MBC: Best Bluetooth TV Style Remote Controll

[AaronG85 48]

Just wondering what everyone uses to control both WMC and MB3C. I want Bluetooth so I don't have to worry about distance, but want something that takes advantage of all options (right click, ff, rw ect).

 

Thanks in advance

[Yogi 367]

Still use the Logitech Harmony here,just bought a second for the bedroom,they work a treat.

 

Not Bluetooth but still the best imo.

[CashMoney 94]

Again, not Bluetooth, but I use Unified Remote on android devices. However I too would go the harmony route (and probably will when I get some disposable cash). Iirc there is some sort of new harmony hub remote setup that can use harmony remotes, android and iPhone apps, keyboard, etc, and can control IR devices as well as WiFi, Rf and possibly Bluetooth.

 

http://mobile.logitech.com/en-gb/product/harmony-ultimate-hub

 

That one.

[Logos302 86]

Logitech makes an RF remote as well, while not Bluetooth will be just a good.

[Luke 37008]

Well done.

[Deihmos 147]

You can't go wrong with a harmony remote. I use the Harmony 900 which has RF so I don't need a line of sight of the components. The newer RF models are the harmony smart control and Harmony Ultimate. They changed up the design a lot.

 

Smart control allows you to use your smart phone or a simple remote.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Deihmos

[Jvtm 13]

Hipporemote works great.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[buddyweiser 105]

I use an xbox 360 remote with xpadder, i have autoprofiles for basic windows controls, with a button mapped to quicklaunch wmc, then xpadder loads the wmc profile, and profiles that auto launch for each of my emulators in gmebrowser as well

[aspdend 174]

I use a Harmony 555 (I picked it up cheap off Amazon a few years ago now) and supplement that with Unified remote on the smartphones and tablet. imho the Harmony remotes work the best

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

I use a Harmony One in the lounge for Main HTPC and a Harmony 1100 remote for the bedroom (The wife like the look of that one, so she wanted it in the bedroom :S )

 

Both these models are IR only, but work fantastically with every device I have.   You need to remember that the Harmony Remotes have

 

1. Activities - this means that with the press of a button, it can automatically control all devices necessary to go an activity. eg.

Activity = MediaBrowser, so the remote ensures the correct AV Input on the TV is selected (HDMI1), it changes the input on my Pioneer AV Rec to DVD(which is what i have selected for my HTPC input).  If I then press the activity Xbox, it changes the input on the TV to the Xbox input to HDMI2, pioneer to my Xbox input, then turns on the Xbox.

2. It's a marriage saving remote control and always has a hi WAF.

 

The downside is they are mostly quite expensive and you need to programme them to do exactly what you want them to do, which can take time.

 

If you wanted to hide your AV equipment and just have one hidden IR repeater you can use something like this

 

http://www.keene.co.uk/electronic/keene-electronics/keene-ir-distribution-amp-kit-(inc-irpmr)-/IRBKITPB.html

 

Just trying to give you facts mate

[Della Dog 19]

Just picked up my first Harmony remote this weekend - the Smart Control. Liked it so much I returned it for the Ultimate. Still trying to work out some the nuances associated with controlling a windows 8 HTPC (keyboard commands, selecting default audio device within Windows, etc.) but all in all I highly recommend it for controlling a system tucked away in a cabinet.

[Spaceboy 2493]

Harmony rock

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Just picked up my first Harmony remote this weekend - the Smart Control. Liked it so much I returned it for the Ultimate. Still trying to work out some the nuances associated with controlling a windows 8 HTPC (keyboard commands, selecting default audio device within Windows, etc.) but all in all I highly recommend it for controlling a system tucked away in a cabinet.

Dont want to dampen things but have a read of this and the comments

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R14UIJ11QJ6YT9/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00C80JFSS&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=560798&store=electronics

 

Anyone..... If you want to buy harmony, find one that uses the old software not the myharmony.com setup.... This is a deal breaker for me, i wont buy any new model as they have removed so many great features from the software.

[Della Dog 19]

Dont want to dampen things but have a read of this and the comments

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R14UIJ11QJ6YT9/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00C80JFSS&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=560798&store=electronics

 

Anyone..... If you want to buy harmony, find one that uses the old software not the myharmony.com setup.... This is a deal breaker for me, i wont buy any new model as they have removed so many great features from the software.

 

Not even slightly damp - yet.

 

I read just about EVERY review on Amazon before purchasing. The review you point to is dated 10 Sep 2013. What I can say for sure is that I've loaded the remote up with several devices & Activities (Smart TV, UMC processor, DirecTV DVR, Nest Thermostat and MediaBrowser on Win8) all sitting in an entertainment center  and everything so far works flawlessly.

 

Granted, I had to be careful with device delay timings, but I must say it's nice to click "Watch MB3" & see the processor fire up with the correct input, followed shortly by the TV switching to HDMI-2, then HTPC loading MB Theater full screen.

 

Oh yeah, And then one click "OFF" shuts it all down.

 

Me like so far.

[Lee 204]

[fantaxp7 190]

I picked up the harmony ultimate with the hub and it is fantastic. I had used the 900 for a couple of years and liked that, but the ultimate with the hub is great. I bought a splitter and some extra IR repeaters to control all my devices through the hub which works on wifi. I really like this as you don't have to worry about anyone not pointing the remote straight towards the devices. And it is cool having the app on my phone work with everything.

 

Another very odd but awesome thing for me: my friend used airplay to play a song on my Denon receiver while everything else was turned off. I thought "Oh no, that will mess up when I try to turn on my system later". For one reason or another when hitting the HTPC button on my harmony ultimate, it turned off my receiver then turned it back on...as if it knew it was in the wrong state of power....