Cheapest wireless remote?

[theblue1]

Someone may have posted on this item before, but it's worth a little redundancy, it's such a bargain...

KeySpan IR Remote

For $20 (plus shipping) you get a small IR remote and USB receiver with 17 configurable buttons (already mapped for a wide variety of typical media players and presentation software).

Without losing any of my settings for MusicMatch, etc, I was able to set up a profile for Sonar that allows me to access all the functions I need to track across the room. (It uses the application program's file name as a unique identifier, so the receiver software sends the appropriate key stroke or mouse movements to whatever 'client' app is open and has focus. "Global" keys work across the system. Very nice. Nothing to reset.)

You can set the buttons to send keystrokes or mouse movements. And there are advanced settings for things like repetition and acceleration. (For instance, I set up a couple of keys to skip forward and back a measure at a time. If you leave your finger on the button, it goes into not one but two acceleration stages, making certain navigation even easier and faster than on the computer keyboard. I think I may end up using this even when I'm not across the room.)

I'm a RAM-nazi, so I was happy to see that it seems to be fairly slim. Most times it seemed to be taking 1 - 2 MB of memory resources and didn't seem to create any big CPU spiking.

If you can control your DAW with keystrokes or keystroke macros -- this may be a very handy utility for you.


I don't think it's going to knock out the Tranzport or any of the other dedicated DAW controllers, but for about $25 delivered, I couldn't be more pleased.

[Not compatible with AirPort]
_____________

(One unknown: battery life. It uses a pair of CR2025 (Lythium 3V) batteries. I suspect they'll last a while, and they're not too expensive. I saw an off-brand two-pack at batteries.com for about $2 and a name-brand 2-pack for $4.)

[warhead]

Wow...for a guy like me who was thinking about the Tranzport just as a start / stop feature while I track myself drumming on occassion this is actually perfect. Thanks, think I'll pick one up right now. Hell all I need is maybe space bar / enter key control for that...

War

[theblue1]

You should be good to go... I've been looking for gotchyas (I only hooked this up yesterday) but so far, it's pretty cool. It can make a difference what app has focus, just like anything that uses the keyboard for input... but, well, so far, it's pretty cool. (See my note on global and application specific settings, below.*)

And it's perfect for half-dozing on the couch while listening to music.

*(As I think I indicated, you don't have to switch configurations or anything. Whatever app has the focus gets whatever keystrokes are programmed for it. There are also 'global' settings, like for system volume control and the like. But you can change those in the app-specific settings. I remapped the [formerly global] system volume in the Sonar setup to an app-specific use, moving from marker to marker, since I don't use the system sound in Sonar. But if another app has the focus, then whatever the settings are for that app [if any] take over, and any global settings are back in place. Someone really thought this stuff out. [I suspect that stuff is Windows system level.])

So far, for the Sonar setup, I've filled the 'top' of the thing but left the 'mouse cursor controls' at the bottom in their mouse mode. Mousing around using cursor keys is not super-slick, of course and is not always practical from across the room (my laptop's 15.4" screen is a might hard to read from 15 feet away)... so, it's likely I'll remap those keys to other DAW control features. (Finally, I've found a good use for the Big Time [or whatever the oversize position/time readout in Sonar is called.)

But, dang, there's just something really cool about something so cheap that seems very well-designed (particularly for its modest price) and appears to work quite well with relatively little system load.


ONE IMPORTANT PROVISO -- they say it's is not compatible with AirPort (although it will, apparently, otherwise work with Macs). Now, since the unit is infra-red, it's not a radio-frequency issue, so I assume it's a software issue. I'm not at all familiar with the AirPort system, so I don't know what the implications are, there.


PPS... since I remapped a bunch of functions for Sonar, when I'm using that app the physical markings on the unit 'don't apply.' I considered using a fine point permanent marker to relabel -- but I'm not sure I'll keep those settings. I'm sure someone clever with their hands could make a slip cover or something with proper markings. But what I did was just created a graphic with my new settings overlaid on a graphic I snagged from a screen shot.

Here's the 'help screen' I created as a quick ref for my Sonar remapping:

http://bluetrip.com/images/bb_img/Keyspan17SONAR-3.jpg

[This shows my mods superimposed on a pic of the actual remote... If you look closely, you can see the original key markings underneath my overlay. For now, I'm keeping the jpeg on my desktop and double-clicking to load it into the Win Explorer graphics preview [depends on your system settings, file associations]. Then, with Sonar loaded and the graphic open in the Explorer preview in the background, I just hit the "cycle" button which cycles from one open app to the other, so my 'help' screen just pops right up. I have to switch back to Sonar before I key in my choice, but that's not so bad.)

[GPl]

Well, this certainly qualifies for "With a Cheapness Remote". Good find!

[warhead]

Got one on order. Thanks again.

War

[theblue1]

Hope it works out for you, Warren!


What's kind of funny -- and kind of sad -- is that I'd been in a creative slump and this new, tiny toy makes me want to record again.

Well, the muses work in mysterious ways...

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by GPl

Well, this certainly qualifies for "With a Cheapness Remote". Good find!

Well, I read about it either here or maybe over at Craig Anderton's on Harmony Central or Future Producers or... somewhere. I wish I could give props to the original poster... he has my gratitude, whoever/wherever he/she is...

[Relax]

$69 bluetooth wireless mac keyboard, FULL control but the range is limited to about 25 ft. Its also a little smaller than other keyboards

[theblue1]

Well, the $20 guy is IR, so it's line of sight. Looks like that bluetooth keyboard might be the ticket -- if you can really get 25 feet, anyhow. I know a lot of folks who've ditched their bluetooth earpieces for their cells, 'cause they don't work very well... also, I suspect, 'cause you look like a dork who'se going to have a dumbo ear or two if he's not careful...

[warhead]

Originally Posted by theblue1

Well, the $20 guy is IR, so it's line of sight.

Yeah, seeing as how I moved my PC into another room I'm lucky I ran a couple of USB extensions into the room...

War

[Randall]

Logitech Bluetooth keyboard/mouse here.. works from anywhere in the place.. only complaint is that if not used for a couple minutes it goes into some kind of a sleep mode and takes a second or two to shoot the signal.. a minor inconvenience
also a little hard on batteries.. they have to be replaced every few months.. another minor inconvenience

[pabloman]

I use Salling Clicker for my Nokia 6670 phone over a bluetooth connection.
It has a script that controls Logic Pro's basic functions, like record, play, stop, forward/rewind, etc.
At $19,95 it's not a huge investment, and it can control every piece of software on your mac!

www.salling.com