I'm looking for an infrared extender for media for mediacenter, allowing the pc, extender and amplifier to be placed behind doors. The IR receiver must be as small as possible and preferably have a LED that blinks when an IR signal has been received.

There are a number of solutions out there but either they don't support the RC6 IR standard that media center uses or the ir receiver is relatively big and ugly.

Any ideas ? Thanks !

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http://www.komforto.com
enjoy the digital lifestyle

I use all Xantech equipment which works pretty good.

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Ben
How good can it be, if it isn't HD?
Engadget HD

I use a HotLink Pro, you can control up to 12 devices and it has a Blue LED when you use the remote. I added the 20 to 25 foot extension cable (Cant remember the exact length). The receiver is on the end of the extension cable and is only 1" long and about the size of a pencil (Pretty small). I pulled it out of the wall right next to an outlet you can hardly see it. If you look around you will find the Hotlink Pro and the extension bundled together for about $75 to $80. I have the Microsoft IR unit still plugged in for my 2 tuners and just stuck one of the IR Blasters from the Hot Link Pro right onto the Microsoft IR unit and it adds some extra boost to that also. Works with everything I have.

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VMC: Intel DP35DP, Q6600 Quad Core, 2.4Ghtz, LG BluRay HDDVD, 7-500GB WD SATA II, ATI 3870 512mb PCI-E
2 ATI-650 Pro, 2 Verizon FIOS Set top HD's
Logitech Harmony 880 Remote

Thanks guys !

Both solutions seem to have their advantages. Xantech seems to be the best solutions, however is quite expensive and you must know beforehand which filter to use (lcd or plasma). And it's available in Europe, where I live.

Hotlink Pro is interesting because it is more affordable, the IR receiver seems however quite difficult to mount and the cable doesn't seem very flexible, neither is the flatcable leading to the ir-blasters. I couldn't find a dealer in Europe either.

 

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http://www.komforto.com
enjoy the digital lifestyle

Does anyone else use Hot Link Pro?  In a bedroom I have a wall mounted 47" Sharp LCD and wanted to hide a Linksys DMA2200 behind it.  On their website Hot Link Pro indicates that you can hide their Hot Link Pro IR Eye by mounting it to the back of the set (see http://www.hot-link.com/plasma.htm).  Does anyone have real world experience mounting the Hot Link Pro behind their TV?  I currently have a power outlet, ethernet outlet and cable outlet hidden behind the TV, I'd like to use a IR blaster to hide the extender as well.

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.:: Vista Ultimate x64 :: Antec Fusion :: Corsair HX520w :: ASUS P5E-VM :: Core2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz :: 4GB RAM :: 128GB SSD System\Apps :: 1TB\5TB Data :: LG GGC-H20L BD/HD DVD :: HDHomeRun x2 ::.

I have a 2100 mounted behind a 19-inch LCD and the remote works from anywhere in the room, no extra hardware requried. I just pointed it with the front upwards and mounted it with velcroe. I did put some electrical tape over the blue LED to prevent it from lighting up the room blue at night.

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Ben
How good can it be, if it isn't HD?
Engadget HD

bjdraw:

I have a 2100 mounted behind a 19-inch LCD and the remote works from anywhere in the room, no extra hardware requried. I just pointed it with the front upwards and mounted it with velcroe. I did put some electrical tape over the blue LED to prevent it from lighting up the room blue at night.

Thanks Ben, you just saved me ~$180 (I was going to order 3x).  The DVD drive is useless but I've never used it so...

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.:: Vista Ultimate x64 :: Antec Fusion :: Corsair HX520w :: ASUS P5E-VM :: Core2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz :: 4GB RAM :: 128GB SSD System\Apps :: 1TB\5TB Data :: LG GGC-H20L BD/HD DVD :: HDHomeRun x2 ::.

If this works for Ben, it doesn't mean it works everywhere. It depends how the IR signal is being refelected in the room and whether it can reach the extender. Wall surface and reflection angles are crucial.  It is worth trying of course, but I would test it first before finalizing the installation.

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http://www.komforto.com
enjoy the digital lifestyle

This is true... some paints actually scatter IR.
My walls have texture on them which also refract IR in wierd ways.

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My VMC setup:
(2) Xbox360s
System 1 -
Dell XPS410 (2.6Ghz C2D, 2GB Ram,Nvidia 8600GT, Blu-ray internal, HD-DVD external (X360 drive), (2) Vboxx DTA150s (OTA HD), Adaptec Dual Tuner (fed a steady diet of DirecTV... sadly NOT in HD)

In my experience, the media center remotes(for the pc) work really well, but not my xbox remotes. I have to have a direct line of sight with those.

But I just bought an IR extender, and have played with it a little bit, and it seems to work relativly well. It is a little RF adapter that you put in place of your battery, so you don't have to have a direct line of sight. I'm actually planning on putting the xbox behind the wall when I move this weekend, so hopefully it works throught he wall.

Here's the link to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217947847&sr=8-1

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Foxer

Foxer:

In my experience, the media center remotes(for the pc) work really well, but not my xbox remotes. I have to have a direct line of sight with those.

But I just bought an IR extender, and have played with it a little bit, and it seems to work relativly well. It is a little RF adapter that you put in place of your battery, so you don't have to have a direct line of sight. I'm actually planning on putting the xbox behind the wall when I move this weekend, so hopefully it works throught he wall.

Here's the link to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217947847&sr=8-1

I also have this unit.  I use it to control my Media Center PC in the living room from my upstairs bedroom, and it works pretty well.  I did not get very good results using the included stick-on emiter eye on the MS IR reciever.  It works well with out it though, with the IR Extender just beaming the IR out into the room and the MS IR Reciever picking it up.

I put one of my extenders behind my plasma and it works very well with my MCE remote anywhere in the room.  I also covered up that darn blue light with tape (opened the box and covered it).  The extender is parallel to the wall, and I angled a glass covered picture on the side hoping it might reflect the IR signal.   I have no idea if that helped, but I can say the remote response is great.

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Asus P5E-VM HDMI (onboard audio/video), Core 2 Duo E8200, 4 GB RAM, Hauppauge HVR-1800 (x2), LG-GGC H20L, DMA-2100 (x4), Yamaha RX-N600, InFocus IN76, D-LINK DIR 655, Vista Ultimate

It worked well for my two 47" but no luck with the 52".  Thanks again for the tip, I feel dumb for not trying it myself.

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.:: Vista Ultimate x64 :: Antec Fusion :: Corsair HX520w :: ASUS P5E-VM :: Core2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz :: 4GB RAM :: 128GB SSD System\Apps :: 1TB\5TB Data :: LG GGC-H20L BD/HD DVD :: HDHomeRun x2 ::.

I'd like to share some test results with you:

The Marmitek IR Control Pro8 doesn't support Media Center, seems like it doesn't support the RC-6 standard.

The OneForAll remote control convertor SV1100 gives poor results using the standard MS MCE remote. The technology used is quite similar to the Next Generation Remote Control Extender. It works fine in about 75% of the keystrokes at the remote at a distance of 3-4 m.

Remko

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http://www.komforto.com
enjoy the digital lifestyle