RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
by admin on May.22, 2010, under IPad Accessories
This is an extremely cool device that lets you throw away your remote controls and use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch instead. Thanks to the guys who provide the coolest list of iPad accessories for the heads up on this one. I bought it last week and personally found it very easy to setup. If you want one you can get it on Amazon – details are below.
RedEye iPad Remote
RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
- Activity-based control of your home theater from wherever you get a Wi-Fi signal
- Automatic synchronization across multiple iPhone/iPod touch/iPad controllers
- Online database of infrared codes for thousands of home theater devices
- Integrated charging dock
- Includes dock adapters, power supply, 1-year manufacturer warranty
With the RedEye system you can use your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to control your TV, stereo, cable box, DVD player, and many other devices that receive standard (infrared) signals. In other words, no more hunting through your sofa cushions for all those different remotes – all the control you need is right in your pocket.
Rating: 
(out of 6 reviews)
List Price: $ 188.00
Price: $ 188.00
RedEye mini Plug-in Universal Remote Adapter for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
- Activity-based control in a convenient, travel size accessory
- Built-in channel guide (US, Canada, Australia)
- Online database of infrared codes for thousands of home theater devices
- No batteries required, leaves iPhone charging connector free
- Includes carrying case, 1-year manufacturer warranty
RedEye mini offers the power of the original RedEye remote for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, but in a convenient travel size. Use RedEye mini with your iPhone or iPod touch at home, work, with friends and family, or while on business or pleasure travel to control your TV, stereo, cable box, DVD player, and many other devices that receive standard (infrared) signals.
List Price: $ 49.00
Price: $ 49.00
June 22nd, 2010 on 6:33 pm
Review by Trevor Goodchild for RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
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I had a little trouble getting wifi setup correctly on this guy… but once I did this thing has been outstanding. It picked the IR codes for me correctly, found all the discreet’s correctly, and auto-generated some fairly well laid out activities.
This guy’s a winner.
June 22nd, 2010 on 6:40 pm
Review by Chris J. Tofteberg for RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
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Companies have been coming up with new and innovative ways to use the iPhone ever since the iPhone was available and particularly since the App Store opened. ThinkFlood has introduced their own creative use for the iPhone called RedEye, a hardware and app solution that turns your iPhone into a remote control for, well, pretty much darn near anything that uses an infrared (IR) remote signal.
Because the iPhone is not an IR transmitter, it cannot work directly as a remote for devices that use IR technology for remote control. The hardware portion of the RedEye solution is a small box, slightly larger than Apple’s docking station, that also doubles as a charging station.
I’m a sucker for good packaging and ThinkFlood did a nice job with the RedEye. In the box are the RedEye station, the power cord, and inserts that make the various versions of the iPhone or iPod Touch fit snugly in the station. I have a thick skin on my iPhone and was able to use one of the inserts with my iPhone without removing the stick-on skin. One thing that would have been nice is if each insert has some sort of labeling to indicate which version of the iPhone or iPod Touch it was for.
Once plugged in, the unit emits a blue light to indicate it has power. To use the RedEye, the RedEye app (free from the iTunes App Store) must be installed on the iPhone or iPod Touch. When you first launch the RedEye app, a tutorial video launches explaining how the unit works and how to set it up. This was very nice as there are some tricks to setting the unit up that wouldn’t be intuitive to the beginner. I did not have any difficulty setting the unit up other than getting the network setup, which was fully explained in the tutorial had I watched that in full first. And once you set up your first device, the rest come naturally.
Once I was correctly networked, the rest was a breeze. You start by configuring what ThinkFlood calls “Rooms.” In my case I set up a room called “Basement.” Within that room, you can have any number of activities, for example “Watch TV” or “Watch DVD” or even customized activities. You are only limited by what devices you have that accept an IR signal. Configuring which devices to control couldn’t be easier. Simply select the manufacturer from the list in the App, send some test signals to the device, and select the signal that works.
Once you are fully configured, your iPhone works exactly as a stock remote would, perhaps better. The screen on your iPhone looks just like a remote. You can also use multi-touch gestures for commands to your device. For the advanced and not so common commands (for example, adjusting aspect ratio), there is a separate command screen that appears to cover any command that your device is capable of accepting. It was quite simple to set up the devices I tested and I was pleasantly surprised how all-encompassing the list of devices is. I tested televisions and stereos from 3 to 10 years old from various manufacturers and had no problems.
