Back at the UK user group event in June Eddy Carroll from Amulet demonstrated their new voice controlled Windows Media Center remote control and I was really impressed with the demo, Eddy could just pickup the remote control and then start speaking and Media Center would go off and follow his commands. So I was really keen to try the remote for myself and was excited when Amulet sent me a device to review.
See the video bellow for my first impressions and what is in the package, I have to say I was really impressed and since recording the video I have been using the remote all the time
You can find more details on Amuletedevices.com, the device is shipping in the US now for $259 and will be coming to Europe soon
0 thoughts on “Video: Amulet Voice Controlled Windows Media Center Remote Control”
I realise you are still testing the remote, but from you video review the remote appeared to stay within the Amulet MC ribbon when using voice commands e.g. when you asked for Recorded TV it was the Amulet softwares Recorded TV instead of the ususal Media Centre interface. Do you think the voice functionality will would work with other addins interfaces e.g. My Movies and TunerFree?
@russell You can navigate to the normal Media Center screens with commands like GO TO MY MUSIC, GO TO MY MUSIC ALBUMS, GO TO MY RECORDED TV, etc. Obviously, you don’t get the additional metadata we pull down from the Internet in such cases. When playing a piece of media directly (WATCH MOVIE SHERLOCK HOLMES, for example) then the Amulet screens will only get involved if you were already inside them, otherwise they won’t appear.
Out of the box, we don’t support third-party plug-ins directly, though we are keen to add support for MyMovies 3.0. However, our current software does support custom voice commands, which facilitates driving other screens including plug-ins. We plan to release more details about this shortly.
Thank you for the reply and I look forward to reading the update you refer to.
If memory serves, Ian referred to the Amulet as being a learning device – is that similar to a universal remote e.g. controlling the TV and external Amp\receiver? If so, will it be possible to set up macros (similar to Logitech software) and use the voice features to, say, send all the devices to sleep?
Yes, the Amulet remote has basic IR learning capability. It doesn’t support macros, and the learnt IR codes can only be invoked by pressing a button on the remote, not by voice.
That said, it’s a very handy capability. You can reprogram several of the basic buttons, such as TV Power / Vol+ / Vol- and an additional utility key (often used for Source Selection), and have those functions always available. You can also program up to four additional device keymaps, with each keymap allowing any of the remote buttons to be trained to a new IR code (you press the center Start button to return to normal Media Center operation). One such keymap could operate all the functions on your Blu-Ray player, for example.
So for basic IR operations, Amulet does a good job of letting you put three or four of your other device remotes in the cupboard and using the voice remote for day to day stuff. For more sophisticated IR applications, a Harmony or equivalent is still the way to go.
At CEDIA 2010 in September, we previewed a plug-in that allows Amulet to work with the BC4 Bitwise Controller, a small home automation box that includes IR control capability, macros, external relays, sensors, and other good stuff, all accessed over Ethernet. Our plug-in allows you to map a single Amulet voice command to a group of actions such as “Turn on Blu-Ray player, lower the cinema screen, close the curtains, select 7.1 input on surround sound amp, adjust lighting to “soft”, etc.). Out of the box, the BC4 can control up to four independent IR devices using IR emitters, plus a 5th blaster output for everything else.
Of course, you need to have a Bitwise Controller to take advantage of this. We plan to support other home automation solutions as well. Bitwise are at http://www.bitwisecontrols.com/
You mention IR, what if my Media Center PC is in another room and I am using a 360. does the reciever plug into the 360’s USB port, will it work with the 360 ? I also have a HP Media Connect x280n extender, will it work with that ? What if I have 2 Media Center PC’s, I need to purchace 2 Amulet devices, does each device have to be set to a different frequency ?
We don’t currently support Media Center extenders, though it is something we are looking at. You will need one Amulet for each media center PC you plan to control.
Each Amulet & dongle are paired in the factory, and so you can use several devices in close proximity without interference; no special settings needed.
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I realise you are still testing the remote, but from you video review the remote appeared to stay within the Amulet MC ribbon when using voice commands e.g. when you asked for Recorded TV it was the Amulet softwares Recorded TV instead of the ususal Media Centre interface. Do you think the voice functionality will would work with other addins interfaces e.g. My Movies and TunerFree?
@russell You can navigate to the normal Media Center screens with commands like GO TO MY MUSIC, GO TO MY MUSIC ALBUMS, GO TO MY RECORDED TV, etc. Obviously, you don’t get the additional metadata we pull down from the Internet in such cases. When playing a piece of media directly (WATCH MOVIE SHERLOCK HOLMES, for example) then the Amulet screens will only get involved if you were already inside them, otherwise they won’t appear.
Out of the box, we don’t support third-party plug-ins directly, though we are keen to add support for MyMovies 3.0. However, our current software does support custom voice commands, which facilitates driving other screens including plug-ins. We plan to release more details about this shortly.
Regards,
Eddy (Amulet Devices)
Eddy,
Thank you for the reply and I look forward to reading the update you refer to.
If memory serves, Ian referred to the Amulet as being a learning device – is that similar to a universal remote e.g. controlling the TV and external Amp\receiver? If so, will it be possible to set up macros (similar to Logitech software) and use the voice features to, say, send all the devices to sleep?
Russell
Russell,
Yes, the Amulet remote has basic IR learning capability. It doesn’t support macros, and the learnt IR codes can only be invoked by pressing a button on the remote, not by voice.
That said, it’s a very handy capability. You can reprogram several of the basic buttons, such as TV Power / Vol+ / Vol- and an additional utility key (often used for Source Selection), and have those functions always available. You can also program up to four additional device keymaps, with each keymap allowing any of the remote buttons to be trained to a new IR code (you press the center Start button to return to normal Media Center operation). One such keymap could operate all the functions on your Blu-Ray player, for example.
So for basic IR operations, Amulet does a good job of letting you put three or four of your other device remotes in the cupboard and using the voice remote for day to day stuff. For more sophisticated IR applications, a Harmony or equivalent is still the way to go.
At CEDIA 2010 in September, we previewed a plug-in that allows Amulet to work with the BC4 Bitwise Controller, a small home automation box that includes IR control capability, macros, external relays, sensors, and other good stuff, all accessed over Ethernet. Our plug-in allows you to map a single Amulet voice command to a group of actions such as “Turn on Blu-Ray player, lower the cinema screen, close the curtains, select 7.1 input on surround sound amp, adjust lighting to “soft”, etc.). Out of the box, the BC4 can control up to four independent IR devices using IR emitters, plus a 5th blaster output for everything else.
Of course, you need to have a Bitwise Controller to take advantage of this. We plan to support other home automation solutions as well. Bitwise are at http://www.bitwisecontrols.com/
Eddy
You mention IR, what if my Media Center PC is in another room and I am using a 360. does the reciever plug into the 360’s USB port, will it work with the 360 ? I also have a HP Media Connect x280n extender, will it work with that ? What if I have 2 Media Center PC’s, I need to purchace 2 Amulet devices, does each device have to be set to a different frequency ?
Lots of questions, diehard 🙂
We don’t currently support Media Center extenders, though it is something we are looking at. You will need one Amulet for each media center PC you plan to control.
Each Amulet & dongle are paired in the factory, and so you can use several devices in close proximity without interference; no special settings needed.
Eddy