The Gyration Cordless Optical Air Mouse controls your computer, not your A/V equipment; but if you store and play multimedia on your PC, it makes a reasonable alternative to PC remotes. You can use the mouse simply by holding it up in the air—no surface needed (although it doubles as a wireless optical desktop mouse, too). The mouse has a built-in inertial gyroscope that senses movements. By tilting, twisting, and clicking, you replicate a traditional mouse or, through the GyroTools software, pass multimedia commands through to your PC. The mouse looks and feels odd at first, but the hand gestures quickly become second nature.

The Air Mouse works at 49 MHz, the frequency used by some older portable phones, so interference is possible. But you can teach it to pay attention only to the USB transceiver that connects to your PC. The signal travels about 30 feet, plenty for most setups.