Best remote for XMBC
If you use the XMBC player, the excellent and unmatched open source media player, you could be in the market to buy a cool remote for yuor device, there are tonnes of useful remotes available for your XBMC player. There are a wide variety of different remotes to choose from, some people prefer to use a full featured Qwerty keyboard based remote, others prefer to settle with a more TV friendly remote control. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Blackberry Style Mini Wireless Keyboard)
2.4GHz Wireless Mini Keyboard with Touchpad
- Responsive keys and adequate touch pad area
- Ugly design
- Cheap and effective
Qwerty keyboard based remote (like the Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard)
2.4G 2.4GHz Wireless Rii Mini PC Keyboard Touchpad V2 Black
- Full advantage of a full size keyboard but without the bulk
- Can be used to completely set up the XBMC from scratch and use mouse cursor on screen.
- Can be flipped to use as a normal remote with normal play, skip, pause buttons as well as d-pad for navigation
- Compact and fits well in your hands
- Can be a bit too “crowded” if you just want a remote to perform quick tasks
Entertainment remote
Logitech Harmony 700 Advanced Universal Remote – Universal remote control – infrared
- Great all round remote with colour display
- Can be programmed from XBMC, cable and TV
- Harmony 700 is quite expensive, priced from $80-$100
Both of these remotes are high end and will serve you well. They’re high quality, buttons respond well, and both can work straight out of the box.
Whether you decide on a keyboard based remote (touchpad) or a entertainment remote will come down on the way you use yuor XBMC player, you should monitor your usage and find out exactly how often you actually use the Qwerty keys, if it’s a frequent occurrence for you, then you may prefer to use a keyboard. But typically, after setting up the box, it’s rare that people have to use a keyboard.
