Customer Reviews

KeySpan Digital Media Remote Control USB To Ir F/ Mac Multimedia Device

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this remote easy to install and set up with my iMac G4. You can customize the buttons on the remote to do virtually anything from moving the mouse cursor to keyboard commands to quiting and opening different applications.

The only problem I have had was when I upgraded to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, the volume buttons no longer operate the system volume anymore. I have sent MULTIPLE emails to Keyspan with only a reply saying they will respond in 72 hours, but THEY DONT! Everytime I try to call nobody answers the phone.

In conclusion, this is a great remote for controlling everything on your computer from a few feet away, but beware if you need any technical support because they may not be there to help you.

I use this product with my Apple iBook and it's a great tool and toy. I painlesly installed the drivers and it imediately recognized iTunes and Apple DVD Player. The range is amazing for such a small unit, I've presented PowerPoint presentations with it from across the room with no trouble. Being the couch potato that I am I also programed the remote to control my desktop so that I can browse files and open applications as needed without acutally having to aproach the computer. The device is light, hot pluggable, and verstile, I carry it around with my computer and whenever I find myself near a mutimedia projector I can insert a DVD, plug the projector into the computer, and have a nice movie screen on a wall of my choice, and for a bathroom break I just it the pause button. All this and more for under [$].

This is a great little remote if you don't mind sitting fairly close to the ir receiver.

Maybe the battery's weren't as fresh as they could be and I haven't had the time to investigate it further.

I downloaded the beta driver (2.4) from keyspan so now I can control Frontrow.

So if your expectations aren't too high you won't get dissapointed.

This is a dandy little item at a great price. Worked right out of the box with Windows Media Player but I had to program some of the buttons to work with WinDVD (easy to figure out). You'll need to use the driver disk (supplied), even with WinXP Pro with SP2, and the drivers won't work with Windows Vista Beta 2. I use it all the time and I'm very pleased.

It works ok, installed without problems, but the software that controls it is a bit unintuitive. Figuring out how to configure it takes a bit more competency than the average user might have. But once it's configured, it works as expected.

I just bought this today, primarily to run Windows Media Player. I had trouble setting it up and the documentation (on the cd) and the web site did not help. It worked in its tests, but not in practice except for volume control. I finally figured out that software to run the multi-media keyboard was keeping it from controlling the program. I removed that (I don't use those extra buttons, and it worked fine. It appears that it will do what I want it to do. You can easily add commands for other programs if they have keyboard shortcuts. It did little to control my Win TV-150, but I am going to work on that.

I was plesantly surprised that this product works well, although there are a few things to consider. Installation was fast and easy; install the software from CD-ROM, then plug the IR receiver into a USB port.

The remote keypad has the normal DVD arrow/menu/play/volume controls, so it's ideal for use with CD, MP3, or DVD software. There is a software application that allows you to configure new applications, or edit preconfigured ones. In general, the remote is designed to work with ANY software application that accepts keystroke commands. So if a screen button you would click with the mouse has a keystroke equivalent, then the remote can be programmed in the software app to input the keystroke. Whichever application is in the Windows foreground is the one that is controlled.

WinDVD was preconfigured, so that worked immediately. WinAmp was preconfigured for "winamp.exe", but the latest version runs as "winamp3.exe" which didn't match. The solution was to use the configuration app to create a new entry for "winamp3.exe", using the option to copy the config for "winamp.exe". Interactual DVD Player has no keystroke commands, so it could not be configured at all.

There is also an option to use a a JVC remote control IR configuration. If your existing audio/video/universal remote control has a JVC-compatible pre-setting, you can actually use your TV controller on your PC, a very nice touch.

Since the previous reviewer did a pretty good job of telling readers what this remote is all about I will just complement that review with my experiences. This device is awesome, I used as a TV remote with an ATI TV WONDER card and it worked great under both Windows ME and Windows 2k. The programing process can seem difficult at first, but it is really very intuitive and best of all, it works every time!!!. After a couple of days I was using the remote to launch and use Windows Media Player, Cyberlink's Power DVD, Musicmatch, Powerpoint and ATI's Multimedia Center. I even used it for shutting down my PC.

The only real shore was figuring out the keystroke pressed needed to do everything in this programs but I was just being lazy.

I thought the only thing lacking in this remote was a mouse pointer, so I tried using an X10 mouseremote, but that device suffers because it uses terrible software, which just made me apreciate Keyspan's device even more.

I encountered absolutely no technical problems using the Keyspan remote, I even switched it to a USB hub and it still worked great. Just follow the manual closely during installation and you will be fine.

I purchased this remote control unit in December 2004, mainly to control iTunes on my PC laptop from across the room. The unit functions very well. I have found the range to be especially excellent. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that Keyspan does not seem to have updated its firmware for this remote since iTunes took over the home media player market. As a result, I offer one note for iTunes users.

As far as I could tell, the firmware for this unit (unlike the newer "Express" model) does not contain a key map for iTunes. So, I created a new key map based on the keyboard controls for iTunes (under Help - Keyboard Shortcuts in iTunes you can find all of the functions) and used the global volume controls for my Gateway laptop (FN Arrow Up/Down controls volume) to make a workable map. It was a bit tedious to do, and Keyspan could have described how to do it better, but for $30 this is a good little toy. Enjoy it...

I purchased this item since most of my music is now MP3s on my home PC which is piped into my home audio system.

At first with 10 mins of setup it worked flawlessly. It controlled WinAmp to a T after a very short session with the map editor. It also worked fine with Windows Media Player. After a couple of weeks however my maps seem to have gotten removed. No problem, I set them back up again in about 10 minutes.

Now its 3 more weeks later and the remote refuses to work properly if at all. I now must open the map editor and re-program the remote for winamp for it to work properly. Frankly Id rather just use the mouse. Ughh.