PS3 Blu-Link remote

It is a typical IR to USB remote solution. It is the same as the Nyko Bluwave remote. You will not have a power ON and many of the typical buttons. You will need to use the Triangle button to use most commands to make up for the lack of available IR commands.

With an IR to Bluetooth solution (like the Harmony adapter) you get all commands and power ON. I would just get the PS3IR-500 for $40 instead of the overpriced Harmony adapter that has fewer features than the PS3IR-500.

Actually, the Blu-link has a Bluetooth radio built into the remote itself and it's a 6-1 universal. It's an excellent alternative for someone who may be looking at an inexpensive One for All or Radio Shack remote who then finds out the PS3IR500 is the least expensive BT solution at $40. Of course, if you have a more advanced control system the stand-alone adapters are the way to go.

FWIW... we should have a Blu-Link in shortly for review so I'll be happy to report back here an on our site once we've actually used it.

Yes, I was wrong. Those links were blocked for me at work and I assumed that it was that other branded Nyko type remote. I even read about it on Engadget yesterday and didn't put the two together.

The drawback to this solution is that you are now tied to this remote for PS3 control. If you purchase the stand-alone solution such as the PS3IR-500 you can move on to any other (better) universal remote.

If you buy and plan to use this remote, why would you want the option to use another remote?

I'm thinking of picking this up for the bedroom ps3. I think it's a good design for a simple tv-cablebox-ps3 setup. I just dont want to be the guinea pig.

Are you going to keep and use this remote for as long as you use your PS3? If so then that is okay, but if you get the urge to upgrade or just switch remotes you will then be without PS3 control. If you purchased a PS3 IR adapter instead of this remote then you would have the option to switch to another remote and still be able to control the PS3.

I personally wouldn't want to tie myself down with this as my universal remote.

OK, I got one of these a couple of days ago. Just got around to fully programming it tonight(as it can learn). Here's my mini-review:

Codes, Learning, and available buttons:

The Code input and Learning is about as easy as it can get, hold the device button until it blinks, type in the code, done. To learn, you hold the device button until it blinks, hit the rec button, then point the other remote at the thing and go at it pretty much.

I mapped the remote out on a sheet of paper first to determine where I wanted to put buttons that were not in the codes for my devices. The codes were pretty good, you can get a bit more than the common buttons with the right code as several may work for the same device(5 of 12 worked for my TV, only one got the menu navigation buttons 3/4ths correct), so don't just stop at the one that turns the device on or changes the channel. My Moto Cox Cable DVR(oddly enough in the Cable, not DVR section) buttons were almost complete (pretty much only the ABC colored buttons were not mapped, along with the DVR list, On demand buttons, and the all-important "swap")
As the thing is made for the PS3, no customization is needed there. They even have a macro for the power button that goes though the steps to turn the PS3 off(Of course, a PS3 firmware update could potentially ruin this by changing menus). Sadly, put the word Macro out of your mind, this remote will not do them, nor be tricked into in via the learning and hitting more than one key on the "teaching" remote. I had to make a few compromises when it came to other remotes. Things like Page Up and Page Down I had to assign to the Square and X buttons as they really had no logical equivalent on the new remote. Same with some of my TV's menu navigation buttons for going back a level and submenu. Nothing I'll have to print out a legend for.

It did seem like I ran into a limit on the amount of buttons I could "learn". When I was done supplementing all the codes, and doing cool stuff like putting my TV's aspect button on the other devices etc., I went to put my Roku netflix remote on the "DVR" button, there is no code, so I went about "learning" the entire 8 button remote, assigning a single button to a few(the Pause/Play button to both Pause and Play on the blu-link etc.). Well, I got about all done and it just wouldn't take any more until I deleted one. Worse news was this seemed to be a total limit as I ran into it again adding my TV's aspect button to a device I had forgot, I had to go back to the roku one and delete another one of my duplicate learned buttons. Pretty lame I know, we'll see how I fare when I get my new receiver.

Button Placement/Feel of the remote:

As I said earlier, I am using Square and X for the Page up and down. These are some of the smaller buttons which makes them pretty uncomfortable, and I use them a lot whenever in cable grid guide. This leads to my main point here on the remote as a whole, the buttons are SMALL. The whole remote is SMALL. The colored buttons at the bottom are microscopic(which happens to be the most logical place for me to map the Cox DVR ABC buttons and swap). Nothing is lighted but the device buttons(not even a glow in the dark silkscreen on the buttons. Volume and Channel buttons are not any bigger than the rest AND the stop button is right next to the Volume down. (The first time I accidentally stop a blu-ray this remote will be smashed on the floor). Rest of the layout is OK, and the navigation directional and surrounding buttons have a satisfying click. Feels just OK in the hand.

