thanks takeshi.
Robl4, i didn't realize i wasn't answering the original poster's question. i thought i was. he asked for a remote and i am providing a solution. no one is preventing you from doing the solution you are providing. this is the solution we are providing. some people may not want to jump through the different layers you are suggesting and agree it is worth the extra money for an all in one solution. there is always a cheaper method. i am sure there are cheaper ones than what you are suggesting also. if you would prefer that method then that is what works for you. sounds like a good solution. ours is as we are posting. it takes a lot of time and resources to do this and we are taking a big risk as it is because Android does not typically provide the same ROI as some other platforms but we believe in this platform as having great potential so we decided to push this one.
Homeseer has the unit for $300 as far as hardware pricing is concerned. we choose this unit for many reasons. here is a basic list.
1.no computer required. communication is directly between app and the appliance.
2. has built in IR dbase chip with 300,000+ IR codes. i don't believe your solution has any. you have to build your own. i can tap into probably 80% of the IR devices on the market for the last 25 years with this one chip and not have to learn any IR. most users don't want to have to go through this manual process. the chip itself has to be licensed from the largest IR dbase company in the world so it does add to the cost. i haven't heard a single customer complain about this extra cost. they setup their devices in less than 10 minutes because of this chip with our app. you just select the device type (say tv, select manufacturer from list say samsung, and then try codesets and hit the power button. once the unit turns on/off you know you have the right codeset, just hit save and it maps out all of the IR and buttons for you. very simple, easy to use, and complete).
3. for any IR not on the chip there is a learner built into the box
4. has a built in blaster
5. has 4 emitter ports. excellent for if you want to hide you IR products, they are hard to reach, are in different rooms, etc.
6. has 2 relay controls. typical use cases may be garage door controller, hvac on/off controller, control gates, doors, etc.
7. has rs232 on it. many devices are controllable via rs232. it is a common interface.
8. has gpio ports on it. basically you can tell the unit to listen on an input for say audio and do some action based on that. so for example you could say listen for audio from dvd/bluray player. when you hear audio turn on the tv, switch it to input hdmi2, etc. the gpio ports can also be used for analog measurements such as thermisters and other sensors for temperature, humidity, barometer, etc.
there are other points on their website if you want to read through it.
