Reddit reviews Rii i8 2.4G Mini Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad＆QWERTY Keyboard, Portable Wireless Keyboard with USB Receiver Remote Control for laptop/PC/Tablets/ Windows/Mac/TV/Xbox/PS3/Raspberry Pi .Black

Same. I have a 46" above my setup to watch movies in my bed from behind. I use this little cute thing to control my computer from anywhere in my room, so its extra convenient not having to get up to turn up/down the volume.

UPDATE

Hey guys, love all the comments and Questions, here is some info for those who care and want to know.


Products Used*


Touchscreen Bought Mine at MCM electronics.


Raspberry Pi2


Speakers


Amp


Keyboard



Software Running


Get Noobs on a SD/MicroSD card here

Use Noobs to boot and install Rasbian

Install KODI from add remove programs or terminal "sudo apt-get install kodi"

Install NPR and VevoTV in Kodi.



Cool Idea


User /benjimons has a really cool idea on his screen showing his webcams and other good info

User/agent-squirrel mentioned Dashing for a cool UI, I looked a little into it and it seems pretty cool



Dog Info

I don't know HomeDepots official dog policy, but yes, he goes with me all the time there, employees all love him, he is NOT a service dog, and lots of Dogs are in there. I usually see this in HomeDepots that are deeper in residential areas, not so much in a more industrial area...

Thanks, he's a great pup, we call him WiFi because of his Antenna's

personally I prefer this one because the layout suites 2 thumb typing better

https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard-Android/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485555481&sr=8-2&keywords=rii

The DK2 camera gives a much larger tracking space the further you get from the camera, with 5 feet away being the ideal minimum. However, many demos want you to press a key to reset your position once in place or to adjust settings, which is difficult to do without exceptionally long arms.

I went with this $15 bluetooth mini keyboard+touchpad originally intended for media center PC use. It just takes a couple minutes to learn where common keys are and you can then reset your position and control demos from afar which dramatically improves the available tracking space compared sitting at most desks where you're only a couple of feet from the camera.

I use an MK808b, it was $44 and runs Android 4.1 so you can also play Android games and run other Android apps, and one of these $17 combo keyboard/mouse remote controls.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works great! Only thing I wish it has was a backlight. You can use the media buttons and touchpad. Just familiarize yourself with the keyboard controls. Very long lasting rechargeable battery. Works out of the box.

Edit - It also works fine with Ouya apps when you need to type text. Pick up one of these USB hubs if you don't have one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003M0NURK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

> I'm a little disappointed to see the table top computers are mostly obsolete.

I guess I missed the memo

Vintage table top computers are just fine to play against for most of us mortals (if you're solidly above 2000, it's a little tougher), and you can get some for very cheap and in good condition on eBay. The Kaplan machines are a great option (SciSys turbo 16k plays at around 1450 elo, GK2000 (my personal nemesis) plays at around 1900 elo, GK2100 plays at around 2050 elo) and are very common.

There is one "new" table top computer on the market - Millenium Chess Genius/Pro. The Pro version is reaching 2300 elo in some tests. And the engine that powers it is the same Chess genius codebase that your phone app uses. Build quality is not as good as my favorite GK 2000, but at least someone is still making these.

> My plan is to mirror most of the me vs computer games over a real board. Is that how a lot of you do it?

Yes I do this, and I do this in games vs human players online (providing the time control is long enough to do this) as well.

> Not sure if something like hiarcs is worth it over lucus?

If you buy hiarcs I would recommend getting it with the Fritz interface.

When playing VS software engine, what I do is use a mini wireless keyboard (this), disable the board in my GUI, enlarge the score sheet and change the font such that it can be read at a long distance. Then I take the mini keyboard, input the moves in algebraic notation with it, and glance at the screen to see the engine reply. This minimizes computer distraction, being glued to the screen, and re-creates the feeling of taking notation in a tournament game as much as possible. Fritz GUI will also read it's moves aloud to you in speech, but I did not find that useful. I wanted to code something to use voice recognition API so that I could speak my moves, but didn't do it yet.

> Chess genius and shredder seem to be the best phone apps I've found so far.

