Use an infra-red remote to operate a PS3

[Kyo28]

I've seen this question asked on many forums (or, in some cases the complaint that it's impossible to do) : users want to use an infra-red remote to operate the PS3, so that they can have a single remote to control everything (TV, PS3, Receiver, etc)

As you may know, the PS3 remotes are not infra-red but Bluetooth.

However, and perhaps many already know this, there is a way to still use an infra-red remote with a PS3. This was tested with a slim PS3, Panasonic Viera with Viera Link and Onkyo receiver:

1. On the PS3, go to System Settings > Control for HDMI > set to ON

This will enable the PS3 to receive commands through HDMI.

2. Use your TV remote (or receiver remote) and you'll be able to control your basic PS3 operations (play, stop, pause, fast forward, etc) with that remote.

Basically, the TV or receiver receives the infra-red signal and transmits the command through HDMI to your PS3. The only condition is that you have a TV or receiver capable of linking up through HDMI to pass commands to other components. One such example is the Panasonic Viera TV's with their Viera link, the Onkyo receiver with their Onkyo RhID linking system, etc. Normally, TV's like Sony's Bravia series, Sharp's Aquos series and Toshiba's Regza series should also work.

The only downside is that you won't have the PS3-specific buttons such as ,,,, and so on

Perhaps I'm stating the obvious here but maybe this information will be useful to someone.