Customer Reviews

Gyration GYR3101US Vista Media Center Remote

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As far as Windows Media Center remotes go this one is fairly unique. WMC functions are good, remote is fairly responsive and almost quirk free. Mouse control functions is what separates it from other WMC remotes and they work quite well. However, Windows Media Center is designed with the fact that you rarely if ever need use of a mouse in mind, so I only use gyro functionality for closing VMC on rare occasions.

Primary reason I bought this product was because it advertised a programmable learning capability. This is where this remote comes to a grinding stop. First of all, programming anything on this remote is anything but easy. You have to press multiple buttons at the same time and the process is rather more difficult than it should be. Learning function simply doesn't work. When you try to program it the remote is likely to hang requiring you to pull out batteries. The mistakes in the manual are a plenty so that doesn't help either.

All in all I'd say if you are in dire need of mouse functionality on your remote this is the way to go, but if you need a WMC remote, look elsewhere.

1) Excellent range and response
2) Fully integrated mouse function via "waving" the remote around--this works well (surprsingly)
3) Learning remote

What else could you want?

I've built a Home Theater PC build on Windows Vista and have been looking for the perfect remote. Media Center remotes generally only work within the Windows Media Center application which has it's limitations. There are plenty of reasons why you would want to drop out of Media Center like to play a BluRay disc for example which requires PowerDVD 8. So then i thought an air mouse or presenter mouse might be the way to go since it's more universal and works across everything, you'd just need to use the media application controls to control whatever you're watching. I in fact found a few Media Center remotes that had built in trackballs . Those remotes are great except you need a second remote to control all your other home theater items like your tv or receiver.

This was the only remote i could find that did media center, had mouse control and had universal remote control features. In my opinion it's pretty much perfect.

When controlling your home theater pc it uses radio frequency which is both good and bad. Good that it doesn't need line of site and has extended range, bad though because it uses 2.5ghz which is also the standard wifi frequency. If you have an home theater pc, you probably have wifi running to it, but so far i haven't had any issues, i just mention it for awareness.

I found the gyroscopic mouse control to be very easy to use after you use it for the first 10 minutes. It's very accurate and works well, i did have to increase the mouse sensitivity though the microsoft mouse control panel which was easy enough to do.

The remote buttons control media center just fine and also work in PowerDVD for DVD and BluRay playback (though Media Center can playback DVDs natively).

The power button for the Home TheateR PC can be programmed to put your computer into sleep mode so it's almost instant on, you don't need to cold boot it each time which makes your HTPC act more like an a/v component than a computer. No one waits for their DVD player to boot up after all.

The only thing really missing is you can't custom map buttons so if you have like a DVR that you want to control, this will get the basics done for you but any real specialty buttons aren't going to work. But i have it setup to control my TV just fine. The programming is a bit more complicated than it needs to be but getting through it and only needing one remote is worth the pay-off in my opinion.

I've had this product for about 1 month. Here's the run down of pros and cons:

Pros: 1) MCE functions are integrated flawlessly and work very. 2) MCE functions are not directional because it has been integrated to Gyration's RF technology. You can control MCE from a very good distance and without the need to point the remote to the receiver like IR remotes. 3) The Gyration mouse function really shines on this product. It took a little bit to get use to but after a while I got the hang of it. Note you can click the mouse button twice and it will lock the movement of the mouse to allow drag-n-drop.

Cons: Uuuggg, IR functions. As noted from one of the earlier comments, this is where this thing is really flawed. 1) Programming codes for equipment: 1a) Process to program it is extremely cumbersome using code entry method so you'll have to experiment with various codes. This is bothersome and time consuming to juggle the remote & the instruction book at the same time. 1b) There is a feature which automatically scrolls through the codes which helps a bit, but still the process is cumbersome and time consuming. 1c) Does not support equipment with discrete on and off, I have this problem with my A/V receiver (Onkyo). Be prepared to remove those batteries because it get lock in the programing process...SEVERAL times on my part. 2) Programming learned functions: 2a) None of the buttons dedicated for MCE mode are programmable. Why in the heck did they lock this!!! In my opinion, at least the volume button should've been opened to avoid an extra button sequence to change the volume to the A/V receiver / TV. 2b) Here's another annoying thing. I can have one button learn an IR command but when transferring that same IR command to another button, the remote will NOT accept it. What the heck???? I was almost ready to give up on this thing, but I hung on. What a PAINFUL experience compared to programming my Onkyo learning remote! And this is coming from someone who likes to tweak things. Ok, now that it is all programmed to my liking, 3) the remote response for the IR aspect is very lacking. This is probably due to the auto power reserve feature which puts the remote to "sleep" after some interval. Even so, I had to press the function button several times before it kicks in (lights up). 4) The IR transmission is weak and directional. For me the remote was not responsive beyond 8ft and you'll have to be almost direct center of the equipment.

In summary, MCE functions great; but on the IR aspect, this needs to be majorly OVERHAULED. I've been using the Gyration mouse & keyboard for almost two years and was really anticipating this remote. I'm very disappointed with this product. Just beware. I'm currently considering another remote from Logitech. I can live with the Gyration mouse being separate from the remote unit.

I have been using this remote for a week now and have been impressed by the functionality of this remote. The main feature, the gyroscopic mousing function, has the same technology as what is present in the iphone. You simply angle your wrist slightly while depressing the mouse button to move the cursor, and with suprising accuracy (from your couch). The other TV functions are also very useful. I think this is great for users with Media center or XP connected to their living room LCD/ plasma TV and like to alternate between watching computer based movies and easily switch to and control traditional Cable controls with the same remote. Below is a quick overview of my take on all the features:

PC functions (transmitted by Radio frequency USB reciever):
overall setup- press connect button on usb reciever, then press connect on remote, then your done...
gyroscopic mouse- Very accurate and intuitive, easy to control from couch
Media center controls- play, pause, stop buttons very useful
range- very good
shortcuts: full functionality not available without XP media center edition. I haven't yet figured out how to customize these since I have XP pro and they are designed for use with media center xp.

TV functions (transmits via infrared on remote to TV):
overall setup- Found TV code from list of major brands in manual and punched it in based on directions in manual, all major functions worked right away. Needed to enter the input button and TV menu button separately via the learning function, which although you have to read those directions twice to understand, it can learn many buttons from your original remote quickly and without much repetition.
buttons- channel and volume buttons big, but the input button (switch between tv and PC mode) and number buttons are a little small for big fingers.

Conclusion:
If you can find a good deal on this, I would recommend it as a serious PC media controller and basic exploring of your computer files and programs. I think this technology will become more mainstream if not the defacto standard of mouse technology once ease of setup and function integration becomes streamlined. It is certainly available at a discount to the newly released Logitech® MX Air(tm) Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse, which has similar technology inside.