Remote Options

I'm closing in on the solution to the DVD CODEC solution, but today a solution to the remote keyboard and mouse presented itself, and I decided to solve that issue instead.

After weeks of operating the machine using a keyboard and mouse connected to it, and sitting way too close to a HDTV, I decided that I really needed wireless keyboard and mouse, was well as an infrared remote. I could have had this already, and pretty cheaply, except that I didn't really want a mouse. I wanted a trackball or touchpad built into the keyboard. I could find a few of those, but they were all very expensive. So, I saw today that my local electronics store (OK, OK, it's Fry's) had an Air Mouse and keyboard combo on sale for around $60 (after mail-in rebate). So, I stopped by after work and found that, not only did they have an Air Mouse and keyboard combination available, but they had an Air Remote and keyboard combination as well, although it wasn't marked as having a mail-in rebate.

I toyed with getting this really cute keyboard and mousepad combination that was about $130. It had a small QWERTY keyboard in a clam shell case. (Sorry, but I don't remember the name of the manufacturer.) It used Blue Tooth to communicate with the computer and it had built-in rechargeable batteries. I really liked it, but it was just not practical to do any touch typing on it, so I set it aside. Then, I had to choose between the two Air products.

So, what are these Air products? They have a sensor (perhaps a gyroscope) in them and, as you move device through the air, they sense the movement, wirelessly communicate it to the computer, and the mouse cursor moves on the screen. Judy told me about them when I was trying pick components for the HTPC. I decided against it at that time because of the expense, but sitting too close to the screen for a month has changed my mind about that.

So, after some dithering, I decided to pay extra for the Air Remote and keyboard combo, because I was tired of not having a working remote and the Air Remote also has infrared transmitter in it. Its box says that it can control many different devices. After years of having to stop and think before I pick up a remote, that sounded very attractive. When I got up to the register, surprise, the $50 mail-in rebate applied to the Air Remote keyboard combo as well.

Installing the mouse and keyboard was a cinch and, except for having to reach for the remote when I want to move the mouse, it is all pretty natural. My biggest problem now is that the text in the multi-line edit box for this blog is hard to read across the room. (I'll play some more with the font size later.)

Anyway, the Air Remote controls SageTV very well, although I haven't tried any other devices. The keyboard gets hung up some times and the typed characters don't appear on the screen, although it looks like they are being transmitted (according to the status light). Usually moving the mouse with the Air Remote fixes it.

So, now I just have to solve the DVD CODEC problem.