By way of background I am currently using a Harmony One to control a bunch of devices in my family room HT area. They include

- TCL cable box
- Pioneer AVR
- Panasonic TV
- Sony BDP-S390 BD player
- Popcorn Hour A200
- Google TV (Logitech Revue which might be removed)
- PS3 (using IR to BT adapter)
- Logitech Squeezebox

They are scattered across the width of the HT cabinet so I have to use a bunch of IR emitters to make sure all devices get the signal.

It works but the support issues are annoying (when devices don't go on because the remote is not beamed correctly)

I am now looking moving to non IR control(well from the controller) using this device

http://www.iruleathome.com/the-hardware/product/2-global-cache-itach-wf2ir

It connects to the home network via wired or WiFi (I bought WiFi) and uses emitters and blaster to interact with your components. You could say it's like the Harmony except you don't have to aim your controller at the devices - the IR emitters are fixed in place and your controller can be anywhere on the home network.

For the controller I am considering using iRule

http://www.iruleathome.com/irule-builder/the-software

This is because while it's a bit of work to configure it, it supports both IOS and Android and I don't really have a spare IOS device available.

If I wanted a pre-built solution there is

http://www.roomieremote.com/

I would have to get an IOS device for that (tried looking for cheap iPad 1 units on TM but they are not cheap). I could also try to find a cheap iPod Touch or use my wife's iPhone which he has now swapped out for a S3 but she won't let go!

But the software pricing is strange.

$9.95 for the base software but it only supports two devices. Who has only two devices in their HT systems? Then you need to buy the HT pack which is $20 or so and then the IR pack (the device supports IP devices out of the box) for another $10 or so.

OTOH irule is $49 for all the devices you need but requires configuration (much harder than Harmony online configuration).

If other folks have used either product I would like to get your personal experience in either.

Thanks