Microsoft Remote Keyboard for Windows XP Media Center Edition ( ZV1-00004 )

*Note* This keyboard will only work if you have Media Center and the e-home IR sensor installed on your computer!I've recently set up Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit with Media Center on my 42inch plasma and this is my finishing purchase. Even though this keyboard says for Windows XP, it runs great with Vista, no drivers needed! Looked around for a while for a keyboard that will fully complement Media Center and this seems to be it. My first choice would be the DiNovo Edge(about $175), but for only $33 bucks(+shipping), how could you go wrong?Pros: Keyboard is the right size for your lap. Feels solid and well built. It has all the Media Center function keys built into the keyboard which is great! Keyboard works outside of Media Center as well, used it in Internet Explorer, Windows Mail, and Microsoft Word, etc. Spent a good part of Saturday using this keyboard. Media keys on left and right side of keyboard are lit and can be turned off. Keyboard keys are not backlit but thats ok with me, saves batteries. I didn't find any typing lag and I guess there wouldn't be because there is no lag in InfraRed. Worked great from 15 feet away (didn't try any farther) and IR works great even with obstructions. Nice rubber feet on the bottom keep the keyboard from slipping off furniture. Can also program a few functions of your TV remote into this keyboard.Cons: The mouse nipple (best way I can describe it) takes some getting used to. A bit tedious, but ok for Media Center usage. It breaks-in a bit after a while, make sure to slow down the mouse tracking speed in Control Panels. I know someone who develops Media Center for Microsoft and he hates the mouse part of this keyboard. I hear Microsoft may be working on a new version of this keyboard. I will probably buy a nice bluetooth mouse eventually. I could program my Hitachi's TV remote into the keyboard, maybe yours will work.If I could go back in time, I would still buy this keyboard!

Let me start off by saying that the mouse control really is pretty bad. I'm sure I could get used to it and it would work great, but I shouldn't have to do so. If you need to use your mouse a lot with your HTPC, look elsewhere.I very rarely use the mouse, however, so it works great for me.I occasionally use Windows Media Center, but I have XBMC start automatically when windows starts. 95% of that computer's use is inside XBMC which requires zero mouse movement. You *can* use a mouse to navigate in there, but I prefer just using the keyboard. In that usage scenario, it works great. The fact that it is IR isn't a big deal to me... I put the IR receiver right beside the TV and I don't have any reception problems. The upside is that you can quickly and easily program the keyboard's volume buttons and the TV Power button to control your tv... which means I can put that TV remote away and use this keyboard exclusively.I know this usage scenario isn't for everybody, but it just might apply to a few people looking for a XBMC HTPC keyboard. I should note that this keyboard does NOT work very well with the linux version of XBMC. I have that installed on a different HTPC in a different room and a lot of the keystrokes simply don't register. You could probably MAKE it work by modifying .conf files in XBMC, but it doesn't just work out-of-the-box like it does with Windows XBMC.

I wound up returning this. There are better Media Center options out there (See Gyration stuff). Here are my gripes:- Requires Media Center IR receiver - not included- Pointing nub is very difficult to use - not useless, but really not good- Line of sight needed - this is obvious, but there are options that don't require line of sightOverall, the difficulty using the nub was the deal breaker for me.

I had bought a third party IR Media Center remote, and thought that this keyboard would work with its USB IR receiver. It didn't. Nowhere does the manual I got state that it needs a specific type of receiver, nor does the seller state this in the description.Unit was also supposed to come with batteries. It did not.Assuming I can't find a usable receiver on eBay, I'm gonna RMA this.Its too bad. It would be really nice if I could get a compatible IR receiver. It seems be have decent construction, except for the mouse. It does work, and I can use it to turn my TV on and off. So I can at least give it good marks for consistency - it consistently works to turn my TV on and off, and consistently does not work with my computer.If you don't already have an IR receiver that you know is compatible with this keyboard, stay away.

I have been very happy with the keyboard functionality. It is easy to use and the design fits well on a table or on a lap. The problem is the mouse. I agree with other reviewers that it takes some time to get used to the push-down mouse knob (and changing the mouse sensitivity settings helps) but the biggest problem for me was the buttons.The knob to move the pointer is in the upper right of the keyboard, but the left and right buttons to click are in the upper left. This means you need to hands to use the mouse. I can't understand why this was designed this way. It is so different from any other mouse setup I've ever seen and is not simple use. I find myself not using the mouse functionality because of the annoyance of having to use both hands just to click on something. If only the mouse buttons were below the knob this would be an excellent product.