INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 13 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: AoXoMoXoA on April 16, 2009, 10:25:59 am
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I am seeking a remote for my media server PC, primarily for Media Center 13. Now that some work has been done on this by JRiver, I am hoping there is a unit which will simply plug-n-play.
I need to have an RF remote (not IR) as the unit is located in another room. I do not want to have to use Girder or such. It does not need to be too complex, mostly play/pause/stop/volume however basic cursor control would be great so it can function as a mouse.
My budget is under $100, the more under the better.
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My suggestion (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50619.msg346012#msg346012) meets your requirements and budget.
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Thanks Rick,
I spotted your post in that thread a while ago but passed it over when I saw mention of needing to set up a 3rd-party software to make it work. Perhaps this is unavoidable?
Otherwise it looks pretty good.
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I use the IR version of the iMON RF Remote (http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Remote/imon_rfdt.asp) with MC. If you use the preset configurations for Windows Media Player, it will work fine with MC. You can also program all of MC's hotkeys into it very easily, too.
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I love my Firefly remotes (I now have 3 of them).
My only wish is that MC would support it natively. We do need good, native support for a readily available RF remote. IR is also a complete dealbreaker for me. Even though I am often in the same room, I'm not always, and now that I've gotten used to it working from outside on the deck, I couldn't go back.
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Perhaps this is unavoidable?
Perhaps not, but I think you would be giving up too much for a modest "donation" of €15. It will provide a "mouse mode," and a straightforward way to add profiles so it will control any application. You may be inclined to say, "I don't need that," but you'll be surprised at the "problems" you can solve (e.g., by remapping keys) and additional functionality you can add (e.g., menus).
To put it another way, I'm very happy with what I got for the combined cost of about $70. Without the software, I might have felt the $50 remote a little on the expensive side.
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I use the IR version of the iMON RF Remote (http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Remote/imon_rfdt.asp) with MC.
That looks interesting, but appears to be a PCI card for the receiver. Not a deal-breaker, but not my first choice.
I do really like the looks of the remote itself, nice and compact.
To put it another way, I'm very happy with what I got for the combined cost of about $70. Without the software, I might have felt the $50 remote a little on the expensive side.
It's not the cost of the Girder software that I was looking to avoid as it is still in my budget range, but rather the bad memories of trying to set up Girder years ago.
I love my Firefly remotes (I now have 3 of them).
Hard to ignore that endorsement, I will keep it on my short-list.
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...but rather the bad memories of trying to set up Girder years ago.
Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I had a quick look at it and recognized it as the sort of thing that would make my head explode. ;)
My only wish is that MC would support it natively.
Not being sure what this meant, I had to shut down LM Remote KeyMap and confirm the remote would then do nothing. But then it does nothing with or without the Firefly software running too. So I have to ask the dumb question—what exactly does "native support" mean?
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If you have an ipod touch or iphone, this 5 dollar software is awesome: http://www.mobileairmouse.com/
Kwake
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If you have an ipod touch or iphone, this 5 dollar software is awesome: http://www.mobileairmouse.com/
Kwake
Have you tried the RiverMote (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=48485.0) plugin?
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Not being sure what this meant, I had to shut down LM Remote KeyMap and confirm the remote would then do nothing. But then it does nothing with or without the Firefly software running too. So I have to ask the dumb question—what exactly does "native support" mean?
Exactly that. So it will work with more than just the standard play shuttle controls, I'm talking including buttons A-D, Info, Options, Channel Up/Down (Page Up/Down), etc without needing any additional software at all other than just the drivers. Set up so that you can just plug the remote in, launch MC, and it'll work as you'd expect.
Just like the built-in support they added for the Windows MCE Remotes fairly recently.
I should add...
I use Girder 4 with my 3 Firefly remotes. I probably wouldn't change for my primary setup, even if MC did support them natively (because I also use the remotes to control Firefox, MPC, BeyondTV, and a wide variety of other applications). However, it would be really nice for just using the remote "on the road" with my laptop or things like that, where setting up full Girder 4 support is too complicated to be worth it, but full support would be very nice.
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Have you tried the RiverMote (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=48485.0) plugin?
I actually just bought that for my iPhone. I like it, but there is one huge issue with it (that I've been meaning to bring up with the developer here)... In order to use it, you need to launch MC via the RiverMote server application. This doesn't work for me very well at all.
I want to be able to put the RiverMote server application in my system startup folder, so that it is just always running on the system in the system tray. However, I can't keep MC running all the time (first of all, running MC and BeyondTV at the same time interferes with each other due to my remote control setup and there are other reasons I don't want it running all the time). I really need to be able to have the RiverMote application running all the time though, and when I launch MC, have it just "connect" to it then. As it is, you MUST launch MC via RiverMote, and the RiverMote server won't run unless MC is also launched. This doesn't work for me at all, really.
It'd be even better if we could set an option that if the RiverMote server is running, and detects that we've launched RiverMote on our iPod/iPhone, that it automatically opens up MC for you (though this might annoy some people and had better be optional).
If that change was possible, then RiverMote plus AirMouse would be the perfect Remote Control for any HTPC.
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I probably wouldn't change for my primary setup, even if MC did support them natively (because I also use the remotes to control Firefox, MPC, BeyondTV, and a wide variety of other applications).
For similar reasons, I wouldn't change my LM Remote setup. Since you seem unconcerned, I assume native support would in no way conflict with other software. If LM Remote is running, it controls the remote. If not, control defaults to MC.