IR2BT Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter now on sale, PS3 owners rejoice

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 28th 2008 at 12:37PM

Although the PlayStation 3 is quite the lovely Blu-ray player in most respects, one issue has nagged remote junkies from day one: the absence of IR. Now, however, the highly-anticipated IR2BT Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter is on the market, and sure enough, it promises to transmit "all 51 Sony Blu-ray remote codes including the PS button for Power On / Off." The unit itself measures in at 4.5- x 3- x 1-inches, operates on a pair of AA cells or a mini-USB connector and doesn't even require you to own a soldering iron. Ready to control your PS3 via a universal IR remote without getting a degree in electrical engineering? Hit up the read link and hand over your $55, bub.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Remotes, Sony

Tags: bluetooth, bt, converter, infrared, infrared to bluetooth, InfraredToBluetooth, IR2BT, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, remote, universal remote, UniversalRemote

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

DrXym @ Mar 28th 2008 1:30PM

$55 seems a lot when IR dongles cost a lot less than that.

Neutral

Shape @ Mar 28th 2008 1:52PM

IR dongles can't turn the PS3 on or off. And they take up controller slot 1 so you have to re-assign controllers a lot. This is a much better solution.

Neutral

DrXym @ Mar 28th 2008 2:04PM

I don't see why they can't turn the PS on or off. The SIXAXIS controller can turn a PS3 on or off even when its plugged in through a USB cable. There must be the protocols to do it, even if they have to be reverse engineered.

Neutral

alienclays @ Mar 29th 2008 10:29AM

not all ir dondles are ugly, use controller slot 1, or lack on off, like the stupid nyko one.

www.schmartz.com has an attractive $35 solution that i would still pick up over this. but comparing the $50 on/off version and its weird sticker, i would take this bluetooth converter over that if on off were that important to me.

Neutral

eosjack @ Mar 28th 2008 1:33PM

Oh... why must you tempt me.

This is going to be a hard decision to make. I've been using the Nyko Blu Wave remote dongle with my Harmony for a while now. At under $20 it was a fair solution. $55 is a bit steep to add the rest of the controls...

What to do, what to do...

Neutral

Geoffrey Sperl @ Mar 28th 2008 1:53PM

eBay the Nyko. Buy the IR2BT.

That's what I'm going to do.

Neutral

Julien321 @ Mar 28th 2008 1:36PM

When I bought my PS3 I also bought an IR remote that came with a tiny (memory stick size) USB IR to Bluetooth adaptor for about $10. So For $45 more you can get a much larger unit that doesn't even have a remote with it? What am I missing?

Highly Ranked

Geoffrey Sperl @ Mar 28th 2008 1:46PM

Bluetooth compatibility.

Look, let's be honest here: The Nyko adapter is a stop-gap. It's a good one, but it's a stop-gap all the same. It responds slowly and it does not have all of the functions the BT remote from Sony has.

And I own the Nyko. I'm not slamming it at all. It does do things that I like.

But the reality is: The PS3, for full functionality, needs a BT-based solution (at least until Sony realizes that built-in IR is not a last-gen technology). For those of us who have spent $250 on our Harmony 880 remotes, this is the answer to properly integrating the PS3 into the activities, etc.

For many folks the Nyko solution will work just fine.

For those of us who want full control over our components from one remote control, this is the answer.

Highly Ranked

Shape @ Mar 28th 2008 1:55PM

You can put this box anywhere in line of sight of your remote. You don't have to have it plugged into the PS3. So you don't have to have an ugly wart sticking out of the front of the PS3. It lets you power the PS3 on and off, whereas the nyko doesn't.

This is designed to be used with Harmony and other universal learning remotes. That is why it doesn't come with its own remote.

Neutral

su6oxone @ Mar 28th 2008 1:38PM

Is this going to work with the PS3 is being able to turn it on when shut off? The problem with bluetooth dongles is that the usb ports are activated only after the PS3 is turned on, so you can't turn it on using it. I get the idea that this thing will work the same, making it pointless. The Nyko bluetooth dongle/remote works fine with the PS3 and has all the commands in the Logitech Harmony database so it's easy to set up. In any case, this thing is useless because the "PS" button still will not be available with any remote, so you'll have to shut down with the controller or bluetooth remote.

Highly Ranked

Geoffrey Sperl @ Mar 28th 2008 1:46PM

Read the page. Power is controlled by BT. This is an IR to BT adapter. Therefore... this adapter can control the power toggle. The page clearly shows:

"Transmits Sony PS3 Bluetooth Commands; Sends all 51 Sony Blu-Ray Remote Codes Including the PS button for Power On and Power Off."

