Hi All,
Im building up my htpc and the wife has decided that she wants me to go with a wireless mouse and KB. I need about 25 feet of range maybe more. Anyone have any good tales to tell about kb/mouse sets that DONT cost an arm and a leg....?

Any help is appreciated.
Seems like everything I look at is either 6 foot range or a bazillion dollars...

SJ

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...149&hl=wireless

If you're building a HTPC for Windows MCE then this might be worth a look.

From what I can gather it doesn't come with the IR receiver (??). I know the receivers come with the MCE remote, but I don't know if you can buy them separately. The MCE remote is very good.

Normal RF probably won't make it and apart from the MCE keyboard I don't know of any other IR keyboard's available. Bluetooth would be the only way to go.

The MCE one is selling for around $100 Aussie pesos.
The MS bluetooth multimedia keyboard+mouse is going for about $200, about the same for the Logitech one.

Personally, I'm using MCE and I'm just using a standard wireless KB/M on a USB extension cable so the receiver's nearby. Once within MCE, the remote is really all you need, unless you're going to use the PJ for surfing or typing.

Well, Im dying to see World of Warcraft on this screen. I think my wife would get a huge kick out of it. I like the idea of the USB extension, but for me to do that would be a 25 foot cable. Still...

Hmmmmm..... any other ideas?

I am not currently planning on using the MCE due to the DRM restrictions looming in the near future.

I have this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1089890170852

I got it for 100$ after MIR but you need XP. Works very well though.

What do you get for range with it?

I use an older model of this keyboard/mouse combo. I really like the fact that the mouse can be used in mid-air... gets a bit used to doing this, but doesn't take long... can also be used as a regular mouse... auto-senses. The keyboard is small... much like a laptop keyboard, which for my application is a plus (small and easy to use). The received (USB connection) has a 5' cord. It will do the 30' it states, but I found that placement of the receiver is key... too close to the PJ and there is certain interference... most likely caused by ballast/lamp or something... The other thing here is price... I got my setup for about $60 with it being on sale w/ rebate... at that time it was retailing for $120 if I remember correctly... now that they have the new and improved version I guess they can raise the price... I certainly wouldn't buy it at $140... only if I found a deal somewhere...

only my 2 cents...

good luck,
gs

My experience with RF units has been mixed as far as range is concerned. I'd guess almost any RF unit won't hack it in your environment.

My coworker has a bluetooth unit that he says he can walk all around the room with.

Personally, I've been searching high and low for a NATURAL wireless keyboard - the kind that is humped in the middle, bent, and split. Anyone know of one of these that utilized bluetooth? I've been using ergonomic keyboards for many years now and I seriously cannot type on a standard, flat, straight keyboard very well anymore. I figure I'll find one eventually but I just can't believe EVERYONE doesn't use the ergonomic style.

Of course, not everyone can actually type. Single and double finger pickers likely don't care and might actually be hindered by the split keyboards.

I'm a StarCraft fan myself. WoW is interesting though . . .

I predict . . .

Wireless device search
shall bear fruit in near future.
Best wishes SJ.

Very Nice!
Microsoft makes a natural KB that is bluetooth. Its 200 dollars, however...

Very Nice Keyboard
Heck it almost runs itself
I wont eat for weeks

Hehehe:)

My thoughts on the matter after looking for something similar and trying a few things:

1) I also was looking for a "natural" split keyboard, couldnt find a good wireless one though,
ended up scrapping that idea. Bought a wireless mouse first and kept the wired keyboard.
The mouse was good, but only had 6-8 ft range, this was a Logitech MX300 one I believe
(not at home at the moment). I liked the mouse and how it felt, plus it had a built in
battery and recharger stand. I'm still using it.

2) I bought a MS bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo because it was supposed to have 30'
range and I wanted something I could use in the living room (about 15' from comp). I
don't have the projector yet, but the computer is hooked up to my tv, and this way I
wouldn't have to move to change .avi's

There were Pros:
- Range was good. Didn't test to see how far it would go, but it worked fine at 15' which my
other mouse wouldnt. I could hook this back up and test it if you want.

