The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
Entered CNET Catalog: 03/01/2007
SKU: IM-L90273
Manufacturer: RCA
Product summary
The good: Accurate mousing via motion-sensitive remote control; easy setup; universal infrared functions can match the remote to other home theater components; small keyboard perfect if you're committed to mostly passive HTPC-based entertainment.
The bad: Expensive; remote-based mouse control takes a little getting used to.
The bottom line: Gyration's keyboard and remote control set makes perfect sense to us for driving a home theater PC in your living room. It's easy to set up and almost as easy to use. True, $200 might feel like a lot to pay for PC input hardware, but driving your PC from your couch has never been this simple.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 03/02/2007
The Gyration Media Center PC Universal Remote Control and Compact Keyboard Suite is a mouthful of a product name. Fortunately, nearly everything else about it is easy. We're still not in love with the idea of bringing a keyboard into the living room, but until we find a better alternative, this $200 combination set of a motion-sensitive remote control and a compact keyboard is the best we've seen for taking full control of your home theater PC.
The highlight of Gyration's new set is the Media Center Remote Control. At 8.75 inches long, it's roughly as long as a typical remote control, although it's thicker toward the bottom to accommodate its built-in gyroscope. That gyroscope drives the motion sensitivity, the key feature that makes it easy to forgive the remote's extra thickness.
Installing the Gyration remote control is as easy as plugging the radio frequency USB receiver dongle into your PC and pressing each connect button, one on the dongle and one on the remote itself. You don't need to install any software, which makes it simple to swap the remote between different PCs. You can also remove the dongle and plug it back in later, and it will remember the components you've matched it with.
In addition to the standard remote-control functions such as changing channels, controlling tracks, and adjusting the volume, the Gyration remote also lets you drive the mouse cursor around the screen through motion tracking. If you've tried the Nintendo Wii's controller, the effect is very similar.
We tried moving the cursor with the remote with multiple screen resolutions and we found that up to and including 1080p (1,920x1,080), the mapping worked just fine. We were able to move the cursor diagonally across the whole screen with one mild arm motion. And because the cursor ties into Windows default mouse control software, it's easy to increase or decrease the responsiveness, depending on your preferences.
The remote has two modes for cursor control: one requires you to hold down a button while you move the device, the other lets you double-click the same button, which puts the cursor into free-motion mode. This second mode gives you the freedom to click and drag in combination with a pair of other buttons on the remote that function as left and right mouse buttons. We found that we liked moving the cursor around in the latter, free-swinging mode, but that the first mode makes it easier to click small icons on the screen, because when you let go of the movement button, the cursor doesn't jump around.
In addition to the cursor control, the Gyration remote control includes all of the typical functions you'd expect from a multipurpose digital media remote. The play control, volume, and channel buttons are all for the most part easy to reach without too many hand gymnastics. The remote also has universal IR features, which lets you program it to drive other components in your home theater. We tried matching it to a few televisions through various means with an acceptable degree of success. The manual explains how to get the remote to autorecognize other components, and it has a list of IR codes from common vendors. Of our three test TVs, it recognized a Vizio automatically and a Pioneer once we entered a code in manually. It failed to adjust to a Sharp TV, but thanks to the Gyration remote's learning function, we were able to use the Sharp's own remote to program the buttons on the Gyration.
While the remote control is the technological highlight of Gyration's living-room input package, we also like the keyboard (you can buy each individually). At 12.75 inches wide and 6 inches deep, it has half the footprint of either the similarly media-friendly and expensive Microsoft Digital Entertainment Desktop 7000. The Gyration keyboard has an advantage in that it's a living-room model first, and because it's paired with a remote control, it doesn't have to cram as many extra media control buttons on it. The other models cling to a desktop mindset that makes them large, but the Logitech model especially is better to type on than the smallish Gyration keyboard.
For Gyration's part, it envisions this package more for those who are committed to a PC in the living room mostly for the purposes of passive entertainment, not for typing e-mail. The keyboard recognizes that because you have a PC, for Web navigation, instant messaging, and perhaps some other tasks you might need to punch in some words or commands. For those basic tasks it does its job well. We also like that Gyration included a plastic cover for the keyboard (that also pops onto the keyboard's underside to keep it out of the way) to protect it from kids, pets, and accidental key presses.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4out of 4 user reviews
Great Media Center controller but rather poor as a universal IR remote
Pros: Great in-air pointer control for Windows
Cons: Limited IR learning capacity
The Vista Media Center support is splendid and the motion-sensing pointer control is very usable and useful.
HOWEVER, the IR support for other components seems very limited at least in the UK market. None of the pre-set codes for controlling components work with my UK satelite receiver, my Panasonic plasma nor my Yamaha a/v amp. This leaves the remote's "learning mode" as the only option for programming commands. I programmed the satelite receiver's commands into it no problem however as soon as I started programming commands for my other components, the remote started flashing its lights reporting any error.
Having contacted Gyration, it turns out the remote's learning memory extends to between 15-20 commands (depending on how a manufacturer codes its remote commandS).
I've found this woefully inadequate as I have to keep my Yamaha amp remote to control the amp and TV.
out of 4 user reviews
the best media set you could own
Pros: mouse control, keyboard size, universal remote
Cons: no keyboard backlight, keys not assignable
I really only have one gripe, that I access all sorts of programs while I'm on the couch, so it would be nice to make assignable keys on the remote. So some assignment software would be cool.
And if I really want to pick at it, backlit keyboard would top it off. However as it is, Gyration Media centre PC suite is a great piece of living room luxury and you finally can get rid of the mouse on the arm rest!
out of 4 user reviews
Awesome!! Just as described, possibly better
Pros: Great Price, in-air mouse + Universal PC remote.
Cons: nothing except maybe the customer service at the place of purchase. lol
out of 4 user reviews
Delivers on what it promises
Pros: great range, solid performance
Cons: buttons can't be re-assigned, expensive
The media center remote performs adequately as a mouse. It takes a little getting use to, but if functions well enough to surf the web. The keyboard has a solid feel to it and also performs well.
My only real complaint is that the buttons cannot be re-assigned. There is no included software, it is strictly a plug and play device.
