Topic: Best Remote (Read 29623 times)

hillcreative · « **on:** May 22, 2015, 12:35:05 pm »

Looking for the best hardware (handheld) remote to use with MC. Purchased the HP Media Center remote but it won't work with Windows 7 and MC 20.X. I thought I saw a simple remote for track control playback: Advance, Play, stop etc.

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #1 on:** May 22, 2015, 01:03:17 pm »

I use the Harmony Ultimate Home. I like that is able to work with all of my unique equipment (plus does diming of lights, control of thermostat, etc.). However the HP remote you have should work with Win7 (its a Windows Media Center compatible remote) and its the remote JRiver sells so it will work with MC20.x too.
What issues are you having?

hillcreative · « **Reply #2 on:** May 22, 2015, 03:20:07 pm »

The HP remote just is ignored by the W7 OS. The receiver shows up as eHome in Devices and the red LED blinks (in the USB receiver) when commands are sent from the remote. Just no joy controlling the Windows 7 OS! I must be missing something so obvious I can't see it ?

glynor · « **Reply #3 on:** May 22, 2015, 04:11:06 pm »

It looks like if the eHome driver appears in Device Manager, then the remote is being detected and should be working correctly. To be clear, those remotes won't do much of anything by themselves except when in the Windows Media Center application. So, I don't know what you mean by "controlling the Windows 7 OS". It doesn't control the OS.

To use it in MC, you need to enable support. This is done under Tools > Options > Remote Control.

hillcreative · « **Reply #4 on:** May 22, 2015, 04:30:17 pm »

The Green button should at least launch Windows Media Center. The power button put the computer in shutdown. None of the keys will do anything in W7 Ultimate. Thanks for the help!

glynor · « **Reply #5 on:** May 22, 2015, 04:49:18 pm »

The troubleshooting web page I found on HP's site (linked above) for that remote seems to indicate that it works fine in Windows 7. I'm no expert.

For the record, I use a Logitech Harmony Smart Control, and I really like it:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-smart-control

kstuart · « **Reply #6 on:** May 23, 2015, 01:32:44 pm »

Quote from: hillcreative on May 22, 2015, 04:30:17 pm

The Green button should at least launch Windows Media Center. The power button put the computer in shutdown. None of the keys will do anything in W7 Ultimate. Thanks for the help!

Just to be on the safe side, try changing the batteries.

90% of remote control problems are due to low batteries.

marko · « **Reply #7 on:** May 26, 2015, 12:31:03 pm »

Quote from: glynor on May 22, 2015, 04:49:18 pm

The troubleshooting web page I found on HP's site (linked above) for that remote seems to indicate that it works fine in Windows 7. I'm no expert.

For the record, I use a Logitech Harmony Smart Control, and I really like it:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-smart-control

I've been thinking about a Harmony remote for a while now. I have the "One" on my Amazon wishlist, but, looking at that side-by-side with the Smart Control model, which I had not noticed before, it should suit my (our) needs quite nicely, and cheaper too, which is always nice.

Question, if I may, and not being able to find a straight answer has put me off so far...

I am quite enthusiastic about the 'activity' based functions of these remotes, but, does it track the on/off status of devices?

For example, we settle down for the evening and want to watch some TV. If I have understood correctly, the remote, with one button press, should switch on the TV, switch the TV to the correct HDMI output, switch on the Tivo box, and we should be good to go.

Later, TV is rubbish, so we switch to the HTPC... One button press... Switch on the TV, switch the TV to PC output, bring the HTPC out of standby and we should be good to go?

In my head though, the TV was already on, so has this second choice, to move to the HTPC, just put the TV into standby? That could get frustrating, especially for the girls, with whom that would only need to happen once, and they would refuse to use it, claiming that it was rubbish! I can just hear them now...

apostos · « **Reply #8 on:** May 26, 2015, 01:10:56 pm »

I currently use the Harmony Ultimate Home…

You assign devices for each activity. So if the TV was on and is required by the next activity, it should remain on. If however you happen to manually turn off the TV (even using the remote) it will assume the state of the TV from the previous activity and act on that. There appears to be no feed-back mechanism.

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #9 on:** May 26, 2015, 01:36:51 pm »

Quote from: apostos on May 26, 2015, 01:10:56 pm

I currently use the Harmony Ultimate Home…

You assign devices for each activity. So if the TV was on and is required by the next activity, it should remain on. If however you happen to manually turn off the TV (even using the remote) it will assume the state of the TV from the previous activity and act on that. There appears to be no feed-back mechanism.

