Best RF remote for EG

[silaril]

So, I just been playing for a few hours to get an Emprex remote to work with EventGhost, but no such luck. Tried HID plugin, tried removing registry keys, etc., and also wanted to try WinUSB (but I don't see how that works at all, I don't see it as a plugin in EventGhost, nor can I find docs for it).

Anyway, long story short, I want a RF/Wifi/Bluetooth remote that will work with EventGhost and I'm willing to just go out and get a new one.

It should do the following:

1) Must be RF/Wifi/Bluetooth (no Infrared)
2) Sufficient buttons (similar to what the average MCE remote offers is fine)
3) Must work on Windows 7 (64-bit)
4) Must not override normal keyboard behaviour (must not use the Keyboard plugin)

The last point is very important. The remote needs to exclusively control one application, whether that application has the focus or not (I got this working fine with a MCE remote, but unfortunately, it's infrared). It should not interfere with other operations (ie, someone can be browsing on the computer with keyboard and mouse, while someone else (on another screen) is using the remote to control for example XBMC).

The Emprex remote unfortunately acts as a keyboard directly, so it requires input focus -- that's a no-go. Overriding keyboard keys results in them being overridden for the normal keyboard as well -- no-go.

Anyone got a non-infrared remote they can get to work in this fashion? Any recommendations?

[miljbee]

I Have the old PS3 BD remote. It's clearly the best remote i Have ever had.
the Bluetooth link is rock solid till 7-8 meters.
The remote is really responsive. It is supported on any Computer with bluetooth.

XBMC has built-in support for this one.
EG has a plugin (you will need to find the 4.04)
There is an external App available (PS3BluMote with which you can map remote buttons to keystrokes - plus, the source code is available, so you can do what you want with the keys - that what I have done).

It's cheap. I got mine for 15Ôé¼ shipped (it's a used one)

Now, the bad points :
There is no channel up/down keys, nor vol up/down. The available keys are enough to map these functions to something else, but it might really lower the WAF.
The newest version of the remote has these keys, but they only work for IR ... too bad.
The power consumption of this remote might be an issue :
- It can enter low power mode, but you may find this tricky to achieve.
- You will need either a Hacked Broadcom stack with the official eg Plugin, or PS3RemoteSleep which has its quirks, or try my tool (see the PS3 Remote plugin Thread) which is not perfect.

Concerning the power consumption, here are some facts :
I own this remote since 11 days. Since that time, I haven't had to recharge the batteries.
The remote hasn't hibernated at all the first three days.
After, It hibernates when I don't need it (something like 15h/day).

The remote consumes 16mA when not hibernating (and 0.13mA when hibernating). If you use 2x 2400mAh rated batteries which are in fact around 2000mAh, you will get 250 hours before needing to recharge them.
And finally, you can always manually hibernate the remote by holding the PS Button for 6s.

[krambriw]

I have the TSBX-2404 Remote (Conceptronic) RF remote (operating at 2.4 GHz) and it is also very good.
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/TopSeed_TSBX-2404_Remote
EG has a plugin for it as well:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1232&hilit=conceptronic

Also possible are all those X10 compatibles but then you would also need a receiver in the PC as well. The RFXtrx is such a one, supporting also ATI Remote Wonders.

Best regards, Walter

[miljbee]

I wouldn't recommend X10 remotes.

The X10 protocol doesn't implement any Acknowledgment, CRC, retries, ...

Of course, the reliability of it will depend on how busy your 433Mhz environment is. But for me I found that I Had too much keypress lost.

I Think that if your main concern is reliability, 2,4Ghz is the way to go. This band is quite saturated, but generally, protocols that uses it have built-in ACK, CRC, Retries, ... All this makes them really reliable.

[kalia]

I second the PS3 BD remote. I have both the old and new version. You can also use more than one remote at the same time and it has very good RF range. The only drawback is battery life. I use rechargeable batteries and managed to add a switch in the old PS3 BD remote to conserve battery.

kalia

[mickelin]

I have tried quite a few and by far the best solution for me is using the iRule app with iPad/iPhone. Also works with Android devices. Works over WiFi and very easy to integrate with EG using the Broadcaster plugin.

[silaril]

Thanks for all the replies.

The PS3 remote seems to be missing some essential buttons which I will be needing, but I might consider it. The power consumption is a downside though.

IPad/IPhone or an Android based solution is not the way to go for me -- I like to be able to operate the remote by touch. I'll also steer clear of the X10 remotes for now, as I do use wireless with various devices (keyboard/mouse/pad/laptop/headphones).

The TSBX-2404 remote seems to be a good candidate. I've ordered one that seems to be a similar version (Conceptronic Lounge ÔÇÿn Look CLLRCMCE -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conceptronic-Lo ... B0013U1NCK). I'm hoping it will work the same way.

--Silaril

[zian]

I have an X-10 Firefly - USB (3 of them actually).
Like it lots.

[pint]

I've been using the ATI Remote Wonder for years, even in pre-Eventghost-times with Girder.
It has loooots of buttons and even mouse controls.
You'll only find it on ebay in limited numbers, but it's reasonable cheap and works great.

(It's an X10 Remote, but I never had problems with it)

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid= ... r&_sacat=0