About 10 years of computer experience. Been messing around with electronics since I was 5, got into computers when I was in highschool, been modding them ever since then. Very interested in how things work and their design.
Pages: Page 1 , Page 2 , Page 3. Bob Buskirk About 10 years of computer experience. The Dijit app automatically finds the Roku boxes on the network and adds the box to your list of devices. You could actually use the Dijit remote for the Roku without having a Beacon. I started with a pre-defined TV remote like the one shown in the earlier screen capture.
I held the remote up to the back of the Beacon stone and pressed the corresponding button on the remote until the command was learned.
Everything works great, except for one thing with the virtual Apple remote. The Apple TV accepts a long-push on the Menu button to send it all the way out to the top menu and a long-push on the select button to put it into standby mode. You can also define remotes for the setups in various rooms in your house. You can also delete devices should you get rid of one or replace it. A little more about the guide feature. To conclude, the Griffin Beacon paired with the Dijit app is a functional universal remote control system, if you are prepared to spend some time setting it up.
I understand there are a lot of devices out there, but other companies have pre-defined remotes that have all the buttons already defined for you — and they work. Griffin and Dijit need to get busy defining some complete remotes before the system will be as easy to set up as it is to use.
And by the way, there is a version of the Beacon system for Android users, too. I just wish it had been easier to find the information that I needed to help me get it set up faster.
Janet, Great review! Best Jeremy. Kevin To move, you swipe your finger across the trackpad in the direction you want your on-screen cursor to move.
To make a selection, you tap the trackpad. I was not able to resize the trackpad. I also could not find any method to add an alphabetic keyboard, but there is a numeric keypad available.
TV, but if you are signed in to a Dijit account you can give shows a thumbs-up or down or comment on them. The Netflix tab allows you to manage your streaming queue, conduct searches and view suggested items and add those to your queue. There's also built-in support for a Roku box, but as I don't have one I was unable to test this.
In fact, the Beacon supports over , devices, including your Xbox -- possibly worth the price of admission right there if you have a vast array of gear. The only problem with this Guide portion of the app is a lack of landscape view for anything, and some of the buttons are really tiny.
On-screen help works, but I was still left wondering what was the point of leaving comments on things -- I don't see Dijit building a social network like GetGlue or other competing products. One excellent feature is the thumbs up rating, which moves shows to your "My Shows" tab up top of the Guide.
The Devices screen is next on the nav bar at the bottom of the app, and I wonder if there was a spirited debate about making that button second. Generally I need to power up my TV before watching it, although I suppose you could see if there's anything worth watching first. At any rate, Devices is where you will go to control all your components. It'll drop you into the last-used component's control screen, which in my case was the TV.
As with all of these apps, you get back to your list of devices with a tiny button up top. I'll go into more depth on the Devices screen in a moment, as it is really quite powerful. Continuing to the right of the nav you'll find Activities, which is a way to set up a series of actions for your various remotes. If you want to watch a movie, you may want your TV to power up, switch inputs and power up the DVD player.
Of course, you'll have to set all this up for each action, and I found the process to be somewhat confusing and sometimes limiting.
For example, let's say I wanted to set up an action for "watch the news," and I had a particular station I always watch for news. I can power up my cable box and TV unless they are already on and can't receive discrete power on codes -- then you're just toggling and they'll switch off instead but switching to another channel beyond 9 is laborious.
If you want your cable box to go to channel , you'll add 3 commands, one for each number! You can, however, set a delay, which allows you to wait until your device is in a ready state before sending more commands. That's a welcome touch. The Rooms screen allows you to configure more Beacons in other rooms, and from what Griffin says they will re-associate by tapping the Beacon's stone. I only had one unit and was unable to test this. It also allows you to change service providers, in case you have cable in one room and satellite in another.
Nifty, but something most people probably won't use. You can do a bit of customization in the Settings, including editing those shows you gave a thumbs-up to, and viewing your activity within the Guide. In Devices you can choose one of your devices, then see the remote button layout for that particular component. Where Dijit really shines is on these remote screens. The button layouts, while logical and great, are completely configurable.
Just remember to keep rechargeables handy. You almost certainly have enough other devices that need them as well! The actual remote portion of the Dijit app is not a thing of great beauty, but it is functional, and in the end, that's what matters.
There are simple choices for your remote, and you can adapt them to your personal choices by adding or deleting buttons. Once you've got it all set up, you're ready to use your one-stop remote control. You can add a television guide that will help manage your channels and DVRs by entering your ZIP code and selecting the correct broadcast provider.
Overall, I have had a positive experience with the Beacon and the Dijit app.
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