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Looking for an all-in-one HTPC controller.

R

r22yu

n00b
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
14
So I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada... and I'm having a hell of a time finding an HTPC controller that I can buy up here. I seem to be down to 4 choices as every other keyboard out there is no longer sold here, and I refuse to buy the dinovo edge2 for $200, when it was on sale for half that years ago, and I like the Microsoft WED 7000 better.

I not only want to be able to control the media, I also like to surf the net on the big screen, which means i need to be able to type and control the mouse.

1. Microsoft wireless entertainment deskop 7000. I've found one retailer still selling it at the original price of $150. Most expensive, but I like it best due to the button layout and that it has a windows key. I guess it does come with a wireless mouse so that's the extra $30... although I could get a much better mouse....

2. Enermax Aurora for $90. I'm worried about the laser trackball, will it get very dirty over time? Also how are enermax keyboards, are they well made?

3. Logitech Mediapro (the ps3 keyboard) for $95. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a windows key anymore, since the windows key is so useful with windows7.

4. My iPhone, the last resort. Problem with this, are the 100's of apps that all claim to do what I want them to do, except I don't know which one does it best. Also not ideal, as sometimes I forget my iPhone at work.. and between using it as an htpc controller, listening to mp3's all day, and browsing occasionally on it... I think the battery would call it quits pretty quickly.


Anyone got any personal reviews on the above keyboards? or some other suggestion for a HPTC controller? Is there a whole new generation of keyboard with built in touchpads that is coming out soon that everyone is waiting for? Is that why no one seems to carry any stock anymore?

Stores I've checked: memoryexpress, BCOM, canada direct, NCIX, newegg, dell, futureshop, bestbuy, anitec, tigerdirect, amazon

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!
 
I bought my wife the "Lenovo Wireless Keyboard N5901 Wireless Keyboard" which is a mini keyboard with a trackmouse ball under it. It's roughly the side of my hand and palm, and pretty light. My wife loves it, I would really prefer the diNovo Edge, but this was $35 (constantly on sale from Dell with free shipping) so I find it a pretty good deal; the wife wants me to buy another for her sister.
 
FrostBite said:
I bought my wife the "Lenovo Wireless Keyboard N5901 Wireless Keyboard" which is a mini keyboard with a trackmouse ball under it. It's roughly the side of my hand and palm, and pretty light. My wife loves it, I would really prefer the diNovo Edge, but this was $35 (constantly on sale from Dell with free shipping) so I find it a pretty good deal; the wife wants me to buy another for her sister.
Click to expand...

I second this recommendation. I have both this and a DiNovo Edge and find myself using the Lenovo more often out of convenience.
 
for my Mediacenter purposes, i've been really happy with an iPod-Touch w/ HippoRemote. i believe you can also customize the buttons but haven't looked into it in detail yet.
only catch is you need a wireless router for your iPod/iPhone to connect to your network

it does have keyboard support included but when i'm gaming or do a lot of typing, i prefer using a separate wireless keyboard
 
I use two remotes. Not ideal, but I have no WAF to worry about. First is a regular HP Media Center remote; used for all the run of the mill Media Center Stuff. Second is the Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard app for my iPod Touch. I use the iPod for all the media websites I have integrated into Media Center and can't navigate with the Media Center remote (like The Daily Show, Colbert Report, South Park Studios, YouTube XL ect.).
 
I have the Enermax Aurora micro wireless. To be honest with you I have not had it long enough to see if it it gets dirty and we dust clean weekly and do reg maintenance about 15 min / day. That being said it does have a windows key and it is very comfortable. I will say that It has to be used on a flat surface i.e coffee table. The slight angle of your lap may or may not be sufficient for the trackball. My only issue and its a small issue at that is sometimes there is a slight delay. Certainly not a deal breaker and it appears to be intermittently. The longest lag appears to be when logging in. Other than that I am quite satisfied.

