Glad you like the software. Let's see what we can do about your transmitter issues.

First, just out of curiosity, have you tried using IrDA transmission? My e740 can control my test gear from about 30-40 feet away, which is really impressive for IrDA and well within the size limits of most living rooms. If IrDA does work well for you I would ALWAYS recommend it as your primary transmitter, because the IrDA port can be timed far more accurately and can reproduce far more complicated signals than our audio transmitter.

Second, are you able to get beyond 5-8 feet while controlling ALL devices? Put another way, are there any devices you CAN control from father than 8 feet using the audio transmitter?

You mention testing the audio transmitter. Without an oscilloscope and an infrared optical detector there is no scientific method of testing. Anecdotally, you can look at the emitters using a digital camera (still camera, web camera, video camera, most any camera with a CCD or CMOS imager) and look for the whitish light when a infrared command is being transmitted. You should see both LEDs light up; if only one lights up it would severely hamper performance and should be replaced. That is highly unlikely, however, given the reliability of LEDs. This also doesn't really factor the optical power output, it just confirms the LEDs fire.

It could even be a flaw in Total Remote's infrared-to-audio algorithms. Each major release gets tested for audio transmission using an iPaq 5550 and 5455, and sometimes a Dell Axim X50 if I feel whimsical. If you get to download it, that means it controlled my Orion TV/VCR and Sony DVD player from at LEAST 50 feet away. Any less and I know we have a severe problem, so you never see that flawed build. That said, it is quite possible that there is a case where an error occurs on the e740 that I have not observed on other PPCs, and/or there is something "wrong" with the type of infrared signal you are trying to transmit and it is simply beyond the capability of the audio transmitter.

Here's what we can do. List the manufacturer and model of each piece of gear you are trying to control. I will find a match in either our infrared database or using a standard universal remote. I can output this signal using the audio transmitter, and analyze the results. If it works for me, I can send you audio files that correspond to infrared commands that should control some device you have, an you can play this audio file back using the PPC's built-in WAVE file playback ability. By completely bypassing the use of Total Remote on your PPC we can determine if the flaw lies in the audio path or the program code.

Please give me a COMPLETE list of devices. It does me no good if you tell me you have a Sony DVD player if I don't know which one, so please include the model (in this case let's say "Sony NS-300DVP DVD player").


--Don