Does anyone use this for their PS3 so you can use a universal remote. I know it can't power on/off but otherwise, is it any good. Also, where can I buy one in Canada?

Thanks

So your buying it but won't be using it? Can you not just buy the USB part!

I think you probably need the remote to program any Universal you might have.

I'm interested in making this purchase as well before long. :)

You are right Hugh, I won't be using the remote itself, just the USB connection. From what I have found on amazon.com it is less than 20 bucks, seems worth it. I just can't find anywhere in Canada to buy it yet. Not being able to turn off and turn on I can live with, but not being able to use my Harmony is unacceptable. Does anyone know how many USB ports the 40gb version has, I hope its at least 2

yeah they have 2 USB ports.

I just ordered this through eBay yesterday, and it comes with the remote, like it or not.

As PrimeBane indicated, the point of the remote is to be able to program a Universal remote. At the same time as I ordered the Nyko PS3 remote, I bought the Harmony 1000 with RF extender at a bargain price on eBay as well.

I will report back in this thread when I have it set up and post my impressions.

I look foward to your impressions pcouture. :)

Me too because I am close to pulling the trigger. I just hate that it's not available in Canada and ebayers are charging way too much over retail.

Cal

up :)

I think I'll have one on the way soon... a certain big gaming chain in the US has them for under $10 until next week.

And I understand the BluWave is in Harmony's db, so you don't need to teach your remote anything. :D

They are backordered there as, but you can still purchase so away I went! Yay!

While I said they were backordered and that was maintained all during my transaction, I got a shipment confirmation this morning! I think I stole yours, PrimeBane :)

Cal

LOL :D

Nah, I didn't order directly from them... I'm having someone grab one for me in store instead. The shipping will be a fraction of the $15 the website wanted.

Well, speaking of this, I said I would post first impressions.

I have had this set up for over a week now. It works very well. Setup was a breeze. Because the PS3 cannot be controlled by a Harmony remote, if you include the PS3 as a device in your Harmnony profile, you get warned it cannot be controlled.

I had a hunch about it and it turned out to be true. In my harmony profile, I deleted my PS3 and added a new device. It turns out the Nyko Blu-Wave remote was already listed there as an actual device. Its behaviour is that of a PS3. Once that was done, I included the Nyko Blu-Wave (PS3) in my activities, such as watching a movie, listening to CDs. I also renamed it PS3 under my devices to avoid any confusion.

It works well. In my situation, It is controlled by the RF extender. The PS3 is at the back of the room, on the right hand side if you're facing the screen (you can click on the link in my signature to see how this relates to your personal installation. The RF extender is right beside my center channel just under the screen (not there on my pictures). Signals are sent and received flawlessly.

The only complaint I would have is that the commands Logitech included with it need to be customized. As an example, the X button on the PS3 is used a lot of times for selecting a menu. Unfortunately, this X button did not get mapped directly to the OK button in the middle of the navigation buttons (up, down, left, right). This would have made more sense. I have yet to customize the buttons, but it's something I will be doing shortly.

I am not competent to talk about the Nyko remote very much. It is very light, but it looks pretty nice (not too cheap looking) and has an OK feel to it. I must confess I have not even used it once yet to control my PS3, as I had my mind set pretty hard on doing everything from my Harmony 1000. All along, it was the IR USB dongle I was after.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it. After months spent using the PS3 controller and having looked for months to see if an annoucement was coming about a universal remote (such as Harmony) to send out Bluetooth signals, I am glad I did not have to wait anymore. I was able to purchase the 1000, the RF extender, and with this Nyko Blu-Wave, I believe the loop has been closed.

pokerchip, thanks for such a detailed review.

i just started using a Harmony remote with my setup a few days ago (replaced 5 remotes, but the ps3 remote is still around). what a difference.. not only is it convenient, but setting up activities makes everything much easier. even with the ps3 remote, the harmony is useful in that it'll turn on the av receiver & set the proper TV input.

i guess cant mention it specifically here, but whats the best place to order the nyko blu from the US?

Just to let everyone know, I was at the Great Canadian Super Store yesterday and they have a remote with the usb connection for the PS3. It's made by "C2 Tech" or something like that. It's only $6.98. I picked one up but won't using it til x-mas. Looks like it has all the basic functions on it other than "power". I'll have my harmony learn all the commands and just use the usb connection.

Thanks for the info, Trickman. I picked one of these up at a Calgary RCS today, and will be programming a Harmony to use the USB dongle from it.

I gave it a quick try with the supplied remote, and found it's a little quirky - the 'enter' button in the centre of the directional keys acts as the 'Back' button - the 'Stop' button sends the command for the 'Enter' key. When you navigate a DVD menu and select something with 'Enter', it asks if you want to exit playback :)

No matter, as I'm really just interested in the USB device - I'll map the codes I need to the correct buttons on the Harmony remote. For seven dollars I'll put up with a lot of idiosyncrasies.

For others, the remote comes with absolutely no instructions, just the dongle and a miniature remote. There are four directional keys with a centre 'Enter' button (see above). Above these keys are Previous, Next, Rewind, Forward, Stop (see above), and Play/Pause. Below are three keys for Display, Menu, and Title.

I'll have to test to see if they are using a standard code set like those used for the PS/2 remote, which would make things easier.

Great info guys.

Please keep us posted on how you make out.

It would be interesting to see if we could just get the dongle without the remote for this solution.

It is possible thecooldude.

Read my post #13.

I have since customized the X button of a PS3 controller (or Nyko Blu-Wake Remote) to be mapped to the OK button on my Harmony 1000.

The Logitech software interface makes it pretty easy to do that.

I am doing everything in my HT (from PS3 to lighting to Electric Fireplace etc.) from my Harmony remote. :)

Will the IR dongle read the older Sony PS2 IR remote (doesn't that have more buttons for more functions like direct chapter jumps...)

It would be interesting to see if we could just get the dongle without the remote for this solution.
Hey, it only costs $6.98 - what kind of price target were you looking for? :)