How are people remotely controlling their 'non-remote' HTPC cases?

[Participant]

Say you've got a Logitech Harmony universal remote and have just bought a Sugo SG05/6-based HTPC.

How do you control the HTPC from the comfort of your sofa?

I'm struggling to find a decent solution to this problem, there just seems to be a lack of compatible HTPC remote receivers on the market.

I would just use my phone, but when I'm not in the house there needs to be another solution. The Logitech diNovo mini looks very good and would obviously do the job, but I'm reluctant to spend ~£70 when I have a Harmony that might be able to solve the problem in conjunction with a £5 IR receiver.

Any recommendations? What I'd like to be able to do is program my Harmony (525) to switch on the AV Receiver, TV, and HTPC with one button by selecting the activity 'Watch Blu-ray', for example.

Many thanks!

 

[Participant]

I do have a harmony remote but I am not using it to control a PC. However if I was trying then I think I would be looking at a Windows Media Centre remote. You can buy the remote with a USB IR reciever for about £13 in various places. I am sure the media centre codes are already in the Logitech database (or you could learn them off the remote) so it is then just a case of putting together the sequence on the remote to combine the switching tasks you want. I have NOT tried this myself but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

The AV receiver would need to be compatable with the Logitech remote. I wish I had checked before I bought my Yamaha but that as they say is another story.

Thanks for that, sounds like it'll be worth a try. Even if it doesn't work I can bung it back on the bay.

Regarding your Yamaha...which do you have? I'm thinking of buying the RX-V667.

 

[Participant]

i run xbmc on mine so just use the xmbc app on the android store. mrs has it on her phone too so its never a problem.

I like the sound of this and will inevitably set it up this way if only to satisfy my geeky tendencies, but as I said, what about when I'm out of the house with my phone?

Gonna cruise the bay for cheap remote receivers, thanks guys. Specific product recommendations are still welcome!

 

[Participant]

i use a cyberlink dvd remote, i got it for about £7 when an etailer was getting rid of them, it came with the usb receiver and works great in media centre, xbmc, media portal, power dvd and arcsoft totalmedia theatre

I'll check it out, thanks.

I bought a HP MCE reciever from the bay for about £5 and then set up my Harmony straight out of the database (MCE remote)

Sounds good.

Probably not what you want to hear but...

Logitech dinovo mini. I've got two now. One for a Silverstone case that does have a remote and the other for an Asus eeepc which his hidden behind my 40in LCD on the wall in my bedroom.

The fact that I bought a second says it all. Expensive but I really like them. Stylish and pretty much a full user experience rather than just a media remote.

That works with Bluetooth does it not? So how would it solve my problem of needing to use my Harmony? Also I have a spare wireless keyboard and mouse already for when I really need full pc functionality, but for the other 90% of the time, I just want to hit the on button on my remote .

 

[Participant]

get a microsoft one or similar, then you can power it on too (from sleep)
a few of the cheaper ones dont do this

That, is important. I'll keep an eye out for that functionality. Thanks.

I don't think this can be classed as a competitor, as they sell a myriad of random gadgets (and junk), but dons feel free to remove if you deem it otherwise:

http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.keyboard

They have loads of mini BT\IR keyboards with trackpad recievers for ~$40 or less, and free global shipping, cheap cheerful chinese crap, but will work fine

Thanks for the link.

 

[Participant]

I use the Dinovo edge, i like to do everything though (Web browsing, bit of work, as well as movies) Couldn't imagine using a remote

Really? So you don't own a TV? If you read the thread, I want to be able to press one button on my Harmony, which switches on my:

- Amp
- TV
- V+ box
- HTPC

You can also use some of these USB receivers as a mouse which, combined with the fact that I already have a spare wireless mouse and keyboard if I need it for the HTPC, means that I don't want or need to spend £70 on a diNovo Edge Mini, as nice as it is. Not to mention the fact that your diNovo cannot turn on your TV or amp.

 

[Participant]

Lol, I suppose buying a small child is a solution for a reliable (?!) remote control .