For playing against, yes. For analysis, some stockfish variant is the way to go.


> However I'm hesitant to buy shredder as it appears to be abandoned. I like the ability to adjust the computer player by elo rating.

Shredder (along with HIARCS) is the most humanlike engine on the market and it's elo restriction is top notch. It's well worth the small price for the mobile version, but I'd consider the PC version too. I own both and use both, myself.

I don't think it is abandoned, but if it were, I wouldn't really fret too much -- it's pretty much perfect as it is.

Thanks, I was wondering about keyboards on Ouya.

That is a nice compact keyboard. I have one of those on a PC that's installed in a limited space.

Another, smaller keyboard that I have (used on one of my Pi's) is this one

I feel that one is a bit pricey.

Much cheaper

pic

You can get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-H7-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=lp_1194464_1_12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1406826186&sr=1-12

Or if you don't like the touch pad you can get a motion sensing remote like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Onedayshop%C2%AE-Multifunction-Wireless-Keyboard-3-Gsensor/dp/B00KXLS1GQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1406826313&sr=1-11&keywords=htpc

Sorry about the wait, it was a busy couple of days! The specs are below:

BOM:

• 1920x1080 touchscreen ADAFRUIT!
  
• 2.4GHz backlit wireless keyboard (similar)link
  
• Box Vaultz
  
• 20,000 mAhr Amazon Basics power bank similar
  
  Beyond that its just a bunch of soldering, wiring, cardboard, and tape. I'm still trying to reduce the volume of all the cabling so that I can pack more in. I need speakers, a power switch, and I'd like to add a small USB hub.

Those are nice, especially with xbmc, but i would recommend the controller style. They have a better feel and are easier to use in my opinion. Around 15 on amazon. Can give you a link later as well if you want

Here it is
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

I'm using a Rii8, it has backlighting unlike the Hausbell:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA

Skip fake coin door with buttons, just do a real coin door at that point. Easy to wire one up to an ipac or similar depending on what you are doing for an encoder. If you don't want to do the real coin door, you can also just put a yellow button next to each players start button for coin.

Pause, reset, and menu shouldn't have there own buttons. They can be done with shift keys and would be much cleaner looking. For example, holding 1 player start and pressing player 2 start can exit a game. Then you can have holding player 1 start and pulling down on the stick can pause. Reset is so rarely needed that you wouldn't want a button for it, but it is easy enough to add a shift key for it if you would like.

I've played a lot of video pinball, and I do enjoy it for the most part. I have been spoiled by playing it on setups designed exclusively for it however. Virtual pinball really needs to played on a big vertically oriented screen to get the right effect. Any real pinball machine completely outclasses virtual so just be aware that those are easy enough to find. With those things in mind I would say skip the pinball stuff for now.

How you want to do your sound setup will best determine how to deal with volume. Some folk use an amp and home theater rear speakers, or car audio speakers. If you were to go that route I would say just hide the actual knob somewhere that is easy to access. Maybe up near the power switch that you would want to mount near the top right side of the machine, above and behind the marquee. Some decent 2.1 pc speakers come with a volume knob that could easily be mounted in that spot as well. If you are determined to do it in software, you can use shift keys as mentioned earlier.

Here is the controversial opinion: Don't bother 6 buttons per player. I find that while many of those 6 button fighting games are great, they just don't get played enough to warrant all of those buttons. If you need to scratch that fighting game itch you can go with something Neo Geo, like Last Blade 2, Samurai Showdown 2, or Garou. All of which are amazing games by the way.

I would also say don't bother with a keyboard and mouse tray. Just adds another level on complexity that isn't needed. Just use a wireless mouse keyboard combo and throw it on top of the cab when you aren't using it. I personally use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TL;DR Less is more

I have this guy: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But it mostly sits in a drawer, use it only for when I need to type in password for driver updates, etc.

I haven't tried it. I have been using this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I love this thing. It doesn't need any driver downloads, connects quickly, very quick charge, really long battery life. I never remember to turn this thing off, but it has an auto off feature. you just press any key to wake it back up. It has a surprisingly good range too. it's just not as pretty as that one though.

