How to check if your remote is still working
by Volker Weber
This is one neat trick to check an infrared remote:
Just open Photo Booth and point your remote at the camera (make sure the end of the remote is visible in the onscreen image), then press any button on the remote (volume up or down, for instance). If you see a bright light emitting from the remote in the Photo Booth window, you know the remote's working OK and has battery juice.
The iSight picks up the light from the LEDs and shows them in white color.
Comments
Yeah, noticed that a few years ago, then playing with the camera in my cellphone. I was a little bit confused where the white flashing came from on the front left side of my thinkpad. It happened to be the IRDA port that sits there nearly invisible.
Not really surprising but difficult to capture:
the IR port of my good old Visor Edge :-)
This trick is also popular among Mercedes owners to check if the infrared module of the key is working when the windows won't open/close by pressing the corresponding button.
What is useful for checking remotes can affect image quality when taking real photos, as high IR sensitivity is not limited to el cheapo cameras. In environs wih high IR emissions (like steel works), even the IR blocking filter built into most better digital cameras do not help much. That's why filters like the 486 UV-IR Sperrfilter (English link does not work) are recommended.
I noticed this years back with a video camera.. which made me wonder why don't they just install a bunch of infrared leds on the back of a theater wall maybe in a pattern of some somesort and have it run during the film? It wouldn't be visiable to the eye but would watermark or run a cam version of a movie...
Thanks for the prompt. Very useful
LOL - had to try it
One could also point the remote at the device it's supposed to control and see if it works ;-)
Then again, that wouldn't be a very geeky approach...
Normal theaters (meaning: not movie theaters) often use larger infrared lights mounted near the front of the stage or in the proscenium arch. This, in combination with an IR sensitive camera, allows technical staff, actors, etc. to follow what is happening on stage, for instance during a scene change 'in the black'. One thing to verify is compatibility with hearing assistance systems that use IR for transmission.
@Hans: I would assume that the suggestion here is: If your device isn't reacting to the remote control's commands, this is how you can check whether the remote control is sending anything at all. This is called "narrowing down the cause of the error" ;-)
This trick works with almost each digital camera or camera phone. Cleared situations (low batt or broken) often in the past.
Post a comment
Recent comments
Daniel Haferkorn
on Interview goes bad. Or just honest. at 20:44
ursus schneider
on Interview goes bad. Or just honest. at 19:50
Thomas Cloer
on Tame your Time Machine at 18:51
Volker Weber
on Tame your Time Machine at 17:36
Frank Mueller
on Tame your Time Machine at 17:33
Pieterjan Lansbergen
on Tame your Time Machine at 17:02
Samuel Orsenne
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 15:52
Johannes Matzke
on Interview goes bad. Or just honest. at 13:47
Volker Weber
on Sonos gear at 50% off at 13:44
Volker Weber
on Aqua Alta Surfing - quite a PR stunt for Red Bull at 13:35
Volker Weber
on BlackBerry Storm too nervous at 13:33
David Justen
on Aqua Alta Surfing - quite a PR stunt for Red Bull at 13:26
Volker Weber
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 10:35
Samuel Orsenne
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 10:18
Glen Salmon
on Sonos gear at 50% off at 04:34
Bill Buchan
on Aqua Alta Surfing - quite a PR stunt for Red Bull at 23:20
Torsten Otto
on Sonos gear at 50% off at 21:57
Peter de Haas
on Windows blues at 21:26
Hajo Schmitt
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 20:14
Hajo Schmitt
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 20:07
Volker Weber
on Windows blues at 19:54
Peter de Haas
on Windows blues at 19:47
Volker Weber
on Nokia advertises Lotus Notes Traveler at 19:43
Volker Weber
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 19:35
Goetz Goerisch
on New hardware coming up at vowe's magic flying circus at 19:09
Click here to subscribe
