Control is a critical aspect of managing a home theater PC (HTPC). Without a solid solution, there is no way to confidently hand it to the rest of the family and expect it to work. For many the solution is simple; even as Windows Media Center has declined the ecosystem it created for external RC-6 infrared (IR) receivers continues to […]
Read more
We get a lot of PR for Kickstarter campaigns, and I can’t remember ever posting one here on the site. I am prepared to make an exception for the Inteset PC-IRS5-01 because it could fill the HTPC CIR gap created when Intel left the retail motherboard market. There are several backing levels starting at $39 which, TBH is a bit […]
Read more
Not long ago it was easy to lean primarily on a traditional remote control – universal, of course — relegating the keyboard and mouse to the audio & video (A/V) cabinet, closet, or other locale of last resort –dragging it out just for occasional maintenance or troubleshooting. However, as over-the-top (OTT) content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and […]
Read more
As more content becomes available via search, it is increasingly important to use a real keyboard to interact with devices in the home theater. Unfortunately, with most keyboards lacking the capability to control infrared (IR) components, they can only supplement a traditional remote (or series of remotes) which reduces the value of when applied to the problem they are intended […]
Read more
The idea of universal remotes is nothing new, as is the idea of interactive smartphones. What has only been done sparingly, and mainly with home theater PC (HTPC) focused consumers in mind, has been the leveraging of your smartphone with your home theater. Griffin has made a name for itself for more general consumer electronics components, but is aiming to […]
Read more
Those of you with older television cabinets or mounted televisions know the difficulty that comes with hiding your equipment out of site while still being able to control it. Radio frequency (RF) has its benefits but requires a special remote control as well as IR blasters for each individual device you are looking to control. Sewell has developed the InjectIR […]
Read moreHere’s part 2 of the how-to guide from Geektonic writer Clift on how to mod your SageTV extender device for an external IR receiver so you can tuck it away. Neat mod! Last time we were talking about the mod instead of doing the modding. This part will focus on the actual mod, with lots of pictures to help along […]
Read more