Remote/Mouse/Keyboard for Mediaportal/XP Home (1 Viewer)

[SiM_]

Hi everyone, I plan to make a new PC for media portal next week!

I don't have an IR receiver, but I have an Xbox 360 HD-DVD remote. I am not sure how good that remote would be at controlling a media pc. It looks like I will have to buy a new remote and IR receiver together...

I really like the look of this one... but I am not sure it will play nicely with media portal in XP as its designed for Vista MCE..

Would it be a safer bet to get this?

and what's the best value keyboard/mouse solution? I like the Logitech diNovo Mini but refuse to spend that much on a keyboard/mouse... is the MCE keyboard any good? or will any wireless keyboard do the job?

Thanks for looking

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Definately the original mce remote (2nd choice), the Vista one will not work with xp.

is the MCE keyboard any good

That's what i'm using at this very moment, great for working with it sitting on your lap, the only downside, mouse functionality is crap.

 

[SiM_]

Definately the original mce remote (2nd choice), the Vista one will not work with xp.

is the MCE keyboard any good

That's what i'm using at this very moment, great for working with it sitting on your lap, the only downside, mouse functionality is crap.

Thanks, I think I will go for that then... I have discovered that the 1st one will work but I need an old MCE IR receiver... so I would have to buy the second remote anyway... unless the receiver that comes with this cheaper remote will do the job... hmmm...

Edit: Or maybe the xbox remote will do the job with the IR receiver that comes with the cheap cyberlink remote...?
Edit2: Or maybe it will work with the receiver that comes with this remote...

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Unless you have ever used a mce remote, you do not realise how nice it feels in the hand and easy to use, so as much as the Vista version is prettier, i do not think its as nice to use fulltime (friend has one, so have tried it).

 

[SiM_]

I will just go for the MCE remote then... It looks like the most hassle free solution... I'll take your word for it

Thanks for your help Paranoid Delusion

 

[dc2000]

i had the imon remote, wintv and mce.. but i just hated having to have a mouse and keyboard around also for other tasks .... so, now i got my dinovo mini and thats IT!!! lol =)

2 thumbs up.

 

[prupert]

FYI, you can use a Vista remote in Win XP Home and Pro, so long as the remote uses the drivers that come with Vista (I think called eHome).

You need to use the eHome Rollup Drivers listed in the downloads section of MP, and you may need to edit the ini file as mentioned in the download to include your IR Reciver's USB ID but I got it to work really well

 

[Apex-XT]

FWIW, I've had a Gyration Air Mouse & Wireless keyboard setup and it works very well.

I like 2 things: Mouse has an internal gyro - you can hold it up mid-air and gesture with it and the mouse moves. The mouse btn 1 is set up like a trigger; instead of clicking down, you pull the trigger. Second thing is the kbd is small - no numeric keypad on the right side. And, it has a hard plastic cover that covers the kbd when not in use and detaches and reattaches to cover the bottom snugly with slight tilt when in use. I'd much rather have it than a full sized kbd. The mouse has a rechargeable wireless base while the kbd requires AA batteries. Works with standard mouse / kbd drivers - no extra's required. Here's more info: Gyration.

Note: I'm using it with XP SP3. Also, I checked out the gyration web site and note that the model I'm using is no loner available, but they do have some newer versions. Mine is the equivalent of the $99 model.

 

[SiM_]

Thanks for the replies guys. In the end I went for this and this...

I really do like the dinovo mini, but I can't justify the expense...