I have been scouring the web and various electrical/PC stores trying to find what I think is a pretty simple piece of hardware - a USB infrared receiver so that I can control Media Centre via remote.  The only ones I have been able to find come as a kit with a MCE remote and start from about $55.  I just bought a Harmony 515 and so do not require the MCE remote.  An infrared receiver is surely only a $10 bit of equipment anyhow.  No place seems to sell them as a separate item.

I found some cheap kits on Trademe, about $20 for a remote and receiver.  Has anyone tried these uncertified receivers? From what I have been able to gather, the remotes they come with are detected as keyboards and so just send shortcut key signals to the receiver.  But if I use the Harmony 515 will these receivers be able to pick up proper IR codes as the certified models do?

Another option is to purchase a new tv tuner card such as the Hauppauge 2200 (I could make use of a dual tuner card, rather than the 1200 I have at the moment) and use the receiver which comes with the MCE versions of the card.  But I think most of these receivers actually plug into the card itself and so may not work so well with a separate remote?  I think a USB version would be better in the long run anyway.

Any ideas?