Reddit reviews Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard N5901

No No No, THIS is what you want. I win.

It's actually very comfortable and natural when using =]

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

I use one of these (came with my little nettop), which removes the need for a mouse/keyboard tray:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

I wouldn't want to surf reddit with one, but it's good enough for starting a movie.

Lenovo makes one as well. Personal experience? Fucking stellar. Though I don't think they make them anymore. Not sure.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

XBMC Remote, Gmote remote and Unified Remote are all Android apps that I use for controlling my htpc from my phone and tablet. I also have a wireless keyboard, a cheapo Windows Media remote (have never used) and that lenovo. All have their uses.

Yeah, I am constantly looking for good living room Keyboards.

I currently use my iphone with Hippo Remote, and this as a backup:
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

(There is a new better version out - http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=460&Code=57Y6678&category-id=4C2830F486C64CF7A8A1E619AB6729AA&hide_menu_area=yes )

But I would love a good full keyboard that I could potentially use to play games or type quickly.

The one I am interested in is the lenovo.

I am pretty happy with this... Lenovo remote

The biggest drawback is that the keyboard is not back lit.

edit: I see it on sale for $30 fairly often on Techbargains.

I have a Lenovo N5901. I'd consider it a must have. There's a newer version: Lenovo N5902. You would also need to buy a Bluetooth adapter.

Great question. I've tried a number of things and each one has it's benefits and negatives.




The first one I bought was back in 2009. It's the Adesso ARC-1100 MCE Infrared Remote Control. It's cheap and does what it needs to do. The mouse was controlled by the rubber circle in the middle to where you press down in the direction you want to move it. The mouse movement begins slow and begins to accelerate the longer you have it held down. This was tricky to get used to but I've used this for an HTPC for a couple of years. Windows has an on-screen keyboard you're able to use to type. It does take a lot longer than having a physical wireless keyboard.




So I transitioned to the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard which was on sale on Lenovo's website a few years ago for about $30 new. My brother recommended it. I still use this keyboard trackball combo to this day on the HTPC in the living room. The trackball is very responsive. The keyboard is responsive but the buttons are small so there is the occasional mistype if you're not careful. Battery life is excellent. After owning it for a few months I wished it had a back-lit keypad. Lenovo eventually released a back-lit keypad version for about $10-$20 more.




As a cheap alternative I have also purchased a Mini 2.4g I8 Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad to use on a secondary system. It was about $13-$15 new off of eBay a couple of years ago. It comes with a Li-Io battery that's rechargeable and a USB cable for charging. The track pad is responsive. The keypad has rubberized buttons and nice clicks when typing. The only concern was the reception. I had to plug the USB dongle to the front of the PC to get more distance and response. Battery life is decent but so far it's been running for a couple of years. This keypad works well when I build PC's since it's ultra portable and includes the "F" or function keys at the top unlike the Lenovo keypad. It also looks nice in white but I then found there are black ones available as well which is my preference.






EDIT: Paragraph spacing

I have this similar one for my htpc, it's great.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-with-Keyboard/dp/B0036VO67I/ref=pd_cp_e_4

I own a Boxee Box, 1st Gen AppleTV running crystalbuntu (Linux w/ XMBC + CrystalHD/1080p support) and a little set-top PC running Plex.

Here is my consensus.

Easiest:

If you primarily want to watch streaming content like Netflix, Vudu movie rentals, and other various content from the web, the boxee is a real winner. It organizes and helps you locate content from around the web and puts it into and easy to use 10ft interface. The keyboard isn't backlit which is annoying, and the interface can slow down a bit during load.

I've also found that every once in a while it needs a reboot just because. (Especially after a larger movie like 1080i)
Also, Boxee Box sucks for large high quality files. It locks up with 1080p .ts files, (or at least takes 1-4minutes to load) and lots of .mkv files make it cry/slideshow. Most content on the web is 720p or less.

Moderate skills:

If you primarily watch video content that you have downloaded, a set-top pc is (IMO) the winner. You can put in hardware that can actually handle 1080p without croaking. Your selection of input devices is much, much larger, and you don't have to worry about something coming out that your device can't support.

