Currently, IR remotes are standard on almost all consumer electronic devices. IR technology is dirt cheap, doesn’t require a “pairing” step, and is universally standard.

Bluetooth, on the other hand, has a few advantages

• No need for direct line of sight
• Two-way data transfer
• Higher bandwidth: devices can transmit audio feeds, Internet-quality video feeds, and all kinds of data files.
• Wide device support among remote headsets, microphones, and cell phones.

LG recently announced a Bluetooth-oriented HDTV, and is touting the benefits of Bluetooth remotes, but outside of that, in the two years since PS3 and Wii launched with Bluetooth remotes, there has been very minimal product support as an IR remote replacement. I would have expected the high end universal remotes to offer hybrid IR/Bluetooth products, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

So, what is your vote?