I’m a big fan of Windows Media Center and have a system that I’ve put together myself running in my front room. This week I bought a Microsoft Media Center Keyboard to replace the existing wireless keyboard I was using. I have to say that I’m impressed.
It uses the same IR receiver as the MCE Remote. That’s a good thing in my opinion as it eliminates the need for a separate receiver to be hanging off your box. For those of you that are concerned about IR being line-of-sight don’t be. I pointed the keyboard in every direction I could think of in the far corners of my living room and had no problems at all. My previous keyboard used RF and the range left a lot to be desired.
The keyboard has a very high build quality and a nice weight to it. It has all the buttons from the remote so you can happily control your Media Center with it.
My only citiscim is the ‘nipple’ can be a little hard to control, even when you’ve dialled down the pointer speed in Control Panel. I guess I’ll get used to it. The built in trackball on my previous keyboard was superior in my opinion. However, this is a minor point and would not put me off recommending the keyboard to anyone.
