a replacement driver for the Apple built-in receiver and will enable Mira to obtain a proper exclusive lock and once again function as expected.

For Mac OS 10.5.x Leopard:

A change made by Apple to their Secure Event Input mode has an unintended bug which can prevent Mira (or any application) from maintaining exclusive access to the Apple built-in IR receiver.

Customers affected by this issue may notice two actions taking place when some remote buttons are pressed, such as Front Row launching in addition to the Launch Menu when pressing the Menu button in the Global Profile.

New versions of Mira starting with 1.3.0 include built-in support to seamlessly work around this Apple bug. Please download the latest version by clicking the download link at the top of this page.

Mira will work with a supported IR Receiver on any Mac with USB and Mac OS X 10.4 or newer, including new models with built-in IR.

Mac models without a built-in Apple IR Receiver require an external receiver that connects to an available USB port.

You can buy the Twisted Melon Manta TR1 receiver from our web site.

Apple lists which computers officially support Mac OS X 10.4+ on their web site. Mira and the Manta IR receiver may also work on other systems and configurations as long as they have the latest version of Mac OS 10.4 or newer installed.

Mira supports the following IR receivers (Bold = Recommended):

• Manta TR1 IR Transceiver (from Twisted Melon for use with any Mac)
• Apple Built-In IR Receiver (found in most new Mac models)
• MCE/eHome 2005 IR Receiver (used with some Windows MCE systems)
• MCE/eHome 2005 IR Transceiver (used with most Windows MCE systems)
• Keyspan DMR IR Receiver (UIA-11 series, except "-11F")
• Keyspan Express IR Receiver (UIA-11 series, except "-11F")

External receivers should be plugged directly into a USB port on the computer or an external powered USB hub. They should not be plugged into an Apple Keyboard or other unpowered hub as they may operate poorly or not at all.

Older MCE receivers (2003) are not currently supported by Mira. Keep checking the site for updates and newly supported receivers.

With Mira, your old Keyspan IR receiver can be used with the Apple Remote on any Mac with USB.

You must UNINSTALL the original Keyspan software completely before the receiver can be used by Mira. Once this is done, simply plug the receiver into a powered USB port and it is ready for use with Mira.

Open the Mira preference pane and select the Options tab. If you only have one supported receiver, it should already be listed in the pop-up menu next to "Use this receiver."

Select the Buttons tab and ensure each of the on-screen remote buttons lights up in blue when you press buttons on the Apple Remote.

The Apple Remote only works with IR receivers, therefore it is not compatible with the "RF Presenter" nor "RF Remote" receiver models. Mira uses the Apple Remote exclusively with the above receivers. There is no suport for the original remote controls that shipped with these receivers in Mira at this time.

We're sorry to say that the iPod dock with built-in IR (released in 2005) does not support being used as a USB IR receiver. As far as we know, this product connects its IR hardware directly to the iPod's dock connection and does not communicate any information back to the computer.

If anyone has any technical information documenting that IR signals are transmitted over the USB connection on any version of this product, please contact us. Specs change constantly and Apple may very well revise their design to support this in the future.

Please consider the Manta TR1 Transceiver for your current and future remote control needs.

Using an external USB receiver with Mira will provide you with the same user experience as someone with a newer Mac using the built-in receiver. You can control the same applications, including Front Row (it will ship with Leopard for everyone) as well as Pair a specific remote to your Mac.

The USB Manta TR1 Transceiver has a number of advantages as well:

• Position the receiver anywhere, even if your Mac itself is hidden
• Use repeating actions with the Play and Menu buttons
• A small LED on the Manta TR1 blinks whenever it receives a command
• Expandable for IR transmitting/blasting (not used in Mira at this time)
• Saves you the price of a new Mac
• Puts some money in our bank account so we can continue developing great products

Manta TR1:

Twisted Melon recommends the Manta TR1, available directly from the shop page. It can be bought seperately or bundled with Mira for a special price.

Mira is designed to work exclusively with the IR commands from an Apple six button remote.

You can use a genuine Apple Remote, SiK Rex or a universal remote with the proper setup (in some cases you'll have to teach the universal remote the Apple Remote commands yourself).

