Newbie: What Remote? - Sony HDTV/TiVo/Dishplayer 7100/LOTS

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:32 am

I'm tired of a pile of remotes on the coffee table and want a totally programmable remote to consolidate the mess. I have an AllForOne that is 'dated' and no longer supports my newest gadgets (6 device, no JP1, nor ability to add it, I think).

I am looking at the Wal-Mart 8810w and Radio Shack 15-2116 as possible assitance, but I have a boatload of components and don't know which remote is the better choice for someone on an extreme budget. Here's what I have:

Sony KP57WS500 57" HD-ready TV set
Panasonic DVD-RP91 DVD player
JVC JX-S300 AV Selector switchbox
JVC HR-VP634U VHS player/recorder
JVC RX-8000VBK DD/DTS receiver
JVC Displayer 7100 PVR
Philips HDR31202 TiVo PVR
Dish Network 2700 receiver (used with Tivo)
"Homebrew" HTPC using MyHD HDTV tuner/capture card + remote
Sony MDS-JE520 Minidisc player/recorder
X10 MouseRemote (for HTPC Windows control)

I know the above 2 remotes are for 8 devices. I won't need the remote to control the Dish Network 2700 receiver as TiVo controls that receiver in any way it needs. The Sony minidisc player/recorder can also be left out as I don't use it enough. I don't know what I can really do about my MouseRemote for the HTPC because it is RF, so I guess keep that one out too.

I want the TV, VCR, DVD player, switchbox, A/V receiver, Dishplayer and TiVo on a universal remote. That leaves the IR remote from the MyHD card in my HTPC that I definitely want on the universal remote. That should be 8 physical devices and 'just right' for one of the above remotes.

Which remote will allow me to load on the most functionality in memory? I'm afraid I'll pick the wrong remote and later find out I can't program enough buttons in for one of the 8 devices above.

My problem in the past is no universal remote that could control that JVC switchbox (which is necessary because my DD/DTS receiver doesn't do video switching, nor take the composite video of the VCR and make it S-video).

Any help would be appreciated since I am essentially starting out again.

johnsfine · Post by **johnsfine** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:02 am

If you get a JP1 cable, either remote is a great choice.

The 8810w costs less and has more buttons.
The 15-2116 has an LCD display (which I think is worthless, but others like) and has a non slip coating that makes it easier to handle.

Last I heard the 15-2117 was stealth priced the same as the 15-2116 (shelf price higher, but a price check at the register shows the lower price). If you have any use for its RF, it's a bargain (doesn't control RF devices, just does RF to its own base to control IR devices in another room).

There is no memory difference, nor much difference in programability via JP1 between the 8810w and the 15-2116. (2117 is programmed indentically to the 2116). Maybe the 8810w will have a tiny bit more effective capacity for complex programming, but probably you won't need so much.

Either can be tweaked in a number of ways to support more than 8 devices, if you were wrong in your analysis of which devices you could skip or if you get more devices.

If you don't get a JP1 cable, it would take quite a bit of research to find out which remote can handle your set of devices, because they have quite different sets of built in device support and without JP1 you need to rely primarily on built in device support or you will run out of learning capacity.

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 8:02 am

For TiVo use I've got to recommend the URC-6131 (Modified for JP1, which you can get from The Robman, see this thread).

It has buttons for all TiVo functions (instant-replay, advance, Thumbs, etc. ). It does have a combined Live TV/Guide button.

Also, with JP1 there are ways to control more devices than the number "supported" by the remote. I believe Rob has a 15-1994 (6 device) that he uses to control 11 devices.

It is only has 6 device buttons, but actually supports 8 devices, and has a good extender. It is NOT a learning remote, so JP1 is a must.

Otherwise, I would have to go with the 8810w/8811 over the 2116/2117 because of the additional buttons, particularly the prev-track and next-track buttons, which are natural choices for TiVo's instant-replay and advance functions, as well as needed for CD and DVD. They also have 8 general purpose buttons labelled L1-L4 and M1-M4.

The advantage of the 2116/2117 is that you don't need an extender in order to program macros on the device buttons. However, the 8810w/8811 has probably the best extender available.

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 12:58 pm

Thanks for the advice. I went to Wal-Mart and easily picked up the 8810w. I have programmed the remote for most of my components except the Dishplayer 7100, TiVo and JVC switchbox. The JVC DD/DTS receiver only has a few buttons that work and is not entirely useful.

I guess I need to do much reading because I have no clue how to get the components I need programmed into the remote. I didn't see templates for the Dishplayer and my particular TiVo on the Yahoo group, so hopefully I can find the answers here with a little patience.

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 2:30 pm

What kind of TiVo do you have? All the nonSony Tivos use the same codes.

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 2:39 pm

gfb107 wrote:What kind of TiVo do you have? All the nonSony Tivos use the same codes.

Philips HDR31202 TiVo PVR

Is there already a codeset I can just enter into the remote without a JP1 connector?