Responsiveness/Range/Directional Sensitivity/Batt Life:

Actually, really good so far, no complaints here. Bluetooth seems about the same as the PS3 Remote in range etc. Jury is still out on battery life.

Conclusion:

It is absolutely ridiculous that nothing like this has come out in the years since the PS3 has been out, not even sony, and they have a healthy line of universal remotes. Well this is the first, and it feels like a first gen product as far as button design and layout, it's solid though. If it does indeed have a learned button limit, that is stupid as can be even with them touting that it stores everything in non-volatile memory, last time I checked I could get a couple of gig in a USB thumb drive(non-volatile memory) for about $15 or less, each learned button captured can't occupy more than 1kilobyte, so what gives?

Anyway, take from this what you will. I am going to keep it for a while and see how it grows on me. I do like finally having one remote again.

OK, so I watched a couple of BluRay discs on my PS3. To add to my review (and bump the thread) I am not just updating my previous post.

First off, not as responsive as the PS3 remote pausing and playing(like to get up to go the the bathroom, or have a smoke). I suspect it goes into some sort of sleep mode, and often. Also, the entire time it is in PS3 "mode", the bright blue LED above the PS3 device button blinks once every two seconds or so which is annoying as hell.

To top it all off, NO EJECT button. That's right, you have to stop the disc, then triangle, then select eject. I was always in the habit of ejecting the disc real quick, then turning the PS3 off, a two-step process(then I'd grab the disc the next time I'm up)

Of course, the real bummer is with the PS3 only one remote paired at a time, so all I could do is stare at the PS3 remote right in front of me on the coffee table and NOT USE IT TO EJECT.

Button placement still feels small (I don't think I'm going to get used to that).

Anyway, I am going to give it the weekend, but I think I will be contacting them next week to try and send it back.

I hope all of this is helpful if you are looking to buy this thing. If anyone comes across other remotes that are bluetooth capable let me know as I am interested.

finally got the remote working with onkyo tr sx605 reciever...now i need to assign page up page down buttons...

looking for assistance...thx - skm

disregard...i used that little thing called common sense...page up and page down working using square and x - thx

I just started playing with the BluLink and I think the thing I like most is that it's an inexpensive remote that I could set-up for my kids to use with the TV, Cable Box and PS3 in their play room the same way I use my Nevo and IR to Bluetooth Adapter in the theater room. I considered getting a cheapy universal remote and a USB dongle for the PS3 but just couldn't justify giving up the level of control I was used to.

Can this control, pc with WINDOW MEDIA CENTER??? I have an ir control for my hp hdx laptop.

Thx

do you have a remote for that will control the machine now? if so, you can use that to teach the IR commands to the BluLink

OK, so there definitely is a "global" limit on the amount of learned keys substantially less than what you would hope would be all possible keys on remote times 5. I could get only two buttons to learn when I went to do my new receiver. I would say the global limit is most likely 20-25. Not enough.

Also, every once and a while it loses it's pairing with the PS3. You have to get up, hit the power button on the PS3 itself. Wait until it comes all the way up. Hit the equivalent of the playstation button on the blu-link, then a second or two later it starts to work. This NEVER happened with the PS3 remote.


I am hoping Sony finally makes a Universal with bluetooth, learning, and non-volatile storage. Loved every Sony Universal I ever had. Don't care much for the Logitech(tried two different ones).

Can I controll ps3 internal volume with this ? the official ps3 remote don't have a volume control go figure, now i use the ps3 game controller for vol.

I want to set my ps3 as master vol control.

My tv speaker has problem.
Assume I get a cheapo stereo boom box with ir remote and output sound to it. Can I set that as master vol control?

thx,
m

anyone?

The PS3 can not control volume level. That would be why the PS3 Bluetooth OEM remote does not have a volume control on it. Go figure.

I just picked one of these up for my home theater (projector, cable box, ps3, and avr), and haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet, but so far I'm impressed. No, it's not high end, but as a current Harmony owner/user for my upstairs setup, it's better than most universal remotes and much easier to use than the Harmony... just ask my wife. For the price/functionality, I think it's pretty darn hard to beat actually.

Wrong, actually if you press TRIANGLE on ps3 controller , you can get to VOL control.

Wrong. Hitting triangle while playing a DVD presents a huge menu. The speaker icon presents a slide-bar ranging from -4 to +4. Moving this slide has no effect on volume of the DD sound from the DVD. The inability to contol sound level with the Sony OEM remote is the driving motive for using a Universal remote, but presents the problem of controling the PS3 itself. (I use an IR4PS3.)

You should check your info before creating confusion.