We have provided commands below in a number of common formats for the Philips Pronto series of remotes. Many other remotes feature import options for such commands/files. Using these commands, you do not need to own or use a physical Apple Remote yourself.

Some universal remotes can be programmed from a computer while others must learn directly from an original remote, so any codes we provide may only be suitable for some products. The commands are presented below in both condensed and RAW Philips Pronto Formats.

For Philips Pronto series products: Cut and paste codes below into the appropriate panels in your remote layout, or download the CCF files below to directly import the commands into your configuration.

For Logitech Harmony series products: We have added a clean capture of all six buttons as well as the Pair command to the Harmony database. From the Harmony web-based remote configuration:

• Choose Add a Device
• Select the Computer device type
• Select Apple as the manufacturer
• Enter MacBook Pro when asked for model
• Press Save when asked
• If asked if you have a remote for this device, select No
• Create an Activity with this device (Custom/Generic Activity works best)
• Select Update Remote

You may or may not need to adjust the amount of "repeat" (using the Troubleshoot option for the device) depending on your specific Harmony remote and whether or not the web configuration has altered these values from what we submitted.

Note that this (and other) devices containing Apple Remote codes may contain extra buttons that are not valid Apple Remote button codes. Ignore those. The Apple Remote only has 6 valid button codes plus the special Pair code.

If you have any issues selecting this device or using the commands with your Harmony remote, contact Logitech/Harmony customer support and forward them a copy of the Pronto Raw codes below.

For URC Custom Control and Home Theater Master series products: Download the CCF files below and using the MXEditor (or newer) software, Import the CCF to copy its commands to buttons on your remote.

For JP1 (One4All, RCA, RadioShack) products: See the JP1 forums at www.hifi-remote.com to find out how you can update your remote to send the appropriate commands.
You should link back to this page if you paste the Pronto Hex codes included below.

Other remotes: Visit the forums at Remote Central for discussions about other remote products and how to convert Pronto codes into a suitable format for them.

The command codes for the Apple Remote vary depending on the current unique Pair-ID, so you may find codes posted elsewhere differing from these. We have provided codes using two different ID settings for your convenience.

Mira is a software-only product and does not come with an Apple Remote. Twisted Melon also does not currently sell Apple Remotes.

Apple remotes can be bought online from the Apple Store in the iPod accessories section or Amazon.com. It should also be available from local Apple stores or other authorized Apple resellers.

You can also purchase and use a SiK Rex remote which is fully compatible with Mira as well as the Manta TR1.

Ignore any notices on the Apple product page claiming the remote requires an iPod and dock. It requires only a Mac with USB, Mira and a supported IR receiver.

The Apple Remote transmits at 38kHz, a widely used carrier frequency for IR products.

Mira only supports the Apple Remote, however our friends at Plentycom Systems have a wonderful program called SteerMouse for USB and Bluetooth which we wouldn't be without. It provides button actions as well as very detailed control over all mouse features. It's practically a must-have for any multi-button mouse — even Apple's Mighty Mouse.

Mira can be used to create personalized remote settings for any application on your Mac. To start you off, there are pre-defined settings for the following applications (which can be used as-is or as the basis for your own personal creations):

Multimedia & Video

Boxee Media Center (Boxee Project et al.)
DistantDVD (Tom Carrington)
DVD Player (Apple)
Final Cut Pro (Apple)
Front Row (Apple)
MediaCentral (equinux)
Mezzanine (Mezzanine)
Movie Time (SansWorks)
MPlayer (MPlayer Project)
NicePlayer (Tuley & Chin)
Plex Media Center (Plex Project et al.)
QuickTime Player (Apple) - Download profile for QuickTime Player 7
QuickTime X (Apple)
SlingPlayer (Sling Media)
VLC Media Player (VideoLAN)
XBMC (XBMC)

TV

AlchemyTV (Miglia/Meilenstein)
EvolutionTV (Miglia/Meilenstein)
EyeTV (ElGato)
Hulu Desktop (Hulu)