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 3:00 pm

Yes, use VCR/0618
The advanced codes are listed at http://www.hifi-remote.com/cgi-bin2/ueic.cgi?PVR_0618

I think the version of VCR/0618 in the URC 8810w doesn't support single-byte keymoves, so you'll have to use JP1 to make any changes.

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:31 pm

Thanks! I was able to make the CBL button my new VCR button and assign the TiVo to that. How do I enter the discrete codes for buttons as listed on that webpage link you posted?

I need (most notiby) the "skip-to-end" button (that I have as a 30-second skip).

Now my only real problem is getting the JVC JX-S300 AV Selector switchbox on the AUX button. I'll search more on that site you mention and see if I can find a way to make my JVC RX-8000VBK DD/DTS receiver respond better to the code set I have given to it on the remote (the buttons I rarely need work, but the buttons I use frequently don't).

jon_armstrong · Post by **jon_armstrong** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:03 pm

I posted a device upgrade for the Video Switcher but below are the EFC's for the five commands I arbitrarily assigned Video 1 through 4 suince the ccf file I decoded had them labeled for the devices they controlled.

Your best bet is to add the device upgrade below with no keys assigned and then key move the video switch to pahantom keys to use with a macro:

JVC:243 OBC=151 EFC=130 POWER
JVC:243 OBC=161 EFC=225 Video1
JVC:243 OBC=162 EFC=223 Video2
JVC:243 OBC=163 EFC=227 Video3
JVC:243 OBC=164 EFC=220 Video4

Upgrade Code 0 = 37 D1 (Cable/2001)
34 00 01 30
End

If you want to test it here it is as Cable 2001 with video 1 through 4 assigned to numerals 1 through 4 and power to the power button:

Upgrade Code 0 = 37 D1 (Cable/2001)
34 00 91 30 00 7A BA 3A DA 00 00 00 00 00 16
End

There appears to be a very complete upgrade for a JVC RX-8020VBK in the files|devcies|audio section in the JP1 Yahoo files.

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:23 pm

VideoJedi wrote:How do I enter the discrete codes for buttons as listed on that webpage link you posted?

I need (most notiby) the "skip-to-end" button (that I have as a 30-second skip).

Use the EFC calculator in IR to figure out what the Hex should be
For example, the EFC for "Jump to live" (aka advance) is 474. When I type that into the EFC field, I hex a hex of 1B
When you use IR to create your key move make it 2 bytes, 00 followed by the value from the EFC calculator, which in this case would be 00 1b

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:29 pm

You guys are speaking to a toddler right now.. I have almost no idea of what you are referring to.

So I do need a JP1 cable to make the changes?

Sorry.. I am super novice right now. All I have done is enter simple 4-digit codes to 'program' the remote so far. It sounds like I need the cable and to get my PC primed to send the changes to the remote with the available software/code text files posted in the Yahoo group. I'll be needing to read the dummies guide to JP1.

Hopefully I can ride the learning curve pretty quickly. The next step for me to really mess with the remote is to acquire a JP1 cable I think. Where would you guys recommend I purchase one (reliable online vendor)?

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:39 pm

Any of these

www.hovisidrect.com
www.bluedo.com
www.surfremotecontrol.com
http://jp1.filebug.com/

VideoJedi · Post by **VideoJedi** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 7:37 pm

I received my JP1 cable today. Thanks to the experts that posted what to do in this thread I have successfully added the JVC switchbox and MyHD remotes to my 8810w and they work on the CD and Aux buttons, respectively (I interpret the 'CD' key not as an audio playback device for discs, but as "Change Device" .. ie CD for the switchbox

) Thanks for the help!

I need to learn the discrete codes that gfb107 spoke about to make the default settings more receptive to other buittons on the original remotes it seems. I'll save that for another time.

I loaded the device config for the JVC 8020VBK receiver, but it didn't work at all on my JVC RX-8000VBK DD/DTS receiver. The models are pretty similar (8000VBK and the 8020VBK), but the upgrade code text file I grabbed from the group for the 8020VBK looks pretty complicated. It specifies adding other protocols and such and maybe I screwed that up somehow. The default code I have on the remote now for my receiver (0074) is partially workable (I can use power button for on/off and a few of the number keys switch to the different receiver inputs, but not the ones I need, like the Satellite and DVD inputs as well as the analog/digital button). I'm thinking with JP1, there's a way I can figure out whatever buttons want by learning the buttons off the original remote for my 8000VBK and then using the spreadsheet to implant specifically what button I want to do what function. It's just a bit confusing for me since I am so new to this. Also it doesn't help that once the receiver is put into a mode like FM for instance, the number buttons would have a totally different function. I'm guessing that is what all those extra protocols are for in the device text file? The main difference between my receiver and 8020VBK is the lack of the USB connection. In theory the device text file *should* work with more than 0% functionality, so I think I screwed up somehow.