True, but you can hit the "Help" button and the remote will either "fix things itself", or you can do a "self-guide repair" where the remote goes through all the devices and asks you whether or not each device is on/off and if the input is correct or not. It works pretty well IMO. I don't usually have trouble switching between activities.

There are some issues/complaints - as with any remote. My biggest complaint is that the device goes to a "swipe mode" after the TV or HTPC starts (there is a touch screen where you swipe your finger up/down for volume or right/left to change channels) but I'd rather it stay on the TV station/channel display screen - but it doesn't seem to offer a choice.

FelixM · « **Reply #10 on:** May 26, 2015, 01:45:53 pm »

Hi:

The Harmony knows the state (ON/OFF, Input, etc.) of each device as he has sended that commands. So when you change to HTPC Activity it only sends a comand to change the TV input (and all the other commands you have especified) but not a TV ON command.

It is best to use a ON command and a different OFF comand to power ON/OFF the devices instead of a single power toggle command. Some devices only have a single power toggle button in the original remote but some of them also have discrete ON and OFF commands when you look in the harmony database.

Sometimes (if you move much the remote or block the infrared path with something, when the commands stream are sended) some of them may not be received correctly (for example a device is not powered ON or doesn´t change the input).
It doesn´t happens frecuently but sometimes happens.
The remote has no way to know that a device is not in the correct state. In that case, just press the HELP button in the harmony remote and it will send again all the commands sequence to assure everything is syncronized.
Then it presents a message in the display asking "Is the problem resolved?". Just press YES and continue enjoying.
If you press "NO", it will ask you sequentially if the state (ON/OFF, Input, etc.) of each device is correct to solve the problem. This can be useful in case you have a device with only a Power Toggle command, because when you press the HELP button it send again the correct ON/OFF commands to the different devices except for the ones that only have power toggle as it is impossible to know the device state if it needs to be sended.

This is the way my Harmony 555 works. I don´t know if the new remotes works the same way. I hope someone with a newer one can help.

rec head · « **Reply #11 on:** May 26, 2015, 04:35:44 pm »

I have had several Harmony's over the years and the Ultimate is by far the best one I have had. That IR blaster it uses hits devices I thought it would never get. I still don't like the software for programming the remote. It assumes you are an idiot and only want to turn on a TV and cable box. Everything else can get convoluted but luckily you only have to do it once (well more than that to fine tune it, I mean we're on the JRiver board so obviously we like to mess around configuring things).

A nice thing about the touch screen is that you can name the buttons and re-order them. So you name a button "TV Off" and everyone should be able to figure out what that button does.

Your question about the power has been answered. Going activity to activity works great.

marko · « **Reply #12 on:** May 27, 2015, 12:11:56 am »

Thank you all for the comprehensive replies. I think I will buy. Our JRiver supplied remote has a borked stop button, so we've been getting by using the tiny affair supplied with the ASRock HTPC. It's not the greatest, to say the least!

Now, to hillcreative,
I may have ever-so-slightly hijacked your thread here, so, getting back to your original question....

Quote from: hillcreative on May 22, 2015, 12:35:05 pm

Looking for the best hardware (handheld) remote to use with MC. Purchased the HP Media Center remote but it won't work with Windows 7 and MC 20.X. I thought I saw a simple remote for track control playback: Advance, Play, stop etc.

One mans "best" could be anothers nightmare. What price bracket are looking at?
The fiddly affair that shipped with our HTPC, for example, looks really neat, in practice, it's not nearly all that at all. The buttons are way too small, and way too close together.

I don't know if JRiver still ship an MCE remote control, but if they do, it's good. Ours set us back $48 back in 2009. It works out of the box with MC very well indeed.

Lots of positive in the direction of the Harmony range, but are they the 'best'? I don't know. I am going to buy one though.

-marko

glynor · « **Reply #13 on:** May 27, 2015, 12:43:27 am »

Sorry I didn't respond... I've been sick the past two days. I like the Smart Control version (without the touch screen) because it is simple, and the batteries last forever (I've never changed them). The major "upside" to the touchscreen that I miss is the light-up keys, but (of course) that also sucks down battery. I essentially only have two "configs" though: AppleTV and HTPC. I do everything on my system through those modes.

With my TV I've had no issues at all with on/off sync. It seemed to know the built-in discreet on/off commands all on its own, and doesn't seem to get out of sync.

