Home Theater Keyboards?

Meeper writes "I've been commissioned to build a Home Theater Computer system, but there is a distinct lack of keyboards that are suitable. The keyboard needs to be equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, compact, and include a built-in mouse or touchpad. The keyboard will be used on couches, so a solution such as the Logitech diNovo Media Desktop is unsuitable due to the normal freestanding mouse. Have any Slashdot readers used a keyboard which fufills my requirements?" Or, on the other hand, what best-compromise solutions have you come up with for melding ease of use with sufficient control?

Comments

Security?

[pherris]

How secure are bluetooth keyboards? Is it possible to somehow sniff and read the connection? I suspect it's dumb question but the idea of a RF keyboard makes me little nervous. I guess I'm too old school.

Re:Gyration

[Relifram]

Gyration is CRAP! I seem to recall posting this before, but here goes:

I have the unfortunate pleasure of having about 20 of keyboard/mouse units at work. In the year that we've had them I've had to send back a full half of them for warranty work. We have two problems repeatedly: The keyboards simply stop working (everything looks ok, but no transmission) and the batteries in the mice refuse to hold a charge longer than about 20 minutes after about 2 months of use. (yea, we do the whole drain 'em till their dead before recharging them)

Just my $.02

Re:Gyration

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I've read several good reviews of Gyration on AV Science forums. Gyration isn't too badly priced when compared to the Logitech Bluetooth stuff, I could have sworn I saw the keyboard + mouse combo for $99 at Best Buy today.

I wanted to buy it but I'm more in the market for a Bluetooth combo kit rather than some proprietary RF. Part of the reason is I have a laptop which has an available bluetooth reciever that goes into the frame, so I don't have to worry about breaking a USB dongle or anything like that.

Re:RDP

[Anonymous Coward]

I asked this above, but again, how do you manage to connect to your media box using RDC without having it bump the logged in user (which is displaying on the TV) out to the Fast User Switching/Login prompt when you connect? MS's documentation even states that you can't connect remotely without it disrupting/interrupting the session of the person at the machine.

remote wonder

[trippin_efnet]

heres what i would do..

1: get the fold up stowawy bluetooth keyboard from Think Outside its slick how small this thing folds up.

2: i assume the components you use will have modern remote controls, you could program the ati remote wonder keys into the components remote for mouse movement selecting etc...

this will cut down on extra remotes laying around, and the keyboard folds up nicely for when its not in use.
the site doesnt list bluetooth as a feature but i have read many places the wireless keyboard has it, and it is perfectly useable on a pc.

Scorpius 990P IR keyboard

[BP9]

http://www.qtronix.com/ScorpLI.html

I have one of these and am very happy with it. I don't use the mouse much but it works fine. Its small enough to sit reasonably unobtrusively in my living room (with the IR repeated via Xantech IR repeaters down to where the equipment is racked).

Only issue I've had is it sends lengthy IR codes when you use the mouse that were crashing an IRTrans infrared decoder/receiver -- the guy that makes them has a fix in the works though.

I saw these at Comdex a couple of years ago (from a taiwanese company), then recently set up a MythTV box and found a guy in the UK selling them on ebay. I looked a bit in the US but lost patience trying to find a distributor and ended up ordering from the UK guy for about $80 including shipping.

what i use...

[ophix]

i use a wireless microsoft natural keyboard and an ati all in wonder remote.

the ati is as good of a mouse as i need, and i rarely have to use the keyboard but when i do, it is handy.

i dont see how bluetooth is needed, any wireless kb should work as long as it is comfy for you to use.

another option for the mouse is a gyration (i think that is how it is spelled). they are pretty slick, let you wave your hand through the air to move the mouse. i would get the ati remote as well though, then you have a nice remote to control the playback functionality and a basic mouse, and the gyration for any advanced stuff you want to do.

Easy

[iamdrscience]

Nintendo Powerglove. Yes, it does work under linux (link)

...is anyone surprised?

Re:Quit yer whinin'...

[TWX]

My living room is twelve feet wide and eighteen feet across. Ir project my image on one of the twelve foot walls. The IR receiver is up front under the screen on top of the shelf that holds the Laserdiscs and center channel. It works very well. The keyboard has to be pointed somewhere in the direction of the front of the room, but none-too-specific, and it's not exactly a challenge to keep objects out of the line of view, even with the projector sitting on a small table in the center of the room. It works all of the way from the front-most seat to the back porch out behind the opposite twelve-foot wall.

Since RF and IR were the only two options when I built the setup, if IR hadn't worked straight out I would have bought one of those IR repeater setups and installed that. Mind you, I doubt that such would prove necessary given that remotes work pretty well and they use IR...

Re:Not Bluetooth but radio-wireless

[Simulant]

I also use the 'iFree' and it gets the job done pretty well. I don't get the range that the previous poster claims but it works fine from the couch (8-10 feet) Batteries don't last as long as the Scorpius keyboard I used previously. Had to replace that one as my 2.5 year old daughter tends to beat the crap out of these when she gets her hands on them, which is frequently. Couldn't find a replacement Scorpius at the time so I bought the iFree instead.

Some more thoughts:
Get one with a trackball. The joystick type devices don't give you the same control

The 'versapoint' stuff is overrated and VERY overpriced.

Get RF not IR. IR is frustrating when you're lying on the couch.

Re:Quit yer whinin'...

[TWX]

First off, I don't want my neighbors (sp?) to be able to run Bluetooth sniffing tools and capture any of my passwords (particularly my banking ones!). I doubt any of them have the knowledge to do this, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

After all Bluetooth's security, isn't very.

Exactly my logic. Also, most of the IR keyboards run on their own custom protocols, so that it's much less likely for someone who manages to successfully trap the signals to be able to interpret them. Compare that to even early RF, and you have a lot more Logitech out there than anything else, so someone could fairly easily receive Logitech signal and interpret.

I wouldn't worry about the neighbours anyway. I'd worry about the wardrivers. I live far enough from the street at my apartment that I doubt much signal would make it from my place to where people would receive stray signal, but I don't want to take the chance.

VNC Yes, but need the right device

[fishdan]

I use Palm VNC to make my Tungsten C Palm be the remote control for my Media Center

Pros: It's SO DAMN COOL
Cons: the 900mhz phone screws up my wireless. I solved this by getting rid of my land line and going all cellular,

I also use PalmVNC at work to manage a large variety of machine, although only mac, windows and RH9 (damn I'm gonna miss you RH9). It's quite convenient to haev my palm with me and be able to read logs while in the bathroom. Ok, I know that's a bad pun, but I really DO read the log files from my servers on PalmVNC when I'm in the crapper. And it's not as bad as going to the bathroom to play solitaire with your Palm.