Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver for Home, Premium and Ultimate Edition
Saturday, June 5th, 2010I rec'd this remote on Saturday and, of course, immediately tried to play with it on Win7 Pro.
Uh, uh. No go. Plugged in the IR and it blinked, but nothing else ... no remote, no nothing. So, I spent several hours looking for drivers, reading, etc. Tried it on my second machine - an XP Home. Still no joy. I even read all the reviews - everyone seemed to have a "working right out of the box" experience - except me.
I found some fresh batteries, tried those. Nothing. I tried more batteries. Nothing. And then, as I was putting the last set in, I realized I had been putting the batteries in... backwards. I switched them around and ... YES! Now working flawlessly. It's not a perfect remote, but for the price, I don't think you can beat it.
Now, as soon as I get my cables, the Win7 machine goes to the living room where it will take full control of the tv, and maybe, before too long, I can convince my wife that we don't need to be paying per month for DirecTv...
Product Specifications: o Number of keys: 46 keys & 3 mouse keys o Remote: 199 x 54 x 34 mm o Weight: Around 95g o Compatibility OS: Windows XP with MCE, Vista Premium and Vista Ultimate o Computer: One USB Port o Transmission Distance: 10 meter o Battery Type: 2 AAA Batteries Package Include
- Infrared wireless freedom up to 10 meters
- One remote to contol all of your digital media
- Friendly Media Center Menu (The Microsoft Media Centre Edition on-screen menus are specially for Remote Control interaction)
- Play Music Right from your remote control (Control your DVD/VCD/MP3/Audio media functions directly and easily from your remote control)
- Mouse Function: Control your cursor without a mouse
Lowest New Price: USD 10.39
Best Media Center Remote with Mouse for the Price
I've had tried several media center remotes over last couple years and this by far is the one I like the most. I have two of these use for two different media centers. Button performance is great, pre programed buttons work great, and mouse functionality works better than others I have tried. For the price you can't beat this remote for basic remote functionality and access to mouse when its needed. (Plug and Play for Windows 7, use it with Boxee, Itunes, Windows Media Center, Hulu Desktop, and even firefox)
The one thing would be nice is to functionality with the prep-programmed remote buttons.
Cheap, Fast and Easy- good with Vista
works on my Windows Vista Media Center. plug and play goodness. no drivers, no installs, no downloads, no nothings... it worked just like i wanted it too, fast and easy(just how i like my women). It is taking me longer to type this review than it did to plug in the the USB IR sensor, put the (included) batteries into the remote, and then point the remote at it and have it work my Vista Media Center. and for less than 20$ i am happy a happy consumer. yippee for this remote!
the only thing i kind of dont like is that the red light on the IR unit lights up every time you hit a button on the remote. definitely not bad enough to lower it from 5 stars tho... if you want a cheap remote to work your Vista Windows Media Center... go get this one.
Those three little words
The simplest and most straightforward thing I can say about this remote is this: "It Just Works". I received the remote and didn't even look at the instructions - I plugged the IR receiver into my HTPC, put in the batteries, and pushed "Start". Up came Windows Media Center, fast as anything. Transitions and responsiveness are lightning fast. My wife and 5- and 7-year-old boys immediately were able to use it as though they had always known how.
My sole beef is the secondary use (the mouse control) is a little awkward. Not enough for even a half-point deduction, though. After all: It Just Works.
