What are People Using For Keyboard Input on their HTPCs?

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#267810 28-Oct-2009 19:22

yea i had a look standard price is USD49.99 which is probably the price you'd pay ea. for 3units. = too expensive

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

kiwijunglist

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#267812 28-Oct-2009 19:23

i just impulse bought this tho -> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230344186369
i don't have a blaster for my computer, so i'd like to be able to blast TV on/off using imon remote, and blast the volume on the receiver.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

1gkar

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#268274 29-Oct-2009 20:53

kiwijunglist: yea i had a look standard price is USD49.99 which is probably the price you'd pay ea. for 3units. = too expensive

I might have invertantly linked to a board with a higher shipping cost. Check some of the others, they have a standard cost of around US$7 shipping. Just wait until I have purchased mine: OK

Here is the sellers main page.

As an aside; I was having issues with my fingers using my USB mouse, so I purchased this for my main desktop machine. It seems to be working good, except, I require varied finger pressure for it to function at times. But is excellent for my hand.

Silverstone LC14 HTPC Case/Intel E4600 CPU/GA-EP35-DS3 MOBO/Asus EN9500GT graphics/2GB RAM/total 2TB HDD space/HVR-2200 & 2X 150MCE tuner cards/LG GGC-H20L BD Drive/MCE2005/Mediaportal/TVServer 1.1.0Final/LG 55"3D LED-TV/Denon AVR-1803 receiver/X1 projector

geekiegeek

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#268296 29-Oct-2009 21:35

Satch: I'm using one of these puppies for my HTPC (bluetooth and mouse setup). Happy as Larry with it.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=081

ditto plus a netbook with RDP so I dont have to switch my projector on to play music. Plus I also use a PS3 bluetooth remote to send keyboard shortcuts to media portal - fantastic for using between 2 rooms.

ajst2duk

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Master Geek

#270116 4-Nov-2009 18:26

Di Novo Edge - it is brilliant, and I also use an air mouse. These sit for 99% of their time in their charging cradles as the remote does most everything else.

vinneh

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#270157 4-Nov-2009 21:47

i use synergy from a laptop, its very convenient. also the screen can act as a backlight for the keys in the dark. or vnc for stuff that requires actually reading tiny text. :D

1gkar

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Ultimate Geek

#270390 5-Nov-2009 16:22

Have finally managed to successfully bid on on of the keyboards I linked to in an earlier post. Will post a review, of sorts after I get it.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

kiwijunglist

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#270397 5-Nov-2009 16:35

how much $$ incl P&P?

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

1gkar

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#270421 5-Nov-2009 17:48

US$46.98

Acrux

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#271012 8-Nov-2009 14:43

Just been through this exercise myself and have ended up with at Logitech MX5500 from PBTech its a bit pricey but the bluetooth gives it great range and the mouse is a stuner. I was using a Microsoft 3000 but the range was terrible so I spent most of the time sitting in the middle of the lounge on the floor to get it to work. Really happy with the Logitech however.

1gkar

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#272857 13-Nov-2009 20:57

OK. Seeing as how everyone is hanging on the edge of their seats waiting for my keyboard review

It arrived today, so here are my initial findings & thoughts:

It arrived packed in just plain paper wrap: no bubblewrap or other form of protection. Given the keyboard's cardboard packet is just larger than the board itself, there is a distinct possibility of damage, given how rough couriers can be; let alone the international shipping scene.

The board looks cheap: typical Chinese knock-off is how I would best describe it. Hopefully I get around 1.5 years use. That is what I believe the cost should give me: minimum. Others will probably disagree

Plug in batteries & reboot PC. Buttons are quite sensitive. Have to adjust mouse pointer speed. Am quite impressed with the initial use of the board & keypad is easy to use. Unable to start Mediaportal using their version of the green button. The manual states the MCE-related buttons only work inside the MCE environment. None of the other buttons work inside Mediaportal, either: bummer. Will have to see if I can do work-around. Is there a programme (free) out there that can reprogramme keys for custom useage (ie. change 'My Computer' application key to open 'Windows Explorer'? Or is that totally keyboard dependent? The driver software does not have this capibility as my previous keyboard did. I use Winkey (an old programme) for hotkeys.

After getting back from golf practise, the board did not work. Tried reboot, then replaced batteries & it operated as per. Put shipped batteries back in & it operated. Guess they aren't too reliable.

Apart from the stated issue, I am reasonably happy with purchase given price. The touchpad is definitely the product's key feature & works well. if I can get the hotkeys' issue sorted, I would be very happy. The MCE keys aren't a big deal. Just use my MCE remote.

vinnieg

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#272867 13-Nov-2009 21:07

I'm getting this:

Round $60 once shipped from ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270477270685&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2484wt_939

At the moment though, I'm using my Pinnacle remote and when I need to do updates/move files onto it, I just RDP in through my Netbook while sitting on the couch

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

kiwijunglist

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#272879 13-Nov-2009 21:32

You can use autohotkey to map all the custom buttons into whatever keystroke combination(s) you desire. It requires some extremely basic programing skills. I have done this with the buttons on the front of my silverstone case, and the extra buttons on my logitech keyboard.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#272898 13-Nov-2009 22:34

vinnieg: I'm getting this:

Round $60 once shipped from ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270477270685&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2484wt_939

At the moment though, I'm using my Pinnacle remote and when I need to do updates/move files onto it, I just RDP in through my Netbook while sitting on the couch

Not a bad price with free shipping to NZ. About the same total as my buy.

Nety

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#276152 25-Nov-2009 11:52

Does anyone have one of these?

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3616&cl=us,en

It is a Logitech MediaBoard Pro and retails here for a little over $100. I could pick up the keyboard and a bluetooth dongle for about $120 which seems quite a good price for a bluetooth keyboard with intergarted mouse.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

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