[mythtv-users] Which remote?

[David Ellis]

I'm using my IPAQ HP2215 - it's a nice little PocketPC and includes Remote
Software. The IR Transmitter is about 30 feet.

The major hassle with an IPAQ as your remote is as follows:
1) Battery Life is terrible. Think 8 hours with periodic IR use.
2) As a Remote it "Just-Feels-Wrong" - the WAF Quotient is low.
3) Its cool as a 2ND REMOTE, but lousy as your primary.

If I were you I'd rummage thru the remotes (at last count I've got 30 in
draws), find the one with the Best Feel, and use that as your primary
remote. Once complete, try (either borrow or purchase), an IPAQ setup with
the same remote profile (it emulates just about any remote ever built). 

David

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of mythtv at sci.fi
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 9:29 PM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Which remote?

> --- Howard Cokl <hojoloco at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > --- mythtv at sci.fi wrote:
> > 
> > > I've been thinking about a PDA turned into a RC,
> > > since it can be used a 
> > > bit more diversly. Problem is that I don't know
> > how
> > > well "good" it is as 
> > > an RC, never tried, I mean how good the feel, etc
> > > is. The funny thing 
> > > about RC's is that an RC is a lot harder to make
> > > than it seems, it 
> > > really needs thought if you want it to be good,
> > and
> > > I'm annoyed by every 
> > > product giving their own RC, instead the price
> > could
> > > be dropped, and 
> > > with the saved money everybody could buy one good
> > > RC, instead of all 
> > > these crappy RC's I have my home full of ;-)
> > > 
> > > But does anybody have experience with PDA's as an
> > RC
> > > ?
> > 
> > I found something about this a while ago, even found
> > a
> > springboard module for a visor but ended up blowing
> > it
> > off since I have a wireless keyboard and a learning
> > remote.  I figured it would be cool but the WAF
> > would
> > be low and I'm still struggling with the WAF.  If I
> > find the links I was looking at I'll let you know.
> > 
> > Howard
> 
> Followup:
> 
> Here is the link to the springboard module
> 
> http://www.pacificneotek.com/
> 
> Howard
> _______________________________________________
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> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
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Hmm, well with me part of the point for PDA would also be to use it on 
the road, all sort of useful info easily accessible. And now that I 
think of it, I could probably just use a web page as the RC software, 
and a WLAN as the information path, instead of IR, plus it would work 
anywhere in the apartment ;-) No pointing ever again... The link seems 
to be to a commercial RC product, I'd guess there would be opensource 
alternatives, since in most software categories opensource is better 
now-a-days.

Sorry about the WAF :-| but you should always make them see why it's 
good for them, make them ask for it ;-) Don't pitch it as your own idea, 
set the seed in their mind and steer them in the right direction, so 
they ask for a hyper-super-duper hometheater with all the good stuff...

Does anybody have actual experience using PDA's as an RC ? As an idea it 
sounds great, but how does it work in practice ?