bluetooth headset as PC presenter remote?

August 22, 2008 4:25 AM

bluetooth headset as PC presenter remote? requirements: inexpensive; two input buttons; work with some free software

Hi, I need a presenter device for wirelessly changing slides in presentation software (like powerpoint) during presentations.

There are various presenter devices for purchase but the ones available to me are ridiculously overpriced and/or require that a much to large dongle is connected to the PC.

However, my laptop has bluetooth support so I'm looking for a bluetooth headset or other bluetooth device that can be used as a presenter tool, a device that fits this description:

1. inexpensive
2. at least two different input buttons
3. some free PC software/script can tie the input to commands, for example send "next" and "previous" slide commands to the presenter software.

I rule these things out, so please do not reply about them at all:
- bluetooth mouse (too big!)
- bluetooth phone (don't have one so too expensive!)
- regular non-bluetooth presenter devices (off-topic!)

posted by nolnar to computers & internet (4 comments total)

my google-fu is better than yours

http://www.headsetpresenter.com/

€9.90

enjoy!
posted by jannw at 6:44 AM on August 22, 2008

Thanks, though that software is not free (contra 3.) and there's almost no details provided on that page. I can find no informative review of the product despite the fact that it seems to have been around for years. If anyone has experience from using the headsetpresenter.com software, answer me this:
- does it actually work with any bluetooth headset (or at least most of them)?
- does it support programming of multiple input buttons?
Regardless, I would very much prefer some free (ideally open source) software and a headset that works with it.
posted by nolnar at 9:54 AM on August 22, 2008

If you have a Wii, you could use the wiimote (it's bluetooth) with GlovePIE and map two of the buttons to whatever keys you want.
posted by hjo3 at 12:32 PM on August 22, 2008

@hjo3: Very cool idea! I hadn't thought about that solution. But I don't have a Wii however, and I don't plan to buy one. But maybe I can find a used wiimote cheaply somewhere though. I will look around for that. But I'd still prefer to use a bluetooth headset as a remote since they're much smaller so I'd still very much appreciate feedback on that if anyone has any suggestions.

Regarding the needed software: I could add that I think that I only need something that can translate input from the hardware device to some keyboard combination. Some general purpose scripting language like autohotkey or autoit could be used to take it from there (i.e. react to the key combo by sending commands to the presentation software).
posted by nolnar at 3:23 PM on August 22, 2008