Long-Range Wireless Keyboard/Mouse?

tambo writes with the sort of problem more people wish they had: "I've just bought myself an excellent LCD TV. I'd love to be able to access my home server from it for many reasons (music, video, surfing, MAME, etc.) — but my home server is in another room, 30 feet away from the TV and 50 feet away from the couch. I've acquired some gear to send PC audio and video wirelessly (over the 5.8GHz range), so that's all good. My challenge now is trying to send input wirelessly to my PC from fifty feet away. I've thought about getting a wireless USB hub, but that would introduce an additional wireless hop that would probably add to the input latency (and might interfere with all the other wireless gear in my pad.) My best bet now is to get a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse that have an unusually good range, and some of the Logitechs seem to qualify, but it's a gamble. Advice?"

Comments

or you could just go take a walk...

[Anonymous Coward]

i think this is what they mean by possessions owning the person rather than the other way around.

Re:or you could just go take a walk...

[couchslug]

"i think this is what they mean by possessions owning the person rather than the other way around."

Nonsense.
I conferred with all my consumer electronic devices and our collective opinion is that you are mistaken.

And what is this "walk" of which you speak?

CB'er solution

[bmo]

If 5 watts isn't enough, just hook it up to a 1KW linear amp. Oh wait, there's a van out front that says FCC on it. BRB. Door.

--
BMO

Re:CB'er solution

[cp.tar]

So? Who was it? What did they want?

...

He's not coming back, is he?

Build your own set-top box...

[I confirm I'm not a]

I realise you've just spent a fair bit on sending video and audio from the server, and probably don't want to waste that investment, but wouldn't the easiest approach be to have a networked PC under the screen, and use that to connect mouse and keyboard to? You could SSH into your server, or similar?

With this approach you could dedicate the "set-top box" to recording video (handy for the antenna connection or cable box...) and use the server for storing recordings long-term.

Re:Build your own set-top box...

[cyberchuck.nz]

wouldn't the easiest approach be to have a networked PC under the screen, and use that to connect mouse and keyboard to

That's how we've done the setup where I live. Bought a couple of secondhand PC's, which were shifted into media PC cases, add a PCI wireless card and S-Video capable graphics card and you're set.

The PC's sit quite nicely with the other equipment around the TV, and it's easy enough to control using the IR remotes (we use the Microsoft MCE ones).

Load MythTV on all these machines, convert all the DVD's to ISO's / CD's to MP3 / etc and throw them on your workhorse PC (Myth Server) and you're set

Re:Build your own set-top box...

[Curunir_wolf]

It's not the HD *content* that's the problem - it's all the lock-down crap on every HD content delivery system these days, and all the restrictions on the hardware (at least what's available in the US).

My own experimentation with an HTPC has been quite and adventure. I started out with the goal to get rid of Comcast, install FiOS for internet, then deal with just the OTA digital stations. They broadcast plenty of HD. A few of my problems were, well... "social", but most were technical.

Of course the first thing that happened was we decided that while only having local channels was not so bad, being without the convenience of the DVR was just a no-starter. So I built one. AMD 690G motherboard (from GigaByte), HDHomeRun dual networked tuner, 500GB storage. Worked pretty good. Then:

• The MPEG2 codec from M$ is buggy as hell. Lots of issues there, but mostly niggling stuff
• After going through 4 antennas of varying sizes and power, I realized none would pick up all the channels I wanted. Well, I can get all of them on Verizon FiOS for $13 a month. Not bad, simple solution.
• Getting the guide to list everything properly was a nightmare. Verizon gives you a couple of channels for each local broacast - figuring out which is in HD and which is downgraded for analog is not easy. Inevitably what I record is either SD, or an erroneously listed main channel program that turned out to be the local station's secondary channel with 24 hour weather. Then they provide you like 122 channels of music. Gotta clear that off the guide, all those "unknown" listings are really annoying. The local PBS station actually broadcasts 3 signals, but I only get 2 from Verizon. Grrr.
• Oh - those government converter boxes will *not* tune anything on cable (qam). They are strictly vbs8 (OTA). $5 more dollars a month to Verizon for a STB.
• And after working through all that, my wife and teenager are bellyaching so much about never having stuff to watch it's driving me crazy. They both were on board with it before I started. "But I thought there would be more than this..." etc.
• I call Verizon. I want 6 channels: SciFi, HGTV, FX, Comedy, Animal Planet, Science. Guess how they responded to that request. My Verizon bill just took a big jump.
• Apparently, there is an FCC regulation that requires cable companies to transmit at least the local broadcast stations "in the clear" (no scrambling). Guess how many others they don't scramble. Don't count all those music channels. The answer is "1", and it's in spanish. Ok, I'll need another STB.
• Yea, I can get analog from the box to the HTPC no problem. I gave up on HD. HDMI is no-go. No HDMI input (won't work anyway since it won't do HDCP). Firewire will transmit the HD signal! But... only if your input is 5c compliant. WTF?? Yep, it's the "broadcast flag" implementation. If your firewire input don't talk 5c, the cable box won't give it anything. I haven't figured out a way around that, yet... but I'm still trying

But at least I don't have Comcast anymore. Oh, and I'm saving a whopping $8 a month, so my hardware investment will be paid back in ... only 7 years!!!

