Keyboard compatibility.

[gh_speedyg]

I have a pvr150 with the IR blaster. Am I able to use a MCE keyboard (the wireless one with the mouse built in) with this IRblaster?

The guy at the pc shop says it only works with MCE, but normally, people on these forums know much more than the guys in pc stores.

[andrew_macaluso]

Are you talking about an MCE Keyboard interfacing with the Hauppauge IR receiver, or will the keyboard come with its own IR receiver?

[gh_speedyg]

There are 2 versions available
Microsoft Remote Keyboard & Microsoft Remote Keyboard-OEM
I'm assuming that the first one comes with the IR receiver (it's $30 more) but my pvr card has an IR receiver. Will it not work with the keyboard? I do not have Media Center or a Media Center Edition card.

So I would like to know;
1-can I use the OEM KB with my hauppage irblaster
2-will the keyboard work without having windows MCE?

[andrew_macaluso]

Well, I'm certainly not an expert, but I'll give you my opinion:

1) This is really if'y. Using the MCE IR keyboard with the IR receiver for your Hauppauge remote will most certainly (and obviously) not be natively supported by any of the Hauppauge programs or drivers. However, there is a slight chance that the IR receiver hardware will accept the IR signals from the keyboard and you could use some other software to accept the commands. Such software might include HIP, eventghost, IR Server, etc. I have recently become a vocal supporter of IR Server because it seems much easier to use and program than what I was using earlier (HIP), and it might work for you since it seems to have some sort of built in support for Hauppauge hardware. However, this is a personal thing and you should really explore this for yourself. Either way, it is a long shot. If it works at all, then it still might require a lot of work (i.e. meticulously learning every code for every button on your keyboard and then telling it to correspond to the appropriate keystroke for the computer). You might consider someone else's opiniong better than mine if they have more experience than me. I have only used MCE remotes, and have never messed with an MCE keyboard.

2) I know for sure that most, if not all, MCE remotes work on versions of Windows with out Media Center. I can only assume (but I really expect) that the keyboards should do the same. You might require some of the software I talked about before to get it to interface appropriately (HIP, IR Server, Intelliremote, Girder, Eventghost, etc), but then again, this would be the case even if you had Media Center.

[gh_speedyg]

I think I've decided to just buy a regular wireless kb & mouse so I don't run into problems. I expect that I will use the mouse fairly little, and the keyboard even less, so O don't want to have huge problems dealing with them.

[Mattv]

I have a Hauppauge PVR 150 MCE and using the IR reciever that came with that I have no problem using the Microsoft Remote Keyboard with Vista Media Center.

Slightly hijacking this topic - does anyone here know if the buttons on the keyboard "My TV" "Live TV" etc would have full or any functionality with GBPVR?