JimH · « **Reply #14 on:** May 27, 2015, 06:22:34 am »

Quote from: marko on May 27, 2015, 12:11:56 am

Our JRiver supplied remote has a borked stop button, so ...

I've had bad button problems turn out to be caused by having food jammed in them. I suppose you tried shaking it out.

apostos · « **Reply #15 on:** May 27, 2015, 08:12:10 am »

Quote from: CountryBumkin on May 26, 2015, 01:36:51 pm

My biggest complaint is that the device goes to a "swipe mode" after the TV or HTPC starts (there is a touch screen where you swipe your finger up/down for volume or right/left to change channels) but I'd rather it stay on the TV station/channel display screen - but it doesn't seem to offer a choice.

Odd... I only see that screen when I invoke it (via the small arrow pointer at the bottom of the screen). After I initiate the 'Watch TV' activity my 'Favourites' (channel presets) are displayed on the screen. Likewise with the other activities I have set up. Wonder what's different...

Fangio · « **Reply #16 on:** May 27, 2015, 02:54:35 pm »

I use a Harmony Ultimate remote and hub. No remote has ever been perfect for me, but this is probably the best yet. Reasonably configurable, and easy to set up (especially when compared with programming via a JP1 interface!)

marko · « **Reply #17 on:** June 29, 2015, 04:59:39 pm »

Had our smart control a few days now. This thing is über neat. Really easy to set up, actually had our ASRock Vision in their database, so for the most part, it was operational within 10 minutes of being unboxed. For me, this is a highly recommended all-in-one remote.

Thanks for the tip (again) glynor.

glynor · « **Reply #18 on:** June 29, 2015, 06:15:50 pm »

Yep. Still very happy with mine!

muzicman0 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 29, 2015, 06:40:38 pm »

For those of you using the Harmony Ultimate with the Hub, do you notice lag? I have a USB IR receiver plugged into my PC, and the hub about 8 inches away. They are behind a cabinet door, so no line of site.

Once the receiver receives the remote command from the hub, it goes to event ghost, which translates it to something MC can understand.

It is fairly laggy. sometimes probably 300 - 500 ms or so between button press and action on the screen.

The same action using just a normal MCE remote is near instantaneous. I have reduced the inter-key delay to 0 on the remote (from the default .1 seconds), but it made no difference whatsoever.

any ideas?

rec head · « **Reply #20 on:** June 30, 2015, 10:44:04 am »

I have no lag compared to my keyboard. Just an IR receiver plugged into the HTPC without eventghost or anything else.

muzicman0 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 30, 2015, 10:46:50 am »

Yeah...I'm specifically talking about going through the harmony hub. Are you going through the hub, or do you use the IR from the remote?

marko · « **Reply #22 on:** July 01, 2015, 10:51:10 am »

hillcreative appears to have abandoned his/her thread as it drifts again...

I'm going through the hub, and my HTPC has an IR receiver built in. There is no other software in the middle, and it's snappier than a snappy thing! You know that everyone reading this is blaming event ghost, but too afraid to say so, right?

Also, keeping my MC current...

Loving this thing. Wish I'd bought one earlier.

-marko.

muzicman0 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 01, 2015, 11:59:21 am »

I will give it a try to remove event ghost...now that I am no longer using WMC netflix, I don't techncially need it. I will lose some functionality. I will post back if it is the issue. The thing is, my other remotes going through event ghost work fine, with no delay.

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #24 on:** July 01, 2015, 12:22:03 pm »

Quote from: marko on July 01, 2015, 10:51:10 am

-marko.

That's a nice mod to the remote setup screen.

Did you actually need to go through the MC remote setup? I have two Harmony's (the Ultimate Home Control and the Smart Control) in different rooms and I did not need to setup anything via MC's remote control setup on either Harmony.

glynor · « **Reply #25 on:** July 01, 2015, 12:32:05 pm »

I use mine through Girder, and it is very snappy.

I have all of the functions for which I don't need "advanced programming" (where the buttons do different things depending on the foreground application, basically) set to use Bluetooth. This includes:
* Arrows (Up/Down/Left/Right)
* OK
* Number Buttons in the numpad area

These are ungodly snappy. I can hold down the arrow buttons and Theater View screams through screens.

