Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote

Back on September 12, 2007, I wrote a blog post entitled "HDTV on your PC". In the post, I briefly mentioned that I watched recorded TV on my Xbox 360. It's much more convenient (and comfortable) to watch a TV show while sitting on the couch in front of the TV and the Xbox.

A week ago I was in a CompUSA store where they had their Xbox 360 Universal Media Remotes on sale. I bought one, and tried it out at home that night. It's great! The two-handed controller is great for playing games, but when I just want to watch live or recorded TV, the remote makes it easy. It has a Windows Media Center button in the middle of the remote. One push of this button, and the Xbox turns on and connects to my Windows Media Center PC. This is a 5 step process with the two-handed game pad. The remote also makes it easy to change channels and turn the Xbox off. With the game pad, it takes a couple of button presses to do the same.

With the remote, the Xbox behaves more like a digital video recorder (DVR) than a gaming machine. Watching TV on the Xbox has never been easier. If you connect your Xbox to a Windows Media Center computer, you've got to get one of these remotes. If you use your Xbox solely for playing games, you can skip this accessory.