Next Generation Remote Control Extender
by Next Generation
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List Price: Our Price: $39.59 You Save: $25.36 (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: Great accessory - but some quirks
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros:
I primarily intended to use this with a Harmony 768 universal remote (4xAAA) and, once I figured out the idiosyncrasies, it has worked great & how I'd hoped; from anywhere in my apartment on more than a dozen components that make up my complex system, and with just as quick and reliable a response as with the direct original remotes. I don't even need to extend the telescoping antenna on the receiver (RF-receiver/IR-relay), and just lay it horizontally flat against the "saucer", which is placed in an inconspicuous location with nearby line-of-sight to my IR components.
Although I don't need the "eye extender" cable (since I have no components hidden in cabinets or out of line-of-sight for the receiver), I did test it. I was surprised how well it worked even from several feet from component IR sensors, regardless of its directional orientation. I imagine that the optional "triple-eye" accessory, selectively oriented in a cabinet rather than attached directly to individual sensors, could probably emit enough IR to control quite a bit more than 3 components & maybe as many as a dozen? Even an optimally placed single-eye could possibly supplement the receiver if there were several components in the same location but out of direct line-of-sight from the receiver.
Cons and idiosyncrasies:
It comes in plastic "bubble"-container packaging. Fortunately, the package edges can be peeled apart without requiring a "machete" or damaging the product, but it still can't be fully resealed. Of course this style packaging makes it unlikely you'd be able to return it if it didn't work out for you, which is a major reason manufacturers use these insidious packages.
It can be a bit quirky, depending on the remote with which it's used. I tested it with close to 20 original remotes as well as several universal remotes, AAA & AA battery usage. Most worked just fine, but I experienced the following issues:
- Harmony 768, universal remote (4xAAA); sensitive to which battery location for the transmitter (lower 2 battery chambers, farthest from 768's IR emitters, seem to work best); on occasion it suddenly stopped working until I spun the transmitter a bit inside the battery chamber - whether this was due to poor contact or an orientation issue, I don't know.
- HTM MX-500, universal remote (4xAAA); no response from the receiver, & with transmitter/battery in slot "1" the remote doesn't even "turn on" (ie, can't be used with this universal remote.)
- Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U, D-VHS (2xAA); no response on the receiver or otherwise when used with the original remote *OR* with the Harmony 768 sending HS-HD2000U commands (ie, won't control this component - A/B/C settings on the receiver made no difference.)
Other:
- be sure to observe the feedback LED on the receiver. If it responds to your remote, you're likely good to go. (I first tested this with the Harmony 768, and until I determined its idiosyncrasies, had *no* response. I can see how someone could quickly conclude this doesn't work.)
- some components don't respond as well (or even at all for one of my components) when both the remote's IR and the receiver's IR is beamed to the component at the same time. When I'm in a line-of-sight location with the remote, I have much better response when I point the remote away or cover its IR, restricting it to sending RF to the receiver. When I'm *not* in a line-of-sight location with the remote, it makes no difference where I point it, as I'd expect with RF transmission.
- The receiver's IR beam strength & coverage seems typical to other IR remotes. If you're using receiver line-of-sight rather than via directly attached "eye(s)", it may take a bit of trial and error to find the best convenient receiver placement location and direction to operate all your system components.
- the receiver's power adaptor *may* have to be plugged to a different outlet to avoid interference from other components plugged to a power strip.
- The aspect ratio of the Amazon product-image is width-stretched (actual "saucer" seems smaller than perceived from the Amazon image); you'll see the proper proportion in images at the NGHP web-site.
- I primarily use NiMH rechargeable batteries on my remotes, but wherever I ran into issues I also tried using standard alkalines. Battery type never made any difference in my testing results and all had full charges.
- check the NGHP web-site FAQs, where it recommends such things as charging the batteries 24-36 hours before using the 1st time (which I did for these test results.) You *may* find that the mini-battery charges somewhat faster when it's in its dedicated charge slot than when in the charge slot for the combined mini-battery/transmitter.
- mini-battery charge seems to be lasting similar to the "normal" rechargeables, so far, but I've only had this for a few weeks. It's still going on the 1st charge and quite a bit of usage.
- Yes, the instructions were written by someone whose 1st language is likely not English, but they're still quite understandable & easy to follow.
- This product is so useful for me that I bought a 2nd as a backup. Both exhibited the same quirks.
