Wired/Wireless Infra Red and Wall Sockets

sansnom · 24 Mar 2015 at 16:38

Been trying to figure out the best solution for controlling devices and looking into the Magic Eye thing but it has a really short distance so it needs to be wired into an ethernet cable which is a bit of a pain.

I was wondering if there are any good wireless IR solutions? something that probably sits in the living room near the TV and then a receiver that sits infront of a bunch of devices like Sky box / Media Player etc and can send remote signals that way?

Also, I was looking at wall sockets for power, ethernet, coax and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a solid brand for these ideally in a brushed or stainless steel finish? I was going to go for BG but I hear they're poor quality (something about being 6amp and the recommended being 10amp?)

valve90210 · 24 Mar 2015 at 17:03

Have a look for RF infrared extenders, they're basically what you want.

Can't suggest any as not really used them

sansnom · 24 Mar 2015 at 17:23

valve90210 said:
Have a look for RF infrared extenders, they're basically what you want.

Can't suggest any as not really used them

I did see those but it looks like they're all short range (i.e. designed to sit on top of a cabinet but wired into the devices inside) and don't scale very well? i.e. control 1 or 2 devices at most unless I'm looking at the wrong thing?

Ideally I'd like something which scales very well to control up to 10 devices in the future and preferably something which doesn't need direct line of sight just to be in the vicinity of the devices but most importantly it must be wireless to allow it to cover long distances without cabling.

Dreadhead · 24 Mar 2015 at 21:08

Perhaps look into the Z-Wave ecosystem. You can get something like a Vera Lite box to control any z-wave devices from your smart phone and then introduce control points as you go. There is everything from controllable wall wart switches, to embedded power sockets, to light switches, to thermostats, to window motors. You can include all manner of sensors as well and create scripts that tie it all together.