Anyone who has had a Harmony Remote knows the "is this device on" hell that follows if an IR code is missed while an Activity is firing off. To address that and the whole hidden equipment craze, Logitech now offers a IR repeater called the Logitech Harmony IR Extender System that is available for $59. The way this works is there's one table top IR receiver that you place in the open, and then three IR blasters that you place in front of the devices you want to control -- of course this will require that you hide your equipment as otherwise the devices would receive the same IR signal twice. Not a bad deal at the price, but we do wonder if it is compatible with our own stick on IR emitters. We doubt this is as good as the RF version of the Harmony, but no doubt it's cheaper if you already own the remote.

Remember Logitech's Harmony Adapter for PS3? How could you forget, right? Turns out a similar device is shipping alongside the company's fresh Harmony 900 remote, as it seeks to turn RF signals into IR commands that components in your AV rack can understand. The device ships with an IR blaster and two "mini blasters," all of which work together in order to get crucial instructions from your remote to devices neatly hidden behind closed doors. The remote itself packs a full color touchscreen and can pull down codes for over 225,000 devices, and there's also a rechargeable battery and a base station to keep things juiced up when not in use. As with most Harmony remotes, this setup definitely won't run you cheap, with the entire kit getting priced at $399.99 when it ships later this month.

Update: Looks like CNET has a review up, and we'd say the bottom line pretty much sums it up: "The Logitech Harmony 900 is, hands down, the best universal remote control we've ever tested."

We know how it goes, you pick up a nice big HDTV and a wall-mount only to get it all setup then realize you still need a place to put your HD set-top-box. Or maybe you have a nice piece of furniture nearby to hide the box in, but since it is out of sight you need to get the IR remote working. Or you could even be like us and refuse to have any equipment with a loud fan in your home theater -- yes we're talking about you Mr. Xbox 360. Luckily there is a workable solution and with a little money and some elbow grease, you can hide that box in a place that will be out of sight and out of mind.

We all love getting new gadgets -- marketing and design departments have honed their crafts to a point that pretty much guarantees a steady release of endorphins throughout the selection, purchasing, unboxing and first impression stages. We've spent about a week putting Logitech's Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 through its paces; long enough that we feel we're safely past the "honeymoon" stage and can put a little perspective on how it fits in with HT setups incorporating a PS3. Follow us past the break to see if we'll be living happily ever after, seeking counseling or filing for divorce.

Just try to wrap your minds around this, Harmony / PS3 owners: this weekend is the last weekend that your otherwise awesome universal remote won't be able to power on your otherwise awesome Blu-ray / media player. Wild, we know. Logitech's heralded Harmony Adapter for PlayStation 3 -- which converts the IR blasts coming from your Harmony-branded remote to Bluetooth signals that the console understands -- is now shipping. You can pretty much take your pick of e-tailers, but the read link leads to a sweet 10 percent off promotion that'll save you a few bones compared to buying from Amazon. Whatever the case, the MSRP is $59.99, so feel free to track down the best deal in all your free time.

Yeah, sure, we knew the Harmony IR-to-Bluetooth remote adapter was coming down the pike, but even with FCC filings and official confirmation of the device from Harmony, the PS3 owners among us are breathing a small sigh of relief now that we've got our hands on a unit that prove it will make it to market. We have a love/hate relationship with the PS3's Bluetooth remote control -- the range and total non-directionality of it are great, but having a separate remote control just for the PS3 is a real stick in the eye of our couch potato lifestyles. There are a few choices for solving the PS3 remote control conundrum, but on first blush this unit has three things going for it: support from a big name like Logitech (of course including codes in the Harmony database), it does not eat up one of your PS3's USB ports, and it handles switching the PS3 on and off (not unique, but some other solutions don't). We'll give the IR-to-Bluetooth converter a full rundown in due course, but follow us past the break for our initial impressions, an official fact sheet and a link to a Q&A section on the Logitech blog.

We're more or less waiting on the Logitech Harmony Adapter for all our PS3 IR-to-Bluetooth needs, but if you're impatient Schmartz has revved up its PS3IR. In addition to the usual IR control, the new PS3IR-1000 also comes with a Windows app that allows you to control your PS3 from the desktop over USB -- we're not sure we need it, but if you've got a crazy home-automation rig or something it could be useful. $79, available now.

You've got to love it, don't you? Just a day after we caught wind of Logitech's Harmony Adapter for PlayStation 3 (via the always informative FCC), the aforesaid company has come forward and confessed to its plans. The good news is that the adapter is for real, and while we're still not being told too much about the device itself, we do know that it will operate with any Harmony remote and it won't take up a USB port on your console. In other words, it's a simple Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter, though it promises to give Harmony remote users "complete control (including power on / off) over the movie-watching experience on a PS3." We're pleading for more information on pricing and availability, but until that's received, just enjoy your weekend knowing that you'll be able to buy one soon enough.

