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Topic:
[Take Control] Short disappointing review of IRIQ
This thread has 16 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Friday December 4, 1998 at 00:48
George Mills
Historic Forum Post
Well I called another local dealer today and luckily (well sort of) he had an IRIQ in stock. So finally I could touch and feel at least one of these two touch screens. But understandably he didn't even have to have one open to sell them and he was on his last one. I told him I had every plan to check out the pronto before I make my final choice. So he made a deal he had in the past with me that has worked out well. That is, a promise to buy some remote and he'll let me try them all and he gave me a 10% discount (when most dealers are getting list at the moment). He said he'd have pronto's in a few days.

So I brought the IRIQ home and it was a small disaster. The way I tend to try out a new toy is to do a dry run first to get a feel for thing and then "reset" (what every that might mean depending on the toy) and then start from scratch and do the serious install (for a new laptop that would be format the disk :-)). So I just wanted to setup a couple devices with preloaded codes and a get feel it. First I try the Pioneer DVL-700 (DVD/LD) player. Go to the DVD list and Pioneer was not even listed (even though they have had several players since they were first available). So I try the LD list and Pioneer was listed. It went through a test procedure to see which I had of the two. It passed a test for one and failed another so I thought I was all set. About the only button that worked was the power button used in the test. Then I did my Sony TV which seems to work fine. As expected my Meridian 561 preamp was not even listed. I did not bother with the VCR yet and usually have to find a JVC equivalent to get my Yamaha VCR to work (I'll do that on the "real" setup when I'm done with the "dry run". I had no problems learning IR codes for the Pioneer DVL-700 (just disappointing it did not have this rather popular player [I imagine all the Pioneer combo players use the same IR codes]).

Learning the Meridian was where it started to really go down hill. First it would not learn at all. But the Meridian remote has 2 IR emitters and I think the IRIQ was getting confused. So I covered one emitter and it started learning okay. Then when I went to go use it and it did not work. I've had problems with "weak" IR signal even with the standard Meridian remote (I was hoping a "super remote" would improve things). So I got only 6 feet away from the Meridian 561 and the IRIQ worked. This is great it's weaker than the already weak meridian remote. Maybe it's still a learning problem.

So then I tried to use it. The wheel is pretty nice and the back light is not bad. The unit is about 25% larger than the already large and heavy RC2000 remote (similar shape and feel in your hand). I seem to have to often push buttons twice or harder than you feel you should have to. I tried re-calibrating and it helped a little. The "famous" bitmaps (icons or symbols) are NOT button shapes but are small symbols that sit on the button with the text about as tall as the letters (similar to the Pronto but I think the Pronto Icons might be larger seeing Daniel's screen dumps). This was a big disappointment that could be fixed in the future with software perhaps. The screen was not great for reading. Since the Buttons are not "Icon Shaped" you have to look a little closer to pick them. It's sort of the same complaint as the "thin font" problem on the original RC2000 Mark-I. The fonts are not "thin" but is has similar reading difficulty. The back light has very similar color and brightness of the RC-2000 as well.

Once you know something did not pass some rather simple tests (I had not done much of anything very hard yet) you loose motivation to dig very deeply.

So regarding PC software I only glanced at it. Real strange though (especially where Microsoft is associated with it). It did not have an install procedure, you just sort of run off the CD. I just glanced at a few screens and it looked a lot like what was on the unit (just more extensive). The software on the unit was pretty well done with lots of detailed instructions and walks you through everything.

Oh yeah while I was learning the back light timed out. The unit locked up and I had to remove a battery to bring it back to life. I did not loose anything and I extended the timer a little to prevent it from happening again. The unit, as stated elsewhere can be sluggish at times.

The primary reason it's going back is the touch screen itself.

Cons:

Large (for screen size you get)
Heavy
Lack of IR codes for any Pioneer DVD player
No charger
No Stand
Not the easiest to read
Small "Icons"
Problem with my Meridian 561
Problem getting reassuring response from touch pad
Sluggish

Pros:

Wheel
PC Software exists
Activities or Device oriented
The procedure for learning keys was done very well

Not sure and don't care:

Didn't even get to the Macro capabilities.
Didn't really even get into the PC software.

