[sufreak]

I've been using LibreElec on Raspberry Pis/SFF devices for YEARS. I've had an IR receiver and a Harmony remote for an easy to use set up. Logitech has killed harmony, and it seems like old school remotes aren't a thing anymore.

I love having discrete buttons for functions, rather than these stupid  "Back arrow, menu and D pad" remotes.  Even TVs now are dropping IR for these dumb remotes and BT/RF.

So what do people use for a remote? I'm hoping to have a nice easy to use device that the 6 year old can use.

[izprtxqkft]

i too miss the harmony remote (r.i.p.) but instead of buying a replacement, mostly because at the time i could not find one, i went and reworked everything to not need it and use CEC instead

however, recently i have been missing it more so i have been looking at the SofaBaton X1 and in spec, function and appearance it is Very similar to the Harmony (i had the elite with hub)

so perhaps take a look and see how it stacks up for your use, i have not yet purchased one but i am inching closer to it

[Atreyu]

I use Minix A2 lite.
It's very basic, backlight, power button is ir, all others rf (which in my case fits perfectly).
Should be fine for the smaller users too

[wags1]

While Harmony is no longer making/selling their remotes they have publicly committed to continued support. Lots of folks are still using their Harmony remotes and Harmony have been providing updates and adding devices. I still use two Harmony Elites and they work fine. Honestly the idea of them stopping to work makes be break out in a cold sweat...LOL

[PatK]

Shameless plug here..

Flirc have been Kodi supporters for many years, I would be amiss in not making this suggestion.

[izprtxqkft]

since posting i went ahead and purchased the Sofabaton X1, it seems to stack up against the Harmony, intend on posting a review once i really get a handle on what it can and cannot do

[garretn]

I've bought and used many remotes over the years, and my personal favorite is the Inteset 4-in-1 (INT-422). Lots of buttons, good layout, backlight. Unlike some universal remotes, this one DOES let you remap ALL buttons regardless of what profile is assigned to whatever device (yes, some universal remotes don't let you use inactive buttons!).

I use it with an MCE receiver and it works great, very responsive.

I also go the extra mile since I primarily use it in windows, and also have EventGhost set up so I can be extra with it. While everything I do is likely achievable with a keymap as far as Kodi is concerned, it sure makes things easy! In particular, I enjoy having dedicated buttons to cycle through subtitle tracks and audio tracks. I also have a button for popping in/out of fullscreen mode. A button for bringing window focus to Kodi. All kinds of useful stuff that you only really notice missing when you use a streaming device remote and get annoyed at the lack of functionality, or how slow usage is when you have to deal with long presses.

[ashlar]

since posting i went ahead and purchased the Sofabaton X1, it seems to stack up against the Harmony, intend on posting a review once i really get a handle on what it can and cannot do

Too few physical buttons for my tastes/needs. I use one of the Harmony remotes with the Picture/Sound buttons, that basically gave you two extra sets of buttons for each activity. Unparalleled flexibility. I have one in storage, brand new. It's not a happy thought, but maybe they're gonna outlast me...

[DJ_Izumi]

I need buttons, so many buttons!  Minimalism be damned, I have a button mapped just to switch the watched status flag even.

[izprtxqkft]

with that many buttons wouldn't a mini bluetooth keyboard be just as effective, i think there's only like 10 more buttons on one of those

to each their own, i like simple

[DJ_Izumi]

with that many buttons wouldn't a mini bluetooth keyboard be just as effective, i think there's only like 10 more buttons on one of those

to each their own, i like simple

My main take away is that a 'simple remote' leds to 'more time spent in menus to do things'.  Why go to the context menu to change watch status when I can map it to the red button?  Why go to menus to change audio or subtitles when they can be cycled with the * or # keys?  Why go into the menus to change the 'zoom' options when a show's aspect ratio is off when I can cycle them in from the literal 'Zoom' button on the remote?

[izprtxqkft]

Why go to menus to change audio or subtitles when they can be cycled with the * or # keys?

why change subtitles or audio at all when you can precode the forced/default tracks and have kodi do it automatically when you start playback?
 

