Monster Cables is a company well-known for suing other people for uttering the word “monster” when not referring to their products. Oh, and they produce overpriced cables. Unfortunately it would seem that the poor economy and sheer amount of lawsuits over trademark infringement have really taken their toll on the company. As you can see from their latest product, the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, they had to let go their entire design team.
Normally I wouldn’t bother writing about a $50 universal remote, but this thin is too hideous to pass up. Sure, if it were coming from some unknown company out of China, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. Yet somehow this is being sold by Monster Cable. I suppose if you needed a remote to fit in with your living room which has been modeled after the original Enterprise, then this might do.
What do you get when you combine a couple of DDR dance mats for the PS2, a converter box allowing them to connect to a PC, some custom-written C# code and a set of Windows Media Center themed button graphics? Why the world’s largest Media Center Remote Control of course. Or at least the largest one I’ve ever seen. It’s a bit too physically involved for my liking, as you can see in the video below, but if you’re interested in making your own, the source code is available on the michbex.online website.
I’m still finding stuff from CES to write up, and one of the very first gadgets I had the chance to play with was the new Logitech Harmony 1100 universal remote. In fact, it turns out the person I was sitting next to on my flight to Vegas was the Logitech ‘demo guy’ for this product, so I had an ‘in’ even before the plane touched down. The Harmony 1100 is an upgrade to the 1000 model, and features a 3.5 inch color touch screen that’s complimented with a set of ’soft’ buttons on the sides, and dedicated volume and channel buttons to the right. Now these buttons technically duplicate functionality already found on the touch screen, but I like the fact that you can adjust the volume and change the channel without having to look away from the screen. Who knows when that crazy island from Lost might up and disappear again while you’re not paying attention?
And like with all the Logitech Harmony models, programming the 1100 to replace up to 15 different remotes is easy thanks to their guided online setup that currently supports more than 225,000 devices from over 5,000 brands. But if things get too complicated, the UI on the large touch screen can also be re-configured to show only the commands you want to see, even to the point of choosing a custom icon for each one. Now that large display does raise the issue of battery life, but the remote comes with a docking cradle, so whenever it’s not in use or lost, the battery should be recharging. (I think the Logitech rep suggested 3 or 4 days of use before it needed to be recharged.)
How many remotes do you have in your living room? Personally, I have three: one for the TV/cable box, one for my home theater system and one for my Xbox 360. At any given time, at least two of these are missing. Generally I’ve found that either I wandered off into another room and set one down, or the couch at it. Still, I spend more time searching for them than I’d like. That’s why something like this Remote Buddy Stylish could come in handy.
First, I would like to point out that despite its name, this thing doesn’t actually look all that stylish. It is useful in the respect that it not only provides a good place to set your remotes, but it will also locate them for you at the push of a button. It also provides a drink holder, so you don’t lose that too. You can get yours for right around $60.
You might already have a mountain of remotes sitting on your coffee table, but are any of them modeled after a classic 1950’s science fiction ray gun? I didn’t think so. While the Channel Changer Ray Gun can only be used to advance one channel at a time everytime you pull the trigger, it apparently also makes a cool sound effect each time. And if that’s not enough to sell you on the idea, I doubt there’s anything more I can say that will convince you to get one.
Living in the Midwest means that we usually have a decent amount of rain. Sure, there are times when the farmers complain that their crops are a bit dry, but you rarely see people watering their lawns due to dry weather. In other parts of the country that isn’t always the case. If you happen to live in one of those areas and don’t want to take the time to go outside and turn on and off the sprinklers, you might enjoy this Remote Rain Water Control.
Just hook this little gadget up to your water line and attach the hose. Then just keep the remote somewhere handy and press the button when you want to turn on or off the water. This is also good for playing pranks on people walking through your yard. After all, that “Do not walk on grass” sign is there for a reason.
Remember last year when we told you that those crazy Japanese pet feeders that you could control from anywhere? It seemed like just another one of those gadgets that only the Japanese would probably use, and thus would never be available over here. Well, I was wrong, someone has developed a similar feeder just for us here in the US.
Like the iSeePet360 you’ll have a decent-sized container for dry food, and a webcam for viewing your pet. You can choose to feed your pet on a timer, or do it manually. You can tune into the webcam to watch your pet eat (if that’s your thing) or simply have it automatically email pictures of your pet at each feeding. The best part? It only costs $298, which is almost $150 cheaper than the Japanese product.
Even though a lot of people were convinced the world would come to an end after Gizmodo’s TV-B-Gone stunt at CES, it seems the only real fallout will be security guards at future trade shows specifically keeping an eye out for the little device. So if you were hoping to be completely unoriginal and pull the exact same stunt at another show, you’re going to need something a bit less obvious.
Enter the World Time Zone TV Remote Watch that looks like your typical Ironman-esque sports model, but also includes an IR emitter for controlling a wide range of TVs, VCRs and DVD players. (I think it tells time too.) The emitter only has a range of about 10 to 16 feet, so you’re going to have to be really subtle and preferably hide in a large crowd in order to use it. But on the plus side, if you’re successful you’ll get to star in one of thousands of me-too! videos on YouTube. (Please note: OhGizmo! does not endorse the use of this device for shutting off displays during presentations we happen to be attending.)
The watch is available from Vavolo for just $12.50.
Oh look! Another device that’s designed to help people find the stuff they keep losing, instead of maybe teaching them a little responsibility so they don’t lose it in the first place. The Find One, Find All or ‘FOFA’ comes in both a keyfob version and a flat wallet style version and are designed to be attached or inserted into whatever items you tend to misplace.
Each FOFA has a set of 6 buttons that can be used to trigger the alarm on another, as long as it’s within a 30 foot range. So if you’ve managed to find at least one FOFA equipped device, you can use it to find all the others. The system is also expandable, allowing you to use up to 36 FOFA finders, though I imagine it would get pretty hard to remember what number you assigned to each device. And if you’re constantly losing up to 36 devices, it might be time to hire a personal assistant.
A set of 2 Keyfob FOFAs are available on the Melbourne Designs website (based in Texas of course) for $24.95. Additional Flat Style FOFAs are $12.47 each.
Related Tags: Home-Theater, Remotes
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