Digital Trends

Gyration Media Center Remote and Keyboard

May 5th, 2004 | by Jeff Fila

Installation and Setup

Since the Media Center suite connects via a plug ‘n' play USB receiver, the first install step is to simply plug the USB connection in. The receiver includes a five-foot long cord allowing you to place it on top of your entertainment center or out of the way. Since it is RF based the receiver doesn't need not be in line of sight for the devices to communicate with it. Gyration states that wireless phones, computer components and other devices can interfere with the receiver, and they give you several tips for avoiding interference. The receiver also has a small antenna that can be extended to about 4-inches total. According to Gyration, the USB cable also acts as an antenna, maximizing the distance you can get out of your setup.

Once plugged in, the receiver is automatically recognized as a USB input device, but you still must configure the devices to talk to the receiver. This is accomplished simply by pushing a “learn” button on the receiver and a “teach” button on the remote and keyboard. Once you tie these devices in this way, Windows recognizes them as a USB keyboard and mouse and you can begin using them.

Setup also involves installing the GyroTools Media Center software - an application suite that allows you to customize your remote to work with a number of options on your Media Center computer. Installation of the GyroTools software is pretty straightforward, but setting it up beyond the default options can be quite time consuming.

Upon launching the GyroTools application, you are presented with a host of tabs and options, so many that it may seem a bit overwhelming to some users. The application allows you to change settings for the remote control and save them as profiles. The remote control configuration allows you to assign actions to any button combination or swipe combination you can think of. In fact, there are 81 different actions that can be assigned to a “swipe” or a “shake” — yes we counted them.

For instance, you can configure the remote to go to the next track by hitting the "Swipes" button and swiping your hand to the right. Or you can configure it to increase the volume by hitting the "Swipes" button and swiping your wrist upwards. The remote supports almost any combination of Swipes and Media Center OS commands you can think of. You can also hold down the mouse “activate” button (the button on the bottom of the remote) and the right mouse button at the same time instead of using the "Swipes" button.

The GyroTools application allows you to customize your "Swipes" and "Shakes"