Next Generation Remote Control Extender
by Next Generation
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List Price: Our Price: $39.54 You Save: $25.41 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Speakers See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Next Generation Remote Control Extender
Customer Review: we love the flying saucer remote extender
Summary: 5 Stars
we love this remote extender.
we just bought a 52" hdtv, and we put it on top of a dresser.
my wife likes things neat, so wanted the satellite HD-DVR controller below it, behind a closed door, and out of sight. but, that's a problem if you use normal remotes, since they are IR (infrared), and therefore need a direct line-of-sight. if the drawer is closed, you can't control it.
This next generation remote control extender fixes the problem by using RF - radio frequency - to send it. it also does it cleanly, by putting the RF transmitter inside a battery inside the actual remote controller - which is a stroke of genius. It works without any time-lag that some report.
There are 2 negatives - both fairly minor.
the first is very minor - from the instructions, i wasn't sure how to attach the IR emitter to the receiver. the instructions say to "position it" in front of the IR sensor, and then secure it. basically, you remove the adhesive tape, and stick it right ON the IR Sensor. that added about 60 seconds to the install.
the second negative isn't quite a negative yet, but may become one. we installed it about 5 days ago, after plugging in the batteries for 36 hours first. after about 4 days, we needed to swap batteries. i would have thought the batteries would last longer. now, it's not a major problem, because they're rechargeable, and the flying saucer is also a recharging unit; it only uses one battery at a time, and it's always recharging the spare battery. i just don't want to be swapping these every 4 days. it might be a problem that goes away, as they charge up more.
overall, an excellent solution.
Customer Review: Beyond my expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely am I shocked or amazed by am electronic gadget, but this one truly left me speechless.
My situation: I have a Samsung Blu-ray DVD and Charter DVR cable box that I wanted to hide in a cabinet. That way only the flat panel tv is in view. The universal remote that controls everything (from Charter) is infrared. I originally thought I would have to modify the cabinet to let the remote work (glass front door) until I stumbled across this product on Amazon. It had great reviews and now I know why.
There are basically two parts to the setup. One is the transmitter that replaces one battery on the remote. Comes in AAA but has an adapter to make it fit in AA as well. Second part is the receiver shaped like a UFO that can either directly face the devices and blast the infrared at them, or you can run a small wired infrared transmitter in front of the devices and it will blast the infrared code.
My cabinet is shallow so there is not room to sit the UFO part (the receiver) in front of the devices, so I put it in the cabinet and ran the small wired infrared transmitter to the shelf in front of the devices. Doublesided tape holds it there. I do not have it directly facing the devices but rather on the shelf the devices sit on. It works great everytime.
The ease of use cannot be overstated here. There is no remote learning or complicated programming. You simple replace one of the remote batteries with the RF transmitter "battery" provided. That's it. All the remote commands get converted to RF to get to the UFO and then converted back to infrared to control the devices. Brilliant.
Worth every penny. Truly a brilliant design.
Customer Review: Amazingly Simple.. and it WORKS!!
Summary: 5 Stars
When my cable company made it a requirement to have a cable box on every TV I was stuck. I had a TV in the kitchen that was using the signal straight from the coax cable. I needed a way to connect a cable box but had NO room to do it. Then I found the Next Generation Remote Control Extender. It worked out perfectly.
I have a kitchen "Corner Bench" type of seating arrangement. (An "L" shaped bench in the corner for seating). In the corner of the bench unit is a triangular shelf that the TV sits on perfectly. I put the cable box under the corner of the bench unit as there is no way to mount the cable box nearby. Under there it is hidden from view and the cable remote will not work.
N/G Remote Extender to the rescue!! I charged the batteries, put the battery/transmitter unit in the remote control in place of one of the two AA batteries in there. I laid the flying saucer receiver behind the TV and ran the cable for the InfraRed eye behind the bench, down to the cable box. I also set the internal switch in the flying saucer to "A" as suggested for cable boxes. (My cable box is a Scientific American Explorer 4250HD)
Now, every function on the cable remote control works perfectly without even having to point the remote at the TV. It's like magic. Easy to setup, works great. As I have just started using it, I don't know how long the battery in the remote will last, but not to worry, the spare is charging in the flying saucer. A 20 second swap of the battery and I'll be back in business. But I can't imagine the battery will run out quickly even with the heaviest of usage.
One happy customer!
Customer Review: Its Magic
Summary: 5 Stars
I have no idea how adding the batter provided with the kit converts an existing remote into an RF remote - but it just works and it works perfectly - like its magic.
Here is what you do with the kit:
1. Open the package.
2. Determine the type of battery that is currently being used in your remote (AA or AAA). Use the appropriate adapter for the mini battery that comes with the kit (they provide you with the adapters for both AA and AAA batteries).
3. Drop the battery into your remote (tip: orient the battery so that the + faces the front of the remote).
4. Place the receiver (the saucer looking thing) inside your cabinet.
5. Close the cabinet door.
6. Begin using your remote and be prepared to be amazed.
The remote extender works from 2 rooms away - though I never use it that way. I just wanted to be able to close my entertainment center's solid wood doors while operating the cable box and DVD system and it works perfectly.
In addition, I bought a universal remote into which I dropped the Next Generation transmitter battery. Has made my life so much more simpler and it looks clean and best of all - the price was reasonable.
I am still evaluating the battery life in the universal remote (which seems to consume quite a bit of the power as it has a LCD). Will update the post once I have more information.
If someone knows how this system works - please let me know - as I am curious as to how a battery with an RF transmitter knows which button is being pressed on the remote. To me - its MAGICE
Customer Review: Outstanding Value
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this to allow control of all my components (sitting in a wall-mounted cabinet) about 15 feet away from my HDTV in the basement. At first I was going to wire up an IR repeater system but after reading about this (and the fact it could work outside for me to control my receiver and the secondary speakers out there), I decided to try it.
Installation was easy and this worked right off the bat. I use Harmony remotes (510, 670, etc.) and have about 8 items to control in total. Since my components sit inside a glass fronted case in the wall, I just sat the receiver in the center of the cabinet facing out. I didn't even need individual ir transmitters as it must be bouncing the signal off the glass and everything in the cabinet picks up the signal (DVD, VCR, cable box, HTPC, A/V Receiver, CD player).
Pros:
Works exactly as advertised. Battery life seems to match my rechargeables I use in the remotes. Easy to trouble shoot (watch for the signal receiver to light up when you push buttons on the remote). Works with Harmony remotes (the ones I own) plus some other OEM remotes I tested.
Cons:
Battery transmitter placement in the remote matters in some cases. As noted previously, there was one battery location in the Harmony remotes where this wouldn't work. Once I moved the batteries around, I never had a problem.
Overall:
CAn't beat it. Stopped me from wiring in IR transmitters/receivers in the wall and in the stereo cabinet. Plus it's cheaper!!!!! Highly recommended from my point of view.