Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/03/16/review_gadget_thinkfood_red_eye_remote/
Thinkflood RedEye remote for iOS
Gadget mastery over Wi-Fi and the web.
Posted in Personal Tech, 16th March 2011 07:00 GMT
Review There are a number of apps and adaptors, such as the Gear4 Unity, which allow an iPhone to act as a universal remote control for your TV and other home entertainment kit. However, the RedEye from ThinkFlood is the most sophisticated remote control I’ve come across so far for this platform.
Remote possibilities: Thinkflood's RedEye
There are two versions of the RedEye available. I suspect that many people will be quite happy with the RedEye Mini, which is a simple infra-red transmitter that costs about £50. It plugs into the audio socket on the iPhone and allows you to beam commands directly to your TV and other devices. However, on test is the more advanced and thus more expensive RedEye Dock, which comes in at a hefty £204.
As the name implies, this model looks like a fairly conventional plastic dock that allows you to charge up an iPod or iPhone. However, the Dock unit also has an infra-red transmitter and Wi-Fi networking built into it.
This allows you to connect the RedEye Dock to an existing wireless network so that you can use your iPhone as a controller from any room in your home that has a Wi-Fi signal. So if the kids are playing Glee at full volume in the front room, you can exert your parental authority from a distance and turn the volume down from the kitchen.
Remote functions can be controlled from a web page too
You can also control the RedEye Dock from any computer on your network simply by entering its IP address into your web browser. And, if you’re au fait with the mysteries of VPN – virtual private networking – it’s even possible to control the RedEye Dock remotely over the Internet too.
Admittedly, I did struggle to get the RedEye set up properly at first, as configuring the app that you instal on your iOS devices isn’t as straightforward as it could be.
Commands and Activity creation
Like most universal remote controls, the RedEye Dock can be programmed to control a device such as a TV simply by entering the manufacturer’s name and locating the relevant control codes from a database maintained by Thinkflood.
Once that’s been done the various commands available for your particular TV are bizarrely presented as a long alphabetical list on your iPhone screen – which means that you have to scroll down to ‘P’ in order to select the ‘Power’ command, or ‘V’ to adjust the volume.
Activity list and controls
Fortunately, there’s also an option to set up ‘activities’ that allow you to combine commands for multiple devices – such as the ‘Watch TV’ activity, which I set to control my Samsung TV and Sky+ box simultaneously.
When you’ve set up an activity for your devices you then get a more useful graphical display of control buttons on the iPhone screen, which means that you can just tap the ‘Power’ or ‘Volume’ buttons, as required. Thinkflood also told me that they’re planning to add electronic programme guides for Sky, Virgin and Freeview, which should be available in an update for the app this month.
EPG app update coming soon to the UK
Verdict
Once you’ve worked through the initial set-up process the RedEye Dock does work very well and will appeal to home cinema buffs who are looking for a powerful, programmable universal remote control. The £204 price tag seems a bit steep, though, especially as Thinkflood are currently advertising it for $188 in the US (about £140 inc.VAT) and you could certainly find less expensive remote controls if you don’t mind giving up the capabilities of the RedEye’s web and Wi-Fi reach. ®
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