Customer Reviews

BluWave Infrared Remote

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(70)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

After having used a Harmony 676 to control all my devices, I was not happy when I needed to use the PS3 controller to control Blu Ray movie watching.

This remote's dongle does the job in letting my Harmony 676 control the PS3. There was one problem that almost led me to return the remote however, and I wanted to mention the solution here.

Problem (for Harmony remotes):
On the PS3 XMB (Cross Media Bar), the directional buttons would move the selection several spots for each key press. I read several posts and tried teaching & re-teaching the Harmony. I tried teaching using the "Raw" IR learning but that would slow down the response from the PS3 to each key press.

Solution:
Within the Harmony program, go to Devices->PS3 and select "troubleshoot" under device options.
Select "Show me more problems" (last choice).
Then select the choice "PS3 doesn't appear to receive every command correctly," and the select "The device responds too much to some commands (for example, volume up increases the volume too quickly)."
In the screen with the radio buttons, select '0'.
Save & update the remote and everything the directional buttons will work perfectly.

The Playstation 3 uses RF (bluetooth) for its wireless remotes. This is great for a game remote, but less convenient for a BluRay player remote, since it makes it incompatible with universal remotes, which communicate using infrared (IR). Sony sells a DVD-style remote, but it also works by RF. Unlike the XBox 360, which uses RF for its controllers but includes an IR port for DVD player style remotes, the PS3 has no IR sensor at all.

However, there is a workaround, because the PS3 also supports wired controllers via its USB ports (which is also how you recharge the controllers). Nyko has cleverly taken advantage of this by producing an IR remote that emulates the USB wired controller. You simply plug a USB dongle with an IR sensor into one of the USB ports, and then you can use the Nyko IR remote--or a Harmony remote, if you teach it the commands from the Nyko.

This works quite well. There are some inherent limitations, however. In particular, this approach means that the Nyko remote is only able to support the commands that you can execute with the PS3 controller, and does not provide some of the additional commands available on the PS3 bluetooth remote. So no power key, angle key, or eject key. But it does emulate all of the digital controls of the PS3 controller (i.e. everything but the analog sticks), which makes it fine for controlling the player. I don't mind the lack of a power control as I leave my PS3 on all the time anyway, since it isn't noisy like the XBox 360, and I have set it to donate unused computing power to the Folding@home scientific project. And if I'm going to eject a disk, I have to walk over to get it anyway, so I might as well push the button on the PS3.

I had good success teaching the Nyko's IR commands to a Harmony universal remote. This mostly went well, although the square command seems to be difficult to learn properly, and took a couple of dozen takes to get it right.

If you are simply buying a remote for your PS3 to play Bluray disk do not buy this remote. Buy the authentic bluetooth remote that Sony makes and it's control is superior and flawless. This remote's advantage is you can use the USB dongle included to make your PS3 accept commands from a universal remote control such as Harmony.

So if you want a remote to control your Bluray watching, but you insist on using your universal remote for everything this is the ticket. (one remote to control everything) Just attach the USB dongle to your PS3, and then learn the commands from the Blu Wave remote to your Harmony or other universal remote and you're good to go.

Edit 09/04/2008: While I did love how the Blu Wave remote allowed me to use my universal remote it is not without its problems and limitations. It cannot turn on/off the PS3, and often it sends commands twice when browsing through the menus which can be very frustrating. I've now upgraded to the PS3IR-PRO which is a little black box that takes the IR commands from your remote and resends them out via Bluetooth exactly like the official Sony remote commands. This makes usage flawless and you also get all 51 buttons on the official Sony Bluetooth remote, I love it. It also allows you to turn on and off the PS3 with one button that can be programmed into your universal remote. It does cost approximately $100, but its a far superior product. Ultimately your choice depends on your specific needs.

I recently purchased this product to allow me to control my PS3 for DVD playback using my Harmony remote (model 880). Many others have also purchased the Blu-Wave for the same purpose, but it appears as most have programmed their Harmony by having it "learn" the Blu-Wave's remote codes. I found a much easier way to get the Harmony remotes programmed.

Just add a new device "Game Console (with DVD)". Select the Manufacture of Nyko and enter "Blu-Wave" as the Model (they actually give you an example of what to enter for Model and that is the model they use for their example). Complete adding the device, with no other changes. Then update or create the "Watch a DVD" activity and specify the new device as your DVD player. I found that I had to tweak some of the button settings, but most of button were set correctly.

As others have stated, I wish Nyko had provided some of the other buttons that appear on the Sony remote (Eject, Angles, ...) and at least a way to turn off the PS3 (like the PS button).

Thanks to the following tips from other Reviewers, it works like a champ. Like many others, I am using it with a Harmony 880 and I don't care if I can't turn the power on or off. You have to get up to get the disc anyway so who cares. But the command where I ask one of my kids to please get the disk and put it away seems to not work very well:)

To Eject a disk;
Press 'Stop' to stop the movie and get back to the main menu. I think you need to press the 'O' button and then 'yes' after stopping the movie. You should be at the location where the DVD icon is highlighted. Press the triangle button and an eject disk command will appear to the right of the screen. Select this and it will eject. So you could probably get it to work by programming a macro button. But this is not a big deal to me since I want to get the disk and just press the button on the PS3.

Very Helpful Tip #1 from a previous reviewer:

Just add a new device "Game Console (with DVD)". Select the Manufacture of Nyko and enter "Blu-Wave" as the Model (they actually give you an example of what to enter for Model and that is the model they use for their example). Complete adding the device, with no other changes. Then update or create the "Watch a DVD" activity and specify the new device as your DVD player. I found that I had to tweak some of the button settings, but most of button were set correctly.