You could get a mini keyboard with the wireless dongle. I have one for my pi and it works great.

http://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard-Touchpad/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=pd_cp_pc_1

I have this one:
Rii I8 Mini 2.4Ghz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard With Mouse For Pc, Pad, Xbox 360, Ps3, Google Android Tv Box, Htpc, Iptv (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_pLXxwbQ9HZ24T

It works well. The home button doesn't work. However, the script like "e" button directly below the home button actually works as a home button. That "e" button can invoke firestarter and the sleep/mirror/settings menu. Magnifying search button brings up text search. Media D-pad on left works (not volume). Two finger scroll on trackpad works.

Edit: no menu button like remote

You can pick up a mini keyboard on Amazon for ~20$. Also try chrome remote desktop for shutting off you computer from an app on your phone.

https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard-Android/dp/B00B9996LA

For emulators you want faster single core performance.

You can look for HTPC cases. Silverstone makes some nice ones that fit in entertainment centers. I've got a Silverstone GD06 for my living room HTPC. I also game on it with an xbox 360 controller.

Bluray players for Windows suck. There are no free ones so you'll have to pay for one. Sometimes your bluray drive may come with software bundled to do this.

You'll still need something like an air mouse to navigate the OS when not using the xbox controller. Or just a wireless keyboard + trackpad.

I have a tronsmart Vega S89-H, different box but similar hardware.

1. No clue, sorry. If I had to guess though, I'd say probably. I've encountered almost zero apps that don't work on these devices. I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard the new amazon streaming app doesn't work yet. That's about it though.
   
   
2. You can download paid apps.
   
   
3. You can change the launcher. I am currently using Holo Launcher on mine.
   
   I've also heard good things about the Minix Neo line, but I decided to go for the tronsmart because it was recommended to me by another redditor, it has good reviews on Amazon and because it was significantly cheaper. I'm not recommending one over the other, but the vega may be a good option if you want to save a few bucks. You may also want to look at any RK3288 boxes you can find, that is one of the newest chips and may have some good boxes built on it, although I couldn't find one when I purchases the vega.
   
   It isn't necessary, but I got this remote control to use with my vega:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=YEA53M3RQ14Z&coliid=I3NDYOKM45H6GL&psc=1
   
   The remotes that come with these devices aren't always the best and I find this one much more useful. You can also use an android tablet or phone to control it, but I kind of like this better.
   
   Good luck with your purchase!

http://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-H7-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA

cheaper versions are available on the interwebs.

Here are examples of wireless remotes that will work with it (via dongle).

Hausbell for 15.99

Logitech K400 for 24.99

about q2: I have this one connected: https://www.amazon.com/Rii-I8-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA/ and it's working brilliantly, so I would expect yes

Yeah, I've considered buying one of these anyway. It's something that will be mostly used on my laptop, but this will give me a media center feel if I want to control my laptop from further away (like set it on a desk/table and open up some videos and such).

I think the big question is how fast does the computer need to be and how much money are you willing to put into it?

As was already mentioned, you can get a Raspberry Pi for use as a media center. With the addition of a large USB stick or an external hard drive you can install Raspbian as the OS and XBMC as an application. This might require the addition of a small keyboard/mouse combo when in computer mode, but keyboards about the size of a game controller are available for less than $20. The biggest drawback here is that even the new Raspberry Pi model B+ only has 512 MB of RAM and can be a bit sluggish browsing the web. A Raspberry Pi with Wi-Fi, wireless keyboard, SD card, HDMI cable and power supply is still less than $100 though and is a bargain in my opinion. (I own four of them and currently run two 24/7. One functions as a media center and another is used as light duty Linux computer.)

If you need more power, consider an Intel NUC. Even the cheapest NUCs have Intel i3 processors in them and can run Windows or Linux. Most NUC PCs don't come with RAM or a hard drive though. This can easily push the price well past $400 dollars. Controlling one of these with VNC or XBMC Remote from your Android phone or tablet is simple once the remote software is installed.

You could also opt for something like a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or an Apple TV as well.

