Customer Reviews

Streamzap PC Remote Control

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Recently, I replaced the CD Player on my stereo with a full blown PC and use my TV as the "monitor". I had been using a wireless keyboard and MusicMatch software for playing my MP3 files. After a while, I got tired of having to keep the keyboard with me if I wanted to switch tracks, stop playback, pause, etc. I found this little gizmo after a quick search and it does everything I need. The software that comes with it integrates well with the popular music software (MusicMatch, Windows Media Player, Winamp, and many more), and you can even use the remote as a rudimentary mouse. Of course, you can't enter text with it, but if you're using a PC as a stereo component, this remote is great.

You get the remote and a USB infrared receiver. Installation is a snap, and the range is great. StreamZap has said they're considering modifying the software so it would be compatible with other brand remotes, eliminating the need for their remote altogether which would be a nice touch. Until then, I programmed their remote codes into my universal remote and it takes care of everything.

We used this remote to program a Sony AV-RM3000 remote, but we need more flexibility for our HTPC. In hindsight, we should have bought a stand-alone IR unit and something like the Girder software. Or, maybe just an IR wireless keyboard.

This is not a remote for those seeking flexibility, or those who like to customize their media experience. This is an excellent remote for those who want out-of-the-box usability, and don't want to bother with customization. It's well-built, and will be exactly what many mainstream users are looking for.

Pros: Comfortable shape, sensible layout, high-quality feel, reasonably compatible with many programs

Cons: Doesn't do absolutely everything in every compatible application, only four somewhat-programmable keys with limited options

This remote is unreliable junk... well... let me rephrase... the remote itself is fine but the software that controls it is absolute garbage which causes the remote to completely freeze up at least once a day. If you are the kind of person that turns on the computer for an hour... uses the remote, and shuts off you'll probably never have a problem. But users of PVR software keep their machines up and running 24x7. I have this piece of work freezing up on me at least once a day.

After researching further, I found that the program on the computer that controls the remote goes into an infinite loop state where it uses 100% of the processor. The only way to re-initialize the remote is by restarting the computer but if your computer is currently recording something you'll end up corrupting the show you are recording. After research I found many others on the web with the same issue.

I'm sure someone will read this and say "load the new drivers idiot!"... believe me, I'm up-to-date with the most current drivers as of the date of this review (Feb/2007). Streamzap acknowledged the problem on prior versions of the driver but it still exists to this day. Just search the internet and see.

[...]
You can take my word for it, or you can take your chances. If Streamzap had replied to even ONE of the multiple emails I sent asking for help I would have been happy to work with them. But I think they know the problem is out there and they don't want to address the problem. They can see the numerous postings all over the internet from other people like me with the same issue.

I bought this remote to be used on my music server which is an old Pentium II 233MHz computer running Windows XP. Winamp is the only program installed in that computer. So I only wanted a remote to control winamp. Installation took a few seconds, and controlled Winamp instantly. At first, the remote was really buggy. I'm using Winamp 2.81 which is the lightest of the winamp applications, so I thought the remote should not hesitate. I would press Next, and it would take 1 or 2 seconds to react. Pause didn't even work. If I did try to pause, I would lose all control from the remote. It sucked.

So I started reading and found out it used a lot of my cpu resources. I opened up Task Manager to watch my cpu usage and sure enough, Streamzap was killing my 233Mhz cpu. If I pressed any button to control Winamp, my cpu resource would jump up to 80%. I tried the Streamzap on my laptop which has a 2.2GHz, and if I pressed a button for Winamp, it still took 40%. Even though it was faster, it was still slow.

Then I heard about Girder. It acts as a software bridge. Remote sends the command to Girder, and Girder executes the command on the pc. I installed it on my Pentium II pc, and after configuring it to Winamp, the remote works PERFECT. Each button only takes about 6% of cpu resource, the the instant I press the next button for Winamp, Winamp changes songs. For an old Pentium II computer, it works lightning fast now that it is teams up with Girder.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an affordable easy pc remote.

