If you want to put audio visual equipment (such as a Sky box or DVD player) in a cupboard and then use your existing remote control(s) or a universal remote control without having to open the cupboard door then you'll need a remote control extender (also commonly known as an infrared extender).
Basic solutions
The most basic solution for controlling audio visual equipment in a cupboard is to use either a Marmitek Stereo Control or Marmitek Invisible Control. These devices consist of a small (approximately 90 x 75 x 30 mm) box called an infrared (IR) receiver which is attached to a thin IR extender cable with one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the end. The IR receiver 'box' sits in line of sight of your remote control (usually on top of or, at least, close to) the cupboard and the IR extender cable runs into the cupboard where one of the LEDs is attached (using the self-adhesive tape on the back) to the front of each of the devices you want to control. Controlling your equipment is then just a matter of pointing your remote control at the IR recever, which relays the signal to the equipment you want to control via the LEDs attached to it.
Whether you choose a Stereo Control or Invisible Control is very much a matter of personal choice as their functionality is essentially the same. The only real differences are:
- The Stereo Control is black whereas the Invisible Control is silver.
- The Stereo Control is battery operated whereas the Invisible Control can be operated using batteries or the (supplied) power adapter.
- The Stereo Control has a permanently attached IR extender cable with two LEDs to control two devices. The Invisible Control has a detachable IR extender cable with two LEDs to control two devices, and has the capability of adding a second cable to control a further two devices.
Both the Stereo Control or Invisible Control are great at what they do, but they do suffer from a couple of potential drawbacks, most specifically:
- The IR extender cables are 3 metres long which means that the IR receiver can be no more than 3 metres from the equipment that it is controlling.
- The maximum number of devices that can be controlled is four (or two in the case of of the Stereo Control).
The 'professional' option
If you want to control more than 4 devices in a cupboard, or it's not convenient to point your remote control in the general direction of the cupboard (or if you simply don't like the look of the Stereo Control or Invisible Control) then it is worth taking a look at the Marmitek IR Control Pro 8 which offers a number of advantages over the previous two systems:
- The IR Control Pro 8 can control four devices straight out of the box, and up to two further IR extender cables can be connected giving it a total capacity of eight devices.
- With the IR Control Pro 8 the IR receiver is separate from the electronics and associated power supply and is very small making your installation rather more discrete. Indeed a panel mount IR receiver is available which can be drilled into a cabinet front, making the whole installation virtually invisible.
- The cable which connects the IR Control Pro 8's IR receiver and electronics can be extended up to 300 metres using commonly available cable such as cat-5 so the IR receiver can be placed virtually anywhere.
- More than one IR receiver can be connected to the IR Control Pro 8, offering the potential for equipment to be controlled from different rooms.
Wireless solutions
Depending on your situation, one other solution worth considering is a wireless infrared extender setup such as the Marmitek Powermid XL or the Marmitek Powermid XS. Whilst both of these systems are primarily intended for controlling equipment in a different room they do provide options for controlling equipment in a cupboard.
These devices consist of a separate IR receiver and IR transmitter which can 'talk' to each other using radio frequency (RF). The IR receiver sits (somewhere convenient) in line of sight of your remote control and the IR transmitter sits either in line of sight of the equipment you want to control or is connected to that equipment using an IR extender cable such as the Marmitek IR Eye (in just the same way as with the Stereo Control, Invisible Control or IR Control Pro 8). Controlling your equipment is now simply a matter of pointing your remote control at the IR recever, which relays the signal wirelessly to the IR transmitter, which in turn relays it to the equipment you want to control.
If you are thinking of using a Powermid XL or Powermid XS to control equipment in a closed cupboard you need to be aware that an IR transmitter can only drive one IR extender cable so with a basic setup you are limited to controlling just two devices in a closed cupboard. However, the IR transmitter will also control anything in its line of sight so if you have a very deep cupboard it is sometimes possible to put the IR transmitter inside and possibly even do away with the need for an IR extender cable altogether as a result. Alternatively, as an IR receiver will 'talk' to any number of IR transmitters, it is possible to locate multiple IR transmitters and IR extender cables at the cupboard location, all of which are controlled by the single IR receiver.
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