Music

AirFoil (Rogue Amoeba)
CoverFlow (Steel Skies)
GarageBand (Apple)
iTunes (Apple)
Krix (Monsterkodi)
Live (Ableton)
netTunes (Shirt Pocket)
Reason (Propellerhead)
Sonos Desktop Controller (Sonos)

Photo & Graphics

Aperture (Apple)
Capture One (Phase One)
iPhoto (Apple)
Freak Show (Tempus Dictum)
GraphicConverter (Lemke Software)
Photo Booth (Apple)
PhotoPresenter (Arizona Software)
Preview (Apple)
Xee Image Viewer (Dag Ågren)

Presentation

Keynote (Apple)
NeoOffice (Luby & Peterlin)
PowerPoint (Microsoft)
PowerPoint 2008 (Microsoft)

Document Browsers

Acrobat (Adobe)
Adobe Reader (Adobe)
NeoOffice (Luby & Peterlin)
OpenOffice (OpenOffice.org)
Word (Microsoft)

Timers, Calendars & Scheduling

Aurora (Jonas Witt)
Awaken (Embraceware)
FlexTime (Red Sweater)
iCal (Apple)
Stapler (Blue:Tec)

Collecting

Books (Aetherial)
Delicious Library (Delicious Monster)

Mapping

Google Earth (Google)

Games

Bloxter (Norbyte)
Bub and Bob 2 (McSebi)
Frozen Bubble (Guillaume Cottenceau)
GLTron (Andreas Umbach)
iColumns (Brian Webster)
MacSwear (Dag Ågren?)
Minesweeper (Mindquirk)
Pac The Man (McSebi)
Quinn (Simon Härtel)

Internet Applications

Mail (Apple)
NetNewsWire (NewsGator)
NetNewsWire Lite (NewsGator)
NewsMac Pro (ThinkMac)
Unison (Panic)
Vienna (Vienna Project)

Web Browsers

Camino (The Camino Project)
Firefox (Mozilla Foundation)
Flock (Flock)
iCab (Alexander Clauss)
OmniWeb (Omni Group)
Opera (Opera Software)
Safari (Apple)
Shiira (Shiira Project)

Yes. Please make sure to download the current version of Mira as of December 17 2009. If you are updating a previous version, use the "Restore Built-in Profiles.." command from Mira's options menu to add/enable the new QuickTime X profile.

To use QuickTime Player 7 (the legacy QuickTime Player) you must update Mira's existing QuickTime Player profile by downloading and then importing, the new QuickTime Player 7 Profile. After downloading the zip file, open it to extract the contained profile, then double-click the profile to import it into Mira, replacing the previous QuickTime Player profile.

You will be able to have both QuickTime 7 Player and QuickTime X profiles and applications active at the same time if you desire.

Of course! You can create Keystroke Actions for any profile and direct them to any running application. AppleScripts can also be used to target specific applications from the Open Item Action or Launch Menu.

Mira uses the same repeat rate as you have set for your keyboard. This may be changed in the Keyboard and Mouse pane of System Preferences.

You can adjust the delay until repeat starts as well as the rate of the repeating itself.

We do not recommend setting both the rate and delay to their fastest settings as you may fire multiple actions by accident. Keep the settings just one tick from the fastest which still provides the desired speed with higher control.

Yes it does. A number of long press commands are built-in for popular applications, they can be found in the Action Menu's DuoPress Action submenu.

The DuoPress Action type does support this functionality and it's currently being used for a couple of built-in profiles. However, at this time Mira does not have a built-in “macro” editing UI to allow the customer to chain together multiple actions on a single button. A dedicated UI for this purpose will be featured in an upcoming release.

Similar results can also be achieved by creating an AppleScript with the functions you want and then using the Open Item action or Launch Menu to activate that AppleScript.

You can learn more about AppleScript by visiting Apple.com and Developer.Apple.com

O'Reilly also publishes a very good book, AppleScript: The Definitive Guide.

Mira uses the icon that is currently attached to an item — the same icon that appears in the Finder. To use your own icons, select the item in the Finder and press CMD-i on the keyboard for "Get Info." In the Get Info window the current icon is displayed in the top left corner. Simply paste a new icon/image into this location to replace the current one, and press the Refresh button in the Mira Launch Menu Tab.

