I choose this remote because it was the cheapest way to get Infrared Control to my windows media center pc ($8!!).
This remote passes windows keys or key combos. It is nice because if you take a few minutes to mess around with buttons, you'll realize it's pretty powerful.
As an example, I use Windows+down+enter keys which will open the first program in the start menu on Windows 7. I've set my Universal Remote to pass Windows+down+enter, Windows+down+down+enter, etc etc. It will then just open up whatever programs you pin to Start Menu. As a super sweet bonus, my IR Launcher Full program has a "Shortcut Creator" tab that will let you make direct shortcuts to most of the Windows Media Center items including Netflix!
The real cool thing about this remote is the 4 top keys. When you press the A-D keys at the top it sends 3 key combos per press: Letters (Ctrl+Alt+A,B,C,D), Numbers (Ctrl+Alt+1,2, 3, 4) and Function Keys (Ctrl+Alt+F1, F2, F3, F4). Sending these key combos makes this remote very useful if you have a program that will wait for them and then do what you want.
I couldn't find a program that would do exactly what I wanted so I wrote a few...
Important note: If you want to try this out but don't have this remote - just hit ctrl+alt+a (or b, c, or d). That's all the remote does when you hit those buttons and it's all you need to do to test if the program will work for you :)
IR Launcher Full
With each button press you can:
- Launch of to 3 programs & complex arguments
- Terminate running processes you specify to save memory and processing power
- Manipulate the LED lights on your keyboard or custom lights you create
- Create custom shortcuts to individual Media Center applications such as Television guide and Picture Gallery
- Specify if you want to program to launch with Windows and/or hide to the system tray automagically
- Windows XP, Vista and 7 32 and 64 bit compatible
IR Launcher Lite
With each button press you can:
- Launch a program of your choosing
- Specify if you want to program to launch with Windows and/or hide to the system tray automagically
- Windows XP, Vista and 7 32 and 64 bit compatible