ThinkFlood provides wonderful support for their RedEye product. On their website you can find FAQs, video tutorials, the manual and email support. The video tutorials are particularly useful for setup. As a consumer, I appreciate companies that provide thorough support as ThinkFlood does.
At $188, the RedEye is a bit pricey. However, if you compare what this unit can do to something like the Harmony universal remotes, the price is definitely in the ballpark. One drawback is that, although you can configure several rooms, activities and devices, you would need a RedEye base station in each room assuming your rooms are physically outside the IR range of 35 feet or so. On the flip side, you get an extension of sorts because your signal to the Redeye is WiFi, which has a much farther range depending on your wireless setup. So you could centrally locate your RedEye unit between rooms to maximize the IR + WiFi range.
For someone looking for a remote control solution without having to have a dongle or device attached to the iPhone, this is the answer. The device is unobtrusive, only requires one cable for power and is simple to use.
June 22nd, 2010 on 7:18 pm
Review by Greg for RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
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I have mine running. It works. The instructions are too brief. I would like more in-depth instructions. The IR transmitter is under powered. It must be much closer to the device then every remote I set up. I need an IR repeater. I have a Harmony 1000 remote and every one of my devices was in their data base 2 out of my 8 devices were not in redeyes database. I have not given up on this yet as I see potential for it. I use it on my IPad and the buttons are nice. The motion gestures do work and are pretty cool. I am not sure if I can amend my review when I get it all together but I am still hopeful it will make an awesome remote on the IPad.
GGW
June 22nd, 2010 on 7:56 pm
Review by Merlion for RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
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I purchased a RedEye universal remote system a few months ago and have been using it to control my bedroom TV (plasma), DVD player and cable box. I have been using a Harmony One universal remote to control my main system (plasma, AV receiver, blu-ray, HD box, etc.) for about a year, so my point of reference will be against the Harmony One but also in the context of a secondary TV in the house.
Out of the box, I found the RedEye system easy to set-up. While, indeed, the directions in the box are fairly brief, I found it more useful to use the on-line video which walks you through the setup. Using the video, it was pretty straight-forward to get the system up and running and the menus themselves are pretty user friendly to allow you to create macros without to much difficulty.
Compared to the Harmony One, the remotes database does seem more limited on the RedEye, but (hopefully) the database will improve over time. Even with that, setting up various remotes that it didn’t recognize was very straight-forward. Admittedly, I didn’t program every function into my RedEye, but only programmed the basic functions that I felt I would use regularly (on-off, change channel, numbers, volume, etc.). I found that as I used the remote over a few days and felt that there was a function I was using that I hadn’t programmed, it was very quick to add the function as well as a key onto the RedEye remote panel.
I do, however, revert back to the original remotes for more complicated adjustments to the components. While this sounds like a negative, I do the same with my Harmony One remote as I find fine-tuning picture quality on my plasma or setting up speakers for my AV receiver are easier done with the original remote. So, overall, I don’t take this as a knock against the RedEye.
Compared to the Harmony One, one criticism (a modest one at that) I would lodge against the RedEye is that it is more difficult to switch between components on the RedEye vs. the Harmony One if you haven’t directly programmed a key onto your RedEye remote panel (RedEye allows you to program your own remote for various tasks – watching a DVD; watching cable – combining “buttons” for the TV, DVD player, etc onto a single combined remote). So, if you’re starting a movie and you want to change the brightness on the screen (and you haven’t programmed it onto you remote panel on your iPhone), it takes a few layers of menus to achieve the desired outcome.
I have seen many criticisms of the RedEye in that it requires external hardware to operate (compared to dongle based solutions). While the RedEye manufacturer has addressed this criticism via the RedEye Mini, critics underestimate the benefits of the external module as it allows anyone at home with an iPhone or iPod touch to use it as a remote and, because the set-ups for each room are stored in the external module, there’s no need to set up for each iPhone or iPod touch. They only need to download the app and they’re ready to go after the initial set-up. In addition, I prefer the external module to the dongle-solution as there’s no risk of losing the dongle when you’re finished using your iPhone/iPod touch as a remote.
While perhaps not ready to take on the Harmony series for larger systems or more complicated macros, overall, I think RedEye is an excellent universal remote solution, especially for bedroom or simple (2-3 component) home set-ups.
June 22nd, 2010 on 8:19 pm
Review by Julie K. Dennehy for RedEye Universal Remote System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
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Cool product – am in the process of getting it set up, but can’t wait to toss all my remote controls! I found them on Facebook – great user ideas, comments, suggestions, questions there (search for ThinkFlood or RedEye).