SnapStream Blog

This review is the fourth in a series of product reviews written by the SnapStream community members. This review is of the BTC 9019 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse written by Dave, aurigus0 in the forums.

If you have an HTPC which uses software such as BeyondTV you can use a remote a majority of the time, but there are times where you will want a good old-fashioned keyboard for surfing the web or for other PC tasks. Sure you could use a wired keyboard or mouse, but who really wants to be tied to the Television, which may be across the room. Typical wireless keyboards may only work several feet away from your PC, however the 9019URF works at least 3.5 meters (10.5 feet) away from your PC. In my experience it worked in another room on a different floor, through the walls. It uses Radio Frequencies (RF) which can go through walls and does not require line of sight.

The box contains everything you need to use the keyboard:

• Wireless RF Keyboard
• USB PC Interface
• CD with optional drivers and manual
• 2 x AA batteries for the keyboard

Installing the keyboard is as simple as installing the batteries, and plugging in the USB PC connector. The keyboard works out of the box in this setup. However, if you want to use the special “media” keys to launch your internet browser or e-mail, you will need to install the software which came on the CD, or download from BTC’s website.

As I have hinted above, the BTC 9019 includes a pointing device right on the keyboard.

This pointer works fairly well while using your keyboard. It also has left click built in – if you wish to use right click, you will need to use the button to the immediate right of the pointer. Scroll up and scroll down buttons have been placed to the immediate left of the pointer. This is very handy while you are viewing web pages.

Integration with any HTPC or DVR software, such as BeyondTV, works just as well as with any other keyboard. It is nice to be able to use the finesse of keyboard/mouse combo when controlling Beyond TV, or your system in general.

I had a small issue with the receiver where it seemed to lose its connection when I held the keyboard at a certain angle. This only seemed to be at a certain range, and moving the angle of the keyboard always fixed the issue. After moving the receiver on top of my entertainment system, rather than behind, the issue seemed to go away. This indicates to me that this keyboard might be susceptible to RF interference from components. When placing the receiver, make sure it is as far away from components as possible.

Overall the keyboard feels solid and not as cheap as I expected considering its bargain price-tag. At $35 as of 5/2007 from the SnapStream Store, it is a great deal.

I give this keyboard a:

Highly Recommended
Would Recommend to Family and Friends

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm by Tom and is filed under SnapStream Store. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.