Customer Review: It works well with my Time Warner Box (i.e. Scientific Atlantic HD DVR)
Summary: 5 Stars
This review addresses some of the issues brought up in other reviews:
I hesitated to buy this since others who had Time Warner Cable Boxes had compatability issues, but decided to take a chance. It took me only a few minutes to hook up (I am not a tech person, but did benefit from the tips given in some of these reviews). It is working fine even though I have one of the Time Warner Cable HD DVRs(Scientific Atlantic Explorer 8300HDC to be specific). It appears that Next Generation (or maybe time warner in the case of the cable/dvr) has more recently fixed some of the issues others brought up in older reviews:
-The directions must have been updated because they were fine. Each part was clearly labled, directions were concise, illustrations were included.,
-Directions did indicate that with some cable boxes, you might have to switch the position of the switch on the bottom of the transmitter (UFO guy) to the "A" postition to get it to work. This is something I DID have to do given the cable box I use.
-Directions do mention that you "may sometimes need to adjust the position of the RF transmitter inside your remote for better RF performance". That's a little vague, but was enough to remind me that others had mentioned that if it doesn't work you might have to switch the transmitter/battery into a different battery position within the remote control . As it turned out it wasn't an issue for me.
-The battery charger has a big sticker warning people not to put their own batteries in the charger slot(a mistake other reviewers made in the past back when the instructions were unclear).
The downside: because I had to switch the position on the Receiver to the "A" slot, It won't work with my DVD player or other equipment (I believe-I haven't tried yet). That's OK for me because the price is cheap enough that if I want to, I can buy another transmitter (I'd get the other frequency) for the rest of my equipment.
I just wanted to get something that would allow my remote to work on the cable box which is enclosed in a cabinet. It's a bonus that the range of remote has now been greatly extended. I can change channels from the far end of my kitchen which is 40 feet away.
By the way, I first went to Best Buy looking for something that would allow my remote to work even though the cable box is in a cabinet. They said they didn't have anything (she was unclear whether they discontinued products that would address this or whether they were out of stock). I went to a television/audio specialist store that had equipment that ranged from $300-$900 and required wiring and installation. This Next Generation product is CLEARLY a better option for me.
We did just receive it, though, so I can't attest to it's durability. I will come back if it breaks or stops working in the next few months and amend the review. Even if it just lasts a year, given the price and ease of installation, it would be worth it for me.
Customer Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
I just plugged this little guy in, so I can't comment on the battery life, but since it comes with a 2nd battery that stays charged in the base unit, I imagine it will not be an issue. But as far as first impressions:
I hid my simple components (cable box and DVD) in a cabinet to the side of my fireplace after mounting a plasma over the fireplace. Problem was, I had to open the cabinet to watch TV because of the IR remotes. The guy who installed the TV (that is a whole other story...pick your AV guy carefully or better yet, do it yourself) tried to sell me a $300+ dollar, complex, RF remote system. While I'm sure that system is great for a true video nut, my need was simple: watch cable with the cabinet closed.
Enter the Next Generation Extender. You charge the two batteries in the base for 36 hours, then put one of them in your remote. Next, place the "flying saucer" base where it can "see" your IR sensors, and plug it in. Works like a charm, and as simple as anything I've seen.
The unit comes with a little eye you can tape to the IR sensor if you put the flying saucer behind the component, but I had enough room in my cabinet to set it right in front of the cable box and DVD player, so I didn't even need that part.
I am amazed and thrilled with this little gem, especially after listening to all the head-spinning, complex, expensive solutions the AV guys tried to pitch me.
UPDATE November 23, 2009: After almost 2 months, I've had to swap the battery one time. Pretty impressive. And since they are rechargeable and there is a spare, it takes about 30 seconds and I was back in business. This remains one of the most useful, simplest electronic products I've ever owned.
UPDATE April 16, 2010: I still haven't had to swap the battery yet. It's been 5 months. And when I do, the newly charged one is just waiting. I am so impressed with this little product I put a 2nd one in my basement.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE, August 9, 2010: DO NOT BUY TWO!! Okay, I still love this device, but you can't use two of them at the same time, even in different rooms. I have a TV in the basement pretty far from the one where the original unit was installed, and if both TV's are being used, the remotes change channels on both TV's at the same time. For example, I was watching a baseball game in the basement, and when my kids upstairs changed channels, it changed the channel on my TV too. The RF works too well....it goes through walls and everything else.
FINAL UPDATE, February 11, 2011. The little guy still works great, can't believe how long the batteries last; but I've got a problem now. Someone else in my neighborhood must have one too, because every so often the TV just starts changing channels. I unplug the extender and it stops; so the device is clearly picking up a radio signal from something. Kind of frustrating, but it doesn't happen all the time, and for the money you can't beat it.
