One of the biggest problems so far with our home theater set-up is juggling the three remote controls plus keyboard/track pad needed to operate all the various devices.
The Samsung TV has a control as does the Samsung Blu-Ray player. Each of those two controls can sort of control some of the functions of the other’s but there are maddening gaps in functionality. The Tivo also has a remote that partially control the TV set, but not the disc player (oh how I miss my first generation Tivo Toshiba box with built in DVD player).
Seems maddening that even the two remotes from Samsung aren’t interchangeable. For example, either the TV or the disc controller can switch input sources. But one particularly annoying problem is when you change the input, a hideous semi-transparent pop-out menu continues to block more than half of the screen for 5 minutes after you’ve made your selection unless you hit the “exit” key on the TV remote. There’s an exit key on the disc player remote, too, but it doesn’t make the menu go away. The TV remote has no “menu” button for skipping annoying previews on DVDs. And the Tivo remote can change inputs but can’t make the ugly menu disappear. All three can change the TV volume. Hooray!
Using the attached Mac mini requires changing the input source via one of the three remote controls, hitting the “exit” button on the TV remote and then picking up our Logitech Novo keyboard. That was to be expected, but seeing as it’s the fourth input tool, it’s not helping our perception problem here.
Possible solutions? One would be to shell out for yet another remote, a universal remote. Logitech’s Harmony remotes seem to have a lot of functions but the versions that are simplest to operate cost a lot of money. For even more money, Phillips has its line of Pronto universal remotes that look really cool (pictured below) and can even control your lights, your thermostat and so on. May be hard to program, however, according to some reviewers. Samsung makes a universal remote but it’s not Tivo compatible. I wonder if it has an “exit” button.
Another angle of attack is the doo-hicky you can attach to an iPhone or iPod touch that will allow it to send out signals just like the TV remotes. One called the L5 Remote includes a cool red plastic doo-hickey. Thinkflood’s RedEye seems to translate controls commands sent over wifi from your iPhone into IR codes that your TV can understand. The problem here is keeping your iWhatever in the vicinity of the TV or some kid detaching the doo-hickey and losing it.
So any suggestions out there in the peanut gallery? Anybody have experience with any of these alternatives?
This post is part of a continuing series about using a brand new Mac Mini with an HDMI port (purchased in June 2010) connected to a high-definition television. To read all of our adventures jumping through hoops, losing remotes and forgetting the password to bypass parental controls, see this page with all my DIY home theater posts.
Leave a Reply