PC remote control unit ... which one?

[dualmeister]

Hi

Looking for some advice on getting a remote for my PC. Something to make it more HTPC compatible. But, not a HTPC as such as it won't be connected to a TV.

Logitech have the Harmony remote for example. Anyone using this ?

Basically I need something that can control my Logitech Z5500 speakers AND control my media player. Preferably Zoom Player which is my player of choice.

Any suggestions ?

 

[freeek]

I was looking for something similar! Once upon a time I had a chaintech motherboard that gave you a free infra red remote! It was brilliant acted as a mouse aswell as having full media player support! It was the best!!

It was the perfect gizmo for lazy ppl. The only remote that I have seen similar are ones for Win XP media centre edition, if you ever find one for normal XP let me know. Also it should'nt cost an arm and leg!

 

[Gunny]

Years ago I had a creative CDROM with remote that you could controll a pc with dunno about what you can use these days tho.

 

[squirrel]

You could always buy/make a serial reciever and use any remote you want, then configure it..

 

[TivoZA]

Looking for some advice on getting a remote for my PC.

You have two choices, you can either get a PC specific remote such as the "Microsoft Remote Control" or you can get a universal infrared remote control device and make use of any remote (including remotes that you already have, e.g. TV, HiFi, etc).

The advantage of getting the "Microsoft Remote Control for MCE" is that it's available locally and provides an all-in-one solution at a fairly reasonable price.

The disadvantage of the "Microsoft Remote Control for MCE" is that you are limited to using the supplied remote. Using a remote such as the "Logitech Harmony" would provide you with far more button combinations, macro's/activities and it can be used to control a variety of other devices. To be able to use a non PC specific remote (such as the "Logitech Harmony"), you'll need an infrared remote control device such as the RedRat (this device can both send and receive IR signals to and from any device).

Since you won't be using the remote to control MCE or any other HTPC software, you'll need to make use of an automation tool such as Girder. Girder is able to learn the different commands that your remote sends through to your infrared device and each command can then be mapped to a separate function. Girder can work with the "Microsoft Remote Control" package, most infrared receivers as well as many other devices such as a bluetooth/infrared phone, joystick, joypad, keyboard & mouse. Girder is able to control pretty much any windows based program (e.g. WinAmp, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc) and has an abundance of plug-ins with support for different remotes and the control of different programs.

Although Girder 4.0 now costs $49.99 it used to be free. If you're happy to use the older version, Google "girder 3.2.9b" and you should be able to get a legal unrestricted copy

 

[dualmeister]

Thank you TivoZA. That is very helpfull ! Going to do some more research on Girder

 

[freeek]

yes thank you on my behalf! damn I should of bought a remote in Hong Kong!

 

[skydog]

You have two choices, you can either get a PC specific remote such as the "Microsoft Remote Control" or you can get a universal infrared remote control device and make use of any remote (including remotes that you already have, e.g. TV, HiFi, etc).

The advantage of getting the "Microsoft Remote Control for MCE" is that it's available locally and provides an all-in-one solution at a fairly reasonable price.

The disadvantage of the "Microsoft Remote Control for MCE" is that you are limited to using the supplied remote. Using a remote such as the "Logitech Harmony" would provide you with far more button combinations, macro's/activities and it can be used to control a variety of other devices. To be able to use a non PC specific remote (such as the "Logitech Harmony"), you'll need an infrared remote control device such as the RedRat (this device can both send and receive IR signals to and from any device).

Since you won't be using the remote to control MCE or any other HTPC software, you'll need to make use of an automation tool such as Girder. Girder is able to learn the different commands that your remote sends through to your infrared device and each command can then be mapped to a separate function. Girder can work with the "Microsoft Remote Control" package, most infrared receivers as well as many other devices such as a bluetooth/infrared phone, joystick, joypad, keyboard & mouse. Girder is able to control pretty much any windows based program (e.g. WinAmp, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc) and has an abundance of plug-ins with support for different remotes and the control of different programs.

Although Girder 4.0 now costs $49.99 it used to be free. If you're happy to use the older version, Google "girder 3.2.9b" and you should be able to get a legal unrestricted copy

TivoZA thanks for that info.
I have been vaguely interested in getting a Remote to control my PC as i do watch stuff on my TV piped from my PC but it sits in another room.

I dont use media center. So.....
What you saying by your previous post is that all i need is an IR reciever for my PC, a standard remote (I have an old DVD player one) and the grider software?

is that it? with a bit of patients can I get this going so that i dont have to standup to pause what i am watching to go get another beer because there are no ad breaks?