If you don't find something that suits your needs or your budget right now, wait a few weeks. New, more powerful, devices come on the market often and the older stuff gets sold on clearance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9996LA?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd

I’ve had mine 4 years now. The only thing I don’t like about it is the battery is weird looking but I haven’t had to replace it yet so I don’t know how weird.

Android TV Box with its rudimentary remote:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDCO22I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Remotes:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UE52ME/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Love my RasPlex but wish the interface wasn't so painfully slow at times.

I use this little mini-keyboard and it makes the setup very easy to use.

I got one of these:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9996LA

And it works well, but I ended up also getting this:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J2LIC44 (EDIT: Looks like this one is discontinued so the price is high. Don't pay more than $50 for it.)

A full size keyboard + touchpad is way more convenient than a little thumb keyboard when typing shell commands.

People who use these. Because of the tiny trackpad (and the distance from the screen) you want something with larger buttons that is very tolerant of inaccurate clicking. Most desktop-based programs aren't.

We use something like this

Looks like an Rii I8

Amazon has some.

I currently run a Gaming Rig/Media PC, so I might be able to help you out. If you're looking to stream throughout the house, Plex is the obvious choice, but I would recommend using Kodi on your main TV, if the PC is going to be hooked up to it.

I would also recommend this keyboard
it is pretty small and works really well. If the PC is hooked directly to the TV, it is easy enough to just use a web browser for Netflix/Hulu

For ripping blurays I would suggest using MakeMKV for the initial rip and handbrake for the compression. Also Filebot is a great naming tool that I use a lot.

Just get a simple Miniature wireless keyboard for $20.

https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard-Android/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=pd_lpo_147_lp_t_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=345KMKAS81DCW6T2E24A

I've played around with plex in the past. The thing is, if I already need a PC running to be the server, what's the point of putting a client on another machine.

It would be awesome of have a media front end (or app) like plex on the PS4.

I'm definitely heading down the route of media center. Looking at either of these keyboards to control it.

https://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-H7-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA

https://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-Portable-Bluetooth-Controller-Smartphones/dp/B00BX0YKX4

That's pretty much what I am doing. I use an android tv box and a fire stick . The one nice thing about the tv is you can use a USB keyboard/remote. There is a remote I used with my raspberry pi. It may work on the tv. I think it has backlight. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OKghzb5DJN9WW

i've been using this one for several years for a gen2 ftv

rii mini

full functionality except for voice control

I think that paste may be from the thread he mentions there. I can get the keyboard to try and pair, but it won't allow me to input the code and push enter. I think pressing the power button for 10 seconds from off should put it in pairing mode, but from there you're basically screwed.

http://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-H7-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398827669&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=hauswell+htpc+keyboard this allegedly works.

So far this has been my favorite. The mouse side of things is fairly responsive, the arrow keys are placed in a good spot to use as the primary method of navigation in xbmc. The back space key, ideally would be one step higher up. But it's still not too bad.

I think the biggest downside for you would be lack of keyboard lighting. Otherwise I love the thing. And it's only $15.

That said, I have another similar looking one. And it's terrible. The keys are stiff, and the reception is outright terrible. I swear it struggles at anything over a distance of four feet. So avoid the black one, and go for the white if you're interested.

Wow, that looks like a good option too. I've actually been looking into these:

https://www.amazon.com/Rii-I8-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/RUPA-Backlight-bluetooth-Multi-media-rechargeable/dp/B01JG1YXFG/ref=sr_1_3?

ie=UTF8&qid=1473112481&sr=8-3&keywords=handheld+keyboard+mouse+combo+gaming

https://www.amazon.com/UPPEL-Wireless-Touchpad-Keyboard-Android/dp/B011KRRYNM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1473112481&sr=8-9&keywords=handheld+keyboard+mouse+combo+gaming

And maybe having the PS3 controller on standby... But that right there is definitely an option, I bet I even have a chat pad and controller laying around somewhere. Thanks man!

Bluetooth keyboards don't work to well in my experience. I use this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_NY2Vtb1169YWP and it works great. Tried a Bluetooth first and it didn't work at all

Air mouse is the best

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9996LA/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1473356540&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=air+mouse