Come, on, folks! It's one little click with your mouse to read the information.

Neutral

Shape @ Mar 28th 2008 1:56PM

This box does not plug into the PS3. It is completely wireless.

Neutral

mitchelljd @ Mar 28th 2008 1:46PM

price may be a shade too high, $39.99 would be better, but i think the falling dollar may play a small role in that.

also, this is more fully operational/functional remote than the IR one. remember it does cost more, has blutooth in it.

Neutral

Jeff @ Mar 28th 2008 1:52PM

$55 sounds high to me, but they're sold out, so I guess it's not!

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 28th 2008 1:57PM

Sony should be offering a $50 instant rebate on this device as a token of goodwill for being too stupid and cheap to include an IR receiver on the PS3 in the first place. Plus another $20 for those who have already purchased their BT remote.

Highly Ranked

Justin @ Mar 28th 2008 2:04PM

Dear Sony,

Please add an IR sensor on the Playstation 3 console so your customers are not subjected to duct tape fixes from 3rd party vendors just trying to make a quick buck! You did it on your previous Playstation 2 revisions. How long until you add one to the PS3?

Potential PS3 owner,
~Justin

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 28th 2008 2:11PM

Dear Justin,

How do you suppose we make a profit on this console? Had we included an IR receiver for a whole 2 cents additional cost, we wouldn't be able to gouge.. er, I mean offer a BT remote to customers for the low and fair price of $25. No one's buying games, no one wants to buy extra controllers, so what else do you propose we do? You should be thrilled that we don't charge our 8 customers anything for online play (yet). Try getting that kind of value from XBL.

You complain too much. Get a second job.

Sincerely,

SONY

Highly Ranked

Justin @ Mar 28th 2008 2:13PM

If only Sony's customer service was REALLY that fast! sigh....

Neutral

WebDev511 @ Mar 28th 2008 2:39PM

Dear Justin,

What's wrong with our Blue Tooth Blu-Ray remote? Sure we put the stop button between the play and pause buttons, but we're Sony, so there is no way that particular element of industrial design will ever be called into question.

Sorry Justin, you'll just have to suck it up.

Arrogantly,
Sony

Neutral

Chris @ Mar 28th 2008 4:28PM

The real soultion is for remote companies to start adding BT in addition to IR in the high end universals. But this is a good stop gap. I would guess a mini-usb phone charger wuld work to power this instead of using batteries?

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 28th 2008 4:40PM

I have to disagree with you Chris. There's no incentive for remote companies to include BT and raise the cost of their devices for only one device. Let's face it, if SONY were leading the way of moving from IR to BT for controlling CE products, then yes I would completely agree with you. But SONY has not done this. They should have been adding BT on their latest TV's and Receivers but it goes to show you they were not trying to push a new technology for controlling CE products by using BT on the PS3, they were just being too cheap and lazy to include IR.

Manufactures need to come together and agree on one set standard for wirelessly controlling CE products to replace IR. Till that day comes, remote companies will stick to IR.

Neutral

Spiza @ Mar 28th 2008 4:38PM

You have to admit that bluetooth is much better than IR though.

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 28th 2008 4:44PM

Of course it is and it would be great if it became the standard. However SONY has proven they were not pushing a new standard, they were just being greedy/lazy/stupid.

Neutral

Spiza @ Mar 30th 2008 8:31AM

Completely agree. They should have started adding bluetooth to all of their consumer electronics devices, forcing more support from universal remote manufacturers.

Neutral

Mr. E @ Mar 28th 2008 4:53PM

This looks pretty sweet, I may have to get one whenever they come back into stock.

Neutral

Charles Edwards Cooper @ Mar 28th 2008 7:35PM

http://www.schmartz.com/main.sc

Neutral

Kevin G @ Mar 30th 2008 1:13AM

i recently installed the schmartz.com IR+PWR kit, it works flawlessly with a TSU9600/RFX9600 system. to get the USB port active when the PS3 is off, you need to pair it with a PSP and turn on remote play. that way the USB ports remain active at all times.
this solution works very well despite not having all the codes available with the bluetooth device. there is no lag with the buttons, and the IR codes are available for all the buttons except the PS button.

Neutral

Kevin @ May 6th 2008 7:40PM

Let's not forget that Nintendo also decided to use bluetooth for the Wii. While it's not going to be used as a A/V device in most situations it still suffers from the same problems in toggling the power on a universal remote.

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