Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC
by Generic
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Our Price: $4.45
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Category: CE
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Customers in the UK,
buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: GenericModel: CK0057-1
Product features:
- Plug & Play - no driver or software required
- Remote has a maximum range of 18 meters
- Infrared receiver with 4ft cable plugs into your USB port
- Compatible with Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
- Powered by 2 'AAA' batteries
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC
Customer Review: Review for use with XBMC and Harmony Remote
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this specifically to use the USB dongle with a Logitech Harmony remote to control XBMC running on Windows XP. Best $8 I've spent on my media center. It works!
UPDATE:
After more testing with Chinavision CVSB-983 in Logitech Harmony Remote Software, I've found that a couple functions are missing and/or broken. Specifically, "Mouse Up" sends the mouse Up-Left, "NumLock" seems to do nothing, and "Open" is missing/cannot be sent with the Harmony remote. Note, however, that this is a flaw with Logitech's software, not this remote; I only share this for those who might benefit from it.
-PROS-
-Works without drivers-
First off, know this: the remote/dongle combination is really just remote-shaped IR wireless keyboard+mouse with specialized keys. This is why it doesn't need additional drivers - it just uses the built in standard HID drivers every generic mouse and keyboard use. I've run it through autohotkey's keypress monitor and found that the media buttons (play, stop, volume, WWW, etc...) produce the exact same scancodes as any other keyboard's media keys, and the rest of the buttons produce either one or two keyboard strokes. My findings have been uploaded to a table in the images section.
-Works with Logitech Harmony-
I see there's a lot of debate as to whether or not this remote can be emulated with a Logitech Harmony, and I suspect there's more to it than yes or no. For the record, I purchased this remote (Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC) just over a week ago and can personally confirm that it DOES work with my Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 Remote by setting it up as a Chinavision CVSB-983. Does this mean there are different hardware revs of this remote being shipped out? Or has Logitech recently updated their codebase to accommodate? Perhaps we'll never know, but one thing's for sure, it works for me :)
-Works with XBMC-
XBMC can be controlled via keyboard, and since this remote is really just a keyboard, it works with XBMC right out of the box. All the essential keys are there: enter (for selecting), backspace (for going back in XBMC), backslash (to toggle fullscreen), Up/down/left/right, Tab (to switch between what's playing and the GUI), numbers 0-9, and of course all the media keys which work flawlessly (play, pause, next, ff/rw, volume (controls the PC volume, not XBMC's internal volume, etc). The only two keys I found missing for complete XBMC control were "M" for menu and "I" for info, which I remapped using Hotkey3 and 4 (more on that below).
-Hotkeys-
The remote has 4 hotkeys, each of which send out 3 batch key-presses. For example, Pressing Hotkey1 sends out Ctrl+alt+1, Ctrl+alt+f1, and ctrl+alt+a. Yes, it sends out all three combinations per each press of the button. This allows you to have one button perform up to three actions simultaneously (though I just use them for one function each). What you do with these is entirely up to you; as per the included instructions, I've set the program shortcuts of iTunes and XBMC to be opened by pressing Hotkey1 and Hotkey2 respectively.
In addition to program shortcuts, you can use AutoHotKey for complete control as to what the hotkeys (or any of the keys really) do. Like I said, I mapped the Chinavision's Hotkey3 and Hotkey4 to "Menu" and "Info" on the Harmony, then used AutoHotKey to intercept Ctrl+Alt+3 and Ctrl+alt+4 and send M and I respectively. Also, since I don't use the Windows shortcut to My Computer, I've mapped that button to send a "w," allowing me to easily mark shows watched or unwatched from the remote. The lines in the AutoHotKey script look like this:
^!3::send, m
^!4::send, i
#e::send, w
Couldn't be more simple, and I can now hit Menu, Info, and Mark in XBMC! To take over the rest of the non-media keys with Autohotkey, refer to the button-press keyboard output table I uploaded in the pictures section.
-Additional features-
Mouse - Do not buy this remote for the mouse or you'll be disappointed. It works, but is so poorly built it may as well not exist. On the plus side, all 8 directions can be emulated on the Logitech harmony remote - I have a page of softkeys setup to emulate mouse up/down/left/right (and both clicks) just in case I ever need it.
WWW and email media keys - just like the media keys on modern keyboards, they open your default program for each. I don't use them, but you might. Alternatively, you might try and learn the scancodes using autohotkey and use them for a completely different function. It's up to you.
-CONS-
-The remote itself is cheap-
...but what did you expect for $8? Like I said I got this for the dongle and it's reported compatibility with Logitech and XBMC. The remote itself is cheap, plasticy, and the button layout is completely uninspired. The directional keys are buried in the number keys, making it all too common to accidentally open up "my computer" instead of pressing "up" etc. As for the mouse, like I said it's useless (it works, it's just poorly designed). The dongle isn't anything to write home about either, but as it's job is to hide in your media cabinet, it doesn't really matter. Again, for $8, you know what you're getting ;)
-Poor documentation-
What people have uploaded to the pictures section is what you get in the box. Not much. It's clear enough to figure out most of what the remote has to offer but I still can't figure out exactly what "open" (Shift+P) is good for (maybe Microsoft's media center?) or how exactly the "switch windows" button works. "Switch windows" seems to only switch between the last two programs opened, and not XBMC for some reason. Also, after looking at it's output in AutoHotKey's key-press monitor, it appears to output more than one code depending on how quickly you press it (though nothing different seems to happen). So I gave up and don't bother with it. Poor documentation indeed.
-Possibly poor quality control-
I've heard reports of people saying that their volume up button sometimes shuts down their computer. This has not happened to me (and through my testing I don't see how it's possible) but I do realize that these things are so cheap that some flat out broken ones might be slipping out to customers. If that happens to you, get it replaced instead of reviewing a defective unit. *rolleyes*
So there you have it. Yes, it's cheap, but you're getting a lot of functionality for a measly $8. If your goal is even close to mine with this remote, you won't be disappointed.
Description of Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC
Watch movies, view photos, and listen to music from your computer without having to touch your mouse or keyboard. This remote acts like a wireless mouse, but has the functionality to control your PC's media software. PCs are becoming our personal entertainment centers, the place where we store our music, movies, & photos. Now you can bring those files into your life without having to be at the computer all the time.Digital Cameras and Photo Categories
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