BAFX Products (Infrared) IR Remote Control Extender or IR Repeater Kit - Control 1 to 8 Devices (Expandable to 12!)

Every so often a product comes along that does what it says and does it well. This is a prime example of that. It's a good product.About the product itself, first, the IR receiver and emitters are tiny. It's hard to imagine even from the pictures but when placed on equipment that's in view they are hardly noticeable. The cords attaching them are delicate too - in similarity to the size of the thinnest you'd find on Apple ear buds. They're also very flexible and very easy to fit into and around the device you are sticking it to.The adhesive that's used seems to be sensitive to the surface it's being stuck to. On a Sony BlueRay player with a smooth surface, it touched and was stuck - there was no moving it. On an Xfinity 4k cable box, which has a slightly textured surface, it just dropped right off. Couple wraps of masking tape completely around the cable box held the emitter in place - masking tape didn't stick to the cable box either so I suspect it's the plastic's fault, not the adhesive. Beauty of hiding things in a cabinet is that you no longer need to care how they look and the couple wraps of blue painter's tape doesn't matter.The IR receiver is very sensitive and responsive. No need to aim the remote at the receiver any more. The LED on it changes color when receiving signal which is handy feedback. Nice thing about that though is the LEDs are very dim - you notice it when it changes color but otherwise it's innocuous.The unit itself has the ability to run off either a wall wart power block or USB. Most AV devices these days have at least one USB port, the Xfinity cable box for instance has one but it's unused, and that USB port worked fine to supply power which saves one outlet. It's a nice option to have.A couple other reviewers have commented on seeing latency. There is no noticeable latency with this extender. What I did find in setting this up is that one has to be very careful that a given device receives the IR signal from only one emitter. Some IR controlled devices will pause for a short period of time and ignore input if they get a garbled IR signal. Also, just because something is opaque to visible light, doesn't mean it's not transparent to IR. If you are getting inconsistent behavior or hesitation in responding to signals try first isolating the component in question from any chance of stray IR - put it in a cardboard box and see if the behavior changes.There are only two things about the product I'd say are not as I would have desired - the power cord on the wall adapter is short - not an actual issue if using the USB connection but I think that in most installs it's probably going to negatively impact the install. And second, the cord on the IR receiver is also short. That's easy to fix with an audio extension cable.And maybe best about the product is that it's trivially simple to setup - took longer to get the twist ties off the wires than it did to plug it all together and have it working. Everything is well marked and obvious - you could install this, go a couple years, buy a new device, and have it connected up and working without needing to find the original paperwork.

This IR repeater has performed exactly as desired in my audio/video system, which includes a cable box DVR, receiver, Blu-ray player, and CD player, all concealed within a solid oak console with closing front doors. (The IR sensor on the TV is exposed, hence no need for a repeater for the TV itself.) All parts of this product appear to be of good quality manufacture.The instructions were clear and provide several suggestions for locating the IR sensor on each piece of equipment by bringing the remote for that specific A/V component progressively closer to the front of the component until it touches, moving the remote across the front (left and right, up and down) to determine where the remote does, and does not, turn the device on and off, thereby narrowing down the location of the component's sensor. I found that there is usually a fairly broad area where the remote worked, typically one or two square inches.The instructions overlook the fact that, once the general location of the component's IR sensor is determined, you can locate the position of the sensor even more precisely (although you may not need to) by using the emitting end ("emitter head") of one of the IR emitter cables. This is done as follows (easier than it sounds, and most of these steps are required as part of the normal installation anyhow): (1) Connect the IR receiver's distribution block to a powered wall outlet; (2) plug the repeater's single IR receiver cable (the sensor) into the front of the distribution block; (3) place the IR receiver (sensor) in a position that is out of the line of sight to the A/V component (in my case, this was on top of the console, set back about 10 inches); (4) take one of the repeater's emitting cables and plug it into the back of the distribution block; (5) separate the emitter cable down the middle from the emitter head end for some convenient distance to give you whatever free length you need to work with (each cable has two emitters, the other one can go to any other A/V component), and run one emitter to your A/V component (in my case, through the hole in the back of the console); (6) place the emitter head (with the peel-away covering over its adhesive surface STILL IN PLACE) in contact with the front of the A/V unit in the area where you have already approximately located the component's IR sensor; (7) position the front of the remote control for the A/V component close to the IR receiver sensor (the remote must also be out of the line of sight to the A/V component); (8) move the emitter head over the front of the component while using the A/V's remote to turn the A/V component on and off (pointed close to the repeater's sensor, as noted above); (9) once you have pinpointed the A/V component's IR sensor by this method, decide where you want the emitter cable to lead away from the component (such as beneath the component, across its top, or off to its nearest side), peel away the protective tape from the adhesive on the emitter head, and firmly press the emitter head in place over the component's IR sensor so that the emitter cable leads away in the desired direction. Repeat for each component and you’re ready to play!