Thinking about getting a remote....

by **Tracie** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 3:46 am

Okay, I'm about to splurge & buy a new receiver, & in the process of thinking about how everything will connect I started thinking about getting a universal remote in an effort to ditch all of the remotes that I have accumulated for the different devices that I use. I'm not looking for one that will have play/pause etc for each program on the HTPC side (although that would really simplify things with Winamp), but simple mouse functionality would be great. I'm currently looking at the Home Theater Master MX-700 (http://universalremote.com/htm/mx700/index.html). The only thing holding me back is the mouse/joystick function - I'm unsure of how good or bad it may be. Anyone out there using this remote & if so what do you think? Anyone else using remotes to control multiple devices on their a/v rack, maybe with macros or multiple simultaneous commands, & if so what are you using & how do you like it? Did you fully integrate it to control Xlobby or go with a more basic approach?

Forgive me, if there was an OT area still here, I'd post this in that forum.

by **ZiggyB** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 11:42 am

FWIF, I am in the process if integrating the MX700 with XLobby, and so far it is working extremely well. I use the MX700 for the rest of my home theater components, for which it is excellent, and use it with the USB-UIRT with XLobby.

Rather than using the remote to navigate up/down etc. you can assign each event in Xlobby to a discrete IR code, then program that into one of the 4 pages for a device in the MX700. For example you can have a "goto movies" which you can click on in the remote from any screen and get there - thus you do not have to follow the linear navigation style.

When forced to use up/down/left/right etc., via a remote, the thing I do seem to find is, that some of the skin developers have not really considered their GUI layouts for this type of navigation. They assume you are going to use a mouse - pretty lousy skin design IMHO.

AFAIK XLobby automatically figures out which is the next button or object to change focus, by determining which is the "closest" - the skins I have used have not taken this into account at all, so you end up with focus bouncing all over the screen - seems confusing at first until you understand that it's a skin thing.

My 2c.
Zig.

by **Colby** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 3:10 pm

Ziggy wrote:some of the skin developers have not really considered their GUI layouts....They assume you are going to use a mouse - pretty lousy skin design IMHO.

We considered it and it's not lousy skin design. We use touchscreens. Skins designed for remote work well for remotes, and using the navigation override helps with navigation problems. Ive said it a million times, if you dont like something in XL change it. That is the power of XL.

I agree about assigning specific buttons having specific events or IR triggers. However Im not sure how you could change one button to be multiple events dependent on the page. (ie. play on remote is play for zoomplayer on one page and winamp another) I would like to have the ability to have remote navigation in a non linear style as well. Maybe we have to use Girder?

by **Tracie** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 4:08 pm

ZiggyB wrote:FWIF, I am in the process if integrating the MX700 with XLobby, and so far it is working extremely well. I use the MX700 for the rest of my home theater components, for which it is excellent, and use it with the USB-UIRT with XLobby.

Rather than using the remote to navigate up/down etc. you can assign each event in Xlobby to a discrete IR code, then program that into one of the 4 pages for a device in the MX700. For example you can have a "goto movies" which you can click on in the remote from any screen and get there - thus you do not have to follow the linear navigation style.

When forced to use up/down/left/right etc., via a remote, the thing I do seem to find is, that some of the skin developers have not really considered their GUI layouts for this type of navigation. They assume you are going to use a mouse - pretty lousy skin design IMHO.

AFAIK XLobby automatically figures out which is the next button or object to change focus, by determining which is the "closest" - the skins I have used have not taken this into account at all, so you end up with focus bouncing all over the screen - seems confusing at first until you understand that it's a skin thing.

My 2c.
Zig.

Thanks so much for your reply. I was under the impression that this remote had a "joystick" mouse function. Does it just have side to side & up & down movement rather than true mouse movement or were you referring to something else in your 3rd paragraph? I'm not too worried about the non-linear issue with the skins - I can lay out the skin any way I want (& I'm actually revamping my skin as we speak) so that's not a huge deal to me.

I was thinking exactly the same thing about the navigation controls & getting through Xlobby. That remote looks extremely powerful in that regard.

I'm torn between the MX-700 & the MX-500, mainly because of price but I'm unsure of the pc connectivity & useability with the 500. Do you have any comments on that? Also, where did you get the USB-UIRT? Are you using Girder for any of this?

by **AirPost** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 5:09 pm

Tracie, was also looking at the Home Theater Master line of remotes. There are some that are selling very cheap at Ebay. For example, an MX700 is selling for $170.00, the MX500 for about $88.

Check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=61323&item=5718550379&rd=1

by **Tracie** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 5:51 pm

I hadn't looked at Ebay, but I found that Newegg carries them at about those prices:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a ... 57&DEPA=10

by **samgreco** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 6:03 pm

Tracie - I just bought one from Trends and Gadgets. I got it for $156.99. They seemed good. Arrived when promised. The link is:

http://www.trendsandgadgets.com/product_info.php?products_id=5551&osCsid=c82470a7a7f7367efe4699d3b98c0ca0

I haven't had time to mess with it yet though. More later.

by **Tracie** on Mon Sep 06, 2004 6:37 pm

Thanks Sam, I'll be waiting for your report. I'm most curious about the mouse/joystick function & the software, how powerful it is & whether or not you'll need Girder to augment it.

by **ZiggyB** on Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:57 am

We considered it and it's not lousy skin design. We use touchscreens.

No disrespect intended, love the customizability of XL - docs could be better (ahem!) but as an old-time code developer myself, I have no issues with redoing stuff. The more I use it, the more I like it.

In terms of the MX700, nope, no real joystick function- although their spec says "centrally located joystick". Don't know how to really describe it, but it only has 5 programmable settings - up,down, left, right, select. To each of these you can p[rogram a discrete IR code. That's about it.

It's real asset is it's library of discrete IR codes, and that it can also import Pronto ccf files. This, along with it's macro capability, is why I love it for home theater use. You can pick up an open box for $200 direct from the manufacturer, but I doubt you'll beat the $156 price.

Cheers,
--Zig--

by **samgreco** on Tue Sep 07, 2004 4:12 am

I'm most curious about the mouse/joystick function & the software, how powerful it is & whether or not you'll need Girder to augment it.

The software is strictly for programming the remote for different devices and macros and such. It doesn't have anything for computer control. You will still need Girder, or whatever on the PC side.

And the "joystick" is not really a PC type joystick. It's really just left - right - up - down.

Thing is, it really is a great remote. Really good feel. Lots of buttons. VERY programmable.

I hope I haven't dissapointed you too much

by **Tracie** on Tue Sep 07, 2004 4:22 am

No, not at all Sam. I really appreciate the input & it gives me a realistic idea of what to expect if/when I get one.

by **Tracie** on Thu Sep 09, 2004 6:47 am

I thought that I'd add to this for anyone looking at remotes. In my search for the perfect remote (does it even exist?) I've looked at Pronto, Harmony, HTM, Sony LCD remotes, & the Radio Shack/RCA/UEI remotes that have JP1 capability. I wanted to add the info for JP1 because I haven't seen it mentioned here & it is a viable option for integrating all of the rest of your gear in with the HTPC (of course you still need Girder for the HTPC part). The reason I mention it is that it's inexpensive - the remotes are between $10-$30, the JP1 cable is about $15 & the software is free, so if you're on the thrifty side & are into the technical side of things, this may just be for you. Here's the link if you want more info on it:

http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/help/

I seriously looked at going this way & went as far as buying a remote from RS, but after playing around with it & doing a lot of reading on the forums in the above link, I decided that what I wanted would be harder to achieve that way. So I ordered an MX-500.