Salt Remote: Apple TV Remote Alternative

I used to miss direct number entry but I've got used to it. It would be a much easier adjustment if I could easily page up/down through the guide. :wink:

Just checked, the page up/down buttons are just duplicates of the skip forward/back buttons. Confirmed by using them while playing a recording in Channels.

@tmm1 @maddox just wanted to provide some more detail on this now that I've had some time to look at it. The buttons are not exact duplicates of the skip forward/back buttons. In Channels live TV they do nothing. When watching a recording in Channels they act as chapter skip buttons (jumping back or forward to each advert break marker).

I'm hoping with the new tvOS beta (great work by the way), that you'll be able to find a way to implement them as page up/down buttons in the guide.

Thatā€™s what we map them to. So it sounds right.

If you have line-of-sight to your AppleTV box I think most any IR remote will work. There are tons of options in every price range.

In my case, my AppleTV box is sitting inside of a cabinet and thus my Apple remote is using Bluetooth for connectivity. I hate the Apple remote and would be happy to replace it however there are not very many Bluetooth remotes out there and I haven't found any for a reasonable price.

I got a Caavo during Prime day and can control all my devices Shield ... SoundBar .. AppleTV PC , FireTVCube and my TV. Got tired off all the remotes. It is Pricey but I got a great deal during Prime day for $49.99.

Hey all,

Iā€™ve had such a great experience with this remote (One for All - Streamer Remote) that I ended up buying a total of 3 of them for the living room (as we tend to loose them in our very long couch, or leave them around the kitchen, dining table, coffee table, etc.)

I love the price point ($25 at Best Buy) and the limited amount of buttons. Pretty much any button can be programmed or learned via another remote (itā€™s all IR, no bluetooth) to be whatever command you desire. And the bottom ones labeled N, A, H for netflix, Amazon, Hulu can be used for whatever youā€™d like or set up a macro line of IR commands. An example: go to the aTV home screen, move the selector and launch apps. Also a cool little trick is that you can program the LED backlight color (out of thousands of colors) of the circle to reflect which device youā€™re currently controlling.

One thing thatā€™s very nice is (unlike other mega button remotes) that you donā€™t have to tell the remote which ONE device youā€™d like to be controlling at a time. It sends the power and volume controls to the tv when pressed, and controls my aTV when I press the direction pad or media control buttons. Each button can control a different device if so desired.

Hereā€™s the info from the product page if I missed a feature.

Features

Controls up to three devices

Enables easy control of your streaming devices, TVs, and soundbars.

Multicolored ring

Once you have set up your devices, the color of the menu ring reflects the devices you are controlling.

Four programmable buttons

Smart control features four app shortcut keys for viewing streamed content if your original remote control already had a key for this.

Volume control

This remote lets you assign volume control to a preferred device.

Batteries required

Four AAA batteries are required to power your remote control.

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You do realize that you can

  • make the aTV remote much nicer by getting a cover for it. Look for Apple TV Remote Cover on Amazon. Helps to easily show which way is up!

  • get the same functionality as Salt for your parents with practically any IR remote. Find one you like (maybe one of those ones you see with big buttons in the "As Sold on TV" store, or even one just like around. Then program your aTV to accept it. (Easy, just go to settings.)

šŸ¤¦ No, there are no universal remotes that "just work" the way the Salt remote does (why do you think Salt designed their own?). Those remotes either have number buttons, which aren't functional and are therefore confusing, or lack cec controls.

Its an issue of "what do you consider good enough", ie what's the functionality you want?
I personally use the remote from my EyeTV which works well. But sure, if the issue is "get rid of EVERY button that's not relevant" Caavo is probably your best bet.

Ultimately it boils down to "what EXACTLY is it that you hate about the Apple Remote"?
That the top looks like the bottom?
Or the lack of dedicated skip-fwd/skip-bwd /up-down buttons?
Something else?

For my purposes (I wanted an extra remote, AND some apps are programmed by morons and don't handle the aTV skip commands properly) the Elgato remote works well. You can use the arrow keys in the obvious way, program play/skip to the obvious buttons, use the TXT button for menu, and simply ignore the top half of the remote. (Heck, slap duct tape over it if necessary.)

But each to his. For me this provided a free solution that works well.

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After using bluetooth remotes, I never want to use an IR Remote again.

For those with iPhones, why not just use Appleā€™s Remote app? It works perfectly and itā€™s on a device you already have.

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Looks like there's a cheaper way to get the Salt style remote in the US now:

Will be interesting to see how well this works. The channel with these remotes is that the TV button, necessary to bring up the App switcher, is only callable by Bluetooth, while most of the other buttons are OK with IR. I've only been able to replicate that one on the Caavo Control Center, which is way overkill for me now since I run everything through the Apple TV. I'm using the One for All Streamer, mentioned a few posts back and it is about half the price of this new one and has similar buttons plus 4 programmable app buttons that are basically useless on the Apple TV. The biggest thing Apple could do to improve the Apple TV would be a redesign of the remote... keep what its got but add a few additional buttons and make it a little bigger.

I got one of these today. All the Apple TV functions seem to work. I canā€™t for the life of me get my tv programmed so thatā€™s a bit annoying.

I have the salt version and cannot get it to put the ATV to sleep. Turns TV on/off any ideas?

Have you tried stopping the active stream before turning the TV off? If you don't, the ATV will not go to sleep. If you do, it should, assuming you've got the CEC settings turned on for it to automatically follow the TV. Waking it up for me sometimes is just hitting the middle button on the DPad rather than Power On, but Power On seems to work if you then hit the middle button after. Just hitting the button usually wakes up the ATV which via CEC causes the TV to come on.

I do exit out of the app and CEC on an older Sharp TV might not be so good

Can that sofabaton's TV button at the top be a macro button to turn the system on and off? Direct on/off for devices is a beat meaningless in this day once you start doing macros.

Yes, thatā€™s how I have mine configured. The Sofabaton only supports sending IR codes with macros, no Bluetooth, but that doesnā€™t present a big problem for me as everything else is Bluetooth.

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Yeah. Would think macros affect the main equipment. For me it's a receiver and projector. Since it's a macro I can do the two step power off for the projector too.

Ideally I'd probably get the Logitech smart remote since that's small, basic and that watch battery just lasts forever. Plus more dedicated buttons that are useful for live TV instead of using the colored buttons.