OP | Post 2 made on Friday December 4, 1998 at 00:58
marshal
Historic Forum Post
How does the battery life look? Think you can really get 6 months out of them?
OP | Post 3 made on Friday December 4, 1998 at 01:19
jack schultz
Historic Forum Post
Ah so sweet, another quality microsoft product. Sorry that you had to waste your time. Like I said previously, no substitution for quality engineering and execution.

Jack

PS. Thanks for doing the review. You seem very serious about having quality toys. Have you tried another Meridian remote? Could just have a bad(or 2) IR LED emitter. I've found the battery strength is very important also. How about Lithiums? Also, do you have other Meridian components so you could pick a master other than the 561 to verify it's not a bad sensor on the 561? Just some ideas.
OP | Post 4 made on Friday December 4, 1998 at 11:40
George Mills
Historic Forum Post
I had to find out for myself which is why I took up the offer the dealer made me to try both. It also seemed Microsoft had very little to do with it. The only thing I think is Microsoft is the Windows CE OS. The PC Software does not look like Microsoft work at all. Personally I like most microsoft products.

I have tried 3 Meridian remotes. The first was ok, the second was poor the third was good. None of them was great. It has to shoot through a smoked glass door. With the door open they all worked ok. But I have other components behind the same glass and I can shoot the remote at walls and still get a hit. I think the reason why the Meridian remote is not good is that the emitter is recessed too deep and narrows the beam. The one that works good seems have the emitter sticking out a bit further than the others (that's just a guess).

Learning codes is never quite as good as predefined codes (it's sort of like the same as a D/A and A/D conversion). That's why I was not too pleased about learning the whole Pioneer as well. I can't say the IRIQ has a weak emitter but it just plain did not work well with the Meridian which is a little on the unique side.

Some of these problems may of been dealt with in software and others perhaps by contacting Harmon. But there were too many issues too fast for me to deal with.
OP | Post 5 made on Tuesday December 8, 1998 at 17:50
Ken Faris
Historic Forum Post
Sorry to hear all the bad vib's about this remote. Devices, Activities, Macros, Microsoft makes this the best remote of it's kind on the market. Would like to see the price come down.
OP | Post 6 made on Tuesday December 15, 1998 at 12:52
Chris Patterson
Historic Forum Post
I have the H/K Take Control, have had it since Friday and absolutely love it. I did all the configuration on the computer since it's so much easier than using the remote. Got all the devices setup, resigned my home page as a bunch of macros, set up all the activities and now every other remote is in a box under the end table.

The only gripe? I wish it had a faster CPU so that screen updates were faster. It also seems like you have to pace yourself when hitting buttons or it will skip over them while it's still sending the previous ir code.

Display is very easy to read in the dark with the strong backlight.

I hope the software is upgradable for fixing some of the gripes, but other than that it's a great remote.

And the price is excellent (especially the price I paid for it, which was well under $300).


OP | Post 7 made on Thursday December 17, 1998 at 16:31
Shawn Eyer
Historic Forum Post
A couple quick points:

The operating system is not a "minor" aspect of the device. In this case, CE, it's an incredible example of overkill, and it IS the reason for the sluggishness. This is not what "slow motion" on a remote is supposed to mean. I guess these facts of "bad vibes" to some, but I'll hold out for a product that works in real time and doesn't require a $1,000 PC to get programmed right. Think about it, folks... this is an underperformer. I'm a Microsoft Certified Psychic, and I see upgrades in your future!
OP | Post 8 made on Tuesday December 22, 1998 at 22:34
Peter T
Historic Forum Post
As a long-term Meridian user (and a recent Pioneer DVD owner) I was intrigued by your comments on the IRIQ, George.

Will you be sure to update us on your experiences with the Pronto when it finally turns up.

Perhaps I won't need to spend $ 2K plus on a Lexicon/Phast/Crestron after all....

Many thanks in advance.

And also a heartfelt thank-you to Daniel for making this forum possible. This is one of the best sites I have come across dealing with high-end A/V matters.
OP | Post 9 made on Tuesday December 22, 1998 at 23:42
JM
Historic Forum Post
I decided to try the IRIQ for myself. I've read the nice review from Charles which got me excited about the product. However, after reading the messages in this forum, I began to have second thoughts.