 

[TivoZA]

I dont use media center. So.....
What you saying by your previous post is that all i need is an IR reciever for my PC, a standard remote (I have an old DVD player one) and the grider software?

Correct!

is that it? with a bit of patients can I get this going so that i dont have to standup to pause what i am watching to go get another beer because there are no ad breaks?

Yip, one thing to note (since you are feeding the picture from your PC to the TV) is that you'll need to have the IR receiver in the same room as the TV as well as having it connected to the PC.

Most IR receivers (including the "Microsoft Remote Control for MCE" and the "RedRat") connect to the PC via a USB cable. If your PC and IR receiver are far apart, you'll have difficulty getting the IR receiver connected as USB is not the most friendly of cables to extend. You do have some options with regards to extending USB but you may be better off getting a serial IR receiver which would allow you to extend the cable far more easily. Note that many of the serial IR receivers only support specific remotes and may not be as versatile as the current USB offerings. A further word of caution, an IrDA port (as featured on many PC's) is not capable or receiving a signal from an infrared remote control.

One option for extending the IR receiver range would be to get an IR Blaster (e.g. Ellies unit) or a 2.4ghz video extenders with built in IR transmission. Both units would allow you to keep the IR receiver in the same room as your PC while having the IR extender in the room with the TV. Note that the IR Blaster and the 2.4ghz video extenders will interfere with a WiFi network, resulting in a reduced performance of both IR (blaster) and WiFi transmission.

The simplest/cheapest solution for what you require would probably be to get a bottom of the range TV Tuner with remote (e.g. "Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP RM TV Tuner w/Remote" for R245). These units usually provide an external IR receiver cable that plugs directly into the "TV Tuner" card rather then the more expensive USB options. The advantage of this is that the cable connector is a standard audio headphone connector and as such you'll easily be able to find cables with which to extend it (I've successfully run a 20M extension on one of these IR receivers). Going this route you'll be limited to using the supplied remote but you could overcome this by getting a universal/learning remote to capture the remote codes. From the PC side of things, you would just get Girder to capture and map the codes after which it should be smooth sailing

 

[protzkrog]

so a Windows XP Media Centre remote does not work on Windows XP Pro ? at all ?

 

[Kasyx]

I am curious to know the same...

 

[stoke]

If you have a wireless network at home:

Buy the cheapest IPaQ that supports WiFi and runs Windoze Mobile (around R1200)
Buy SilingClicker (R80) software. This software installs on the Mobile device and the PC you want to control, and lets you control media player and a lot of other stuff from the windows mobile device on the wi-fi network.

Done.

If you have an advanced cell phone, you can probably use that instead of the IPaQ.

 

[TivoZA]

so a Windows XP Media Centre remote does not work on Windows XP Pro ? at all ?

The Microsoft MCE remote does work in Windows XP Pro. You will however need to use something like Girder to map the remotes commands and make them do something useful.

 

[protzkrog]

thanks man !!

 

[ipodmusicman]

Hi there,

I am thinking of buying the Microsoft Media Centre remote control since I am going to be putting together a media centre PC. The reason why I am choosing this remote is because it comes with an IR receiver.

I am hoping to get the Harmony One in the future, but for now, I am going to use the MS remote.

Does the included IR receiver that comes with the MS Remote work for other remotes?

I've heard of IR receivers that only work for the remote controls they are supplied with and I'd hate to make this purchase and realise when I buy a Harmony One at a later stage, that it won't work with the IR receiver.

Please advice?

 

[TivoZA]

I am thinking of buying the Microsoft Media Centre remote control since I am going to be putting together a media centre PC. The reason why I am choosing this remote is because it comes with an IR receiver.

Is is possible to just buy a 3rd party IR receiver/transmitter but if you're planning on using Microsoft MCE then getting the MCE remote is the simplest/best option.

Does the included IR receiver that comes with the MS Remote work for other remotes?

I've heard of IR receivers that only work for the remote controls they are supplied with and I'd hate to make this purchase and realise when I buy a Harmony One at a later stage, that it won't work with the IR receiver.

Remotes that can be programmed to transmit the MCE remote commands or remotes that support a learning function will work fine with the MCE IR receiver. Logitech's Harmony range of remotes will work and are a great choice.

Although it's possible to get the MCE IR receiver to accept commands from 3rd party remotes (i.e. remotes that don't support the MCE remote commands and don't have learning ability) it's a complicated process and in most cases it's not worth the hassle.