Extension cable

[Anonymous Coward]

Use a USB extension cable, plug it into the server, and plug the wireless receiver into that. Run it along the wall as far as is necessary to bring it into range of wherever you use the keyboard.

And on a side note: the couch? Really? I can never quite believe that people are actually comfortable using a computer when they are sat on a couch. That goes double for non-laptops.

Gyration Go Pro 2.4 GHz

[unne]

Gyration GO PRO 2.4GHz Optical Air Mouse and Compact Keyboard Suite. Needs only an empty USB port and gives you a 100' range.

http://www.gyration.com/p-18-go-pro-24ghz-optical-air-mouse-and-compact-keyboard-suite.aspx

Re:Gyration Go Pro 2.4 GHz

[ThomConspicuous]

I have both keyboard and mouse for my home theater. Both work great from upstairs about 30 feet away and through walls. Highly recommended for this type of application.

Advice?

[digitalderbs]

[Your] best bet now is to get a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse that have an unusually good range, and some of the Logitechs seem to qualify, but it's a gamble.

smoke signals

[unity100]

with the crazy setup you are trying to do, your best bet is getting a small carpet, some wood, and sending smoke signals to your server.

Re:smoke signals

[nfk]

That's silly, the server is in a different room. Drums might work.

Logitech Bluetooth Mediaboard for the PS3

[SScorpio]

http://reviews.cnet.com/keyboards/logitech-cordless-mediaboard-for/4505-3134_7-32319140.html

My friend is using one for just this purpose. And he's about 30' or so away, and he's going through from the first room of his house to his basement and it's working great.

As for the wireless video? Are you using so type of VGA wireless solution? With an LCD TV you should be able to receive 720p or even 1080p connect. This would require either a component or HDMI/DVI connect. There are actually DVI over ethernet adapters which will send your single over the long distance without losing quality which the wireless solution I used to use has issues with. You could also just hit up http://www.monoprice.com/ and pick up a 40" HDMI cable for about $40 or so shipped. If you didn't know you can get adapters that convert DVI->HDMI and some even support sound as well.

The PCjr "chiclet" keyboard

[sakusha]

Oh it's too bad they don't make the old PCjr infrared keyboards anymore. They had an upgraded model that improved on the notorious "chiclet" keyboard, I used to have one, it worked decently. The reason I say it would be perfect for you is that you can now buy "IR extenders" that are designed to carry IR remote control signals into AV equipment inside cabinets. The IR hits a receiver via line of sight, it's converted and sent down a wire, and is retransmitted by an IR LED at the other end of the wire. You could run the extender's wire as far as you like, and still have a wireless keyboard.
Maybe there are other IR keyboards around, but I'm not aware of any. They had a few bugs. For example, if I struck a BIC cigarette lighter near my PCjr, the spark would emit a little IR and the CPU would beep, indicating an unknown IR transmission error.

Re:The PCjr "chiclet" keyboard

[maxume]

Was the stew good?

Re:Bluetooth?

[jdcaron]

Personally I own a wireless keyboard (Adesso WKB-4000US) which I am very satisfied of. I never had to charge the batteries (AAA) since I got it (6 months). And it works either on Windows XP or Linux without any drivers to install. The range of the keyboard is good and that's fine for my usage. Also, the manufacturer says that it works up to 100 feet. But obviously it's not 100 feet through any walls or floors. So, I guess that could work for you but I don't know much what you really mean by "...in an other room..."

Otherwise, I found that my laptop is a very good alternative. I just hop on my server through VNC and I control it with my laptop. And this works from a further distance since my wireless network has a very good range.

And I'll third that!

[epp_b]

We have a Gyration keyboard and mouse set at our church. The range is awesome: The receiver and PC are at the back while the keyboard and mouse are controlled from the pulpit, well over 100 feet away.

Re:And I'll third that!

[RiotingPacifist]

OFC they do because if there's a big flashing GOD on the screen, their slaves^H^H^H subjects^H^H^H parish know that they've chosen the right religion, and give more money.

Remote administration

[SamP2]

"What do I need to remotely administer my server?"
"Wireless keyboard and mouse."
"But it's really far away!"
"Binoculars too, then."

