Using an Auvio receiver and Logitech Harmony remote to control a PS3
Update: See my second post where I talk about dealing with the Auvio receiver always being assigned as the first controller. Which tends to make the PS3 gamepad unusable inside a single-player game.
A Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) is a decent Blu-Ray DVD player in addition to being a game console. So it would be nice if you could use your normal infrared remote control to play and interact with DVDs. The AUVIO Universal Remote Receiver for Playstation 3 is one way to achieve that goal.
However, there are two problems. First, neither the Auvio user guide, nor the top rated review on Amazon for the product, make it clear that you need to distinguish between the command being sent and the purpose of the button on the remote control (as indicated by its label or ideogram). Yes, this may be obvious to a tech savvy person accustomed to setting up complicated A/V systems. But an average person is likely to be confused by the idea that you can assign the “stop” action to the “ok” button on their remote.
The second, and more serious problem, is that the Auvio receiver maps the remote controls “stop” command to the “X” button which is generally used as the “enter” or “select” action on a PS3. The Auvio also maps the remote controls “ok/enter” command to the “O” button which is generally used as a back “back” or “cancel” action. So if your Logitech Harmony remote has an “OK” button you do not want to assign the “ok/enter” command (the “O” button on a PS3 controller) to it. You want to assign the “stop” command (the “X” button on a PS3 controller) to the “OK” button on the remote. This is obviously counterintuitive. Similarly you want to assign the remote controls “ok/enter” command to the “stop” and “back” buttons on the remote control.