CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Jeremy112]

New to this infrared repeater stuff... never used it, never had a need to, but the 21 remotes on my coffee table are getting really annoying to have around, along with the fact that I have to go to the equipment room to control everything.

So in an effort to minimize remotes and make remoting a lot easier on myself, I have been looking up infrared repeaters and extenders.

I am curious to know what the difference/benefits are of a IR repeater over an extender?

I have also seen that repeaters can be individual flashers per device, or a larger "flooder" for all devices... whats the best way to go?

I know they seem like dumb questions, they do to even me, but Im sure some dont mind answering my dumb questions

One final query; what is the best IR repeater system for performance/$$ or does someone have any good recommendations? Need to keep in mind that I have over 16 devices in my racks to control.

Any help appreciated!

[Curt Palme]

Xantech. Not cheap knockoff crap, but it works, and they have anything and everything you need.

www.xantech.com, then see if someone here is a dealer, or go to eBay. It never fails (so far) so buying used is fine.

Canadian distributor marks stuff up over the US, so I won't be competitive.

[Curt Palme]

Xantech. Not cheap knockoff crap, but it works, and they have anything and everything you need.

www.xantech.com, then see if someone here is a dealer, or go to eBay. It never fails (so far) so buying used is fine.

Canadian distributor marks stuff up over the US, so I won't be competitive.

[ecrabb]

Jeremy,

The terms repeater and extender are sort of used interchangeably, and I don't know if there is any official document somewhere that says one most refer to one thing, and the other, another. But generally, I've always considered IR repeaters as the class of device with a small box with an AC adapter, and IR receiver dongle, and either a blaster or emitters, designed to get IR into a cabinet, probably not more than 6 or 8 feet of cable total, just 'repeating' the signal into the cabinet.

An IR extender OTOH, I've always considered a device that could receive an IR signal, and then extend that IR signal over dozens or hundreds of feet via RF or hard wire, 'extending' the IR signal. If it can come from, or go multiple places, then it's IR distribution.

I agree with Curt - Xantech isn't cheap, but it's good. Niles and Xantech are both good stuff.

But, you could also kill two birds with one stone: Eliminate the IR and get a better control system at the same time. That's what I did over 3 years ago, and I've never looked back. I don't miss IR one bit. Expense is probably comparable to a good IR extender like Xantech or Niles. It takes some time investment to get setup, but it's SO worth it in terms of usability. End result is similar to a mega-buck control system like Crestron or AMX. Let me know if you're interested.

SC