2014-01-06, 22:40
So I have been insearch for a remote for my new HTPC setup. A little background on my setup and goals for use. I have taken my spare desktop PC running a AMD Phenom II X4 2.8 GHz cpu, with 8GB of RAM and a Nvidia EVGA GTS450. Its running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on a 70GB SSD and hasa 1TB storage drive. I am a big TV watcher and have finally gotten rid of my comcast DVR and replaced it with the desktop running XBMC with the WMC PVR addon. I just couldn't take the limited storage on the DVR and its old looking and buggy interface. Plus I wanted some flexibility in my TV watching device especially if I could get rid of commericials for recorded TV. My desktop is in another room with a 20ft HDMI cable running to my TV in the living room. Currently I use a wireless keyboard to control XBMC but I'm getting tired of using such a big device to change the channel and people visiting my place don't know how to control my setups. So I'm looking for a remote.
I kind of need this remote to be wireless since my computer is in another room making it a really long USB run for an IR receiver. At the same time I haven't ruled out IR based remotes either. What I would really love is a remote in the form factor of a Harmony One that can have its buttons programmed to work over Bluetooth or IR based on your setup. I also need all the basic buttons for controlling media play back and live TV (Channel +/-m volume, play,stop, skip, etc.). With that said I have found the following 4 remotes that best meet my needs.
- PS3 Media remote (with Channel and Volume buttons)
- Tivo Slide Pro remote
- Rii i13 Air Mouse remote
- Logitech Harmony 900 (used on eBay)
Right now I have been thinking of getting the Ps3 remote as its the cheapest but I heard that sucker eats through batteries. I think there is a batch script out there that eventghost can run to hibernate the remote when you need it but I'm not sure how responsive the remote is when you try to wake it up. The Tivo Slide looks great, I love that it has a keyboard and that its bluetooth but I really need a Stop button and its a little on the expensive side. The Rii i13 looks great and is nice and small, but the lack of documentation and support as well as the cheap plastics. I've had a Harmony One which broke about a year ago. Loved that remote. The Harmony 900 is the same remote but RF, however you still need the converter station to convert the RF signal to an IR signal and I would also need a USB IR receiver to converter the IR signal to a USB signal. The Harmony 900 is a great remote but expensive (easily +$100 more than the Tivo remote) and it needs extra hardware to work with the HTPC.
So what remote should I go with? Have you guys used another remote that is not listed which meets my needs?
FYI, I do plan on using Eventghost to give me some more functionality where needed.
I kind of need this remote to be wireless since my computer is in another room making it a really long USB run for an IR receiver. At the same time I haven't ruled out IR based remotes either. What I would really love is a remote in the form factor of a Harmony One that can have its buttons programmed to work over Bluetooth or IR based on your setup. I also need all the basic buttons for controlling media play back and live TV (Channel +/-m volume, play,stop, skip, etc.). With that said I have found the following 4 remotes that best meet my needs.
- PS3 Media remote (with Channel and Volume buttons)
- Tivo Slide Pro remote
- Rii i13 Air Mouse remote
- Logitech Harmony 900 (used on eBay)
Right now I have been thinking of getting the Ps3 remote as its the cheapest but I heard that sucker eats through batteries. I think there is a batch script out there that eventghost can run to hibernate the remote when you need it but I'm not sure how responsive the remote is when you try to wake it up. The Tivo Slide looks great, I love that it has a keyboard and that its bluetooth but I really need a Stop button and its a little on the expensive side. The Rii i13 looks great and is nice and small, but the lack of documentation and support as well as the cheap plastics. I've had a Harmony One which broke about a year ago. Loved that remote. The Harmony 900 is the same remote but RF, however you still need the converter station to convert the RF signal to an IR signal and I would also need a USB IR receiver to converter the IR signal to a USB signal. The Harmony 900 is a great remote but expensive (easily +$100 more than the Tivo remote) and it needs extra hardware to work with the HTPC.
So what remote should I go with? Have you guys used another remote that is not listed which meets my needs?
FYI, I do plan on using Eventghost to give me some more functionality where needed.