Streamzap's PC Remote is one of several remote controls intended for Microsoft Windows-based computers. Like other such gadgets, it is primarily designed for controlling media programs such as iTunes and Windows Media Center. It is available from a variety of retailers, including ThinkGeek (which provided the review sample) and Amazon.com.
Superficially the Streamzap looks like one of Logitech's Harmony remotes. It has the same slightly curvaceous profile that is supposed to make it sit easily in your hand. It feels lighter than the average universal remote, however (even with batteries installed), and has fewer controls. In addition to numbers, the Streamzap has the standard set of playback buttons (Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, Skip Forward, Skip Back), as well as buttons for Mute, Exit, Menu, OK , up, down, left and right arrows, Channel changers, Volume Up and Down and the four color buttons that are common on BD player remotes. These color buttons can be programmed as hotkeys that can be used to directly open programs on the controlled PC. To relay commands to the computer, the remote component comes with a receiver attached to a long cable that you plug into a USB port.
Look on the back of the Streamzap's packaging and you'll see the claim that it can 'control over 120 programs.' Below this is an extensive list of software programs that it is supposedly compatible with. Unfortunately it doesn't give version numbers so there is no way to tell if newer releases of these programs will work. Also, there seems to be no active support process by which the manufacturer is providing updates for the remote's driver.
Getting the Streamzap up and running is simple in principle but I found it to be frustrating in practice. The first thing you are instructed to do is insert the driver disc and then plug in the receiver when prompted. If you are a Windows 7 64-bit user you need to know that the drivers that come with the Streamzap aren't going to work. They are intended for Windows XP and Vista. There is a suitable beta driver available but you won't find it mentioned on the Streamzap's PC Remote Downloads webpage. In fact, the age of the latest driver update listed (Version 3.0.0) is revealed by the statement that it was intended to provide support 'for all 32-bit Editions of Microsoft Windows Vista.' Do a Google search, though, and you'll turn up a page on the Streamzap server that includes a link to a downloadable zip file.
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