FrontRow Mac remotes-- why are they IR?

aquaticaquatic
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I was thinking about how the Mac remotes use IR. Why do they? Most Macs have Bluetooth. You'd think it would at least be as cheap to not have to incorporate in an additional hardware component. That, and IR sucks because of line of sight. Hopefully they make it Bluetooth some time in the near future, before I pick up the second rev. of the Macbook.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    I was thinking about how the Mac remotes use IR. Why do they?



    I much prefer remotes to be IR. You can then use learning remotes.



    Also, the line of sight thing isn't always true. Normally, I find the only restriction is that remote and device need to be in the same room, which isn't much of a problem, right? If the remote is powerful enough and the receiver sensitive enough, you can point an IR remote pretty much anywhere and the signal will bounce off walls etc., and eventually reach the receiver.



    oh yeah, and IR is cheaper and lower power.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    You'd think it would at least be as cheap to not have to incorporate in an additional hardware component.



    Even if it would be cheaper, it would still come with the huge drawback in terms of battery life. Bluetooth sucks the heck out of remotes.



    Thanks to IR, the remote only needs a very light, small and simple battery that will hardly ever need replacement.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    When the new remote first came out, there was a mention that Bluetooth takes too long to respond, also. Something about handshaking, or it being two-way instead of one-way.. I forget at the moment.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Yeah, I suppose there must must have been good reasons. That battery thing for one.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    1337_5l4xx0r1337_5l4xx0r Posts: 1,558member
    A better question is: Why does front row exist? Seriously, I don't get it; it's not much of a 'feature' to me. I'll toss the remote when I get my MBP later this summer.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    stustanleystustanley Posts: 236member
    Also, using ir, it means there is the possibility of using a universal remote control to control your tv, dvd cable etc and your mac in your home media centre.



    stu
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