Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 15 years and 7 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

The way my home theater is set up, all of the components (receiver, TiVo, DVD recorder, Wii, etc.) are hidden in a cabinet. When we first moved in, I would leave the cabinet doors open so that the IR signals from the remote control could reach the components.

This was unsightly though, so eventually I picked up a pair of Terk Leapfrog IR extenders. Basically I left the IR receiver out in front of the TV which would receive the infrared signal from the remote then transmit it wirelessly to the transmitter in the cabinet. The transmitter would blast out the IR signal which would bounce around in the cabinet and get the signal to the right component.

That setup was fine, except that since the TV is up on a high shelf (about six feet off the ground), it was hard to get a line-of-sight aim from the remote when you were sitting on the couch. So you’d have to extend your arm up above your head to point the remote at the IR receiver. A minor annoyance, but still an annoyance. I also use my receiver to play music outside in the lanai area. Even though there’s a window through which I can see the media cabinet from outside on the lanai, aiming the remote to control the receiver volume was a hit-or-miss situation.

So I decided to investigate RF solutions. RF remotes use radio signals instead of infrared. Thus, they are not line-of-sight and also travel farther. I considered trading in my Harmony 676 universal remote for the newer, slicker 890 which uses RF, but wasn’t ready to drop $280 on a new remote. Enter the Next Generation Remote Control Extender. This slick little device incorporates an RF transmitter into a AAA (or AA) battery casing. I put one of the batteries with the transmitter in my TiVo Glo remote and then put the receiver (a flying-saucer shaped thing which also includes a charger for the second battery/transmitter and the IR blaster hardware) in my media cabinet. Wallah! I can now control the TiVo through the cabinet doors without the need for the extra IR receiver … even from rooms away! The other benefit was it freed up another power outlet in my cabinet since I didn’t need two bricks anymore (for the Terk receiver and transmitter units).

The battery/transmitter also works in my Harmony remote, so now I can control the music volume from the receiver out by the pool, without the need for line-of-sight.

It’s taken a little getting used to, not having to aim the remote at a specific place anymore, but I love the new convenience factor.