Is there a way for me to use just one remote?

[buffotoad]

I use an ATI Remote Wonder to remotely control my HTPC and Xlobby. It is an RF remote.

All of my other components (TV, receiver, cable box) are IR devices and are being controlled by a Logitech Harmony 659.

I currently have to use the Logitech 659 to set all the components to their appropriate settings, and then switch to the Remote Wonder to control Xlobby.

Is there a way to eliminate one of these remotes? Will USBIRT do that for me?

Also, is there a way to turn a PC on using a remote control? I have found devices that will remote control an electrical outlet, but they don't solve the problem because the ON button on the PC has to be pushed in. Any way around that?

Thanks!

[rembetis]

Is there a way to eliminate one of these remotes? Will USBIRT do that for me?

Yes, a USB-UIRT will allow you to control xlobby with your Harmony. You simply dedicate an unused component button (satellite, whatever), assign it an arbitrary remote code (as you would for your other components, it just doesn't matter which), and teach the UIRT the signals for each button you want to use. You then assign those signals to commands in the Xlobby IR section of setup.

Also, is there a way to turn a PC on using a remote control? I have found devices that will remote control an electrical outlet, but they don't solve the problem because the ON button on the PC has to be pushed in. Any way around that?

This is a little more complicated. I'm guessing there are other ways to do it, but here's what I do: If your motherboard supports Power On by PS/2 Keyboard, and you have and/or buy a wireless keyboard with a power on button, you can teach your remote that signal and turn the PC on that way. You will likely need to set a jumper on the motherboard.

[rembetis]

Whoops. Hit quote instead of edit. Ignore.

[S Pittaway]

yes, you can do it all with usbuirt.

on the power front, it depends on what you mean by on/off..

if S3 standby is ok then it works fine.

[buffotoad]

Excellent!

Thank you very much for the responses. I'm off to learn about USB-UIRT!

[Marbles_00]

Don't most motherboards now have a Wake on USB jumper setting? If this is the case then a USB-UIRT should be able to bring the system out of sleep.

[buffotoad]

This is an older PC that I inherited so I don't have manuals. The keyboard & mouse are from a different PC.

I looked and the motherboard has a jumper for 'keyboard power on' (it is configured for 'disabled');

and another jumper for 'USB power on' (it is configured for 'disabled').

I apologize for asking this next question, it is very basic - if I enable either one or both of them, how do I turn the PC on by either of them?

Is there a special key sequence for turning it on using the keyboard? And for USB, what do I transmit to turn it on?

[Marbles_00]

For keyboard, there may be some setup parameters within the BIOS settings, if not then the system will "poll" the keyboard looking for anykey to be pressed, or it may be looking for a specific one, such as, spacebar or enter. I would look into the BIOS setup and see if anything stands out there.

As for the USB, I haven't used it for that purpose, but I take it that the system will look for any activitiy on the USB bus. So simply pressing a button on your remote, which a USB-UIRT would pickup, and the system should wake. There may also be a BIOS setting that may need to be set as well. If I'm not correct here, please someone fill in the gaps.

You should find out the motherboard manu., goto their website and download the manual...it may be a big help, especially concerning the BIOS setup used.

Hope this helps.

[timwarner]

The USB-UIRT will *not* wake the system *unless* it sees a preprogrammed IR code which has been flashed into the USB-UIRT's non-volatile memory. You can program up to four different IR codes to wake the PC. You can program these slots using the lrnHelper utility: http://www.usbuirt.com/lrnhelper_0_0_3.zip -- use the Wake-Up configuration menu.

I found this in a post on the usbuirt forum

http://www.usbuirt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=952

Something I always ment to try but never got round to.