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[nila]

Hiya all

Looking to drain a wee bit of that huge amount of knowledge you all have.

I'm after a good remote for a htpc system preferably under £60 ($100).
It has to work with girder as well.

Just wondering what any of you are using and if any of you have experience with either of these:

http://www.vendur.com/english/ati.html
http://www.vendur.com/english/x10.html

I'm personally leaning towards the X10 a bit more due to it's ability to control the TV etc as normal too.

I do like the fact that the Ati however has mouse control buttons AND seperate buttons for: Up/down/left/right/enter which the X10 has missed it's chance with by instead using that space for volumne and channel controls.

I'm not too sure as a result

Anyone have previous experience with either? Or any others that they use that might be better?

Thanks!

[Empyrean]

This looks like a really great remote. It's inexpensive and it has RF capability. Definitely worth a look.

http://oneboxmc.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MAIN&Product_Code=MCRC&Category_Code=

[nila]

Yeah,
There seems to be a few versions of that remote floating around.

I just found it here: http://www.hometheatercomputer.net/remote_purchase.html myself.

It looks like a good one.

Anyone got one and tried it?

[sraymond]

I really like my ATI.  RF is so much better than IR.  I don't think you can go wrong with either the ATI or the X10 - as you can see, they are just about the same remote.  I'd go for whichever is cheaper.

Scott-

[Jaguu]

Why is RF better than IR?

[nila]

RF will go through and bounce of walls etc.
IR has to be pointed directly at the machine in question with nothing blocking the view to it in order for it to work

[toniann]

bluetooth>RF>IR
bluetooth is better than RF which is better than IR.
Why?
With bluetooth you can use your cellphone and its display to control MC.
One less device to worry about.
See: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=17519;start=msg121928#msg121928

Soon you will be able to get digital-out, out of your PDA/Cell Phone/handheld. Toshiba has firmware to do this on their new half- VGA handheld with external VGA.  The 'qualtity of handheld's soundcard' concerns will be anachronistic.  Digital to analog decodes, etc, will be in your speaker.  There is no law that says you cannot connect your Magnepan's through a digital amp to you handheld.  

[nila]

For all your UK buyers here's some good news.

You can get the Ati Remote for £16!!!!!

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=51627

Right there baby!!

I'm just ordering one right now - it's the X-mas present to the uncle I'm building the system for

[eruji]

Nila,

i have the ATI Remote wonder as well,

the RF works fairly well, i can easily go 20+ feet away from the reciever, however, there are dead spots in my house as well.

i bought it thinking that it would replace my current setup which is a tivo remote (if you go to tivo.com and click on store they sell just the remote for like 35$) and a USB-UIRT.

But i still use the tivo, the tivo's layout is much nicer now that ive had a chance to use the ATI for awhile. For me the Vol up/down and Ch up/down should be vertical(tivo) not horizontal(ati) because its nice to use the chan button for page up and down too, which seems counter intuitive. (i know thats not a bid deal and something you can get used to). But the playback controls are on the bottom of the ATI and the vol and channel are at the top, which is very akward when using the remote for music/tv/video.  The other annoyance of the ATI is the direction pad has a really small OK button, its very difficult to hit correctly. Occasionally i get some strange hang ups too with the ATI, like it wont respond for 30 seconds or so.. then its fine. But i have not heard of this problem from other users, might just be my system.

I run both remotes now, with hopes of using the ATI to control multi zone playback in the future.

[nila]

Aaaahh,
lol - LITERALLY 30 seconds too late I saw that post.

I JUST paid

I had a last minute change of heart - the one I linked to ended up costing £24 including VAT and shipping and was going to take ages to get here (dont ask me why when I can drive to the shop in 2 hours).
I ended up going for this one:
http://www.hometheatercomputer.net/remote_purchase.html
I just liked the fact it wasn't ATI branded and the controls lookd a LITTLE clearer and bigger (mouse buttons are bigger than the Ati etc).
Small differences but they convinced me.
Also, because I bought it in america the exchange rate helped me a LOT.
The rate is GREAT for us brits right now:

1 Pound Sterling = 1.71641 US Dollars

As a result it cost me £26 - so was pretty much the exact same price.

The Tivo remote looks ALOT nicer but it's too late now
I just paid.

Thanks for all the feedback and info

[Eiffel]

It's probably a little bit late for Nila, but here's a thread that discusses the various versions of the Marmitek/x10/ati remote and how they differ

http://myhtpc.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4788&highlight=

I ordered one of these remotes (mostly out of curiosity) but haven't received it yet.

If IR (or IR relayed by RF) is good enough for you, and you don't need separate mouse pad/cursor keys, the JP1 compatible remotes are excellent tools (I have various Rat Shack remotes, including a RS 15-2116 and 15-2117, both of which go for $30... in old Europe ;D;D you can get One-For-All remotes which are similar, but with a different key layout). Compared to the X10 type remotes, these add a backlit keyboard, sometimes an LCD display/clock, and macro capabilities; but you'll have to add an PC IR receiver (or transceiver) such as the IrMan or USB-UIRT... and to make the best of these very powerful remotes, you should get or make a JP1 cable.

A fully tweaked RS 15-2116/2117 with a USB-UIRT is a killer combination (it will do many things that a Pronto can't do, and will be much easier to use and cheaper to boot... the only thing it lacks is the fully configurable LCD bitmap/touchpad)

[nila]

Eiffel - that's the one I'm getting

I liked the sounds of it and it sounded very powerful


with the UIRT's then can I use literally ANY remote?

That'd open up a big can of worms

[Griff]

Hi

I prefer ATI.

You can change the remote IDS.

If you have 3 or 4 around the house, you would understand why this is important.

Ps
Nvidia/ATI/X10 rf remotes.

Has anyone notice, after long term use of these, that when you press a button on the remote, your nose will also light up?

Take care
Griff

[Eiffel]

Eiffel - that's the one I'm getting

I liked the sounds of it and it sounded very powerful


with the UIRT's then can I use literally ANY remote?

That'd open up a big can of worms

Nila, I'm not sure which ONE you're getting (Marmitek, ATI, RS, OFA....)  ?

With the USB-UIRT, you can use almost any IR remote, especially if you check the 56kHz(?) version... basically the USB-UIRT will be able to receive pretty much any CONSUMER IR (as opposed to IrDA signals) and send signal signature to select PC applications. It will also be able to send IR signals to other devices in your house (Receiver, X10 IR modules, TV, Sat/Cable box, you name it). I seem to recall that some B&O devices were problematic, but that's about it...

[skidoo]

Philips Pronto all the way. Any of them from the Neo on.

[BullishDad]

I'll put in a plug for the Streamzap.  For only $30 after a $10 rebate this does a good job.  I taught the commands to my HTM MX-500 (my favorite remote of all) for an even better solution. The biggest improvement is that with the MX-500 I control the volume of my receiver as well. No Girder to learn either.

[nila]

For those of you in england - check out this I just saw - looks INCREDIBLY cheap for what it is.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Products/Module.asp?CartID=031222205626126&ModuleNo=26503&MR=N