The BluLink and the Sony remote both have the Traingle command to access the same menu you mentioned.

The fact is that if your TV speakers have a problem than you must connect the PS3 to something with speakers. If you use a boom box like you described in your previous post you would control the volume on that boombox.

I just check it playing a movie dvd, it does have vol control. Yes it's analog I don't mind.

It has no effect on DVD DD sound.

Let's see, you're watching a DVD with your spouse. He/she says, "Dear, this car chase scene is too loud. We'll wake the baby."

You get up and turn on the lights. Select Triangle. Navigate to the speaker icon using the up, down, left, right keys. Select that icon. You now see a scale labeled "Normal" in the center and allowing you to add up to 4 clicks or subtract up to four clicks. You navigate to the left and then push select.

And there in no change in the sound level.

Now get back up and turn the light off and leave your spouse to watch the rest of the movie while you tend to the screaming baby.

In my house, we'd push the down volume button to control the audio level out of the receiver. (And the baby would get a good night's sleep.)

Well, I wanted to report that I'm starting to have issues with the remote not syncing up with the PS3 when the 2nd controller is connected... Also the rf extender unit I'm using with this remote doesn't play as nice with my cable box as the original cable box remote. Very strange... It works, but sometimes I have to push the same button up to 3x, whereas it registers every click on the cable box remote. It basically makes specific channel call-up impossible. I think I'm just going to send this back for the time being, and use a second rf extender, until something better comes along. For what it is though, it's a great concept. I'd like to see an updated version that also adds backlighting and enhanced functionality.

Oh, and FWIW I must have memorized more than 50 commands, and I never ran out of memory.

When you report that the remote is not syncing do you need to re-pair it with the PS3? I haven't run into that problem at all so I'm curious so I can try to duplicate it.

What RF Extender are you using? Are you using a NextGen that requires you to replace one of the batteries in the BluLink? If so I would guess that maybe the power requirements of the BluLink with the built-in Bluetooth radio are greater than the cable box remote which might be why it's not as reliable.

Yes, the blinking blue light goes out, and it needs to be re-paired with the PS3. It will not take the re-pairing with both dual-shock controllers active either. It doesn't respond at all, even after 20+ seconds holding down start and enter. You have to power down, and make sure that only one controller has sync to get it to come back. I tried renumbering the controllers to no avail.

The ir transmitter is the Next Generation, and I hadn't thought of it from the Bluetooth power requirements angle. Is bluetooth active when a separate device is engaged though (ie. the cable box)? I thought it was only active when the blue light was flashing. Otherwise, wouldn't it run down batteries faster than anything?

I'm sure the BT is in standby mode even when it is not actually being used which could certainly create a power draw. I am not a BT expert by any means so this is just a theory but it's the only thing that makes the BluLink different than your cable remote which means it may be a reason the RF is acting funny.

I also wonder if the pairing issue has anything to do with the fact that you're using the NextGen extender??? I'm going to check out my BluLink tonight with both sixaxis controllers on to see if I notice any problems.

UPDATE: I checked it a few times... starting and re-starting my PS3 with two sixaxis controllers on and my BluLink kept it's pairing the entire time. I could not duplicate the error Dark Rider reported. DR... you mentioned that this just started happening... I just thought that maybe you need to replace the BluLink batteries???

It first happened about an hour into watching a movie. The Blu-Link wouldn't respond, so I had to use the sixaxis controller. Afterwards, I was able to eventually get it to re-pair, but I had to disconnect one of the controllers to do so. I tested it again yesterday with a fresh set of batteries (took the rf transmitter out), and it was still having problems with both the cable box and the pairing. If it's paired first, and you add the controller, all 3 play nice together, but if it's unpaired, and both controllers are active, it will not pair. It could be an isolated problem with the specific remote, but I'm going to hold out and just return for a refund for the time being. I can live with using the sixaxis for now to control movies. It's actually pretty intuitive, since I know where all the buttons are by feel.

I'm also having some odd issues with the Blu-Link. While watching a movie it goes to sleep, and then I can't get it reconnect. Nor can I get my controllers to connect during this either. If I powerdown/powerup the PS3 I then can get either of them to connect. I also find that if I turn on my PS3 using the Blu-Link I can not get either of my two controllers to connect. I was starting to worry something was wrong with my PS3, but it's starting to sound like something with the Blu-Link. Think I'm going to pick up a normal PS3 Bluray remote to see if that works better.

And these three devices are all that I have involved. No extender or other BT devices. Just a data point for others out there.

I like the ps3 controller the best for ps3, try to move the cursor with remote while surfing is pain in the b**t, plus certain location is not accessible without joystick ,,like youtube full screen.