Controlling a computer in basement with keyboard upstairs.

If you have an iPad, iPhone, or android, download the TeamViewer app.

How far is the run from your PC to viewing area? If it's possible, you could run a usb cable from the PC to your viewing room, most likely usb over ethernet, and simply buy a wireless mouse and keyboard combo that use the same usb wireless adapter. Have the keyboard and mouse's usb adapter in your viewing room, and simply use this to control your PC.

I've seen this done before, and it works very well.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Or similar.

why not just use remote desktop or VNC or some other similar software to control the computer is the basement? Then use a tablet (iPad, kindle fire, iPod touch etc)

If you want to go the app route, I am pretty happy with Mobile Mouse. It has keyboard/mouse and some media controls and other customizable buttons. I access either my Mac or my PC on any TV in the house. There are many apps to choose from in this area and it tends to be easier for HTPCs when you have some type of media controls in the app so you're not having to mouse over to the onscreen controls every time.

If you have a laptop at your viewing location, you could use Synergy to share your keyboard & mouse with your media PC.

What's your total cable distance from the computer in the basement to the viewing room? You're already distributing video, so you've got that covered. What you need is the keyboard and mouse. Those are slow devices, you can use USB1.1 to drive them. There are a lot of USB over CAT5 extenders out there (usually USB1.1). There are a few USB2.0 extenders, monoprice sells a couple of lengths. This might work depending on how far the cable would need to be. Once you get close to the viewing area in which you want to control it you could use a wireless USB setup common to most keyboard & mouse combos. You could, conceivably, use more than one such extender for multiple keyboard/mice locations. Granted, they'd all be controlling the same computer, not individual sessions, but you have that situation already with your remotes.

Logitech makes a nice keyboard/trackpad combo, the K400. It's cheap too. I also have a Dinovo and can't really justify it's expense over the K400 for limited use scenarios. I wouldn't want to be typing for any duration on either of them, but the K400 does a bang-up job on my treadmill.