Customer Review: Versatile and functional
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this RF-based remote extender for a friend who had hidden all his AV components in a closet, which meant that in order to watch TV you had to open his closet doors wide and point all the remotes at a weird angle to activate the components. Since this effectively defeated the purpose of hiding everything in the closet in the first place, I offered to do some research and find a solution. It amazes me how expensive and complex the IR repeater setups are -- hundreds of dollars and you end up having another receiver box to mount to the TV/wall.
This little product is much simpler, insanely cheaper, and, amazingly, works the way I expected. The setup took about 10 minutes -- the only decision I had to make was which remote control would get the transmitter -- fortunately, one of the remotes had the ability to control most of the various components. Since the UFO-shaped emitter needed to reach all the components in a small closet, I positioned it on the middle rack of the component shelving, facing the closet door so that when the door was closed, the infrared signal from the UFO would bounce off the door and reflect back to the sensors in each component. This seems to work well, although I haven't tried any other configurations to see if it matters. Anyway, the point is that I can control everything from about 12 feet away (haven't tested the limits of the range yet), there's no need to point the remote in any particular direction, and there's no visible hardware outside the closet to mar the clean HDTV-on-wall setup.
I don't pretend to understand the physics of how this all works -- somehow the little battery-shaped transmitter must interpret the way the remote control pulses are elecrically reflected in the battery usage, and translate those pulses into an RF signal that then gets retranslated back into an IR signal. That's 4 transitions -- remote to battery, battery to RF, RF to receiver/emitter, and emitter to IR. Hard to believe that it actually works at all -- seems more like voodoo than technology at some point, but it does work on all the components I've tried, including a Comcast digital cable box and Denon AV receiver. The TV itself still receives the IR signal direct from the remote, since it is not in the closet.
The only regret is that you can only use a single remote control with the initial setup. It's possible to buy an extra transmitter to use with a second remote, but it's expensive enough that it's almost worth just buying a whole extra system instead. This is what I will recommend to my friend if he wants to add remotes to the system.
Anyway, I realize all this has pretty much been said in the previous reviews, so I'm writing this review mostly to add my voice to the majority of people who have had positive experiences with this product. It's a bargain, and it works as advertised. Good design.
Customer Review: Worked perfectly right out of the box
Summary: 5 Stars
Allow me to add another 5-star review on top of the othr 500+.
When our house was built 6 years ago, we went with a high-end solution for whole-house video distribuiton that allowed any device to be controlled from any room. That ($3000+) system used ChannelPlus technology that passed IR signals through coxial cable. Recently, the IR capability had degraded to the point where it barely worked. For less than cost of replacing the defective IR units, I decided to try the NextGeneration product, and was instantly sold.
We have a small media closet that is centrally located on the first floor of our house. In that closet are two TIVO boxes that are distributed across the house. The previous technology we used for IR had us taping the IR blasters directly to the front of the TIVO units. When I tested the Remote Control Extender, I removed the IR blasters from the TIVO boxes, exposing the original IR lenses. I then placed rhe little "flying saucer" receiver on a shelf int he closet (about 4 feet away from the TIVOs), pointing toward them. The saucer has a small antenna, that I extended and pointed straight up. I replaced a battery in my TIVO "peanut" remote with the AAA-sized transmitter in the AA-sized shell, and was instantly able to control either TIVO from anywhere in my house (or back yard). It simply worked perfectly out of the box - no tweaking necessary. The switch in the saucer remains in the default "B" position.
The day I ordered a Remote Control Extender for evaluation, it was $37. I also ordered an extra transmitter at $21. The day after I placed the order, the Extender dropped in price to $29.50. Sadly, Amazon no longer has a price matching policy, even for products purchased through Amazon.
We have a total of 5 remotes that we want to be able to use througtout the house, so we need a total of 5 transmitters. With the Extender costing only $9 more than a transmitter alone, I just ordered three more full units, which will give us plenty of spare batteries, and spare receivers (which I will use as battery chargers).
The ONLY negative about this product is the lack of a charger that can charge multiple spare batteries. It would be great if they sold a 4-slot charger that accepted the tiny 2/3 AAA sized batteries. NextGen does sell a USB charger that charges one at a time through your computer. Amazon sells it for about $30; NextGen sells it for $10. Of course, with the Extender system selling for just $29.50, there's no reason not to buy a spare and use the saucer as a charger.
For years, there have been systems that turn IR into RF (remember the "Rabbit" cubes that sent RF from one room to another?) Those were expensive and unreliable. This system works so well, it should be priced at $100+. It's a steal at $30.