Creating the "Perfect" PC Media Remote

In 2018, Gyro made a remote for his PC that works as a simple keyboard input to control Netflix, YouTube, and other media sources. Although it seems to have worked fine, it was rather large, and as he now puts it, had a scroll wheel that looks like he took it from a tank. His idea for this project was to simply shrink it down, using a PCB instead of wires along with a low-profile encoder and buttons.

While the results look nice, the video also outlines how this build wasn’t nearly as simple as he had at first hoped. The first PCB had a number of errors that were corrected by bodge wires, before finally ordering a new revision. He notes that while expensive, he should have sprung for a stencil on the second iteration, as he did on the first, because it saves a massive amount of time.

The PCB comes in two snap-off parts — one for a receiver and one for the transmitter, each with their own microcontroller. An ATmega328P is used for the remote, and an ATmega32U4 for the receiver, no doubt for its HID capabilities. The controller has a number of buttons to select its functionality, indicated by multicolor LED lighting that shines around the interface knob. The setup can be modified wirelessly using a custom Windows application.

Charging is done via USB-C, but it can run for 12 months at a time on its 500 mAh LiPo cell. He admits that he might be a little biased, however he considers the resulting remote to have turned out perfectly. Based on the build/demo video below, it’s hard to argue with that assessment!