Nextgen IR Remote Repeater 100 ft Range Infrared Extender Kit, Radio Frequency IR Blaster Extends Control for Cable Box, Chromecast, Roku, Fire Stick

I just plugged this little guy in, so I can't comment on the battery life, but since it comes with a 2nd battery that stays charged in the base unit, I imagine it will not be an issue. But as far as first impressions:I hid my simple components (cable box and DVD) in a cabinet to the side of my fireplace after mounting a plasma over the fireplace. Problem was, I had to open the cabinet to watch TV because of the IR remotes. The guy who installed the TV (that is a whole other story...pick your AV guy carefully or better yet, do it yourself) tried to sell me a $300+ dollar, complex, RF remote system. While I'm sure that system is great for a true video nut, my need was simple: watch cable with the cabinet closed.Enter the Next Generation Extender. You charge the two batteries in the base for 36 hours, then put one of them in your remote. Next, place the "flying saucer" base where it can "see" your IR sensors, and plug it in. Works like a charm, and as simple as anything I've seen.The unit comes with a little eye you can tape to the IR sensor if you put the flying saucer behind the component, but I had enough room in my cabinet to set it right in front of the cable box and DVD player, so I didn't even need that part.I am amazed and thrilled with this little gem, especially after listening to all the head-spinning, complex, expensive solutions the AV guys tried to pitch me.UPDATE November 23, 2009: After almost 2 months, I've had to swap the battery one time. Pretty impressive. And since they are rechargeable and there is a spare, it takes about 30 seconds and I was back in business. This remains one of the most useful, simplest electronic products I've ever owned.UPDATE April 16, 2010: I still haven't had to swap the battery yet. It's been 5 months. And when I do, the newly charged one is just waiting. I am so impressed with this little product I put a 2nd one in my basement.YET ANOTHER UPDATE, August 9, 2010: DO NOT BUY TWO!! Okay, I still love this device, but you can't use two of them at the same time, even in different rooms. I have a TV in the basement pretty far from the one where the original unit was installed, and if both TV's are being used, the remotes change channels on both TV's at the same time. For example, I was watching a baseball game in the basement, and when my kids upstairs changed channels, it changed the channel on my TV too. The RF works too well....it goes through walls and everything else.UPDATE, February 11, 2011. The little guy still works great, can't believe how long the batteries last; but I've got a problem now. Someone else in my neighborhood must have one too, because every so often the TV just starts changing channels. I unplug the extender and it stops; so the device is clearly picking up a radio signal from something. Kind of frustrating, but it doesn't happen all the time, and for the money you can't beat it.UPDATE, April 21, 2011. So I guess you get what you pay for, because as much as I love the functionality of this little guy, every evening about the same time, my channels just start changing. It is therefore not working for me anymore, which is a bummer. They should have a way to use different channels like a cordless phone, but not sure infrared works that way. So alas, I can't say with confidence to buy one anymore, unless you live in a very isolated area where there is no chance someone else's remote will change your channels.UPDATE: They sent me a new one on a different channel. I'm back up and working great. They need to make one with the ability to change channels.

Considering how most peoples' homes are wired, an RF remote is absolutely essential to conveniently and cheaply watch a Direct-TV signal on more than one TV in a house. Since only Direct-TV's expensive HD satellite boxes have RF remote capability, the RF-based Next Generation Remote Control Extender is a Godsend for those of us with the lowly standard Direct-TV boxes! And the best part is that you can continue to use your existing remote.If you haven't figured it out, what you're buying is a small, sub-AAA battery sized transmitter that fits, along with a rechargeable battery, inside an AAA battery sized unit. If your usual remote takes AAA batteries, just insert this unit in place of one of your batteries. If your remote takes AA size batteries, the AAA-size transmitter/battery unit is just slipped inside of an AA battery size sleeve (supplied) which is inserted in your remote in place of one of the AA batteries. The "saucer", which runs on a plug-in transformer (supplied), re-broadcasts an IR signal whenever it receives an RF signal from your existing remote, so it is simply aimed at the device you want to control (my satellite box is in a closet in the center of the house, where the satellite signal comes in, and where all of the TV lines spread from, so the saucer lives there). Also supplied is a wired IR blaster eye (5 feet long or so) that can be plugged into the saucer, and then stuck right on top of the satellite box IR remote sensor (if your satellite box is finicky and needs a super-strong signal to work). Also, in the saucer unit is an always-charging spare rechargeable battery to swap out when the one in your remote runs down. So, set-up and use is super easy.Now, having read reviews indicating both that this will work and will not work with Direct-TV remotes, I was a little worried about ordering such an expensive item from a seller which was vague about whether they would accept a return if the item was not defective, but just incompatible. Well, I can verify that it DOES WORK nicely with my new (June 2010) Direct-TV remote model RC65 (I put the transmitter-battery unit in the lower position in the remote). In any case, the signal is evidently received from anywhere in the house, there is no noticeable time lag so button response is crisp, and the rechargeable battery has lasted for several weeks so far. In all, much, much better than messing with all of the wires and such necessary for an IR-blaster system! That said, it is a lot of money for a bit of cheap Chinese plastic and electronics. But, it does work great!!