In the last year, a whole lot of iPhone-based universal remote controls have hit the scene. We’ve primarily focused on the higher end offerings, like Peel and RedEye shortly, as potential Harmony replacements or successors. Yet that may be overkill for certain situations or demographics. And I’ve just been turned onto MyTVRemote – whose intentions may not be as grandiose, but may still provide a compelling solution dependent on one’s needs.
While they’ve flown below my radar, RyzMedia has offered My TVRemote for some time… and they’ve got news to share today. A more colorful and potentially more aesthetically pleasing IR blaster replaces the original. I’m told the range is a modest 14 feet, yet I envision using this as a second universal remote in the bedroom. What I like about this solution, over say an L5, is that the IR blaster sits atop the iPhone – meaning you don’t have to hold your phone upside down.
As you might expect, the corresponding MyTVRemote app can be configured to control your set-top box and television, in addition to pulling down a guide of your local lineup. However, after a few minutes of experimentation, I’d say TiVo owners should refrain from making a purchase at this point. The settings decision tree has you pick your cable provider and then you’re offered a list of related set-top boxes to choose from. However, not all cable providers have a TiVo entry (such as Verizon) and the ones that are present aren’t well labeled.
Other than that, it looks like MyRemoteTV could be a nice addition for controlling a secondary television. (We’re a geeky crowd here.) In fact, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a unit for eval. (And to see if we can improve upon that TiVo situation.) Which brings up possibly the most astounding element of this solution. It runs just ten bucks. Install the free app, “unlock” the IR features for $9.99, and receive the hardware in the mail a few days later.
