Pulse-Eight is one of the companies tracing its roots to XBMC, and it is no wonder they have a host of interesting products in the HTPC space. We have already taken a look at their innovative HDMI CEC adapter product, and today we have their universal remote up for review. The Motorola NYXboard hybrid remote from Pulse-Eight is unlike any other remote we have evaluated so far.

There are plenty of universal remotes and HTPC control solutions at various price points. Some come with both IR and RF capabilities. Others are able to control multiple devices. Some have universal remotes integrated in a keyboard. However, the Motorola NYXboard hybrid remote is unique in terms of combining the optimal features necessary in a XBMC HTPC based setup. It is a dual-sided learning remote with both IR and RF capabilities. The RF capabilities enable it to interact with a PC, while the IR support helps it to control other devices in the home theater setup. The keyboard side also has basic mouse functionality.

Features

The NYXboard remote package comes with the following components:

• Remote control
• 2 x AAA batteries
• USB RF Receiver
• User guide pamphlet

The physical dimensions of the remote are 145 x 48 x 21 mm. It is comparatively thicker than other remotes, but we felt that the thickness lent some solidity to the feel of the remote.

The NYXboard is a dual-sided learning remote. One side has the conventional remote keys shown above, while the other side has a keyboard. The battery compartment is also on the keyboard side.

The remote has two modes of operation:

• Radio Frequency (RF) for PC control
• Infra Red (IR) for CE (consumer electronics) equipment control

RF Features:

The bundled USB RF receiver is connected to the USB port of the HTPC, which enables communication when the remote is in the RF mode. The remote side can be used in XBMC, MCE etc. It can even be used in the regular desktop (for example, the direction keys can be used to navigate up and down in the Start Menu). The keyboard side is also active in this mode. Note the absence of Ctrl and Alt keys in the keyboard. Instead, we have two Fn modifiers and two Shift keys. It would have been better if one of each of those two keys were to be repurposed for Ctrl and Alt functionality. The Fn key also enables the usage of the direction keys on the right to move the mouse pointer. Keeping the direction key pressed (along with the Fn key) accelerates the movement of the mouse pointer. Left and right mouse clicks are achieved with a special button and the Fn modifier.

The remote has an internal orientation sensor which deciphers whether the remote side or the keyboard side is active. Inputs from the inactive side are ignored. This is definitely a useful feature since I ended up pressing random remote keys in the process of typing on the keyboard side. Thankfully, all the random key presses on the remote side never got transferred to the PC.

Note that a HTPC equipped with a CEC adapter can use the NYXboard's RF mode to control all the devices on the CEC bus (provided those devices implement CEC).

IR Features:

In order for the remote to be useful in its IR mode, it needs to undergo initial programming. After this, key presses in the IR mode send out the same IR code as the original remote from which the code for that key was learnt. Programming is done through a learning process in which the NYXboard and the remote whose keys are to be transferred are placed head-to-head, The rest of the learning process is explained in the next section.

As mentioned in the previous section, there are two modes in which the remote can be operated. On the remote keys side of the unit, we have a MC/TV toggle key on the top left corner. To determine which mode the remote is currently in, any key can be pressed. The MC/TV toggle key lights up in red when in RF mode. The toggle key can itself be pressed to change the mode. When the toggle key lights up in green, any key press is considered to be in the IR mode.

Operation in the RF mode is as straightforward as using a wireless keyboard or mouse with the PC. After plugging in the RF receiver, Windows automatically updated the necessary drivers. The remote keys side is optimized for the XBMC experience. As the key definitions above show, all the features necessary for navigating through XBMC are appropriately mapped.

On some XBMC screens, it is necessary to enter text through a keyboard. Though this is not a frequent necessity, the remote handles it easily. Just flipping over the unit automatically brings up the text entry sub-window within XBMC. The orientation / tilt sensor at work here is unfortunately very sensitive. In the course of using the remote, I had the text entry box in XBMC fire up at unexpected times due to slight changes in how I was holding the remote. Of course, as I spent more time with the remote, I learned to avoid such movements, but it is something the user needs to put up with in the initial stages.

Note: Mouse functionality is obtained by pressing and holding the Fn key in the latest version of the remote (not the Shift key as mentioned in the picture above).

