What remote are people using these days. (1 Viewer)

Al_Capone

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  • September 26, 2006
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    My last "Firefly" (RF) remote died.
    It seems like "MCE" remotes are scarse these days, also, I'd prefer not to have an ugly windows-logo in my kiving-room (maybe easy to remove?), as the Mediaportal is (barely) reason enough to have one last windows machine in the house.
     

    CyberSimian

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  • June 10, 2013
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    My last "Firefly" (RF) remote died.
    (1) Do you want an RF remote, or are you content to use an IR remote?
    (2) Do you already have an MCE-compatible IR receiver?
    (3) Do you want to control other devices as well as your HTPC?

    I have yet to find the perfect remote, and it seems to be a case of finding the "least worst" remote, rather than finding the best remote. I can find something to criticise about every remote that I have in my collection. :(

    I have various remotes (all IR), but the one that I am currently using is the One-for-All 7140 "Essence 4", which has the MCE signals built-in, and can operate 3 additional devices; but it is not sold with an IR receiver (I am using the Dell IR receiver that was shipped with my HTPC).

    Be aware that there are some IR remotes that are sold as "MCE compatible", but which appear to Windows as keyboard devices. These are difficult to get to work with MP, so I would avoid such remotes (the Ortek VRC-1100 is an example, but there are others). When buying an IR remote, look for one that says that it is an "MCE-compatible RC6 remote" (the "RC6" is the important part). The One-for-All 7140 is an RC6 remote.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    Al_Capone

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  • September 26, 2006
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    thank you, RF if just nice to have, I do not require MCE compatibility, but stincking to it will make sure its supported in MythTV or whatever media system I'll move on to once I fully realize MP will be stuck in the windows era forever. :)
    The 7140 looks nice too, finding a IR receiver should not be a problem, even I have some universal IR receivers around, and may just make up my own config.
     

    Skywizard

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    I am at the stage of trying to get an IR remote working satisfactorily in MP 1.12. I am a new convert to MP (thank you Windows 10). I currently have the old Windows MC remote and an old IR Windows MC Keyboard both of which work well insofar as they are still functioning. I also have the Logitech Harmony one.

    The keyboard works well and I can control MP with keystrokes. Only the up/dn/left/right and OK buttons function in MP - that is the same for the remotes.

    I would like to use the Harmony one as the MP remote. I should say that I am using an Antec Fusion case with the inbuilt iMon display window and IR rxer. This works natively in win 10 and with MP and I do not need to load the iMon drivers (it does not bother me that the Antec window only displays the time.

    As the Harmony is programmable, is anybody able to offer some suggestions as to how to configure the Harmony so it "just works" without doing any key assignments in MP - that seems to be rather complicated and I have not yet mastered how to do that.
     

    HTPCSourcer

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    The keyboard works well and I can control MP with keystrokes. Only the up/dn/left/right and OK buttons function in MP - that is the same for the remotes.
    Tick option Use generic HID device in the "HID" tab. This should bring full funcitonality for your MCE remote. Do Not activate anything under "Microsoft MCE".-

    I would like to use the Harmony one as the MP remote. I should say that I am using an Antec Fusion case with the inbuilt iMon display window and IR rxer. This works natively in win 10 and with MP and I do not need to load the iMon drivers (it does not bother me that the Antec window only displays the time.
    Keeping the IMON drivers would allow full use of the MiniDisplay plugin. It does work under Mediaportal and you would then have meaningful messages on your display. You may use the most recent Soundgraph package, activate MiniDisplay under Plugins and configure it in the MP COnfiguration. The Antec Fusion display will work without further tweaking.

    As the Harmony is programmable, is anybody able to offer some suggestions as to how to configure the Harmony so it "just works" without doing any key assignments in MP.
    There should be devices as "MediaPortal" that ou can select from Logitech. These will all set the Harmony in a MCE-compatible mode. You will still need to tick the option under HID as described above.
     

    Skywizard

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    activate MiniDisplay under Plugins and configure it in the MP COnfiguration.
    I tried that under the plugin section and it seemed not to work when I hit "test"
    There should be devices as "MediaPortal" that ou can select from Logitech. These will all set the Harmony in a MCE-compatible mode. You will still need to tick the option under HID as described above.
    I have done that and things are working a bit better - pause/ play << / >> and stop are working - the red record does nothing.
    The number keypad works; mute works the green button also works and the info button goes back to last page - DVR and guide do nothing so too red and blue buttons - the yellow and green I think I have programmed for mute/unmute.

    I am slowly coming to terms with the way things work and am still very impressed - I do like 1.12.

    Another issue I do not understand is comskip - I have mapped the location of the comskip.exe file and I have placed the Aus ini file, which i got off the net, in the same folder - I still get the ads in the recorded TV. How does comskip work or have i missed something?
     

    HTPCSourcer

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  • May 16, 2008
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    Hello,

    I tried that under the plugin section and it seemed not to work when I hit "test"
    Is the IMON software actually installed? MiniDisplay will not work without it. Which driver did you select in the MiniDisplay settings? There are two Soundgraph drivers and you will need to select the one that matches your local IMON software installation.

    I have done that and things are working a bit better - pause/ play << / >> and stop are working - the red record does nothing.
    Given the fact that my Harmony 555 works perfectly under 1.12 I am inclined to believe that you didn't select the correct Logitech profile ;)

    Another issue I do not understand is comskip
    The Comskip plugin will trigger forwards to skip the ad when playing the recording. Note that the free version will only work for SD recordings while HD requires you to purchase it. I am not an expert in the use of it though but logs would probably be a good thing for telling more.
     

    Rick164

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  • January 7, 2006
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    Haven't found the perfect remote yet, currently using the Harmony One which is slower with MCE input than the original remote.
    For the rest this remote is great and with the Harmony suite you can set it up easily by adding an MCE device and adding it to an activity there, MePo will then have out of the box support for it if you enable it in the remote section.

    Would love to get an RF remote that is faster and fully customizable but for some reason the market for these is nearly non-existent, with Harmony moving to newer hybrids where you don't have numeric keys I don't see a suitable replacement for the Harmony One if it ever dies (no longer in stock) :(
     

    Stéphane Lenclud

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  • April 29, 2013
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    As far as universal remote goes I own a couple of Philips Prestigo SRU6008, very little to complain about those.
    With it I can control my Philips TV, HTPC and SONOS playbar.

    For an IR receiver if you are using the latest MP version pretty much any MCE compatible receiver should do. I would still recommend the ones from HP I guess.
    Though my favourite one is still the one PCS-MCE from SIMEREC cause you can do hard power on/off switch, that's not for beginner though.
     

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