Need a no-hassle Remote for up to £40 (1 Viewer)

[spiderwheels]

Hi all.

I have spent a long time trawling forums already and I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I'm rebuilding my car at the moment so I don't have a lot of free time

So I need a remote and IR receiver that will work with the minimum of hassle in MediaPortal running on Window 7 32-bit.

If it can control the volume on my AV amp and turn my TV on and off too then all the better although these aren't essential!

The last one I was looking at was a Sony RM VL600 (or 610) but it seems like if I want to program this to work like an MCE remote I'd need an MCE remote to program it from!! Also I'd need to get a receiver.

So does anyone know where I can buy something that will 'just work'?

 

[SimondusMaximus]

Hey dude.

Logitech Harmony 555 costs a little more than your budget, plus you'll need to buy a separate IR receiver (search ebay for a Philips USB IR receiver for about £4 + p&p), but that works perfectly out of the box and will also work with your other equipment as it's easily programmable and honestly, it just works.

Sorted.
Si

 

[spiderwheels]

Thanks.. It's far more than I need and a bit more than I want to spend but I will give it some serious consideration.

There are MCE 'compatible' remotes around from £15-£20. According to this forum they all take a bit of setting up so I thought perhaps budgeting £40 would get something simpler than a Harmony while still straightforward to setup

 

[SimondusMaximus]

I also tried an Emprex RF remote for £15 which has a USB dongle but it needed EventGhost set up in order to work correctly. Wasn't all that difficult though and maybe took 20-30 minutes to set up. Check out this thread for full instructions:

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/remotes-116/win-7-mp1-1rc1-emprex-remote-79709/

 

[finrudd341]

I went for an MCE remote off eBay - it's a brand new model, (with some German writing on, but I know what the buttons do) and it works straight out of the box with the supplied IR sensor. I did not even get around to telling MP that it was an MCE remote for a while, but when I did, it became even better.

As an ex iMon user, I know how frustrating remotes can be - I also have a Logitech Harmony 525, and while I did once have it set up to do everything - control the AV volume, turn on the tele etc, I have just not got around to it since plugging this remote in. It feels better, more solid, that than the Logitech and more responsive too - I love it!

One day I will put myself through the pain of configuring the Logitech properly again, so it's a one remote system, but for now, the MCE is just perfect. I ordered a couple more from Hong Kong from eBay, which arrived in the UK 8 days later, and my brother is bringing them out to me in September. One is for my next machine, and one is just in case the other fails - that's how much I love it!!

 

[SimondusMaximus]

True - the standard MCE remotes do the trick nicely if you can get hold of them. Not used the 525 but it looks very similar to the 555. Basic configuration took no time at all, maybe 10 minutes to assign the right devices to the remote (media centre PC and TV, both of which were in Logitech's HUGE list of devices) and then it works perfectly. Setting up the activities takes longer, but it's not a neccesity.

As for price I got mine for £35 about 4 months ago from Amazon. The price changes regularly so it's worth keeping an eye open. Here's one for £49.99:

LOGITECH Harmony 555 Advanced Universal Remote buy online | Currys

Good luck!

 

[kiwijunglist]

HP MCE Remote, about $10-15USD from hong kong on ebay

PS. it's plug and play. no setup or drivers required.

 

[finrudd341]

Where I got bogged down with the Harmony was with the fine tuning - setting the activity to turn on the HTPC via the built-in iMon sensor (rather than the MCE sensor), switch on the tele and the av receiver in the right order, put them onto the right inputs etc. Having said that I did have it all working once, but eventually I got so fed up of the iMon that I plugged in the MCE and have just been enjoying a spell of remote-hassle free happiness! I agree though, the Harmony range are good, and they are not that bad to set up.

 

[spiderwheels]

No Currys near me with any stock

If you're not going to setup all the features of the Harmony then they're a little over priced!

I may try one of those hong kong MCE ones and see how it goes. Does anyone know if the sensors they come with will work with other remotes if I chose to upgrade at a later date? (Say to a harmony?)

 

[finrudd341]

Yes, the sensor will work with a Harmony - remember, the Harmony is a 'clone' remote in that it copies the commands sent from another remote. So, if you are using a Harmony, it is just a universal remote that you have programmed to send the same commands as the old MCE remote was sending, so the sensor does recognise them.