The default icon can be restored at any time by selecting the icon in the Get Info window again and pressing the Backspace or Delete key on the keyboard.

Absolutely, we'd love to hear directly from developers about which settings they'd recommend as defaults for use with Mira. We can also provide information on our extremely versatile Multi/DuoPress Action file format for nearly unlimited custom possibilities. Please contact us for additional details.

Just select the Restore Profiles command from the Profile Options menu and then select one or more profiles to restore.

Front Row is only available on recent Macs that ship with an Apple Remote, but it isn't located in the Applications folder with all the other Apple programs. It can be found in “/System/Library/CoreServices/” as Front Row.app

As a convenience your Mac will accept commands from any Apple Remote by default. This isn't desired in all situations, such as when multiple Macs are being used together, because commands intended for one computer may be recognized by any other. It also means someone with a remote can interrupt your important presentations.

The Pair feature in the Options tab will create a link between your Mac and one remote, any other remote will simply be ignored. Every Apple Remote has a unique ID and the Pairing process sets the Mac to listen to a specific ID value.

The Apple Remote uses Infrared (IR) light and contains a fairly powerful transmitter. With direct line of sight you can easily send commands from 33 feet (10 meters) away from the computer.

Because of its powerful transmitter you will also find that the invisible beam can bounce off furniture, walls and ceilings, so you don't usually have to point directly at the computer.

Performance is affected by battery power, so if you notice your remote is not as responsive anymore, it likely means your battery is getting low. Mira will display a low battery warning once the power drops below a certain level.

Generally the simple answer is No. Not for hand-held remote controls.

RF (Radio Frequency) is regulated and only available at specific frequencies. The same frequencies shared, overlapped or just plain interfered with by hundreds of other devices. The biggest issue with RF is its lack of interoperability. There's no such thing as a learning or universal RF remote, so you're always stuck with the specific unit you have. Even though RF can go through objects, the signal degrades rapidly in remotes and the very computer you're usually trying to control is an enormous source of interference. Distances of up to 60 feet are possible with some devices, but practically speaking, expect closer to a 5-30 foot range for most.

Bluetooth was never intended for transmission over great distances. Its short range is more suited for a PDA to communicate with a phone in a jacket pocket or for a mouse that's used only 2-5 feet from a computer. It operates at a frequency that's also problematic around microwaves, though it does have the benefit of two-way communication. Battery consumption is also an issue, where a BT device's battery life might be measured in hours, an IR device's is measured in months. A remote-only bluetooth device would be of limited use as there are no other consumer devices that would work with it. Most phones with BT also don't make ergonomic nor intuitive controllers.

Yes, Mira currently supports English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese user interfaces. These languages will automatically be enabled when you choose your language preference in the Mac OS International preference pane.

Localization is a priority for our software and a number of translations are currently under development. If you'd like to help translate the application and help files into an additional language, please contact us.

You may purchase Mira directly from this site using the Buy Online link to the right. A personal license file will be created for you and sent in an email. Opening the license file from your email will automatically register Mira.

You should store your .miralicense file away for safe keeping, perhaps by archiving or keeping a copy of your original license email. You will need the license file again if you ever need to re-install Mira after a system crash or having previously uninstalled it.

If Mira has not yet been installed, install it now before continuing.

Using most email programs, such as Apple Mail, you should be able to double-click on the .miralicense file attached to your registration email to open/launch it, otherwise you may save it to your desktop and double-click it from there. When you do this Mira will receive the information it needs to complete your registration and pop up a small confirmation window.

You should store your .miralicense file away for safe keeping, perhaps by archiving or keeping a copy of your original license email. You will need the license file again if you ever need to re-install Mira after a system crash or having previously uninstalled it.

If for any reason you've lost your license file, please contact us by email and we'll gladly send you your original license email again.

