New DV4000's won't work with remote?

I just came across this post over at Notebookforums

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=114045

One user says that the new DV4000s with the Radeon X700 are missing the IR port and so don't work with the optional remote control. I guess not many people used it huh? I never use mine.

 

Nonsense! I have a Dv4000 with the remote right here in my hot little hands.... the remote works like a charm and tucks nicely in the card slot when not in use. That haqving been said, I almost never use the thing. If I were doing Powerpoint presentations the remote would be the bomb, but I'll likely only use it for playing DVDs/CDs.

 

remember, the dv4000s ordered on or after 9/29 are quite different than the ones ordered prior. Not sure about the remote, but the power supplies are *completely* different.

 

Yes, they are different... I thought that was the point of rahulnirmal's posting; that the IR senser had been removed from the new Dv4000. Mine, like yours, is one of the newer models built after 9/29/05 and has the remote capacity... am I missing something here?

 

I misunderstood your post i suppose. I thought you were claiming (without declaring your dv4000 as a pre or post 9/29 product) that the dv4000s are the same.

 

Can't one have a bluetooth remote or something? These consumer IRs are total crap. I wonder how much effort was needed to make them full scale IR devices, which would have been of real value.

 

I ordered my DV 4000 after 9/29 with the x700 and the remote works just fine.

 

I just got the Dv4000. I don't have the remote... how can I now if my computer has IR? where is the port?

Thanks!

 

Hmmm, well, that's weird. We got two different arguments here. That dude on NBF says his new DV4000 doesn't have the port yet you guys say you'rs does. Hmm.

Well, I know for sure that the power supplies are now different, how exactly are they different?

It would have been a lot better if HP just gave this a new model number like the DV4200 as it is called over in Asia.

Here's another thread on this issue over here
http://www.dv4000talk.com/viewtopic.php?t=20

 

HP isn't quite sure yet, but they claim to be working on it. It's a different part number, possibly a different watt, and they definitely do not carry it.
(I've recieved 5 incompatible adapters so far)

 

Actually I was the one post the original thread about the remote issue. On HP's website, now it said the remote is available for selected model. It seems the current DV4000 CTO should have it supported as the remote is an option again. They have removed that option in late September to mid-October during the transition to the new motherboard to support x700. At that time, they also change the description of the DV4000 to "Some models also include an infrared receiver so you can use a remote to take control of your PC.". It seems only the batch from early to mid-October is affected. Mine was ordered in mid-October. Afterall, I don't really trust the online chat technical support who told me mine DV4000 does not support the remote when I was about ready to order one. He does not even know it got QuickPlay on DV4000. What I found is the IR receiver is not a IR port so you cannot tell from the device manager whether it is installed or not. This would remain a mystery and probably no one really cares as the new ones has the remote option again.

 

Since I found a $10 off coupon that came with my notebook, I've decided to order one to give it a try. I hope I can proof the online chat support wrong and solve the mystery. Below is the transcript from my online chat support. You can tell he is not knowledgeable at all. The online chat was disrupted due to a crash on IE.

Chat Transcript Begins Here
--------------------------------------------------------------

Terry
Hello Chi,


Terry
Welcome to HP Total Care for Pavilion notebooks. My name is Terry.


Terry
How are you?


Chi Ho
Hi Terry.


Chi Ho
I am fine.


Chi Ho
I would like to order a media remote control, however, I need to find out if my DV4000 does have the IR port to support it. How can I find it out?


Terry
Sure, I will provide you all the information.


Terry
May I have the Serial number, Model number and the Product number of the Notebook?


Chi Ho
Okay. It is a DV4000 CTO (EC681AV). The serial number is XXXXXXXXXX.


Terry
Thank you for the information.


Terry
Chi,I have checked the specifications of the notebook. The notebook does not come with a consumer IR for the remote to be operated.


Terry
I am afraid, you cannot use a media remote on the notebook.


Chi Ho
Why was it removed from the specification. I know someone ordered it a week earlier does have it. I try to find out from hp.com by e-mail before placing the order for the DV4000 2 weeks ago and I got no answer.


Terry
Chi, the notebook is a customized notebook. So you will have the option to have the consumer IR built on the notebook. I am afraid, you might not have selected for the option.


Chi Ho
There is no such option when I placed the order!


Chi Ho
And there was none before either.


Terry
Chi, the customization options are available for specific notebooks.


Chi Ho
But it does not match the specification on the reviews on PC Magazine.


Chi Ho
I know someone who also got a similarly configured DV4000 with the same video card a week earlier than me that is IR capable.


Terry
I understand how you feel,


Terry
Chi, the remote control is available for the notebook that comes with the application like Quickplay. The DV4000 notebook does not come with the application, so I am afraid this option is not available.




--------------------------------------------------------------
Chat Transcript Ends Here

 

I know for awhile they took the option of the remote out of the dv4000 configuration, but it was up there when I ordered mine and it works just fine. I've got it tucked away in the PCMCIA slot right now.

 

I still doubt if they removed it. Did you guys check the Device Manager to see ir port is listed? One of my friend recently bought one from Costco( in Oct) and it has remote and it is working fine.

 

I just tried the remote on my dv4000. Works fine.

Thanks,
eagle07

 

I ordered my dv4000 in early October with no remote. I ordered a remote a week ago. Got it today and it works great with my dv4000.

 

According to other users, the IR remote receiver is not a real IR port, so it is not listed in the device manager. It works like an AV component remote and mirrors the AV function keys on the keyboard, so no driver is required either.

 

Got the remote today and I have proved the online chat support guy wrong. It is working.

 

My remote works fine too...sounds to me like there was a short period of time while HP was making the transition to the dedicated GPU dv4000 where the remote wasn't an option/wouldn't work. Being that mine is the most recent version (ATI X700) I suspect that's why I find my remote working just as advertised.

 

According to HP's website, there should be some DV4000 that are not supporting the media remote. It is just not clear to me which model does not support it. As far as what we found out, most DV4000 do support the media remote control. Afterall, the information from HP is sometimes not so reliable. They have changed the dual channel memory support information from "not requiring match pair of SODIMM" to "with match pair only" a couple months ago.