Roku remote dominates in terms of reception

[IownFIVEechos]

I have recently witnessed how powerful the Roku 3 remote works in regards to reception. My 1 yr old needs to carry it at all times. When the remote is two floors away from the Roku with many walls in between and distance the device still gets the requests. Is the Roku using some other technology than the xbox or echo (media center) remotes. This is normally a great thing, but when a child is clicking away like crazy sometimes things get selected etc.. Has anyone else witnessed this miraculous event? Also why aren't others using the same technology? You basically have to be straight in front of an xbox or echo to get them to respond.

[Shackleford]

Roku uses RF.

[makryger]

I'm not able to do a search, but it could be the remote is connected to Wi-Fi, and making changes that way?

[barnabas1969]

The Roku 3 remote does not use WiFi. It is an RF remote. The Roku box itself also has an IR receiver, so you can use a programmable remote.

[STC]

It uses WiFi Direct RF. If you look at available Networks you will see a WPA2 network for it. Mine is on channel 165 (5Ghz).

The Roku3 remote has a motion sensor built in to work with the WiFi. As soon as you pick it up you'll see the LED light up and it inits the WiFi link and off you go.
This is the only way to make such a mechanism work that's on batteries without you having to 'turn it on' first.
Naturally it beats IR hands down.

Apples and Nectarines

[mdavej]

...You basically have to be straight in front of an xbox or echo to get them to respond.

Universal RF would be great, but it adds significantly to the cost. That's why I think it's been so slow to catch on, even though it's been around for many years. If you've ever compared an IR remote to it's RF counterpart, you'll see what I mean.

Xbox IR is terrible because MS designed it that way, placing the receiver an inch or so behind a very small opening, making the operating range very narrow. You're essentially trying to hit a tiny target behind a door by shining a weak flashlight through the keyhole. It's one of the worst designs I've ever seen.

A few other makers have used RF for years. Dish, DirecTV, Verzion and a few TVs like Sharp use some sort of RF. Your garage door opener and car key fob are also RF. Dish uses Zigbee, an IP based RF system much more sophisticated than most, as it supports hundreds of addresses, 2-way communication (signal strength, battery level, over-the-air programming, location service), etc. If RF becomes more prevalent, I hope most will adopt Zigbee rather than their own proprietary systems.

Of course, you can make all your devices work as well as your Roku if you get an RF universal remote. I use the Xsight Touch (I think Barnabas does too). Harmony and URC also have several good RF remotes, but they start at $100. You can even convert many cheap IR remotes to RF using a Next Generation RF system (about $40).

[IownFIVEechos]

Understood, thanks for the information. On another note regarding the Roku remotes, it will be interesting to see how programs like MediaBrowser Live TV get around the no keypad etc.

[barnabas1969]

You can send numeric digits to the Roku using an IR remote or with my EventGhost plugin.