If the remote is used in RF mode with Firefox as the active window, any sideways movement of the remote triggers a 'Caret Browsing' dialog box. Pulse-Eight indicated that the flip action was bound to F7 and Ctrl+F7 with no way to turn it off. Outside of XBMC those keys get interpreted as a standard keyboard press. In Firefox F7 happens to enable caret browsing. When Pulse-Eight developed the remote, they wanted a signal to know which way up the remote was but keeping within the realms of a HID device, F7 was the most unused key they could find for general operation and WMC/XBMC/MythTV etc

In the RF mode, I was able to get the key presses recognized from as far back as 40 ft. from the PC. Of course, there is no line of sight necessary.

For usage in the IR mode, the remote needs to be programmed. It is quite possible that users want to start over in the middle of programming the keys. So, the first thing we checked for was the ability to wipe out the existing programming and restore the remote to factory settings. This was achieved by holding the MC/TV key pressed for 10 seconds. The key began to flash red and green alternately, and the factory reset was confirmed by pressing the OK key. The MC/TV key flashed in green thrice to confirm the factory reset.

All keys on the remote keys side are programmable (except for the MC/TV key obviously) and available in the IR mode. Programming was done by first ensuring that the remote was in the TV mode (any key press would make the MC/TV key light up in green). To enter into the programming mode, the MC/TV key was pressed for 3 seconds. The key turned a solid green. The NYXboard and the remote to be learnt from were placed head to head. The key to be learnt from the original remote was pressed. The MC/TV key turned red to indicate that a signal had been received and registered. The corresponding NYXboard key was pressed, and the MC/TV key turned green to indicate that the registered IR code was transferred to that particular key. The process was repeated with the rest of the keys on the original remote. After the programming, the OK key was pressed to exit the learning mode.

There is nothing preventing the user from mapping multiple remotes to the NYXboard. It just needs to be noted that a particular key can be mapped to a key from one remote only. For the purpose of our review, we programmed the keys of a Sony KDL46EX720 remote into the NYXboard. The programming worked fine and we were able to get the TV operated using the NYXboard alone. However, the horizontal angle of operation of the IR remote was much worse than the original Sony remote. The operating range is much shorter. With 6 month old AAA batteries, the Sony remote was able to operate even when 30 ft. away from the TV. With the NYXboard, we weren't able to go beyond 18 ft. even with fresh batteries. On the whole, the IR mode experience is passable. Though the operating range and angles are a bit of a downer, the ability to get rid of multiple remotes (as long as one has CEC in the setup -- even if the HTPC is not CEC enabled) is a welcome addition. In our testbed, the Sony TV was connected to a Pioneer Elite VSX-32 through an ARC-enabled (Audio Return Channel) HDMI link. Combining this with the CEC functionality, we were able to control the AVR's volume with the NYXboard remote.

We have come to the business end of this short review. The lists below summarize the pros and cons of the Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid Remote.

Pros:

- Potential to reduce remote clutter in the household

- Ability to take advantage of HDMI CEC capabilities (when bundled with the HDMI CEC adapter from Pulse-Eight, the RF mode can also be used for this purpose)

- RF and IR combination is quite useful in HTPC setups

- Excellent RF range (more than 38 ft.) and decent IR range (around 18 ft.)

- Solid construction makes it a pleasure to use, and hands down, the best remote to use with XBMC (in our opinion)

- Accidental key presses on the underside of the remote are rightfully ignored

- The mouse feature (Fn + arrow pad) is as good as it can be in the absence of a trackpad

Cons:

- Single profile availability for IR programming, i.e, unlike the Logitech Harmony remotes which can have multiple devices configured, this is a learning remote where each key can be programmed to correspond to only one key from another remote in the IR mode.

- Remote is very sensitive to orientation. Casual remote usage (such as holding the remote at an angle to the horizontal plane -- as is common when one is couch surfing) is bound to shift between the keyboard side and the remote side which is sometimes frustrating for the users

- The IR remote's spread / operating angle is a bit on the lower side, which is irksome if one is used to a device-specific remote with better operating angles.

- The absence of dedicated Alt and Ctrl keys renders the remote incapable of replacing a full-fledged keyboard / mouse combination if the HTPC is used for extended periods of time outside of XBMC or any other 10-foot UI program

- Orientation sensing makes it a pain to use with Firefox (or any other program which might use F7 for any purpose)

In summary, the Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid Remote is a very good addition to the HTPC setup in most homes, provided the user's expectations are set right. Given the price of the unit (less than $70), and the feature set offered, and comparing it with competing solutions in the Harmony series / Boxee PC remote, one can say that the NYXboard is indeed worth the price.

However, we hope to see some issues fixed in upcoming versions of the remote. Taking care of the IR remote's operating angle and the over-sensitive tilt sensor are a must. A keyboard with more features and a way to manually override the tilt sensor would be icings on the cake.