I have 9 components to control at this moment. They will be more in the near future. I am planning to put them in an enclosed closet. I am planning to use my computer as part of the a/v equipment, so that I can browse or play with my computer on my TV.

I am looking for
-Is there any IR/RF device which can help me?
-Is there any bluetooth device which can help me?

Even a small idea would be appreciated.

-Sai.

Any learning RF remote, or IR remote with an IR distribution product should work, no? If you are using the PC, you may want a remote that has some of the special media center type buttons. Or get a remote with plenty of labels capable of having customized labels. I have an MX-700 and use a Speakercraft SmartPath IR distribution kit which can receive the IR signal in the room and route it into the closet either through blasters or stick-on emitters. With as many components as you have, you would probably use a few blasters off the SmartPath control unit (or similar product)

Any of the HTM remotes with RF would be perfect. Not sure why you'd want bluetooth for this.

Check out Firefly by SnapStream. Most importantly, it comes with an IR interface.

You can learn the Firefly into a Home Theater Master Remote and have all the cool features that SnapStream and other third-party software vendors offer to control your PC.

Here's the link: [Link: snapstream.com]



Thank you,
Damon DG

Spiky,
The main reason I wanted to use blue tooth is, If I convert all my IR remotes to a software on a PC, where I can have BT, from the other BT(keyboard,mouse) I can control my PC as well as my audio/video components. But I am not sure how easy that is to operate comparing to a regular remote. The product below from logitech which has the numbering key pad, can be used or programmed to perform as a remote. The 'Girder' software may be helpful. But I did not see anybody tried this and I am not sure where can I get 'Girder' software and how much it would cost me.

[Link: radioshack.com]

-Sai.

Damon,
I undersood what you said logically. But I am not sure how can we exactly use it. Can you please explain with little more detail.

-Sai.

Sai,

Sure! I'll explain what I meant and also explain a bit about learning.

Basically, the Firefly PC remote system is what you would need, in order to control your PC by remote, unless you have a Windows Media Center PC. Of course, by purchasing this pagkage, you are also adding another remote to the coffee table. So, instead of having to use another remote, you can "teach" the functions to the Home Theater Master Universal Remote from the Firefly.

Learning, as the process is called, is when you teach functions from one remote to another - one as the sender and one as the receiver. You want your universal remote to be the receiver, so you can eliminate having to use all of your other remotes.

The process is done by getting the receiving remote into its learning mode, then you would typically select a button on the receiving remote that you want to learn, for example, the "play" function. Once the receiving remote is ready to receive the play function, you would aim the remotes head-to-head and press the play button on your sending remote, until the receiving remote indicates that it has received the data. You can continue this process for each button you would like to add to the receiving remote. That's generally how it's done.

If there's anything else you'd like to know, I'm happy to help.



Thank you,
Damon DG

MX-800 with RF receiver/flashers
$10 Packard Bell Fast Media remote (check eBay or Froogle) or the like (teach its commands to the HTM.)
uICE (shareware automation package, $20 US registration fee.)

Yes you can set up a BT keyboard or AirPanel or whatever to further control the PC without using the HTM. No real advantage to this. The DiNovo is the best one and it costs almost as much as the MX-800 with no real advantages. The AirPanel is about twice the cost of the DiNovo, but it is the ultimate solution for remotely controlling and monitoring an HTPC. If you can write Web pages (HTML), you can create your own interface, which frees you from the hell of trying to patch together proprietary automation software packages, programming remotes, etc.

I'm unable to decide on a remote because I want one that goes with the yamaha cl5 digital console.. Any info. i'm new at this.