The other advantage is that you can set up that set-top pc to be your media downloading/storing device. Transmission, Sabnzbd+ w/ Sickbeard + Couchpotato + Headphones can automate the entire process and give you what amounts to an internet based DVR (With music too.) You could even install Subsonic and serve the music to your phone to stream while you're away.

Tech savvy:

If you watch mostly local content, but also want to be able to rent stuff easily, a 1st gen AppleTV with crystalbuntu is the best/cheapest solution. You can pick up a used ATV for around $50 on craigslist and get a CrystalHD card for ~$40. This will handle 1080p files for less than $100 as long as you have some technical know-how and a free usb stick >4GB (Or don't mind formatting the internal HDD) You can even remove the USB stick and boot into ATV to use their rental service for instant access to films giving you a sort of "Best of both worlds"

Of course, with all it's strengths, a set-top PC/Hacked ATV requires you to build/install/configure/modify all of it. For many people, that alone is the killer feature of a boxee box.

It should work, with a couple of caveats.

1. You will likely lose the ability to turn the Boxee on using the menu key, or its equivalent on this new remote.
   
2. The Boxee native remote is RF, and therefore does not need line-of-sight to work. This one, being infra-red, will need line-of-sight. I guarantee this will cause problems when using the keyboard, as you will be forced to hold it at a certain angle, and you'll find yourself re-typing frequently due to missed key-presses. You're really better off with another RF remote.
   
3. Some of the keys on the new remote may not map properly, i.e. you press the key for backslash, and you get a dash symbol instead.
   
   If my remote ever dies, I intend to replace it with this one from Lenovo. It's RF, which should make it a much better solution. It's also expensive. :(

xpadder..

or you can get a pretty cool wireless keyboard/trackpad such as this..

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

or this

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UE52ME

I have this and love it. Works very well in my apartment. Also, if you have a smart phone, you can use that as a trackpad/mouse as your computer.

You can usually find the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard on sale quite a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-with-Keyboard/dp/B0036VO67I

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I if you aren't sure what I'm talking about here's an example.

I've been using Lenovo Multimedia Remote Only issue is I wish the keys were back lit.

I used to be all old school in my living room like that. Then I got this:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-with-Keyboard/dp/B0036VO67I

Now instead of having to whip out a big ol keyboard and have a mouse rolling around on my couch only working half the time because mice were not meant to roll around on a couch, I just have this sucker next to my remote control (Harmony One)

Of course, if you are talking about using a keyboard/mouse combo at a desk, then duh why would you want something else.

>I need something that can get me closer to the tv

Small font size can be a problem with HTPCs, which is why good HTPC software includes a 10 foot user interface. These include XBMC and kylo for internet browsing.

>something with a keyboard and mouse tray

Aside from PC gaming, you can avoid this requirement with some research. merreborn's suggestion looks promising. I use a gyration air music remote and love it. Even with PC gaming, many people find game-pads more living-room friendly. With the right software, you can even use a game-pad as a mouse/keyboard replacement.

>I would also prefer the chair to be small enough to fit in a corner of the room when I'm not using it.

When you can do everything from the couch, it makes any extra sometimes-used furniture completely unnecessary.

For anything you need to do that isn't available in a 10' UI (such as torrenting or the like), consider a netbook or tablet for computing from the couch.

In any case, I would recommend getting in the paradigm of using an HTPC from the couch. It's such a better experience... or else move your TV to your desk. I've done the chair-in-the-living-room thing, and its the worst of both worlds.

Assuming that by "create a media server" your intent is to view content on your TV from a computer, I would do as follows:

Pull the good drive and put it in the other laptop (if they are both the same drive type), or alternatively, if the laptop with the bad screen is a better laptop, just use that and set it up with your TV as an external monitor since you won't need the screen anymore anyway.

Format/reinstall the OS (doesn't really matter what OS).
Install XBMC, or Plex, or Boxy, or whatever media server app you choose.
Connect to your TV via HDMI, or DVI to HDMI, or whatever you need to do to convert it.
Done!


Personally, I prefer XBMC. Oh, and get one of these, or something similar.

Also:
http://www.reddit.com/r/xbmc/

http://www.reddit.com/r/htpc

Good luck!