[KidKiwi]

Considering changing from PC to shield, but need to confirm if people actually have the unit working with IR remotes without too much fuss. I tried that with an earlier shield and didn't really get it working and ran out of patience. Been a few years now, so anyone have experience with that? I'm using harmony 650 remotes.
Thanks in advance.

I just switched to a Shield myself after more than a decade away from any Kodi tweaking. A lot had changed. I found it to be quite a challenge!

But...I have got the shield fully functional using IR and I also have a 650 remote. I had to get a FlircUSB to make it all work. It took a while for me to figure it all out -> so be patient.

It ended up being a combination of keymap.xml changes, FlircUSB programming and Harmony programming to get it to work. I'm very happy with the result. I got two FlircUSB's so I could have a backup device. Make sure to save the Flirc config to a safe place once it's all done. FlircUSB is meant to work out-of-the-box with the Shield -> but that was NOT my experience.

One thing I liked about the Flirc was that it didn't really matter what IR code the 650 was sending (as long as it was unique). You could fire the 650 (using whatever button you want) at the Flirc to program it and you were good to go. However, I ended up with 4x devices in the Harmony software to make it all work for just that activity. My 650 is device maxed now

Stick with it. I can be done.

I have a Flirc and universal remote but found myself using the 2019 Shield Pro remote more than anything.  It is backlit and the buttons can be customized for double/long clicks with an app, and has voice control.  But for anything extensive or disk player controls I fall back to to my universal remote or the OEM remotes.

I don't like the shield remote. Stupid shape that will not sit flat...and I wanted a complete IR system. I also find the long/short press thingee a pain -> definitely not wife compatible (IMO). At least she can handle the 650 with set activities. I don't use any of the original remotes. The 650 does it all

Is voice control still a thing?? That would drive me nuts