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I am looking to purchase a 2nd receiver for my 2nd HTPC and wanted opinions if I should stay with the same HP USB IR Receiver or try another such as the Microsoft USB IR Receiver.
I already have one HP MCE USB IR Receiver and it seems to work well with my Harmony One, 550, and 650 remotes. I haven't used it very long so I really cant comment too much on its reliability or quality though it seems to be a popular unit among fellow XBMC users here.
The HP receiver has a red status/verification LED that lights up when codes are received. There are also 2 ports on the back of the receiver for connecting IR blasters and comes with one. How do these options/features compare with the Microsoft receiver or others out there?
HTPC #1: Acer AX3200-U3600A Slimline PC | Win7 64bit | AMD Phenom X3 | 4gb ram | 320gb hd | Onboard nvidia 8200 w/HDMI out
HTPC #2: HP Slimline S3220n | Win7 64bit | AMD X2 | 2gb ram | 160gb hd | Onboard nvidia 6150se (nforce 430) w/VGA out
Lenovo N5901 Mini Wireless KB | Harmony One & 650
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If you have an HP receiver working well I would simply buy another. HP receivers seem more widely available and cheaper on ebay than Microsoft receivers.
I've never played with plugging blasters, extenders etc into the remote so I can't comment on how well they work.
JR
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Ok, thanks. I was planning on getting another HP Receiver but wanted to see if there are any differences first, especially the red LED light feedback. Its not a deal breaker but I wonder if the other receivers have this feedback as well. I haven't used mine for very long but would guess the red LED light could get annoying in a very dark environment if you had to adjust something regularly like volume.
HTPC #1: Acer AX3200-U3600A Slimline PC | Win7 64bit | AMD Phenom X3 | 4gb ram | 320gb hd | Onboard nvidia 8200 w/HDMI out
HTPC #2: HP Slimline S3220n | Win7 64bit | AMD X2 | 2gb ram | 160gb hd | Onboard nvidia 6150se (nforce 430) w/VGA out
Lenovo N5901 Mini Wireless KB | Harmony One & 650
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Mine blinks constantly. I'm not sure if it's from incandescents in the room or what. Honestly, it's got a dark tint in front of it. I can't see it unless I'm looking for it. My TV when 'off' has a red LED that's on that's much brighter.
Code:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `xbmc_%`.* TO 'xbmc'@'%';
IF you have a mysql problem, find one of the 4 dozen threads already open.
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I have heard that of the plasma TVs. I have an LCD and a DLP in different rooms and found that the HP receiver seems to just blink periodically on its own with no input from the remotes. I initially thought it was the remote sending signals but then realized that it was the receiver itself. It does this on two different HTPCs (both Windows 7 64bit and 32bit) in different rooms with different TV technologies.
Maybe somebody can comment if other receivers have this same quirk.
HTPC #1: Acer AX3200-U3600A Slimline PC | Win7 64bit | AMD Phenom X3 | 4gb ram | 320gb hd | Onboard nvidia 8200 w/HDMI out
HTPC #2: HP Slimline S3220n | Win7 64bit | AMD X2 | 2gb ram | 160gb hd | Onboard nvidia 6150se (nforce 430) w/VGA out
Lenovo N5901 Mini Wireless KB | Harmony One & 650
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$58 shipped.
$63 if you want the additional sensor.
RC6 HP MCE receiver is $20 shipped if you don't look hard.
Code:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `xbmc_%`.* TO 'xbmc'@'%';
IF you have a mysql problem, find one of the 4 dozen threads already open.
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Most of the IR receivers I've tested seem to blink randomly from time to time. I've always assumed it was Windows doing something.
JR