X10 Powermid PM5900 Remote Control Extender Kit - Includes a Transmitter and Receiver - (Infrared Only No Video)

I don't usually write product reviews and when I do it is to complain about something. However, I felt that I just had to report my experience with this product. It worked exactly as advertised!I placed the transmitter on a bookshelf in my home theater and the receiver on an equipment shelf inside a closed small room when all of my components reside. There were three aspects of the performance of the Powermid that surprised me.First, it is extremely responsive. There is no apparent time lag between pushing a button on the remote and the component response.Second, it was incredibly easy and fast to setup. It took less than five minutes.Third, I didn't have to do anything special in terms of aiming or placement of the receiver. I just placed it on a shelf in the room and all of my components respond. This is probably because my components are in a small room where the IR signal reflects off of the walls and bounces around.If I had to offer any criticism at all it is that you must aim the remote directly at the transmitter. Its reception of the IR signal seems quite narrow. However, this is nit-picking.I really admire the simplicity of this product. The transmitter converts the IR signal into a radio frequency, which can pass through walls, and then the receiver converts it back to IR and sends it to the components. This all happens in a fraction of a second. Compared to some other products I tried and/or investigated, this one is superior by a whole order of magnitude.

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. Most of the reviews I have read about the Powermid are where someone put their A/V gear in a closet in the next room or in the basement directly below the living room. These weren't very helpful to me in solving my problem. I want to control my TiVo in the living room from my bedroom. The bedroom is about 45' away from the living room, and there is a right angle in the hallway connecting the two rooms. The radio signal has to penetrate no less than 3 walls to reach the receiver.I read such glowing reviews of the Powermid, I thought I might as well give it a try. It probably couldn't be any worse than the IR/Radio repeater set I paid about 25% more for at Radio Shack. The Radio Shack unit was horribly unreliable, had to be positioned and repositioned and I would have to hold the remote at a funny angle right in front of the transmitter to get it to work. And then it was intermittent at best.The Powermid works flawlessly. I plugged it in, and it just works. Every click works every time. I have the receiver/IR emitter up high on a shelf, not even directly aimed at the TiVo. The transmitter sits across the bedroom from where I have the remote. I think the Powermid's stellar performance is due in part to the reasonably sized antenna on the receiver unit. No visible antenna on the transmitter unit improves the aesthetics. The power supply is via a standard 110-volt cable, no floor slugs or wall warts, and the cords are plenty long.

I am totally impressed with this remote control extender. I have used the other types that use an IR receiver and you tape the repeater device on the front of your equipment. They work, but only if you put your electronics in a closed cabinet in the same room. I wanted to get the clutter of my electronics out of the room so that I would only have a wall mounted HDTV in the room with no cables showing.I read the reviews on this Powermid Remote and thought I'd give it a try. My surround sound system, DVR/Cable box, Blu Ray, DVD recorder, and 3rd DVD players are all hidden away in a credenza in a bedroom with an HDMI switch and single HDMI cable that I ran through the wll to the TV set. I was concerned about this working with the equipment closed up in a small cabinet with the face of the equipment very close to the door which practically blocks the IR sensors. I'm happy to say it works flawlessly even in that situation. It even allows me to hook up the DVR and Blu Ray player to my bedroom TV too without paying the extra monthly cost to the cable company. Set up is easy, in fact really nothing to it. Place the transmitter unit in the room you want to sit in, and the receive unit (the one with the antenna), near the equipment to control. They plug in so there's no batteries to worry about. It's that simple. One unit works with all of my remote controls. I've had no trouble with any of the devices I'm controlling.I had to laugh at the reviewer who said the top is sharp and he worried about his kids til I opened the box and touched the top. He was right.. they are sharp.I would not hesitate to buy another one if I needed more. It is extremely good!