It’s been a couple of weeks and BeyondTV is still running strong. I’ve added MediaPortal to the mix. Snapstream has their own media product called Beyond Media, but it’s old, buggy, and not being updated. MediaPortal is free and has tons of functionality. I use it mostly for Movies, Weather, Trailers, and Pictures, but it can also do TV/PVR work if you want.

MediaPortal isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad either. It’s regularly being updated and developed and has a decent plug-in scene. I’d rather not use a separate application, but even Beyond Media is separate from BeyondTV. It’s still easier than MythTV.

I opted for Snapstream’s Firefly remote. Nice feel, tons of buttons, and RF, not IR. Perfect for when I stick the PC in the basement.

A great help has been LM Gestion’s LM Remote KeyMap. It’s a very nice way to operate a Firefly remote with BeyondTV and really anything else on the PC. Go for the donateware version. I paid about $6US and got access to other user-created profiles as well as an activated Mouse Mode. Mouse Mode is HUGE. Imagine having a mouse in your remote control. It’s not quite the same, but amazingly helpful if you need something quick. Firefly comes with a control program, but it piggy-backs on a Beyond Media Lite application. WAY too much crap to run just for a remote. Remote KeyMap is small, does what you need, and is easy to configure and customize.