Rosewill RHRC-12001 Windows 7 Certified MCE/ Windows 8 MCE Infrared Remote Control with Netflix Function

Pros: it worked alright didnt get a chance to really play with it or set up the coloured buttons.

Cons: receiver stopped working 26 days after ordering and just threw out the box yesterday :(

Pros: Very simple install. Worked right out of the box, no setup or configuration.

Cons: Very narrow beam. Must be pointed right at the dongle (thanks for including an extension).

Other Thoughts: Purchased for less than $20 so I am very satisfied.

Pros: Plug and play on my Win 7 Ult. system. Works 100% perfect, I love it!

Cons: None

Pros: -Windows Media Center integration.
-Dongle for front of case+usb extension cord if you need to plug in from the back
-low price compared to other media center certified remotes
-Comes with batteries

Cons: -Does not have a mouse built in (something to control the cursor), May not be a problem for some since it has a media center button on it, but if you bought the remote for powerdvd or media player classic, you may want to change some settings for easier access.
Thats really the only issue I had with it.

Other Thoughts: I have not tested it with Linux, nor have I used the software that came with the remote yet. There appear to be four buttons on the bottom of the remote that by default do nothing. I believe these are programmable with the software (which makes the remote even better)

Pros: Works out of the box with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (so, it now seems any of the Rosewill's with this sized receiver dongle will work), and works with XBMC once you install and set up lirc (really, really, ridiculously easy, just in a terminal run "sudo apt-get install lirc" and, when it asks, select [whatever is closest to] winblows media center receiver, and then for the following screen asking specifically about if there's a transceiver say "none". That's it, done). From experience, I'll go ahead and mention that on something like Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, a receiver dongle much like this was known to be a bit confusing to it, though with that OS falling out of support after this month, that's less of a big deal than it was, but to anyone sticking to an old stable Debian, just a word to the wise that you might have to work a little magic on it; recent kernels, though... no problem whatsoever, just perfect.

Look and feel. Let's address the potential beige-ish look from the pictures, while probably some sort of plastic, the top of the remote is a nice matte/shiny metallic look, that stops just short of "brushed metal" (too smoothed for that to apply). I wasn't sure about it when I saw the pictures, but it is quite a bit more fetching in person (as I'd hoped). The button layout is pretty smart overall, the arrow buttons are big and distinct to the touch, the play controls spiral out from the play button in a pretty logical manner which is also pretty easy to control by touch. Also, while the physical width of the remote may show up in the cons below (mostly since Newegg requires a cons entry) since it is big in the hand, button access surprisingly isn't made uncomfortable, everything is easy enough to get at, though this is easily the widest WMC remote I own (which really is a large amount). Though wide it is also slim, it is a good balance. In the end, it is a computer remote that feels like a TV remote.

Actually, I surprised my wife with this remote as a present, and she was instantly pretty fond of the looks of it; it was different enough to be distinctly hers, it was kind of pretty, and it'd be harder to misplace, due to the size! So, it passes the wife appreciation test...

Cons: About the only "con" would be that it is the single widest WMC remote I've come across (and the "sleep" button could be further from "stop"), though they arguably made it work. Maybe I could have stood more functions like subtitles and angle buttons, etc., but even on the WMC remotes I have that have those buttons, they don't seem to do jack in XBMC anyway, so not a big deal either.

Other Thoughts: Bought this without fully being sure it would work on my systems and without a good feel for how I'd like the design; overall we're quite pleased with the look and feel (clean, well laid out, shiny, and big enough to be hard to lose) and ecstatic about the Linux support. It is well made, like all of my Rosewill WMC remotes so far, so buy with confidence, especially if you use Linux.

Pros: -was not DOA
-worked as designed

Cons: -large, heavy, lots of unused & wasted space on remote
-no backlighting
-buttons small for how big the remote is
-button layout could have been better
-important buttons very close together and not that easy to distinguish in the dark (stop, sleep, pause, play especially easy to confuse and fumble in the dark)
-square and un-ergonomic, feels like you're holding a brick.
-IR instead of RF means that you have to always point it in the right direction

Other Thoughts: Who doesn't watch tv at least some time in the dark? Not having a backlight makes this remote very difficult to use without hitting wrong buttons.

This remote is even more basic than the original Microsoft MCE remote that was either free or $5 back in the day. At least the MS remote had a backlight, a better button layout, and was more ergonomic!!! There is nothing special about this remote. I really wish I would have bought more of the Gyration Air Mouse remotes before they were discontinued. Come on, Rosewill, use those braincells a little bit and come up with a unique, creative, useful idea. The MCE remote market is SCREAMING for somebody to come out with good, usable products.

Why oh why does nobody import the Shenzhen RF Air Mouse from China???? I would buy 10, at least...

Pros: No Clue - this is meant as a suggestion to those having issues with the product falling asleep...(see below)

Cons: No Clue

Other Thoughts: I have no idea now the remote actually works, but if you're having issues "waking it up" after a few hours, I know some of my PCs, particularly laptops, have customizable power settings that take a sleeping computer and hibernate it after a couple hours to further reduce the power consumption. You might want to check your windows power settings to see if the problem isn't the remote, but your settings...

Pros: Mostly works, all the buttons seem ok and works properly with the WMC (Win 7 Pro 32-bit) when the PC is awake but...

Cons: Can't wake up the computer with the power button. I have another MCE remote and that one works perfectly on the same PC. This one though has trouble waking up your computer if it has been asleep for a few hours. When I was testing it turning it on and off rapidly it appeared to work but when I left my PC sleeping overnight it would never wake up, very annoying especially if you have your HTPC hidden somewhere and have you to press the button on it to wake it up every time. I ended up attaching a wireless mouse so I have to use that to wake up the PC instead of sitting down on my couch and pressing the power button on the remote. The problem is probably with the receiver not getting powered properly or something. I checked the settings in windows to allow this device to wake up the computer and also disabled allow the computer to shut of this device to save power, so it must be some problem with the device itself.

Other Thoughts: Would have been nice if it woke up the PC but it doesn't so it is very annoying. Also the RMA return shipping would have cost more than the remote itself so it wasn't worth returning.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you very much for purchasing this unit. We strive to provide the most reliable and highest quality products to our customers. Please kindly contact the Rosewill support team either via phone at 800-575-9885 or via email at rma@rosewill.com so we may assist you with a replacement, if the unit is still under warranty. We look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Rosewill Customer Care

Pros: Works just like it should

Cons: The remote is on the same frequency as my xbox so the sleep button also powers on and off my xbox. Can be very annoying

Pros: Nice button layout except for stop/sleep, easy one handed operation for the most part

Cons: Stop button is located just below the sleep button, and I have put my HTPC to sleep a couple of times when all I wanted to do was stop the video that was playing. A bit irritating when you are getting used to the buttons, but something you learn quite quickly not to do