For everything going wrong in your life right now, there's at least one beacon of light to keep you, a dutiful PS3 owner, smiling. A long (long!) awaited device has just slipped into the FCC's database, and while details are scant, most of what we need to know is tucked away in the title: Logitech Harmony Adapter for PlayStation 3. For far too long, PS3 owners with IR-based universal remotes have had to rely on clunky IR-to-Bluetooth converters to get the two to communicate, but as soon as the E-R0001 hits the market, all that will change for Harmony owners. As of now, we've got three questions that desperately need answered: 1) when?; 2) how much?; and 3) what Harmony remotes are compatible?

Anyone that has ever tried to use a programmable remote knows what is so great about discrete IR commands, but just by the name the concept seems foreign. It's pretty simple really, most remotes have one button for things like power and inputs, even though these buttons perform multiple tasks. So in the example of the power button, its function toggles between turning the thing on and off. The remote always sends the same code, but the device responds differently depending on its state. Put simple, when it is off, the IR code turns it on, and when it is on, the IR code turns it off. This is great most of the time because it cuts down on the number of buttons on the remote, while at the same time eliminates buttons that wouldn't do anything -- there's not much use for an on button when the unit is already on after all. Discrete IR codes are their mirror opposites.

Even if you're pouting away, scouring the intarwebz in hopes of finding even more misery to fuel your appetite for self-loathing, we can think of precisely one thing for you to be thankful for on this day: an Engadget HD giveaway! That's right kids, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving / Black Friday time without a little giving, so we're offering up Universal Remote's recently released URC Digital R50 for the taking. For those unaware, this here remote can bring harmony to your disjointed home theater (up to 18 components), and the PC-free setup / backlit buttons should bring smiles to the faces of HT geeks everywhere. If you're willing to give your left (turkey) leg for one of these, don't bother -- all we need from you is a comment below, preferably one dealing with ducks in China. Here's how this works.

We'll put up a gadget on the site, and you can only enter it until the next gadget lands (usually within a couple of hours). If you miss your shot, sorry, we're moving on to the next gadget. Good luck! Oh, and don't forget the rules. (Yeah, there are always rules.)

• Leave a comment below. That's it! Who loves you, baby.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You can enter different giveaways in today's Black Friday giveaways, but you can only enter this one once.
  
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers or US contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winners will be chosen randomly.
• Entries can be submitted until the next contest goes up. After that we're all done. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Last round's winner: Harkco! (Remember, winners are selected at random.)

So, here's a conundrum for ya. Sony's PlayStation 3 has been all but universally hailed as a stellar Blu-ray player and a respectable part of any home theater. But Sony forgot to include an IR receptor on the thing, making it incompatible with the vast majority of universal remotes on the market. Solution? An Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter. For the longest while, the original IR2BT was the de facto choice for handling the conversion, but now that it has been replaced with the more expensive (and versatile, in fairness) IR2BTci, CNET decided to roundup three other viable options so you, the almighty consumer, could make the choice that serves you best. Hit the read link for a gathering of the reviews, and don't forget to curse Sony for making you go through this exercise in the first place.

Update: RemoteShoppe has a similar, and equally helpful, roundup of its own.

For home theater junkies who've been having a difficult time taking the Apple TV seriously, you should definitely have a look at what the latest software update brings to the dinner table. First off, we should warn you that any non-Apple TV software (like, you know, Boxee) will be banished should you choose to update, but if you're kosher on that front, we'll continue on. Apple's changelog notes that AirTunes streaming is now enabled, meaning that tunes can be streamed from the STB to AirPort Express speakers or other ATV units nearby. Additionally, the box can now learn other remotes, meaning that you can probably get your universal remote to handle this bugger, too. The last big addition is that Playlists in iTunes can now be seen on Apple TV, and there's also support for volume control in Music. Grab the download from within your box now if you dare, and feel free to chime in with any other noteworthy changes you happen upon.

[Via TUAW]

Back at CEDIA, you witnessed the best Universal Remote Control had to offer for the high-end and custom-install market, but the outfit's latest caters to the commercial crowd. Hailed as its new flagship unit for the consumer retail channel, the URC Digital R50 features a backlit, customizable color screen, PC-free setup, an IR blaster, support for up to 18 home theater components, an ARM7 microprocessor and backlit buttons for good measure. The unit gets powered by four AA cells and weighs just nine ounces with the batteries installed, and for those who are already drooling, you can snap it up now through major retailers for $149.

While IR2BT would've done well to have this out and showcased at CEDIA, we suppose late is better than never. The company responsible for the heralded Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter -- which allows PS3 owners to control their console via a traditional IR-based universal remote -- has just pumped out another iteration aimed at professional installers. The IR2BTci is dubbed a "highly flexible and user-customizable device" that supports firmware upgrades and features configurable IR device codes for coexisting PS3, PS2 and DVD players. Additionally, it boasts multiple power sensing / tracking options, user-programmable macros, discrete on / off IR commands and ports for integrating it into existing IR distribution systems. The box can be purchased right now for $150, and if you'd rather just have the old one, good luck on eBay. You heard right, the introduction of the IR2BTci marks the death of the original IR2BT.

[Thanks, Anthony]