The other buttons I have mapped to use IR (blasting as a Media Center PC, but it doesn't really matter what you use if you'll program it with Girder or something like that). These are also very snappy, though not quite as good as the bluetooth buttons. But, Page Up/Down (the channel Up/Down keys on the remote) goes very quickly, as does volume up/down. Both of those are mapped through IR, and they're plenty responsive.

I do have the IR Emitter thing that came with the hub butted directly up against my USB-UIRT receiver (with maybe 1cm between the two). But I think it worked fine from across the room when I first set up the test config.

marko · « **Reply #26 on:** July 01, 2015, 01:30:37 pm »

I just needed to go into MC to teach it the buttons I wanted for things like turning off the OSD, restarting MC and so on. Everything else just worked, which is nice.

Does anyone know if it is possible to use MCWS to jump directly to a specific location in theater view, bearing in mind that very little of mine resembles anything that you would call 'default'.

-marko

glynor · « **Reply #27 on:** July 01, 2015, 02:34:03 pm »

It's hard, Marko. There is a MCC, and I worked out once what the parameters were, but it assumes you haven't mucked with it too much. I moved my Video view to the top and added a secondary roller to it, and it doesn't work at all anymore.

I can dig it out when I have a minute though...

rec head · « **Reply #28 on:** July 02, 2015, 06:44:26 am »

Quote from: muzicman0 on June 30, 2015, 10:46:50 am

Yeah...I'm specifically talking about going through the harmony hub. Are you going through the hub, or do you use the IR from the remote?

Yes with the hub. I am now conditioned to never pointing the remote at the TV. That hub is like an IR explosion. It hits gear I never thought it would.

muzicman0 · « **Reply #29 on:** July 02, 2015, 08:22:22 am »

So...as it turns out, I was wrong...I did some experimenting last night, and even when I bypass the hub, event ghost, and go straight from the remote into WMC, there is still lag...then I tried just the remote on my smart TV, controlling netflix...still lag. so, it appears that it has nothing to do with eventghost, or the hub...it's the remote itself. There is probably 250-400ms between the time I hit the remote button, and the time anything responds to the IR signal. I guess I will call Harmony and have them troubleshoot.

flac.rules · « **Reply #30 on:** July 08, 2015, 03:00:45 pm »

THe harmony smart control is pretty expensive, how does it communicate with the computer, through RF? I actually have no need for IR-sending, as everything is controlled via the computer, is the smart control a good alternative then? It seems like i have to pay for the hub-thing which is mostly useless? Or do i misunderstand something?

rec head · « **Reply #31 on:** July 08, 2015, 03:35:19 pm »

The harmony hub communicates with the computer via IR.

The remote is RF to the hub. The hub does the IR blasting.

flac.rules · « **Reply #32 on:** July 08, 2015, 03:52:44 pm »

Quote from: rec head on July 08, 2015, 03:35:19 pm

The harmony hub communicates with the computer via IR.

The remote is RF to the hub. The hub does the IR blasting.

Thanks for the feedback, it does sound a bit non-ideal for a setup like mine. Does anybody know of a remote of similar quality that is a bit more fitting for only sending commands to the computer?

muzicman0 · « **Reply #33 on:** July 08, 2015, 04:01:12 pm »

I use the Tivo Slide Pro on my upstairs computer, and then use Event Ghost to translate. It works extremely well. Just be sure to get the one that comes with the USB dongle.

rec head · « **Reply #34 on:** July 08, 2015, 04:10:35 pm »

Quote from: Elvis133 on July 08, 2015, 03:52:44 pm

Thanks for the feedback, it does sound a bit non-ideal for a setup like mine. Does anybody know of a remote of similar quality that is a bit more fitting for only sending commands to the computer?

How are you getting commands into the computer if it isn't IR?

flac.rules · « **Reply #35 on:** July 08, 2015, 04:13:32 pm »

Quote from: rec head on July 08, 2015, 04:10:35 pm

How are you getting commands into the computer if it isn't IR?

The best solution is bluetooth or RF via dongle. IR is line of sight and a historical relic best avoided in my opinion

glynor · « **Reply #36 on:** July 08, 2015, 06:14:39 pm »

Quote from: rec head on July 08, 2015, 03:35:19 pm

The harmony hub communicates with the computer via IR.

The remote is RF to the hub. The hub does the IR blasting.

The Harmony Hub also does Bluetooth, and can show up like a Bluetooth Keyboard. The functions it can do in this mode are fairly fixed, but it is useful for many buttons where you just want a fixed result (I mentioned my number keys and up/down/left/right arrows earlier).

