Adesso ARC-1100

Introduction

The Adesso ARC-1100 has two parts: an IR receiver with USB cable and a remote control that is like many other Media Center remotes. What distinguishes this product from other remote control solutions is it looks like a USB keyboard and mouse to the computer. As a result:

• It can interact with a boot menu.
• It is more responsive than LIRC based remote control solutions. Multiple key presses don’t get lost like they tend to with LIRC solutions, so you can more quickly:
  • Navigate through lists using cursor and page keys.
  • Increase fast forward and rewind speeds.
• If some dialog pops up when you least expect it, like Update manager or a warning about pressing the eject button on your DVD burner, you can dismiss the dialog using the remote's keys, or you can raise Mythfrontend's window by clicking on it using the remote’s mouse functionality.
• It is affordable. I got it on sale from newegg in October, 2009, along with a 10% off coupon, for less than $25 USD (that includes shipping).
• It can be used to train a learning remote. I use the Sony RM-VL710 and RM-VL600, which replaced the 710. According to Sony’s web site, the 600 was retailing for $24.99 USD in November, 2009.

There are some drawbacks:

• Configuring this remote is a little more complicated than configuring an LIRC based remote. That’s because you need to use two different mechanisms (xmodmap and editing MythTV key bindings) to get full use of the remote, as opposed to editing a single LIRC configuration file.
• Some keys are duplicates of others, like Play and Pause.
• Some keys are effectively duplicates because they generate Ctrl+Shift seqences and because MythTV ignores the Shift state.
• You will lose your xmodmap configured keys if you plugin/unplug the IR receiver or a USB keyboard and will need to execute the xmodmap command to restore those keys.

If the pros outweigh the cons, as they do for me, keep reading.