Also Ben, in your testing, how well does "simulating" discrete power on/off using macros work out?

Oh, thank you for the explanation. Guess I misunderstood the original concept.

I might be interested as well.

my Guess is that it has more to do with Activision then Sony. a USB dongle makes it easy to have one HW for several platforms. If you compare the PS3 and 360 guitar you will see it is the same one.

You can use bluetooth headsets with the PS3, so I would assume anything else BT should work with it also.

December revision was so so for the Power OFF. I then realized the Logitech Harmony was sending the sequence 'PS for 2 seconds + X + X' too quickly. In fact once in a while the PS3 OS was not seeing one of the 'X'. Unfortunately Logitech SW was not allowing extending the 2 'X' duration.

To solve this, my logic receives the discreet PowerOFF and will properly delay all required steps. Now it is successful 100% of the time.

The remote I shipped to Daniel Tonks do use my latest code. He will certainly comment on that.

As I wrote previously 'Power ON' is a no issue.

I'm currently writing the documentation. All that will be explained.

This is true also for the headset.

However Google is clueless for 'PS3 bluetooth remote control'. All search points towards Sony BD remote, nothing else.

Even the BlueTooth Ricavision Vave100 remote control still doesn't work with the PS3. It looks like it's not that simple! This is the main reason I decide to mod the Sony HW vs designing from scratch BlueTooth HW. Was way cheaper by this factor $$$$$ too :).

Ben

keyboards as well

For those of us that want an integrated solution, has anyone looked into a serial to bluetooth adapter?

Well, I have just come across this thread, and I want one! Sadly though, I am in the UK. However, if you ever get to a point where you will ship overseas, I will be right there with an order!

Oh, and as for the question about GH3 not being bluetooth, I think that was an Activision issue. I believe (though I may be shot down for this) that the Rock Band guitar operates via Bluetooth. Again, us UK owners are hammered though as Rock Band will not be out over here for months, so I can't verify that!

I'm sure you can find statistics about how many PS3s
have shipped - I'll bet at least 1 out of every 2 would
prefer an IR remote to Bluetooth - IF you can do all
the functions.

I have the modified remote in my hands, and it works great via my Pronto and MX-800. I'll be doing a writeup on it...

Dan

any word on a ship date?

Does it has discrete on and off?

If a ps3 is located in the rack, how would the usb be handled? I know liberty makes an active usb extender but wonder about lag. my rack is just outside my room. about 15-20' tops. would the controlers work?

First - there is no USB! It's completely wireless Bluetooth! (Well, wireless unless you want to plug in a DC power adaptor so you don't have to fuss with batteries.)

1) There are NO wires to run to the PS3 at all. No USB, no wired "sticker" over the power key.

2) The remote can be placed anywhere within Bluetooth range of the PS3 - only the IR receiver at the front of the remote needs to be visible to your universal remote.

3) In a rackmount situation using an IR repeater or an RF remote with IR distribution, you'd simply put the remote somewhere hidden back in your rack and place an IR sticky over the remote's IR receiver. It can then be completely invisible.

4) Discrete power control is generally impossible since the Bluetooth remote does not have this capability natively, and the added circuit has no way of knowing whether the PS3 is on or off. With that said - any press of any key will turn the PS3 on, just like the Bluetooth remote. Discrete off is a bit trickier, but an "auto off" routine has been included which will automatically play a macro back (from within the remote) that sends the commands necessary to turn the PS3 off. However, if the PS3 is already off then the "auto off" will end up turning it on. There was simply no way to improve this situation.

Actually, you can improve the situation by using a control system from RTI or URC that has power or video sensing. That way you only issue the off command when the unit is on.

Also, assuming Daniel's review is positive, when will these be ready for others to purchase? I just got my 40 GB PS3 and am looking to integrate it with my RTI remote and the rest of my home theater system.

Dino