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Need a new ATV2 remote

H

Hitman1717

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
157
7
One of my little ones must have grabbed my remote. Where is the best place to get a new one? I know the Apple Store might be an option, but none are super close.

A better question might be: are there remotes that are better for the ATV2 than the one that came with it?
 
Last edited:
Hitman1717 said:
One of my little ones must have grabbed my remote. Where is the best place to get a new one? I know the Apple Store might be an option, but none are super close.

A better question might be: are there remotes that are better for the ATV2 than the one that came with it?
Click to expand...

You can buy apparently phenomenal remotes that will make coffee for you (like the Harmony) but top of the line Universal Remotes can cost hundreds.

I just lost one too, and I bought a six dollar universal remote from Amazon and paired it with the ATV2 and it works reasonably well. I broke down and bought a used Apple remote as well (just yesterday) - got it for 12 bucks including shipping. New ones are like 20 bucks.
 
If you're lucky, you might be able to program an existing remote you might have laying about.

I'm currently using the remote that came with my TV and have programmed it such that the Apple TV uses buttons that the TV doesn't usually use (like up, down, left, right, return and ok, which are only used by the TV if I click on Menu before…).

The Apple TV makes it really easy to use non-apple remotes, just go to settings, general, learn remote (i think that's it…) and follow the on-screen instructions.
 
I do have a Harmony universal (not the bells and whistles kind), so maybe I will try that. Just didn't know if the controls match up.
 
Hitman1717 said:
I do have a Harmony universal (not the bells and whistles kind), so maybe I will try that. Just didn't know if the controls match up.
Click to expand...

You have a harmony remote & didn't know you could control an apple tv ?

My entire setup is being controlled by a harmony remote , including fans & air-conditioners
 
I think the remote I have is the 650. But it is controlling three or four things already and i wasn't sure about setting up the Atv.
 
Hitman1717 said:
I think the remote I have is the 650. But it is controlling three or four things already and i wasn't sure about setting up the Atv.
Click to expand...

The ATV does it's own learning. You press the button you want and the ATV learns the function. As long as you have a free input on your remote, you are all set.
 
Do you have an iphone, ipod or ipad? The free remote app will control the ATV quite nicely.

But still, I have been worried about losing that itty bitty remote too, so I put a velcro dot on the back and always stick it to the entertainment center when not in use.
 
Ther aren't any additional controls you can add to the ATV, so the stock remote should suffice. You can pick an old white apple remote for like $6 shipped on Amazon (around $17 shipped for the aluminum). I also have my comcast remote programmed and it works just fine. You really don't need anything fancy for it, unless you're trying to consolidate the number of remotes in your setup.
 
OmegaRed1723 said:
Ther aren't any additional controls you can add to the ATV, so the stock remote should suffice.
Click to expand...
It's nice to have skip-forward and jump-backward mapped to dedicated keys, however, now that I've programmed the aTV to recognize my cable remote.
 
slothrob said:
It's nice to have skip-forward and jump-backward mapped to dedicated keys, however, now that I've programmed the aTV to recognize my cable remote.
Click to expand...

That's a great point. I'd forgotten that I programmed my Comcast remote to do that. It's second-nature at this point, and a very valuable feature.
 
I configured my Harmony to work with the Atv. I feel like it's a little slow getting from menu to menu but it works.
 
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