I also use air mouse pro on my iphone and ipod. You must have a wireless router for it to work . No real issues with setting it up. http://www.mobilemouse.com/

In retrospect I absolutley love that Microsoft wireless entertainment desktop. If it wasn't 200+ I would have gotten one. Can you include a link to where it is for $150 in Canada? 150 Canadian money equalls roughly around $140 or so here in the states. I may have to have a relative ship it to me.
 
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We need to get something like the Boxee remote for WMC:
boxee-remote.jpg


If we had that w/ a green button, channel and volume up/down and touch pad, there would be nothing else.
 
If you're looking for a HTPC keyboard/mouse combo, look at these too.

http://www.vidabox.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=10

I picked up one and it seems to work very well. No range issues at 15 feet. Lightweight, small footprint, and reasonably priced.

The trackball is very sensitive though, so it's taking me a little bit of time getting used to it. And the last thing which is weird is that there are two backslash keys... one above enter and the other to the left of the spacebar
 
FrostBite said:
I bought my wife the "Lenovo Wireless Keyboard N5901 Wireless Keyboard" which is a mini keyboard with a trackmouse ball under it. It's roughly the side of my hand and palm, and pretty light. My wife loves it, I would really prefer the diNovo Edge, but this was $35 (constantly on sale from Dell with free shipping) so I find it a pretty good deal; the wife wants me to buy another for her sister.
Click to expand...

I missed the sale on one of these and havent seen it on sale since. It looks awesome
 
On slickdeals, quite literally almost every 3 weeks this deal comes around. Just be patient and you can score this for $3X shipped.
 
I was considering a Logitech Harmony One, though I am disappointed that it is IR and not RF.

I have been using a cheap MCE remote for awhile. Some of them can do power and volume for your receiver too.
 
Sorta reviving this thread because it's new enough I dont need to start a new one.

My needs are this... I recently moved my extra machine out to the living room and hooked it up to the Sammy DLP and am quite satisfied with the quality of mkv downloads and HDTV recordings. There is no TV card, It is on another machine so I simply shared the folders and added them to the TV Recordings and Video libraries in MC.

What I need is a remote control for the computer's Win7 Media Center interface but here's the catch: All I really need in the end is the doodad USB device that receives the signal because I would like to use the Harmony 670 I already have used on this setup for several years.

So, can anyone recommend a remote that is also in the harmony devices database so I don't have to manually teach the remote? I can do this but if I don't have to that's a plus.
 
It's not all-in-one per se, but pretty close. I have one of these, I'm amazed at the quality and utility for the price! Got mine from PandaWill for ~$45. I use a normal HTPC remote for most everything, then switch to this when I need computer input.

Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard

Rii-Wireless-Keyboard.jpg
 
i was using an mce remote along with the ms entertainment desktop 7000 kb/mouse. i found the mouse sucked (as most ms mice do) and always gives me the red blinker error. the kb works very well. even the trackpad isnt so bad once u get used to it, although i wouldnt surf the net with it.
in an affort to reduce clutter i picked up a refurbed logitech dinovo mini. combines mouse/kb/remote. again the trackpad isnt ideal...i wish someone would make a decent mediacenter remote that covered all the bases.
 
Rogue71 said:
i was using an mce remote along with the ms entertainment desktop 7000 kb/mouse. i found the mouse sucked (as most ms mice do) and always gives me the red blinker error. the kb works very well. even the trackpad isnt so bad once u get used to it, although i wouldnt surf the net with it.
in an affort to reduce clutter i picked up a refurbed logitech dinovo mini. combines mouse/kb/remote. again the trackpad isnt ideal...i wish someone would make a decent mediacenter remote that covered all the bases.
Click to expand...

agreed - some company needs to come out with a decent m/c remote
 
The Lenovo is on sale again with coupon code USPCJL26336.

I am debating on grabbing one, but I think I would rather have a separate keyboard and mouse. I have a high coffee table so using a mouse would be preferable over a trackball especially with the smaller keyboard.

I picked up the Logitech Wave set since it was on clearance for $20 but the range is too short. I need something around 10-15 feet.
 
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