HTPC doesn't need to be too powerful

[Rob the Bold]

I've got a Linux HTPC that satisfies me pretty well. The only case fan I need is on the power supply, since I'm using a low-power AMD 45W dual core CPU. The CPU fan is small and almost inadible. Since all the data storage is on the home server, the HTPC boots off a 4GB CF card. The power supply itself is "80 plus" rated PS with power factor correction, and the fan only runs as fast as it needs to, which isn't very fast since nothing in the box makes too much heat.

The performance specs aren't incredible, and this setup wouldn't be suitable for hard-core gaming, but it doesn't take much CPU horsepower these days to run video and audio codecs.

Re:HTPC doesn't need to be too powerful

[Per Wigren]

Except that if you want to be able to play all those 1080p h.264 .mkv-files you'll need at least around a 2,8 Ghz Core 2 Duo or X2 5600+ if you use the CoreAVC codec. If you want to play 1080p VC1-stuff or the use a standard unpatched ffmpeg/mplayer you'll need minimum 3 Ghz and realtime priority.

I have an AMD X2 5600+ in my HTPC and it can play 1920x800 @ 24 Hz (most movies) fine, but drops frames in high-motion scenes on full 16:9 1920x1080 videos, especially if they are 30 FPS. This is with a custom "mythplayvideo" wrapper script I wrote that sets different options depending on "pixels per second" and codec, and also changes the refresh rate to match the video FPS with xrandr. It's also using AC3/DTS-passthrough so no CPU is spent on audio decoding.

Re:HTPC doesn't need to be too powerful

[pugdk]

I have a Mac mini with a Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz CPU.... I have not had any problems playing any 1080p x264 mkv movies what so ever (as long as the mkv file is error free that is!).

This is on Ubuntu 8.4 using mplayer with the CoreAVC codec.

Basically the parent is wrong.... and he needs to check his software setup. Most likely those specs are for non CoreAVC mplayer and/or VLC (and VLC truly SUCK playing 1080p x264 files...)

Wireless A/V != good image quality

[Amphetam1ne]

To my knowledge there is no wireless DVI/HDMI, which means you're probably getting the signal via a composit TV out on the back of your server, which will already be lossy as hell by it's very nature, then sending it over a lossy radio connection. The difference between a PC's TV out and an HDMI connection is very large and you are not getting the benefit of your shiny new screen if you're going to use a non-digital source.

The best advice I can offer you is to grab one of the new barebone pc's with HDMI out and build a small unobtusive looking Media PC, which can then run MythTV, Media Portal, LinuxMCE, XBMC Linux/Windows, GeexBox, or any of the other great Mediacenter solutions that are out there. I'd also ditch the idea of the KB/M after initial setup and just grab yourself an MCE remote as your main input device (they're cheap, good quality and are well supported on both Windows and Linux).

For what it's worth, I've got a 3.2TB media server based on FreeNAS with 8x 500GB drives in RAID-5. I've got a media box under every TV in the house. The HD capable screens have the Asus P2-M2A690G barebones case with X2 4800+ CPU running Media Portal (Will be XBMC for Windows/Linux when a more stable build of either is out), while the SD TV's each have a modified Xbox running XBMC (unfortunately the otherwise rubust Xbox just isn't capable of decoding H.264 on it's 733Mhz cpu).

The Asus Barebones is whisper quiet, smaller than a PS3 and wouldn't look out of place next to a DVD or VCR.

Anyway, I wish you good luck with whatever solution you choose to go with.

Active Extension Cable : 16 feet

[corsec67]

So you get a USB cable that has a repeater in it.

I think the repeater is a one-port USB hub, so they could be daisy chained for a while, as long as they get enough power from the original port. Maybe have a powered USB hub that the wireless receiver plugs into.

Or you use a USB-Ethernet Extender, which sends the USB signals over an Ethernet cable. I don't think that is USB over IP, so you probably can't plug that into an ethernet switch at all.

Re:Bluetooth?

[UnderCoverPenguin]

Otherwise, I found that my laptop is a very good alternative. I just hop on my server through VNC and I control it with my laptop.

I'd just use another laptop and something like PC Anywhere / Go To My PC / Remote Desktop, etc.

Something I have used to control multiple PCs from a single keyboard and mouse is http://sourceforge.net/projects/synergy2/

I have found it very useful and responsive. Besides controlling, it also enables you to copy and paste text between PCs, even running different OSs.

Use a Class I Bluetooth dongle

[DrYak]

Had the same situation some time back.
If one use a Class I bluetooth/usb dongle instead of the basic cradle that comes with the Logitech gear (class II) the range is increased.

class I has a nominal range of 100m
class II has a nominal range of 10m and most bluetooth gear use this
class III has a nominal range of 1m and the only gadget using it I've seen is a bluetooth GPS receiver.

Using a class I receiver with class II gadgets, in my experience, increases the range over an all-class-II setup.

Bluetooth 2.0 EDR dongle are supposed to have 100m range too, but I haven't had the occasion to see if there's a significant increase in range.