This remote is great for those of you with the ATI tuner cards! The remote ATI features is nowhere in the same league as this remote. It has 4 different preset "hot buttons" that will launch the programs you want from a distance. I see FAR more features than the Mfr. supplied remote. I love it! You can just sit back in your recliner and fast forward through the commercials of recorded programs, you no longer have to sit in front of the PC to do it anymore! Highly recommended! Whatcha waitin' for! Buy it already!

This is simply the best supported remote on Linux, pretty much any software project that allows the use of a remote will have at least the streamzap supported out of the box.

Apart from that it's also incredible value for money, just consider that building your own IR receiver would probably set you back 30$ just in parts. And that's without the remote.

Also note that you can use any IR remote you want with the included receiver, in case you've got your eye on a regular universal remote.

If all you want to do is open a program, walk away and still be able to:
play, pause, next track, last track, stop, volume control, mute...
then this remote will work wonders for you.

There are four programmable macro buttons that you can assign to open a program or playlist...or commands such as toggle full screen, enable mouse mode, cycle through windows, etc

Well I wanted one button to open iTunes, another for Windows Media Player, and another for WinDVD, but I also wanted a button to toggle fullscreen, cycle through windows, and enable mouse mode...there are simply too few programmable buttons.

Fast forward and Rewind basically never work how you want them too. It will either go really slow and jumpy, or it will just go to the next track.

Mouse input is really painstakingly slow although a nice function to have.

There is about a one second delay after you hit a button on the remote before it actually registers on the computer.

You can use Up, Down, Left, Right, and Enter to manually move through menus, but you can't switch the menus or lists you are moving through. Such as iTunes, you can go through your playlists, but you can't go through your songs unless you just skip songs til you get to the one you want or switch to mouse mode.

There is also a alpha numeric text input mode although I have yet to figure out how to use it.

Many buttons are just commands that are assigned to the buttons, but each program may use the commands for different tasks...therefore you may hit a button trying to get it to do one thing, and it will do something completely unrelated

It works fine for when I'm watching DVDs, or listening to iTunes on random play, but anything more than that is more complicated than it needs to be. You'll probably just grab your mouse and do it much faster the old fashioned and less stressful way...

This product sounds great. Control your PC from anywhere in your room!! Cool!! It even installed easily. But that's when the problems started. Programs just don't listen to the remote. I'll be listening to a song on itunes, and want to change it. I take the remote, point it at the reciever, press the button, the little activity light on the reiver lights up and....nothing happens. The song doesnt change, the cursor doesn't move, zippo. So i push the button again, this time it will work. Or maybe it doesn't, so you push it again, then five minutes latter, suddenly, the playlist skips twice.

To make a long story short, this product is just plain unreliable. When it works, it is awsome. When it doesn't, there is no explanation. I think it is a great concept, that needs some serious refinement.

Worked great with my knoppmyth system which is running with the debian version of linux and mythtv. Easy to configure. My only wish is that the remote had a few more buttons.

I saw a few others on here who mentioned that the remote does not work with Win 7. If you use the supplied drivers, this is correct. However, before purchasing the remote, I contacted Streamzap customer support about the issue. They do indeed have a Win 7 driver and it works fine. [...]

So overall, there's not a whole lot you can do with the remote (or really any of the more basic HTPC remotes for that matter). Streamzap provides a list of what Windows apps work with their remote on their website so check there before buying.

[...]

I use primarily VLC to watch high def movies and it works nicely with VLC but offers only a small subset of commands to perform basic control operations. There is mouse mode which is nice, it doesn't come close to the functionality of a real mouse. I'm sure Girder could add a good bit of functionality to it but its not important enough for me to bother with.

Streamzap tech support was EXCELLENT - a rare find these days. I emailed them prior to purchasing and they responded with a very helpful response in less than 2 hours. And it wasn't the typical canned email full of irrelevant information. They answered my question exactly. A+