And Cons:
- Bluetooth doesn't kick in until windows is booted, so no mouse before then. This is usually
OK for the mouse, but you can't use the keyboard for selecting which OS to boot if you
dual boot, or to change BIOS settings. Need to keep a wired keyboard around if you're
going to make the switch, or borrow one when you need it. Not a huge deal, but something
to keep in mind.

- No built in battery. I didn't think this was a big deal as it was advertised as 6 month battery
life. This *may* be the case for the keyboard, but the mouse lasted 1.5 weeks with brand
new AA's. This was with what I would consider "moderate" use. Your results may vary. I
much prefer my other mouse that I can just stick in the charger when I'm not using it. It
lasts a few days / charge without charging, but doesn't take long to charge and I can just
leave it in there most of time.

- The keyboard, in order to save battery life, goes into sleep mode when not used for 30-60
seconds. This is bloody annoying as most of the time when you go to type something, it's in
sleep mode and ends up missing the first few characters of what you type and you have to
go back and re-enter them. I eventually started just hitting the spacebar then waiting 5
seconds before typing every time I wanted to use it.

- mouse also doesn't move as smoothly as my Logitech wireless. There's a time lag, even
when close range to the receiver.

So, that's a few things to consider when purchasing from my experience. After using these I
can tell you that I went back to the old natural keyboard and better mouse for most of the time
and took the batteries out of the bluetooth set. They are still set up and installed, and I may
use them at some point if I really need the range, but that's about it.

Chris

It works all around my room, but the room is only 12' x 10'. I can test it out later tonight.

You mean the Comfort Curve style? I'm so picky I don't like that one. I just came from the MS website but didn't see a true split ergonomic wireless design. Could you provide a link if what you're seeing is a split design?

I went to check it
but found only useless stuff.
Am I a blind bat?

Chris:
Thanks loads for that valuable info. Certainly some things I had both not known and/or never thought about. I have had similar experiences comparing Logitech to other brands of mice. Logitech has always come out ahead of the pack for me so far. My Logitech optical wireless mouse EATS batteries. Fortunately, I'm a big-time user of rechargeables and have sophisticated devices for charging and analyzing NiCad and NiMH cells from my other hobby pursuits.

ummmm,,, just run a extension for the usb port to somewhere closer,,, to the KB/mouse,, they dont work to well past about 6-8 feet, generally,, thats what i did to solve it,,

This is what I got.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1114638802895

It works really well. I love the dual function, you can use it as an air mouse and/or a desktop mouse. Great range too I used it 25 feet and it doesn't miss a beat.

I ended up buying the MS MCE keyboard without realizing you needed the a IR receiver So, I ended up buying the MS MCE remote also and I couldn't be happier with the combo The integration of MCE 2005, MCE keyboard and MCE remote is excellent

The greatest draw back to the keyboard is the horrible mouse nub. From 15' away I get decent response, but much further back and it's worthless. Also, it's only good for general browsing and not anything that requires control or response. I ended up getting a RF wireless mouse to use for the times I needed more precision. I added a USB extension to the RF receiver so I can use it from where I sit. It has a range of <3.

$124 is pricey, but you end up with a flexible and great combo for the money.

MCE remote $35 - pcalchemy.com
MCE keyboard $69 - pcalchemy.com
RF wireless mouse $20 – Home Depot

samuraijack: take it from someone who has reviewed a few different units and played arount with 5x as many as I have reviewed. If you wish to do some gaming I would Highly reccomend this set:
Logitech MX 5000 Bluetooth set
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16823126176

I have the MS bluetooth set and hat the mouse with a passion. The scroll wheel is absolute crap for gaming, it is extremely mushy and has no tactile feel to it. This logitech set however has the excellent laster mouse and a keyboard that has some media funtionality built in to it. Perfect for HTPC use. And also it is bluetooth so the range is great much better than nnormal RF sets

My other favorite keyboard is the MCE IR keyboard. As long as you have the MCE IR receiver it works great! For some reason the MCE IR reciver really does an excellent job with picking up the signal, I have never had a problem using it with games. Of course I am using another mouse along with it so.....