Very Helpful Tip #2 from a previous reviewer:

Problem (for Harmony remotes):
On the PS3 XMB (Cross Media Bar), the directional buttons would move the selection several spots for each key press. I read several posts and tried teaching & re-teaching the Harmony. I tried teaching using the "Raw" IR learning but that would slow down the response from the PS3 to each key press.

Solution:
Within the Harmony program, go to Devices->PS3 and select "troubleshoot" under device options.
Select "Show me more problems" (last choice).
Then select the choice "PS3 doesn't appear to receive every command correctly," and the select "The device responds too much to some commands (for example, volume up increases the volume too quickly)."
In the screen with the radio buttons, select '0'.
Save & update the remote and everything the directional buttons will work perfectly.

Both were very helpful to me. Thanks!

The most critical thing you need to know about this remote is that, unlike the Sony Bluetooth remote, or a real ir to bluetooth solution, it doesn't offer any functionality that the game controller doesn't give you. In fact, it offers less - as it has no PS button, and can't power off the PS3.

That said, this is probably the cheapest solution to let you get some control with a universal remote - but it only offers you 16 functions. The Sony bluetooth remote is about $10 more, and offers 51 functions. Off of amazon, you can find the PS3IRX1 that offers 14 functions (missing L3 and R3) from the Sony PS2 IR remote, plus power off (but not on), for another $5. This is not a remote, it's just the USB dongle, for people who already have a universal remote. It's main advantage is that it looks like it was built with the PS3 - you'll forget you have it. For considerably more, you can get an IR2BT or PS3IR-PRO, which are real IR to Bluetooth translators, giving you the full 50+ button functionality via your ir universal remote.

I purchased this to use my Harmony universal remote to watch movies on the PS3, and for that it works perfectly well. Why Sony couldnt simply put an IR port on the thing...

As the other reviewer highlighted, this does not support the "PS" button (maybe the controller sends a unique IFF for pairing?), but normally to watch a movie, I just stick the disk in to turn on the PS3 and autostart the film, and when its over walk up to take the disk out and turn it off at the same time. To eliminate the dedicated remote, this is a small price for me:)

The Harmony software does not include this in its db, so I had it learn the keys. This is fiddly, but the Harmony software is very good at walking you through.

The usb dongle seems large at first, but when you plug it into the PS3, its about the same length as the PS'3 front overhang, so it doesnt stick out that much or risk being snapped off. It does stick out enough for downwards IR coverage.

Another point I was struck by is that this remote is alot simpler than the official Sony remote, with about half the buttons, and the key ones like Play/Pause are bigger. This would make this a very good alternative to the Sony for people who dont want or need the zillion little buttons.

With the acquisition of my Harmony 880 universal remote a while back, I was finally able to get rid of the stack of remotes that used to clutter my end table. That is, until I got a PS3. Since getting the game machine, I've had to keep a second bluetooth remote next to my Harmony. This was due to the fact that the PS3 does not include any sort of IR control capability.

The Nyko Blu Wave is a very satisfactory solution for the lack of IR controllability for the PS3. It allows play/pause, forward/rewind, skip, menu access, etc. Pretty much everything you need for video playback on the PS3.

There are a couple of things lacking. Most notably, the Nyko Blu Wave lacks power on/off and eject capability. I would bet that this is a design limitation of the PS3 USB interface, so there likely will never be an IR-via-USB solution that would be able to offer this sort of functionality.

Getting my Harmony 880 configured was a cinch. Under the "add device" menu, I selected "Game Console (with DVD)", "Nyko" as the manufacturer and entered "Blu-Wave" as the model. The key repeat rates, etc., needed to navigate around PS3's XMB seem to work well, so no tweaking of the advanced settings on my Harmony was necessary.

If you're looking for a stand-alone remote for your PS3, I recommend the Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote instead of this one. With the Sony remote you can power the PS3 on or off, eject disks and directly access other functionality your PS3 supports during playback.

Pros:
* Enough functionality for XMB navigation and video/DVD/Blu-ray playback
* Gives my universal remote the control I was craving
* Simple, compact design of the remote
* USB IR dongle is small and discreet

Cons:
* Lacking power on/off and eject capability
* Unlike Sony's remote, line of sight required between remote and USB IR dongle

I don't know why anyone would buy this remote to use for what it is. Sony makes what is probably a better remote for controlling blu-ray or dvd playback that uses bluetooth technology, thus doesn't require the usb dongle to receive the signal from the remote. The Sony bluetooth remote will work through entertainment center doors or walls, but the Nyko version will require a line-of-sight. Having said all that, I just had to have this Nyko remote. I have a Logitech Harmony remote that will not work with the PS3 to control movie playback. After teaching the harmony remote the commands of the Nyko remote (easy to do with the Logitech software), with the Nyko usb dongle plugged in to my PS3, I can control dvd playback with my harmony remote. Works well. Note that with a recent PS3 software update, you are now also able to turn your PS3 off with the remote. You can eject discs if you go through the menu on the PS3 cross media bar. A must have for a PS3- logitech harmony user!!

I bought this to Use with my Logitech Harmony 360 Controller.
The Learned commands did not work very well and would double and triple hit. After tweaking the timing settings I got it to work.

It works well with the Following Downfalls.

1) No Power On Feature.
2) If left plugged in all the time it will make it so you cannot play some games. I think it is because it becomes Controller 1...
This was the case for some PS3 games and also for some PS2 games as well.

Other than those 2 annoyances it works good.