Anyway, here are my impressions after playing with the IRIQ at my dealer's:
- it is a bit slow, but not that slow. there is a half second delay from the time I heard the beep until I saw the number register on the DSS screen. paging across device screens took a bit, not a problem if traversing a couple of screens but anything more may take a while. then again extended use can make the delay much more pronounced as you gain familiarity and just want to get on with it.
- the activity based menu is interesting. it was nice to see buttons available from different devices in one screen. volume goes to receiver, play function goes to dvd, etc. i wonder if this is possible with the pronto?
- the ir range is limited. i had to decide which button to press, then point the remote towards the device for it to work. it was like firing a gun with your eyes closed. i never knew what i finally pressed until i saw the effect, which was too late.
- the shape is okay and pleasing. A two-handed hold is great. The left hand to hold and the right to push.
- the wheel was interesting. it works exactly like the one on the mouse, if you have the ms mouse.

thats it.

now, i'm trying to find a dealer with a pronto...

JM
OP | Post 10 made on Tuesday March 23, 1999 at 08:21
Carter Patterson
Historic Forum Post
I have had nothing but trouble....Its worthless with both my Pioneer Elite AV and my Echostar Satellite system.

The software continously locks up on me whenever I drag and drop. While its a MS product, I was dismayed by the Java like interface...but that's another subject.

I'm afraid I will be taking mine back.

Carter
OP | Post 11 made on Tuesday March 23, 1999 at 09:04
BobC
Historic Forum Post
I continue to be suprised by the number of individuals who have major problems with the IRIQ.
Perhaps I am just lucky. I have owned one since
early December and it replaced six remotes without any programming faults, transmit problems or delay problems. The devices it controls:

Sony TA-E2000 processor
Marantz DP-870 dd processor
Panasonic A-110 dvd player
Pioneer CL-D704 ld player
Pioneer PD-F1006 cd jukebox
Sony SLV-595 HF vcr
Zenith Pro 851 projector

The macros I have set up power up/down everything and perform all audio and video source selection without fail (some macros have as many as 10 commands). My Pioneer cd jukebox has a complex graphics/text display screen for disc/track selection that works better with the IRIQ wheel than the factory Pioneer remote.

I found the programming via the cd ideal for setup/configuration and very well designed.

I only hope that potential buyers of the IRIQ are not so turned off by the negative messages found here not to properly evaluate this device.
My dealer had one extensively configured at the store and took the time (about 45 minutes) to show me both the performance and programming.
OP | Post 12 made on Tuesday March 23, 1999 at 15:39
Charles Ledbetter
Historic Forum Post
I'm in the same boat with Bob. I've had my IRIQ as long as anybody and never had a problem. It finally went through a set of batteries after about 4 months and I didn't feel like that was unreasonable. I continue to "tweak" the configuration from time to time. Sometimes it makes sense to really look at the screens you've built and ask if they really make sense.

Recently, I moved one button from one activity screen to another and completely deleted the original screen. I just wasn't using it (except for that one button). It's an ongoing usability study.

Charles
OP | Post 13 made on Tuesday March 23, 1999 at 16:09
Scott
Historic Forum Post
Carter...When I had my T/C one of the things it controlled best was my echostar 4700 receiver. Sure you're not trying to program a UHF receiver??

Regards
Scott
OP | Post 14 made on Wednesday March 24, 1999 at 01:11
--
Historic Forum Post
I've been pretty happy with mine. The touch screen takes some getting used to (it doesn't provide the tactile feedback of a remote with actual buttons), and the IR signal is pretty directional (although it seems to have tons of range in my experience with it).

Where the IRIQ/TK really shines is in the activity screens and macros. This is 90% of what makes this a cool remote control; skip this and you've missed out on what it can do.

And, contrary to popular misconception, it's not running Windows CE.
OP | Post 15 made on Wednesday March 24, 1999 at 16:59
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
It running Windows CE really is a misconception. Everyone figures that since it's by Microsoft it logically would be running CE - in fact, I initially figured it would. But I was corrected quite quickly by someone at Microsoft.
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