Why go into the menus to change the 'zoom' options when a show's aspect ratio is off when I can cycle them in from the literal 'Zoom' button on the remote?

i never change this, i have less than 4 titles that are not 16:9
 

Why go to the context menu to change watch status when I can map it to the red button?

potential use case but i don't usually change watched, it's either unwatched/new or watched because i watched it


comes down to different use cases, you actively use things that a more feature rich remote can fulfill and i do not

[brazen1]

Harmony 900.  Hands down... best remote control ever made.  This remote does it all and I mean everything.  No 3rd party software for nonexistent button assignments needed.  If you need extra help with your remote, it was never up to the tasks to begin with.  None of that minimalist long press nonsense either.  Plentiful hard buttons and more soft buttons than anyone will ever use.  I control every aspect of my home theatre using this one remote.  I like that it has an LED screen to present any and every button press I desire.  With thousands of button presses at my fingertips, the LED displays the name of the function that press will do. 

I begin by selecting which activity I want.  This could be watch cable TV with or without AVR.  Or antenna TV.  Or play a game.  I want to start Kodi.  So, I press one button.  The computer boots from a cold off state... not sleep or hibernate.  The TV boots.  The AVR boots.  The bass shaker amp boots.  The subwoofer turns on.  Etc., Etc.  All of these devices adjust to the correct inputs, outputs, and specific settings related to using Kodi.  These inputs, outputs, and specific settings would be different for other activities like watching TV which would be a different single button press and everything related to watching TV would have its own custom sequence of events occurring.

As time has went by, I've found very, very, very specific on-the-fly adjustments come in handy during playback... negating the need for any fumbling around to adjust and apply.  They're right there programmed in the remote and very easily accessible.  MadVR adjustments - not a problem.  Every single one is there.  Matching external player buttons with Kodi player buttons - done.  All TV and AVR adjustments - no problem.  PC commands - same.  Kodi adjustments - same thing.  Shortcuts for adjustments mean no need to drill down in invasive on-screen lengthy menus.  They are simply a button assignment away and display small if they display at all.  This means most of the time playback isn't interrupted by blaring notifications of what you might be adjusting and guests never notice. 

One of the Kodi add-ons I apply is Waddaysay.  We're watching something.  We couldn't make out what was said.  No problem.  I press the Waddasay key on the remote.  Kodi jumps back playback 15 seconds (or whatever I assigned when I setup the app).  It replays 15 seconds earlier AND it turns on the subtitle.  After a set amount of time (I applied 20 seconds) the subtitle turns back off without interrupting playback whatsoever.  I have many of these nifty things programmed in the Harmony 900.

These types of obscure things are fairly simple to program into the remote.  Nonetheless, they are manually added by me.  That said, I have not found a device or popular software that Logitech does not have preprogrammed in its database.  These things I do not have to manually add.  I just select them and every conceivable button press related to these specific devices and software is there - same as the dedicated remotes that came with device(s) and software making them dust collectors tucked in a drawer because they are unnecessary.

I like automation and I like complete control from a single remote.  It has never failed me.  It simply works perfectly and reliably for everything related to my home theatre.  Why Logitech quit the remote control aspect of its business is beyond me?  All I know is, you'll have to pry my Harmony 900 from my cold dead fingers before I give it up.

[Phil_YHC]

ive had one of these for years, plug and play on KodiBuntu, LibreElec and windows and i have remapped the "big green" button and others for extra functions.

[crawfish]

I need buttons, so many buttons!  Minimalism be damned, I have a button mapped just to switch the watched status flag even.

I'm with you, bruddah! Below is my beloved Sony RM-VL610 along with its Kodi mappings, which are consistent across other devices (not shown) to the extent possible. I use Autohotkey to intercept the F13-F24 combinations configured in RemoteMappingTable for the MCE commands I taught it and interface with Kodi using JSON, so I can control Kodi on my PC and Android devices in the same way. Among other things, I've programmed an enhanced "Back" function, "Toggle subtitles" that does the right thing when forced subtitles are present, and "What did he say?" functions. The obsolete VCR button set contains miscellaneous commands like discrete on/off for my TV, which I use in macros, as well as less used Kodi commands like Aspect Ratio, Debug, Subtitle delay, Update Library, Clean Library, etc. The remote came with a selection of alternate rounded backs (3 per unit) and is designed to be laid face down on a table, so the back is what you see instead of a bunch of buttons. The white one looks really classy and is what I use. I dumped a Harmony 880 for this remote 10+ years ago, and the Sony is better in every way, from its layout, balance, IR strength, to my ability to program for it and support things Logitech refused to do. I'll never switch to another remote, and I've collected spares over the years. The major weakness is that numerous button labels don't match the commands I've assigned to them, but I operate the remote by feel, and I manage to remember them. 

watch gallery

ETA: I used the imgur tag to link to the image I made, but it's displayed as pretty low quality. The real image is slightly larger and less blurry. Is there any way to display it instead?