TiVoSlide C00240 Keyboard Remote Control, Black

This review is for using the TiVo Slide Remote with your computer, or HTPC in particular. If you're looking for a recommendation on using this remote with your TiVo I'm sure there are plenty here to help you with that.While I have dabbled in the HTPC world since last century, I am extremely lazy and the prospect of building a completely digital media center out of my thousands of discs was unlikely. But things change and I finally took the plunge before Christmas building a fresh box and preparing media for use with XBMC. That tale of woe is for another place, but part of any HTPC should be a simple but complete remote control. It should be backlit. There are options but with the quantity of media at my disposal a keyboard comes in handy even within XBMC so there aren't a lot of choices, particularly if IR can be an issue (as it so often is with PC IR receivers). Enter the TiVo Slide, bluetooth, backlit, enough buttons for all of XBMC's shortcuts plus a keyboard. Let's see how this turns out!Out of the box I got nothing. While the Bluetooth adapter was recognized and installed it had no software pairing functionality and the hardware button did nothing. At the time of setup I already had a Bluetooth dongle for my Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard working and it would not pair with the TiVo Slide (no software interface again, though I did install it without drivers as Logitech's giant memory footprint for their support software makes them undesirable). I bought a Bluetooth adapter that would support Windows 7's default Bluetooth stack for pairing and other functionality, removed the two vendor-specific Bluetooth adapters and replaced them with the new one, paired both the keyboard and remote and I was good to go... sort of.While the TiVo Slide will actually kick out some Windows MCE commands, I wanted to use XBMC. I went with Intelliremote as my software to customize the remote. It works perfectly except I cannoy override the Guide button from launching Windows Media Center. Otherwise I have all of XBMC's keyboard commands mapped to buttons and can use the Slide's keyboard throughout.Now for the reason for my review's title and the four star review: the TiVo Slide also works with TiVo hardware in IR mode. Failing a Bluetooth connection the remote will beam standard TiVo remote button presses. The problem? I own two TiVo's. And they sit on top of one another in the same rack below the HTPC. D'oh.There is no switch to disable the IR functionality. If there were I still couldn't award five stars because of the Bluetooth issue I'm about to get to, but given the Slide's use I found a solution to keeping the remote from mistakenly zapping the TiVo's when I'm trying to control the HTPC: electrical tape. Yeppers, just standard black electrical tape over the IR area on the front and no more IR. Would prefer a switch but it works.Now about that Bluetooth thing. I use Bluetooth with my PS3, beside the controllers and headsets I have a Logitech keyboard and Sony's Bluetooth remote. These connect to the PS3 and you're done. Not so with at least the Bluetooth dongle I bought, the TiVo Slide or Windows 7, maybe they're all to blame. Bottom line: the Slide loses its Bluetooth connection every few minutes forcing multiple button presses before they begin talking again. It's really annoying. Why can the PS3 remote connect to the PS3 and remain working until the batteries die but the TiVo Slide and computer lose track of each other dozens of times each day? Got me.I hate trackpads because tap to click is enabled by default and you have to install drivers to turn it off. Because of this even the handful of small remote keyboards with Bluetooth and backlighting don't work for me. While you theoretically could use Intelliremote to map keys to mouse movements, basically the TiVo slide will do everything you need to do with your HTPC except, you know, building it. But when my media is there and I just want the best Home Theater Experience I press the TiVo button (which launches XBMC) and then use the buttons to navigate the interface and watch all the movies and TV shows I have on hand. Took some experimenting but I am happy for the most part with this solution.

I purchased the TiVo premiere about two weeks ago after being a TiVo customer for years with a series 2 box. I and wanted to upgrade to an HD set-top box do to the many added features of the new TiVo's. The original remote seem to be lacking in functionality and practicality with the many content searches you do on TiVo. It would seem to me that a no-brainer would be to have a keyboard implemented and not have it be an add on remote at what lists four $89. Luckily I found this remote here on Amazon.com for far less than the one I was thinking it was going to be i at $89. I probably would've not purchased this remote. Shipping was what I have come to expect from Amazon.com which is prompt excellent and efficient service. but this remote does not feel like a $90 remote it is shorter and chubbier and has a better feel to it than the thinner longer standard remote that comes with the TiVo but when you slide out the QWERTY keyboard there's a little flimsiness to it. This is not much to say towards the remote itself but it does come with a Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the back of the TiVo to equip the TiVo to transmit to the remote through Bluetooth. I think this is a great idea to use Bluetooth with this remote but in hindsight I think the TiVo premiere should've come with Bluetooth built into the box. This is to visit don't to constantly ask of its customers to buy add on features be it wireless dongle for Wi-Fi at $60 or a $90 remote or a $200 external hard drive that is proprietary to their TiVo box a lot of these features should just be built in the box. At the $64 price point I paid for this remote I'm content but not overly impressed it fills a need for a QWERTY keyboard with your TiVo so if you are a TiVo fan I do recommend picking up this remote

I got my first TiVo many years ago, and in fact still have that original one - a Sony TiVo Series 1. Since then, I've upgraded twice, owning two  Tivo Series 2 TCD540040 DVR Recorders  and now upgrading to two  TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVRs (Black) .No matter which TiVo model I've used, one of my favorite features has always been the Wishlists. However, it's also been one of the most tedious features, as it used to require clicking through the on-screen keyboard until you spelled out the keywords you wished to set up.When I got my TiVo Premieres, one of the main things I was looking forward to was the ability to use the TiVoSlide remote, which offers a full keyboard on the remote and greatly speeds the entry of alphabetical characters.I didn't want to use the TiVoSlide as my main remote, as I prefer using my  Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touchscreen  and  Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control  remotes with their advanced features such as Activities. I planned to buy one TiVoSlide remote to use for both of my TiVo Premiere DVRs, only using it when I needed to enter text too cumbersome to use the onscreen keyboard for.Unfortunately, TiVo found a way to foil that plan. The TiVoSlide requires a Bluetooth adapter be connected to the TiVo and the slide-out keyboard only works with the Bluetooth adapter that remote is paired with. Ah well, best-laid plans go astray, as they say.Still, I found the TiVoSlide to be so convenient I finally broke down and bought a second one for the other TiVo Premiere. Entering strings of text is truly a breeze with the slide-out keyboard and the rest of the remote works very well also. If you are already used to a standard TiVo remote, you will have no trouble switching to the TiVoSlide as it is laid out almost exactly like the original TiVo remote, albeit in a condensed size.Programming my televisions in the TiVoSlide remote was very easy, just as with the original TiVo remote.After using the TiVoSlide for just six months, I honestly don't know how I ever did without it. I really think that TiVo needs to start packaging these as a standard item with all TiVos. The only reason I did not rate it with five stars is that it can't be easily switched back and forth between TiVos without also moving the Bluetooth adapter.

I love this keyboard remote for my Tivo Roamio. It's a bit smaller than a regular Tivo remote but the keyboard makes doing searches so much easier