Both of those options give excellent range and operation. But the logitech hands down will be your best choice for gaming. I primarily built my HTPC for gaming ...yeah yeah sure movies and TV are done a lot too but my original intent was gaming. Which now I feel silly with this x850XT in the system while running @ 1024x768 but oh well lol, maybey I'll swap it out for my 6800 vanilla lol.

Now... before I have a ton of people hop on me about the Gyration stuff... yes Gyration is nice and can get good range... but I have had too many problems with two different sets. One set I cant use the keyboard and mouse at the same time, the other seems to skip out once in a while on the responsiveness. Neither were plugged in at the same time though.

After doing some research, I found Logitech wireless products to be the most recommended. I bought a Logitech RF model, and the range is about 10-15 feet.....6 feet through a wall. On a budget I've found this is as good as it gets. Here it is the 21st century and we can't get a simple RF keyboard to work further than 15 feet.

I also read from many sources the Gyration mouse is junk.....it breaks very easily.

Personally, I just returned a Logitech MX5000 bluetooth mouse/keyboard set. It (the mouse) lagged so bad that when you moved the mouse it would take about a half second and then start gliding on screen like a car skidding on ice - I had to lift it up from the table to get it to go back to normal sensitive mode.(it keeps gliding after you stop moving the mouse).

Not only that, but I took it to a LAN party, and the mouse died! it refused to sync - windows saw it, but when I went to move the mouse, nuthin!

To its credit, the keyboard worked great. The LCD screen was a nifty feature, and I got awesome range.

I do like Logitech though. The cordless laser mouse ROCKS. works on glass, even.


just my 2 cents. I hope it helps.

For real? Mine doesn't. It's one of the first things I tried. And I just tried it again now. Don't work.

SJ,

I use this KB / Mouse http://www.techexcess.net/ProductInfo.aspx...ctid=GP2100-001 and I love it. I've been using it for about 2 months now and it totaly rocks. I know $140.00 is alot for a KB / Mouse but it's worth it.

S4K

well, the glass i tried mine on was pretty scuffed up, i guess.

results may vary ?

Logitech diNovo bluetooth ultra-flat keyboard Media Desktop USD 249.95 ouch but you get what you pay for http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?countryi...&CONTENTID=7321 it owns :þ this will do 25ft no problem

i use logitec wireless, looks like the elite but wireless,
got it years ago my experience, THE KEYBOARD PWNES! i can use it to change the song in my room from the backyard!
the mouse on the other hand has a much shorter battery life and when is low on juice is lags up ( horrible for gaming), id say its cuz i use rechargeables even though it says DONT use rechargables, i just dont have enough $$ to throw away on batteries.

Overall though i like the wireless

this is working absolutely perfectly for my linux mythtv frontend -
The mouse has a gyro in it and I can use it in the air... plus the keyborad is really small and it runs through rf so I can actually use it upstairs, through walls, other end of the house, etc.


Got it off woot.com a few weeks ago.

Gyration Ultra GT Compact Keyboard Suite
$39.99 + $5 shipping
condition: Refurbished
product(s): 1 Gyration GP1100-001 Ultra GT Compact Keyboard Suite with Mouse

i have the Gyration mouse and keyboard. i've had it for years and it still works great. i love the fact you can use it in the air or on a surface. i got the pair for just under $100 at a local store.

I've never had any type of range problems, the receive has an adjustable antenna which seems to help.

not sure who said this breaks easily... i've dropped the mouse on my basements cement floor a dozen times and it keeps ticking!

the keyboard is smaller then the one on my laptop... the only thing i don't like is the stupid function key where the ctrl key should be...

At one time I was going to get one of those, so I read every online review I could find. There were a lot that said the thing broke very easily. Do you have a new one? I wonder if they changed the design?
Its a very cool idea.

Just picked up a Gyration wireless mouse and KB for 29.00 US. Should do the trick!

SJ

which mode did you buy and from where ? (if you don't mind)

on their website I couldn't find anything under $69.95 ?

What's the range for your model ?

Gyration Ultra Compact Keyboard Suite gp170-001
Got it from woot.com

25-30 foot range

just grabbed one also... $34.95 shipped!

just go to www.woot.com follow the instructions. This will likely be over in the next hour or so, so hurry!