Looking for a Remote...that works in MP...and is available!!! (4 Viewers)

[wizard123]

I would not recommend the Maplins £14.99 remote control. It is actually made by Ortek, but is also sold under various other brand names (Adesso, Gmyle, Hama, Sanoxy; I have the Hama-branded one).

The problem with this remote control is that the INFO button does not work correctly. If you search the internet for "Ortek", you will find many threads on the XBMC forum about this remote.

You would probably be better off with a One-for-All remote. Most (but not all) have the MCE codes built-in, so you simply set device code 1272 and you are done. Models to consider would be the 7140, 7950, or 7960 (I have all of those). For something more expensive, you could consider the One-for-All Xsight Lite or Xsight Colour (I have both of those, too).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

not true i have the ortek specific one and the info button works perfectly if you map it using the plugin not built in.

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
I really hate Harmony. Never will buy one again... You press a button and... nothing happened. "Half an eternity" later the reaction on this button arrives at the HTPC, if you're lucky.... Mostly you've pressed the button again and again and again and again... simply waiting for reaction. And suddenly all those actions are done after each other... Really terrible. Never had those on any other brand, no matter how cheap or expensive this was... Never ever again Harmony remote. Not even if you pay me a billion bucks to use it.

But the "Remote" itself did not matter that much. MP only recognizes the receiver. If receiver is OK, all is OK (excerpt for this shitty slow Harmony)... You can use nearly every "One for all" or programmable remote as long as it can be set/programmed to "MCE".
I still have one Original Microsoft MCE Remote. It's the best I ever had hands on. You can control the HTPC from another room (as long as doors are open) or from 50 Meters distance... Don't need to point to the receiver at all. Reflections on walls are more than good enough. But this one no longer is available since a long time. A pity.

If you want to control your HTPC as cheap as possible use your phone or tablet (Android, iOS,...). Its completely free of charge. And as it uses Wifi you don't need a receiver nor view to the HTPC.

The second cheapest solution I have is from an "1 Euro Shop" (didn't know if this type of store is available in other countries too...) There I had to pay 4.95€ for a MCE compatible Remote (branded as Speedlink) including RC6 USB Receiver and batteries... What should I say, it's working. This includes "Green" and coloured buttons and all the other "special" MCE buttons without the need to configure anyting inside MP...

 

[wizard123]

Hi.
I really hate Harmony. Never will buy one again... You press a button and... nothing happened. "Half an eternity" later the reaction on this button arrives at the HTPC, if you're lucky.... Mostly you've pressed the button again and again and again and again... simply waiting for reaction. And suddenly all those actions are done after each other... Really terrible. Never had those on any other brand, no matter how cheap or expensive this was... Never ever again Harmony remote. Not even if you pay me a billion bucks to use it.

But the "Remote" itself did not matter that much. MP only recognizes the receiver. If receiver is OK, all is OK (excerpt for this shitty slow Harmony)... You can use nearly every "One for all" or programmable remote as long as it can be set/programmed to "MCE".
I still have one Original Microsoft MCE Remote. It's the best I ever had hands on. You can control the HTPC from another room (as long as doors are open) or from 50 Meters distance... Don't need to point to the receiver at all. Reflections on walls are more than good enough. But this one no longer is available since a long time. A pity.

If you want to control your HTPC as cheap as possible use your phone or tablet (Android, iOS,...). Its completely free of charge. And as it uses Wifi you don't need a receiver nor view to the HTPC.

The second cheapest solution I have is from an "1 Euro Shop" (didn't know if this type of store is available in other countries too...) There I had to pay 4.95€ for a MCE compatible Remote (branded as Speedlink) including RC6 USB Receiver and batteries... What should I say, it's working. This includes "Green" and coloured buttons and all the other "special" MCE buttons without the need to configure anyting inside MP...

If you contact support you can request for them to set the remote delay to 0 which fixes that issue, although i agree you should not have to in the first place but hey nothing is perfect.

 

[CyberSimian]

Might either of the Maplins offerings I referred to earlier suffice??

You would probably be better off with a One-for-All remote.

I forgot to mention that the One-for-All remotes are universal remotes (work with multiple devices). That means that the remote is not sold with an IR receiver. The IR receiver that was included with your TBS tuner card is not MCE compatible (I have TBS tuners, too), so you would need to buy an MCE-compatible IR receiver in order to be able to use the One-for-All remotes.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[emphatic]

I still have one Original Microsoft MCE Remote. It's the best I ever had hands on. You can control the HTPC from another room (as long as doors are open) or from 50 Meters distance... Don't need to point to the receiver at all. Reflections on walls are more than good enough. But this one no longer is available since a long time. A pity.

Did you see my eBay link?
Emph

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

Did you see my eBay link?

That is a fake, no real Microsoft MCE Remote. The remote has wrong label and is missing the second power button on top left (the one I use to power off my TV...). The receiver is completely different. It's labelled as Acer (pretty sure it's no Acer but fake also), has a different case and the IR boosters are missing. So I'm sure the functionality isn't as good as Microsoft MCE. This don't mean it's not working at all, but don't expect it to be like the original. I think it will be like any other pirated brand...

AfaIr the production of the original MCE remote has stopped about 7 or 8 years ago (nearly at the same time as XP-MediaCenter Edition) so it's near to impossible to get a brand new one those days. The last real ones are sold at about 150€ also average price during lifetime was something about 25-35€

 

[emphatic]

Hi.

Did you see my eBay link?

That is a fake, no real Microsoft MCE Remote. The remote has wrong label and is missing the second power button on top left (the one I use to power off my TV...). The receiver is completely different. It's labelled as Acer (pretty sure it's no Acer but fake also), has a different case and the IR boosters are missing. So I'm sure the functionality isn't as good as Microsoft MCE. This don't mean it's not working at all, but don't expect it to be like the original. I think it will be like any other pirated brand...

AfaIr the production of the original MCE remote has stopped about 7 or 8 years ago (nearly at the same time as XP-MediaCenter Edition) so it's near to impossible to get a brand new one those days. The last real ones are sold at about 150€ also average price during lifetime was something about 25-35€

Well, I bought one, and apart from that missing Power button, it's almost as good IMHO. I use the Microsoft receiver anyway, so no big deal. I can get a brand new remote + media keyboard for ~30 Euro on Swedish eBay, but I have no use for the keyboard, so I went with the Chinese one instead.