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Any cable boxes use Windows Media Center IR codes?

 
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sjmaye



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Nashville, TN

                    
PostPosted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:33 am    Post subject: Any cable boxes use Windows Media Center IR codes? Reply with quote

I use Windows Media Center as my cable box and DVR. My TV has an IR blaster to control a cable box, but as you would guess it does not offer Media Center support.

Is there a way to discover other boxes that use the same IR as Media Center? Maybe one of those is supported by my TV.
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mdavej
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Joined: 08 Oct 2003
Posts: 4500

                    
PostPosted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There aren't any. But since you use Media Center already, you really need to get rid of your cable box entirely and replace it with a Homerun Prime or InfiniTV. Then you get multiple tuners and don't need cable boxes or blasters.
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sjmaye



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Nashville, TN

                    
PostPosted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mdavej wrote:
There aren't any. But since you use Media Center already, you really need to get rid of your cable box entirely and replace it with a Homerun Prime or InfiniTV. Then you get multiple tuners and don't need cable boxes or blasters.


I already use a Ceton cable TV card for reception feeding Media Center. Only problem is Media Center does not really do streaming TV well. not many apps for it that integrate well in to MC. My new smart TV has all the streaming media apps. So I am forced to go between the smart TV screen and the MC input.
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mdavej
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I lost you then. I don't understand the problem. You asked if any cable boxes used MCE protocol. But you don't even intend to ever use a cable box? Instead you just want to control the streaming apps on your TV with your MCE remote?

You just need to change inputs and control your TV in order to stream. Any JP1 remote can easily do that. Buying a TV that somehow responds to MCE codes solves nothing and if it were even possible, would create more problems.

Get an RCA RCRP05BR remote. It will control your TV, Media Center, and any other streaming box you desire. Last time I checked, it was around $8 on Amazon. Then program any buttons you want to launch different streaming apps on your TV or return to Media Center. If you used to have a cable box, you may still even own a JP1 remote, since most cable remotes are JP1.
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sjmaye



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Nashville, TN

                    
PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry mdavej.

I did not explain well. It is all about the wife factor. You know. How even though we like technology they just want things simple.

With the exception of a periodic media center glitch life has been grand for a while. A single media center environment we never left. No changing inputs, no changing anything. All with a very simple and effective remote control. Just the way she likes it.

Due to the lack of many streaming apps I started looking at other options. I was in the market for a new TV, so I bought a smart TV. Samsung UN65F8000. Many streaming apps. The reason I ask about the cable boxes with MCE IR protocols is when setting up the TV to control the cable box with the IR blaster it works off a reference database (I guess) of cable boxes. You tell it what cable box you are using and it can control it. They made no provision for Media Center. I had hoped there was a known cable box that used MC IR codes. This way at setup I could select that box and it would run MC.

I have a Harmony 880 and a Harmony One. Great remotes. They would do all you say. The only thing is that the media center remote is simple with few buttons and it does the job so well within media center.

I guess I will just have to get her used to a different remote. Sounds simple doesn't it?
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vickyg2003
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Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 7073
Location: Florida

                    
PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:47 am    Post subject: Re: Any cable boxes use Windows Media Center IR codes? Reply with quote

sjmaye wrote:
Is there a way to discover other boxes that use the same IR as Media Center? Maybe one of those is supported by my TV.


Yes, there is. Use the Lookup tool and then use the Brands link to show you which brands use the same item as Media Center. Of course you really need to now which MCE fixed variables are being sent.

Quote:
I did not explain well. It is all about the wife factor. You know. How even though we like technology they just want things simple.

I probably understand the WAF thing better than anyone. I hang in the kitchen with the wives and I can tell you that a lot of them don't have a clue how to even watch their Soaps while they have the fanciest equipment on the planet.

The key to this is of course an intuitive remote. That's why we get hooked on JP1.

It seems that extenders have fallen out of favor. Too Bad! In the hands of a master, you can have an great remote experience. With a few well placed LKPs I've tamed a whole bunch of complicated setups, so that my DH can manage to watch tv without me in the room. TG! And that is no matter what room he is in. Whether we are down here in the sunny south, where we have a comcast cable box, or up north where we have boxless cable, but also have ota HDMI tuners to pick up the local sub-channels that are not on cable.

He can turn on the closed captions on any of our TV's in any room, by a simple LKP of the Mute button, no matter how complicated it is to get muting on and off.

Following the KISS principle really makes everybody happy!
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greeno



Joined: 07 Jan 2014
Posts: 38

                    
PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

+1 for vickyg!
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