Remote Controllers for Game Consoles/HDPCs in Large HT

[taorama]

Hello all,

I'm new to the HTGuide forum, and hope this is the right place to post this! I have a question regarding game controllers in a large HT room. If the equipment rack is located in the back of the HT room, what's the best way to set up game consoles like PS2/3 and XBox? Will the wireless controllers work? What about games like DDRMax that use the the dance pads, or some of the driving games? Is it better to set up a couple of hard-wired game ports near the seating area?

Also, what about HDPC's? Most of the reviews I read for the wireless keyboards/mice say the ranges on those are pretty bad.

The HT in question is about 25' wide by approximately 40' deep, screen at the front and the equipment rack in the back.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Andy

[Chris D]

Hey, Andy, you bring up a good issue that does come up for many people.

I personally haven't encountered many problems with remote devices. My previous theater, all equipment was in a side alcove about 8 feet away from the seats, and 12-15 feet away from the screen or front projector. I used a few remote devices, including PS3 bluetooth remotes, with few problems. In my new theater, though, I have an entirely separate equipment room that is separated from the theater by two sets of walls. It's about 30 feet from the equipment racks to the main seating, maybe 40 feet to the front screen, but 30 feet should be the max range needed. Coincidentally, the PS3 bluetooth controllers are stated to have a 30 foot max range, so we'll see how that turns out. (I'm still unpacking in my new house and haven't set everything up)

As an alternative, though, I've found that there's usually ways to run wires with little impact if you try hard enough--tucked under floorboards, under furniture, etc. Previous theater, I ran USB extension cables behind the theater seats, and could plug in the PS3 controllers when I needed to play and charge them up at the same time. Current theater, worst case, I can run a long USB cable from one room to the other if things don't work, or use Cat 5 cables that already run in-wall between the rooms.

[impala454]

I can speak for the 360 controllers having a very long range. I recall when I brought my 360 to a friend's apartment, his neighbor (who lived on the floor below and one apt over) came over and brought his two controllers. He turned them on, but they didn't connect to my box (but the green light came on on the controller itself). After a few minutes of puzzled looks, we went into the friend's apartment downstairs and over one, and it had actually turned on his 360!