Shape HTPC Remote Control Discontinued
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Fractal Design Shape HTPC Remote Control

Shape HTPC remote control offers unique abilities to control your Windows Media Center application.

Fractal Design’s Shape HTPC remote control offers unique abilities to control your Windows Media Center. With its easy-to-use joystick in the centre, you can control the pointer similar to a mouse. At last, there is no need to have that extra mouse or keyboard lying around on your living room table!

The remote control is specifically designed to be used with Windows Media Center (XP, Vista or Windows 7) and has a range of practical hot keys such as record, power, channel up/down etc. A sleek-looking black USB IR receiver with a long cable is included in the package. Just connect it to any spare USB port and it installs itself. Through this IR receiver, the remote control will simulate both a mouse and a keyboard. Thus, every key on the remote control corresponds to a certain key combination on the keyboard. This affords many creative possibilities to configure the remote control to work with software other than Windows Media Center, but it is highly recommended to use it primarily for Media Center control.

Please note: Since the Shape HTPC remote comprises a special mouse and keyboard simulating solution, you cannot use other types of IR receivers with the Shape remote.

Shape HTPC remote control IR receiver

Features

External IR receiver for Windows Media Center
Simulates a mouse and a keyboard
Includes 2 AAA batteries
Up to 10M range

Review

AZCS.co.uk

The Fractal Design Shape HTPC Remote Control is one of the best looking remotes that we have had in for review. It looks modern, stylish and well made. Overall, it outperformed others that were tested on all accounts and comes highly recommended for any media servers.

Specifications	HTPC Remote
Dimensions	W52 x L191 x H32mm
Weight	98g (without batteries)
IR Distance	8-10 meters
Carry frequency	38 kHz
Batteries	2 x AAA (included)
Compatibility	Windows XP and Vista (32bit or 64bit)
Warranty	24 months
EAN barcode	7350041080176

Specifications	HTPC Remote
Dimensions	W52 x L191 x H32mm
Weight	98g (without batteries)
IR Distance	8-10 meters
Carry frequency	38 kHz
Batteries	2 x AAA (included)
Compatibility	Windows XP and Vista (32bit or 64bit)
Warranty	24 months
EAN barcode	7350041080176

Customer Reviews

The best... around!

Anonymous, 17th November 2010

This remote is the best around, bar none, for controlling a Windows-based home theater personal computer (HTPC). I use it seamlessly for Windows Media Center (yes, even for Windows 7, 64-bit), ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater 3, Hulu Desktop, and Boxee. The only pain is that the navigation buttons (play, pause, FF/rewind, etc.) don’t work in Boxee or Hulu out of the box, but you can install and use a free software called Eventghost which can translate keypresses for a multitude of programs, and/or reconfigured so the remote does a lot of things it was not intended to do.

The mouse knob is great, even if a touch slow, and the strangely-placed and often-used “OK” button (and its counterpart, the “Back” button) is great when you don’t want to aggravatingly attempt to double-click icons and functions with the mouse knob’s center-push-to-click function.

I set up the IR box about 20 feet from my living room couch and chair and it never misses a signal. This is superb!

Nice remote

Norman Mackay, 17th February 2010

Used this remote for developing a hotel TV system.

The only slight question mark is over build quality, out of 10 units the receiver unit has failed on two but overall a very robust remote and works well considering it’s used in a commercial system so for home use it’s up to the job and far better than some higher priced alternatives.