The IR blaster on it can work quite well, though, and doesn't require line of sight at all on the Harmony Hub-based remotes. The remote itself does NOT do the IR. The remote communicates with the Hub via a proprietary RF system. It only talks to the hub, and does not require line-of-sight.

The Hub blasts the IR (and communicates via Bluetooth to some devices), which you can use to control your TV, your Stereo, and your computer. Since the logical place for the hub is in the cabinet with the stereo, then line-of-sight isn't an issue (and it comes with one of those IR repeater doodads so you can have the "hub's IR blaster" in more than one spot physically). So, without the hub, the remote is utterly useless, because it can only talk to the hub. But, this avoids issues with line-of-sight, and the IR allows you to control a wide variety of existing consumer devices without needing fancy equipment.

I have my hub set up to control my PC via both Bluetooth (for some of the buttons) and IR (for others). I use the IR because I want Girder to be able to "intercept" the IR commands and then decide what to do based on conditions.

hoyt · « **Reply #37 on:** July 08, 2015, 07:34:34 pm »

Quote from: glynor on July 08, 2015, 06:14:39 pm

The Harmony Hub also does Bluetooth, and can show up like a Bluetooth Keyboard. The functions it can do in this mode are fairly fixed, but it is useful for many buttons where you just want a fixed result (I mentioned my number keys and up/down/left/right arrows earlier).

The IR blaster on it can work quite well, though, and doesn't require line of sight at all on the Harmony Hub-based remotes. The remote itself does NOT do the IR. The remote communicates with the Hub via a proprietary RF system. It only talks to the hub, and does not require line-of-sight.

The Hub blasts the IR (and communicates via Bluetooth to some devices), which you can use to control your TV, your Stereo, and your computer. Since the logical place for the hub is in the cabinet with the stereo, then line-of-sight isn't an issue (and it comes with one of those IR repeater doodads so you can have the "hub's IR blaster" in more than one spot physically). So, without the hub, the remote is utterly useless, because it can only talk to the hub. But, this avoids issues with line-of-sight, and the IR allows you to control a wide variety of existing consumer devices without needing fancy equipment.

I have my hub set up to control my PC via both Bluetooth (for some of the buttons) and IR (for others). I use the IR because I want Girder to be able to "intercept" the IR commands and then decide what to do based on conditions.

I got the Harmony Hub as well and have to admit it's pretty fantastic. I had to install some PS3 Bluetooth software (tiny program) on the PC to get the flexibility I wanted, but you can essentially map anyone of a number of keys this way (http://benbarron.com/applications). I also have a Flirc IR dongle, but the only command that I send to that is to wake up the PC. For some reason I couldn't get my PC to wake up with Bluetooth, but I think many will do that. I then use a small AutoHotKey script to map some commands like left window + alt + J = MC20.exe /MCC 22001`, 1. So that way when I hit the blue key on my Harmony, it puts Theatre View up at the Audio prompt.

I had a lot of problems with the Flirc when I was trying to use a standard IR remote with it, but with the Harmony Hub's IR do'hickies, it works well.

6233638 · « **Reply #38 on:** July 09, 2015, 02:33:35 am »

I've had bad experiences with "universal remotes" in the past, especially ones with task-based functions, so I have generally avoided them.
However it's got to the point that it might be useful to have one, so I think that I might give in and buy one of those Harmony remotes/hubs.

I was really hoping for something with a design more relevant to a modern HTPC (a nice slim remote with a fraction of the buttons) but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen.
As I understand it, the Harmony Hub only receives RF commands, so it's not possible to program it to use another remote.

There are two things which would get me to switch over if they work well:

Can the Harmony Hub be used as an IR Blaster with Media Center?
Is Media Center able to issue IR commands when playback is started/stopped in a zone?

To be clear, I am not looking for: Press a button on the remote to start playback in Zone X, Y, or Z.
I am looking for: Playback was started in Zone X, Y, or Z - switch the device on and select the correct input.

If I'm browsing a list of movies, I don't know if that particular one is stereo or multichannel (those play in separate zones to different audio devices) so it has to be triggered by playback starting in that Zone.

flac.rules · « **Reply #39 on:** July 09, 2015, 02:45:02 am »

Quote from: 6233638 on July 09, 2015, 02:33:35 am

I've had bad experiences with "universal remotes" in the past, especially ones with task-based functions, so I have generally avoided them.
However it's got to the point that it might be useful to have one, so I think that I might give in and buy one of those Harmony remotes/hubs.

