RF remote for Media Center?

[Chasseur]

Can anyone recommend an RF remote control that would work with WMC? I would need that remote to also control TV power and volume via IR.

[Ganjagadget]

Add this to any MCE remote:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C1Z0HA

[Chasseur]

When using the Next Generation Remote Control Extender, does it stops sending the IR signals from the remote? I understand that it will generate RF signals when pressing the buttons, but does the remote still work in IR also?

[jrandeck]

My favorite has long been the Gyration line of remotes.   Sadly, they quit making them.  The closest I can find these days is the Dell version on EBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Dell-MotionSense-Motion-Sensing-By-Gyration-Remote-/360349295415?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e67de337

I’m tempted to buy one so I have one when this one dies (the gyroscope can be fragile, though my current one has held up very well.)

 

 

[flips]

 

I use the Harmony 890.  I picked up a couple of refurbished units for about $100 each for two of my rooms.  I have been very happy with them.  The only issue I have is that in our living room with tall ceilings, if the remote is blocked in a certain way I get double hits, no amount of tweaking of the settings seem to be able to stop it.

 

The way I believe the UFO setup works is that when you press a button to generate the IR signal a small amount of RF is released by the remote and then it will send that signal to the UFO unit.  So yes, I believe both the IR and the RF will work.  Then you would have to make sure that you fully cover the IR receiver on each unit, which is sometime easier said than done.

[Chasseur]

Do you have any lag (a delay between the moment you press the remote button and the moment the action is executed)? I wonder how the responsiveness of the remote is affected by the RF/IR conversion…

Also, anything bad about the lifetime of the batteries? Do you need to change your remote batteries often?

[flips]

I don’t have the UFO one, so I can’t talk to that, but the Harmony is very responsive.  I don’t recognize any difference between IR and RF.  The 890 has a rechargeable battery with a charging dock so I need to dock it every few weeks, so it has a pretty good life on it.

flips

[Kirby]

Not sure if this will work for you, not RF, but Bluetooth.  I just got mine last night and its working swimmingly! (always wanted to use that word!)

http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2012/04/27/using-a-tivo-slide-remote-with-windows-media-center/

[Chasseur]

I just tried the Next Gen Remote Extender (the UFO) and it works great so far. I’m using it with the original Microsoft media center remote.

I also ordered an extra transmitter battery for my microsoft wireless media center keyboard and it works great too.

[Chasseur]

2 weeks later, it still works great. However, yesterday, I had to change the charging battery with a fresh charged one. It looks I will have to swap the charging battery every 2 weeks…

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