Howdy all,

Has anyone used the ARRU449, or any other wireless remote for that matter with a home automation setup? The remote uses wifi, so I'm guessing its 2-way, and hence would be an excellent control option. I'm using CQC, and would like to map the hard buttons initially, and eventually get the screen to work.

Any thoughts?

Target

I just saw this remote and it sounds quiet impressive - anybody try this?

I didn't get it, but my personal opinion is that its fairly useless. It doesn't communicate with your gear via wifi, but merely gets info such as weather. Other than that its a vanilla ir/rf remote.

Target

The AR-RU449 is an awesome remote. It is very easy to setup and it is very intuitive. I have had many remote including many harmony remotes. The thing I didn't like about computer programmed remotes is for every change it took hooking it up to sync. Very timely, and frustrating. And some of the time it wasn't correct so it took more than once. Also, the database that Logitech provided sucked so you had to go in a edit everything including the names so you could read it on the screen.

The AR449 is a rechargeable IR remote nothing else. It uses RF to connect to your wireless network only which is required for proper remote setup and usage.

Yes, it does give you weather, news and games all on the remote (which I think is great) it also gives you guides from whomever you setup. So I can get the guide from all the cable, dish, over the air providers so I know if something is available on a different networks. Also, you can setup and an unlimited number or devices and activities. You can even setup the remote to control different electronics in different rooms.

Also, new codes and updates are being updated all the time so it's always up to date.

The downside is that it does take some practice to get the programming down. I had to reset and start over 3 times. But, every time it was something I did to cause it to not work. The remote buttons are not in the best locations (unlike the harmony remotes) the most used keys besides the channel and volume are at the bottom of the remote. Soft keys at the top do fill in gaps with keys that don't exist but are not is good as having hard keys. I have not had any problems but from what I have read the batteries need to be charged regularly which the charging base solves. (Have had it off the base for days without problems)

My 2 cents..
Anyone else that has any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
rlouis

I've never tried the AR remote but I can tell you the underlying software is made by TVCompass... the same folks that make the ESPN Ultimate Remote. You may find more answers to your questions at tvcompass.com and I have the ESPN remote so if there is something I can try to answer by looking at my remote I'd be happy to help. I've had some experience with HA but never with CQC.

To expand on what rlouis said... yes the remote is IR only and the WiFi access is limited by the software and the base WinCE engine it's using. The guides are provided by TVGuide and are incredibly accurate.

Thanks for your reply.

I did do some research on the different companies that support these devices but don't see much help.. No software upgrades no new applications for the device and no new upgrades.

I'm very surprised that it supports games but only has one game. I have several devices that use Windows CE and the options are endless.

I wonder if there is a support group for this type of devices.

Thanks
Rlouis