I was really hoping for something with a design more relevant to a modern HTPC (a nice slim remote with a fraction of the buttons) but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen.
As I understand it, the Harmony Hub only receives RF commands, so it's not possible to program it to use another remote.

There are two things which would get me to switch over if they work well:

Can the Harmony Hub be used as an IR Blaster with Media Center?
Is Media Center able to issue IR commands when playback is started/stopped in a zone?

To be clear, I am not looking for: Press a button on the remote to start playback in Zone X, Y, or Z.
I am looking for: Playback was started in Zone X, Y, or Z - switch the device on and select the correct input.

If I'm browsing a list of movies, I don't know if that particular one is stereo or multichannel (those play in separate zones to different audio devices) so it has to be triggered by playback starting in that Zone.

When It comes to the latter, you can look at the thread I started on a similar topic (if you can ignore my somewhat clumsy attempt at explaining what i mean

):

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=95579

Let me know if you find a "HTPC-remote" i am interested in the same, and i have worked with getting all my equipment able to be controlled by lan/rs232, so i don't need the IR-blasting.

glynor · « **Reply #40 on:** July 09, 2015, 06:33:51 am »

Quote from: 6233638 on July 09, 2015, 02:33:35 am

1. Can the Harmony Hub be used as an IR Blaster with Media Center?

Yes. You can set any button up on the remote to blast using standard Windows Media Center IR commands, which MC will recognize without needing any third-party software.

If you want to control other software on the computer (I control Firefox on mine, for example) then you need something 3rd party like Girder or EventGhost.

Quote from: 6233638 on July 09, 2015, 02:33:35 am

2. Is Media Center able to issue IR commands when playback is started/stopped in a zone?

No. Well, it doesn't do that. The hub only "talks to" the computer. The computer doesn't talk back to the hub in any way. This isn't really needed, though. If the PC can blast IR, you can blast it directly to the devices, and the hub isn't needed. Basically, the hub is a way to translate the buttons you press on the remote into "actions" on the hub (which might be Bluetooth, but are generally IR). In most other universal remotes, this function was built directly into the remote itself.

But having it in the hub means it doesn't move, and so you eliminate line-of-sight problems (and can easily wire up little IR extender nubbins). That's the main benefit.

There are downsides to the Smart Remote. The software is easy, but somewhat limited. It doesn't do things "conditionally" in essentially any way other than what "action" is currently selected. You can program each "action" (which are basically just modes for the remote) to do different commands when it starts up (and shuts down), on a per-button basis. However, you can't easily copy these sets of commands from action to action, so there is no way to duplicate and then slightly modify a setup (other than manually recreating it for each action). The remote also has no sense of "state" (other than what action is currently selected). So, in your setup, the remote itself would not, and could not, "know" what was happening on the PC.

The latter might not matter. The remote, for me, is just pretty dumb. It blasts essentially the same commands to the PC all the time (IR "representations" of the buttons I pressed). Then the computer interprets these differently depending on state (what app is foreground, mostly, but also what is currently happening).

It is not a total room control system. Just a remote, designed to get commands to the PC (and turn the TV and amp on). It is handy that it can also control other consumer electronics devices, though, without basically any reprogramming (other than selecting a pre-built action for one of the Action buttons). It works great as an AppleTV remote, for example, and I expect the same with an XBox or PlayStation.

6233638 · « **Reply #41 on:** July 09, 2015, 07:22:08 am »

Oh hold on a minute.
Though it has a USB port on the back, is that just for power?

I thought that the PC would be able to receive commands from the remote and the hub would act as an IR blaster when connected via USB.
Is there an RF/Bluetooth dongle that lets you hook up the hub to the PC at all?

Quote from: glynor on July 09, 2015, 06:33:51 am

If the PC can blast IR, you can blast it directly to the devices, and the hub isn't needed.

OK, but can Media Center send commands when playback is started in a zone? (e.g. to select the correct input on a device)

glynor · « **Reply #42 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:07:53 am »

The USB port is mostly just for power. That's also how you program the remote if you use a PC to do the programming (instead of a mobile device), but after that it isn't used.

It has Bluetooth. So if your computer has Bluetooth (needs to be v4+ I discovered) then it can connect to the PC as a Bluetooth keyboard. But it is really just a keyboard then sending keyboard commands (you can choose from a set of A-Z, 0-9, special keys, etc and assign them to buttons).

