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cyberbro

macrumors member
Original poster
Just got my Apple TV, boy is that remote control that comes with it garbage.
Unless your perfectly inline with light on the unit it does nothing.
 
Just got my Apple TV, boy is that remote control that comes with it garbage.
Unless your perfectly inline with light on the unit it does nothing.

I'm unclear on the point of the thread.

Are you looking for "Yeah, you're right...it stinks" or "Mine works fine" responses?

Are you looking for alternatives to the supplied remote?

Or is the post a fairly pointless personal observation with little or no room for discussion?

You might consider expanding your post to make clear your point.
 
Remote with Apple TV, junk

I find quite the opposite and I'd be willing to say defective unit. The reason I say this is because my Apple TV like MANY members here is mounted behind my TV out of sight. Merely pointing the remote at the side of the TV is enough to make it work flawlessly.
 
Same here, no issues with the remote and how I hold it (although I prefer to use the remote app instead).

Note that the IR the remote uses can be disturbed by other equipment emitting IR at same or similar frequency. Motorola VIP-1910 IPTV box remote for instance works like garbage when my Philips LCD TV is one, but works OK when it's off.
 
Last edited:
I'm unclear on the point of the thread.

Are you looking for "Yeah, you're right...it stinks" or "Mine works fine" responses?

Are you looking for alternatives to the supplied remote?

Or is the post a fairly pointless personal observation with little or no room for discussion?

You might consider expanding your post to make clear your point.

Yes

----------

I find quite the opposite and I'd be willing to say defective unit. The reason I say this is because my Apple TV like MANY members here is mounted behind my TV out of sight. Merely pointing the remote at the side of the TV is enough to make it work flawlessly.

Interesting, I have it as a clean line of sight about 10' from the bed (at the same height) and I need to maneuver for 3 or 4 tries to get a response. Maybe I will call Apple after the Holiday.

Thanks
 
Wound't know. Anytime I get a new gadget, the stand-alone remote is shortly absorbed into the universal.

People still use separate remotes? 😱
 
Just got my Apple TV, boy is that remote control that comes with it garbage.
Unless your perfectly inline with light on the unit it does nothing.

My only issue is the size and slickness of them. We've got 6 ATV's in our house and good luck finding a remote. They always slide into the couches and disappear. Everyone in the house just uses an iOS device for controlling the ATV's anyways. I find it much easier to search thru massive iTunes libraries.

Ive also got the ATV's mounted either behind or up above TV's and never had issues. I also have one in a remote closet using a IR Blaster without problems.
 
Interesting, I have it as a clean line of sight about 10' from the bed (at the same height) and I need to maneuver for 3 or 4 tries to get a response. Maybe I will call Apple after the Holiday.
I'd try a fresh battery first. It's range and continuous shooting (ie holding down a button) diminish drastically with a weak battery.
 
I'm curious to why they didn't let it be used as a scroll wheel like the iPods, it would be easier than clicking to move around.
 
Aside from checking the battery, you may also want to see if you have anything in your room that could be transmitting IR signals in the direction of your Apple TV, thereby causing interference.
 
My only issue is the size and slickness of them. We've got 6 ATV's in our house and good luck finding a remote. They always slide into the couches and disappear. Everyone in the house just uses an iOS device for controlling the ATV's anyways. I find it much easier to search thru massive iTunes libraries.

With 2 small kids I find a small drill bit plus one of these (from Staples) helps make it a "mostly" remote control, and it doesn't get lost.

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Not the best in the world that's for sure. If you have several devices pick up a Harmony remote. I have the Smart Control and absolutely love it.
 
I actually think these remotes are remarkable. I'm not kidding, I can operate my Apple TV flawlessly pointing the remote at the wall behind me.
 
Mine works fine. As stated above, make sure you don't have interference before broadly proclaiming that the remote is the issue.
 
Just got my Apple TV, boy is that remote control that comes with it garbage.
Unless your perfectly inline with light on the unit it does nothing.

AMEN! I can't stand that piece of crap remote. While I don't have a big issue with line of site, the ergnomics are terrible and we always lose them. My wife and I both hate the remote. I know you can program a different remote, but it would be nice to find a good dedicated replacement that just had the buttons I needed like this but good quality.

I wish the remote was like the Roku one. If I wasn't using both on every TV I'd just program one of those for it.
 
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Just to add...I personally think the remote is beautifully designed and feels nice in the hand. The aluminum is a Jony Ive form-over-function miscue and just makes it colder and slipperier than it ought to be. I'd prefer a more rubberized/grippy texture. It lacks a backlight, but doesn't really need one because it has such few buttons. All that said, even though I actually love the design, I don't use it for two reasons:
1) The Apple TV is not my only (or even primary) device, and the remote can't control anything but the ATV, and I'd rather have a single universal remote than to constantly move between different remotes and have to remember where the buttons are located on one vs another.
2) The lack of volume up/down is unforgivable.
 
Mine also works fine and is an upgrade on the first gen one. However I don't use it that often. I tend to use the IR blaster on my phone.
 
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