The problem is that Mac OS seems to have forgotten how to deal with .miralicense files.  If Mira is installed, then please just do the following:

• Copy the license file from your email to your desktop temporarily
• Make sure the filename is "Your Name.miralicense" (the extension must be "miralicense")
• Select the file and press Command-i on your keyboard
• In the Get Info window that should have a appeared you will see a section called "Open With"
• In the pop-up menu under the "Open With" heading, make sure to select "miraRCD"
• Press the "Change All" button directly underneath the pop-up
• Close the Get Info window by pressing Command-w
• Double-click the license file on the desktop to launch it

You should now delete the license file from the desktop. This happens every now and then to any number of file types and it's the same process to fix it whether it be a jpeg or anything else.

We have determined that a potential problem occured for customers with either FileVault enabled in their Security prefs or their user account stored on a drive without ownership settings. The authentication window required for activating the license file would not appear. The issue has been fixed as of Mira 1.2.2 so please upgrade.

After double-clicking the Miralicense file you should be greeted with a confirmation window saying authorization is necessary to complete the registration. If for any reason the authorization window does not appear after pressing OK, Mira will not be registered.

Manually working around the issue for older Mira versions:

1. Put the Miralicense file somewhere on your computer where any user can access it, like right at the top level of your main drive or a shared folder (this will only be here for a few minutes).
2. Create a new user account using the Accounts pane in System Preferences (this will be a temporary user).
3. Log out completely from your current account.
4. Log in with the new account.
5. Find the Miralicense file you put in a shared location in step #1 and double-click it.
6. You should receive the same window you saw before telling you the operation will require authentication.
7. Press OK and you should now see an authorization window this time (it will be on behalf of MiraRCD).
8. Authenticate as you would for anything else and press OK.
9. You should see a thank you message which includes the name you used when registering and also says registration is complete.
10. Press OK. You can delete the Miralicense file you stored temporarily in step #1 as well as the temporary user account created in step #2.

Mira is licensed for unlimited use on a single computer. That means anyone who uses your computer is free to use Mira, with single or multiple user accounts.

However, if you require the use of Mira on multiple computers, within the same household or otherwise, you must purchase a Mira license for each of those installations.

We have a special Mira Family Pack available which allows installation on 3 computers within the same household for a special price.

You may use the built-in Uninstall feature found in the Mira State Menu (the pop-up menu in the top-left of the Mira window).

If the Mira icon remains in the System Preferences window after uninstalling, right-click (or CTRL-click) it and select the Remove "Mira" Preference Pane option.

The Mira application is contained in a single Preference Pane application which stores both user and system preferences

Mira PrefPane: /Library/PreferencePanes/mira.prefpane

System Login Item: (One entry created in) /Library/Preferences/loginwindow.plist

System-wide Preferences: /Library/Preferences/mira/

User-specific Preferences: ~/Library/Preferences/mira/
(~ is the user name - a Mira folder will exist for each user that has run Mira)

Manually deleting (or moving to trash) the Mira prefpane and preferences and removing the single entry for miraRCD inside loginwindow.plist will wipe all traces of Mira from your system.

You should log out and log back in (not fast user switch) or restart to make sure Mac OS clears miraRCD from memory and updates any of its caches.

At this point Mira will be completely removed from your system.

Current pricing for Mira is only USD $15.95 for one computer/installation.

All updates and releases within each major version of Mira will always be FREE. That means if you buy any 1.x version you will receive all updates to any other 1.x version completely free of charge. When a new major version is released (2.x) we reserve the right to set an upgrade price — but there's no need to worry about that for now as we have plenty of 1.x updates planned with many new features.

Support is also free for all customers forever, even if you're not using the latest major version. You can contact us by email.

You can use the contact forms here on the web site. For general information, media inquiries or other company matters, see Company Contacts, or for product support and bug submission, see Help/Support.

* Special notice to people with an Excite email address.

Is your email address @excite.com ?

Excite subscribes to one or more email blackhole services which are giant lists of IP addresses from which to block email. The intention is that these lists would be for known SPAM domains, however many legitimate IP addresses get included in the list, such as some gmail servers and one or more servers used for mail at our hosting company. IP addresses are supposed to cycle out, but there always seems to be a problem at Excite with keeping up to date.

While our mail server's IP address exists in one of these lists, you will not be able to receive our mail because excite will block it from reaching you. Our sincere recommendation is for customers to obtain email services from a different company with more robust and feature-rich client services, such as GMail from Google.