6233638 · « **Reply #43 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:14:46 am »

That might work. I already have a Bluetooth 4 dongle to use DualShock 4 controllers with the PC, and Media Center can be completely controlled via keyboard commands.
But I suppose that's still only a one-way communication?

I'm not especially happy about adding the hub to my setup, and it sounds like I'd need the hub and another IR blaster for the PC to send commands to other devices. (if MC can even do it?)

apostos · « **Reply #44 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:35:25 am »

Quote

I was really hoping for something with a design more relevant to a modern HTPC

You might find this interesting... http://www.neeo.com/

rudyrednose · « **Reply #45 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:43:08 am »

Quote from: FelixM on May 26, 2015, 01:45:53 pm

some of them also have discrete ON and OFF commands when you look in the harmony database.

Anyone has a good link for browsing that Harmony database ?
I have a Harmony One, I had no problem to set it up for basic functionality, but I never found "browsable" device info.
And I have a few hiccups with MC, for instance I have no PageUp/PageDown functionality in the MC TV guide, but three different pairs of buttons will give me a LineUp/LineDown...

Cheers.

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #46 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:44:00 am »

Quote from: apostos on July 09, 2015, 08:35:25 am

You might find this interesting... http://www.neeo.com/

Interesting, yes. Of value, no.
There is nothing at that link to describe the technology or what it offers. It just sounds like Harmony Hub remote clone.

apostos · « **Reply #47 on:** July 09, 2015, 09:30:06 am »

There is more product information available at that link but it’s not readily apparent… Here’s some more info… https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1227115988/neeo-the-thinking-remote/description

I was simply responding to 6233638’s desire to find a remote to his liking…

Quote

(a nice slim remote with a fraction of the buttons)

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #48 on:** July 09, 2015, 11:07:11 am »

Quote from: rudyrednose on July 09, 2015, 08:43:08 am

Anyone has a good link for browsing that Harmony database ?
I have a Harmony One, I had no problem to set it up for basic functionality, but I never found "browsable" device info.
And I have a few hiccups with MC, for instance I have no PageUp/PageDown functionality in the MC TV guide, but three different pairs of buttons will give me a LineUp/LineDown...

Cheers.

I haven't found anything browsable. They have this site https://support.myharmony.com/en/compatibility where you enter the brand and model and it tells you if it is compatible. But its not very helpful if you just want to scan the list of products to see what products are compatible/available.

Harmony support isn't very helpful either - for example, I was trying to find out if there was a specific (or any) brand of remote ceiling fan control that would work (i.e. such as fansync - which uses Bluetooth) so I asked on the Harmony support forum, but they replied that the Harmony Ultimate Home does not work with Bluetooth devices. What? It works with the Amazon FireTv and PS3 via Bluetooth.

twb1000 · « **Reply #49 on:** July 09, 2015, 10:20:32 pm »

I do a lot of installs.

Best bang for the buck is Universal Remote MX900 and MRF350 base station (although a few bucks).

Tons and tons of IR codes in database. Well laid out. Screen easy to read (I think the simple text backlit LCD display is infinity easier to read and more functional than the more "sexy" multi color graphic displays. Standard AAA batteries last almost a year (nothing more annoying than a remote that always needs to be charged and finds itself often out juice at inconvenient times).

Most equipment has dedicated ON and OFF commands as opposed to POWER TOGGLE commands. Use of discrete commands eliminates confusion scenarios where equipment is being turn ON or OFF when it should not be.

DVRs are one of the few pieces of equipment lacking discrete ON/OFF IR commands (however that is starting to change).

These are generally sold to professionals however they can be purchased online.

There is a Universal Remote URC-RFS200 which is a RF remote and base station bundle which while is a little more challenging to program (as there is no computer software interface) can be set up very effectively to control home theater systems and has a layout similar to the more expensive offerings. These are not available at the moment (I suspect the firmware is being updated in the next production). The bundle could be purchased for about $125-$150. Hopefully they will be returning to production.

For Xfinity users out there their newer X1 boxes do not work with older universal remotes of any brand (one nice thing about remotes that that use software that is updated - not a problem).

I programmed a Harmony remote and almost tore my hair out waiting for their "cloud" to accept programming changes (much prefer software that is loaded on computer locally).

My 2 cents.

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Author Topic: Best Remote (Read 29623 times)