Best remote to control PC from the couch?

Udo said:
You can't teach the remote if all you have is the IR receiver and no other remote that goes with it. Learning mode learns from a remote and not IR receiver It can't learn from a wireless keyboard, gamepad or mouse either.
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Ah i thought it was an IR keyboard.
 
Azhar said:
If a generic remote can handle Winamp, Harmony can too. You just have to make Harmony that generic remote (Dell, Philips, etc), then get the appropriate remote control plugin for that generic remote here: http://www.winamp.com/plugins/search/remote

To find another generic Windows remote in the Harmony database:

Add Device > Select Device > Computer > Computer or Media Center > then put in Philips under Manufacturer, then put in the model number. It may ask you to teach it 3 keys to ensure it's the right device, then it's ready to go.

As for the PS3 Harmony adapter, it's $51, not $100.

You can teach the Harmony to be a remote for an IR device even if it's not in the Harmony database. All you do is tell the Harmony software that there's no device in their database and it will give you the option to teach the Harmony the function of the original remote by simply pointing the original remote at the Harmony and choosing each button's assignment to the Harmony buttons.
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I don't have an original remote for it to learn from! That is what the issue is and it can't learn from a wireless keyboard. I have one RF receiver and two IR receivers here and none of them work with the Harmony remote and none of them have their own remote for the Harmony to learn from.

As for that PS3 adapter Logitech makes. I can't buy from amazon.com because I am in Canada, it is $69.99 from Logitech, now add in taxes and shipping to Canada and you are easily close to $100.00 CAD. I don't need that anyway but a friend ordered an IR remote fro PS3 yesterday because he has a Harmony too and is going to see if he can get the Harmony to control the PC using that IR receiver.

Where do you see generic remotes in the Harmony software options? I see no such options. When I tell it I have an MCE keyboard and it doesn't work and then the Logitech software suggests I use an option for Microsoft mouse which does not work either. The simple fact is that the Harmony can not communicate with the IR receiver I have with my MCE keyboard made by BIC. I even tried setting it up as a BIC computer and no worky.
Then the Logitech software says to phone Logitech and they will change the commands or something like that.

Thanks for the link to the winamp plugins and I will research further as I haven't given up on the Harmony yet as an option but as I have stated already, I have it working with a Philips gampepad already. Even though Philips have decided to drop support for this gamepad when it has only been on the market for 2 years and have no intention of writing a 64bit driver for it. What irks me is that some little fee portable app that writes nothing to the registry and has no system driver can program the gamepad for me and yet Philips can't do the same. The joycur app I have must be written in assembler and can access the hardware directly.
 
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Udo said:
I don't have an original remote for it to learn from! That is what the issue is and it can't learn from a wireless keyboard. I have one RF receiver and two IR receivers here and none of them work with the Harmony remote and none of them have their own remote for the Harmony to learn from.

As for that PS3 adapter Logitech makes. I can't buy from amazon.com because I am in Canada, it is $69.99 from Logitech, now add in taxes and shipping to Canada and you are easily close to $100.00 CAD. I don't need that anyway but a friend ordered an IR remote fro PS3 yesterday because he has a Harmony too and is going to see if he can get the Harmony to control the PC using that IR receiver.

Where do you see generic remotes in the Harmony software options? I see no such options. When I tell it I have an MCE keyboard and it doesn't work and then the Logitech software suggests I use an option for Microsoft mouse which does not work either. The simple fact is that the Harmony can not communicate with the IR receiver I have with my MCE keyboard made by BIC. I even tried setting it up as a BIC computer and no worky.
Then the Logitech software says to phone Logitech and they will change the commands or something like that.

Thanks for the link to the winamp plugins and I will research further as I haven't given up on the Harmony yet as an option but as I have stated already, I have it working with a Philips gampepad already. Even though Philips have decided to drop support for this gamepad when it has only been on the market for 2 years and have no intention of writing a 64bit driver for it. What irks me is that some little fee portable app that writes nothing to the registry and has no system driver can program the gamepad for me and yet Philips can't do the same. The joycur app I have must be written in assembler and can access the hardware directly.
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When I say generic remotes, I meant remotes other than Harmony. I should have worded it better, sorry. Dell, HP, Philips, and various other Media Center remotes for the computer.

I was told by someone at Best Buy that he personally use the PS3 adapter on his media center computer and that I should try that myself. I haven't looked it up yet, so I don't know if he's telling the truth or not. I already have the PS3 adapter for my PS3 anyways, so maybe I'll try it tonight when I get home from work. But anyways, that's not the reason I told him I didn't want to use the PS3 adapter for my media center. I told him I could get a Philips receiver from Amazon for less than half the price. I got this Philips OVU4003/00 (which Dell also rebadged as a Dell RC6-ir). It works beautifully.
 
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That is what I will have to do if I am determined to get the Harmony to work with my PC. I will need to buy a Windows remote with IR and have the Harmony emulate that one. What I don't get is why no local stores sell the Xbox 360 remote with USB IR. They sell the remote but no IR receiver. The 360 remote is PC compatible and Microsoft makes an IR for it.
 
I use the XBOX360 wireless controller for PC and Pinnacle Keymapper software. Both sticks work great for mouse functions as I set them to be different speeds and they move with real precision. I bought the keyboard media extention but didn't know that doesn't work for windows, hope Microsoft comes out with drivers for it someday.

There is a back button and start button on the controller which is nice that it does exactly that, and you can setup macros too.
 
I could get that MCE remote but I right now the Philips gamepad is doing all I need so don't really need it. I like the Harmony for my HT setup so it was still a good buy. All I wanted to be able to do is make songs in Winamp skip forward and back, play and pause, and mute sound. I have the gamepad doing all of that.
 
I bought a cheapo remote to control my computer. it has the mouse button and it is really generic but it does everything I need and was $23

EDIT: oh its the one that is posted a bit above, the adesso
 
this isnt helpful at all but everytime i see this thread I want to start a new one about the best remote from the bed...or maybe the best remote from standing near the fireplace.
 
Azhar said:
Trouble with RF remote is almost every home appliances you want to consolidate to a single remote are infrared. How does one connect an RF remote to IR appliances?
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the one i got is a combination rf/ir. rf for pc, ir for other devices
 
mashakos said:
OP: you should have gone for an RF remote, no line-of-sight nonsense you get with IR remotes.

I got one with learning, 5 profiles and motion sensing!
http://www.gyration.com/index.php/us/products/in-air-remotes/media-center-remote.html
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The Philips gamepad I am suing is RF with 30 ft. range. The Harmony is IR but only device it needs to be pointed sort of at is my Denon AV receiver. Anyway. I'm loving the custom configs I can create with the Harmony so am happy with it. Can even create sequence commands. Can't do that with any other universal remotes I am aware of.
 
If you have an iphone, itouch, or ipad. the air mouse would be good as well. Uses wifi so no need for blue tooth or IR adapter
 
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