How and when to use Power vs. discrete Power On/Off commands

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 7:23 pm

(Please direct me to a thread on this if it already exists)
I'm just getting into Remote Master with my new Nevo C2 remote. I have a couple activities built and so far so good. I'm looking for best practices with Power On/Off when programming my Activities.
So far I plan to use the remote primarily on TV functions (watching cable TV, DVD, and Roku). From my rudimentary understanding of the Power (which toggles) vs. Power On & Power Off makes me think these would be the best to use in my Activities.

My main concern is switching between activities without having to power all off and then back on. All "viewing" Activities I do will involve the TV and the AVR. So I want to be able to move from watching TV to watching Roku and really all that needs to happen is change the AVR source from Cable box to Roku. But I want that same Activity button to power up the TV and AVR if in fact they're off when I press the button.

Are there some best practices around this anyone can recommend or point me to?

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:07 pm

Best practices:

- Power On each device used in each activity
- Optionally Power Off each device not used in each activity
- Power Off every device in Master Power Off activity
- Never use Power Toggle in any activity

Practical considerations:

- Most cable boxes have no discrete power commands, so just leave box on all the time
- Denon input commands also act as power on, so use the input commands themselves and no power on commands as they are redundant
- Roku has no power functions at all

Concepts you need to understand:

- Power On will only power a device on and never off. So it's harmless to use it in every activity, even if the device is already on. This is the primary reason to use discrete on and off commands. They will turn on needed devices whether they are already on or not and never turn them off.

Examples:

- Watch TV: TV Power On, Denon CBL Input, DVD Power Off
- Watch DVD: TV Power On, DVD Power On, Denon DVD Input
- Watch Roku: TV Power On, Denon Roku Input, DVD Power Off
- Goodnight: TV Power Off, Denon Power Off, DVD Power Off

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:27 pm

Thanks a ton. This is exactly the info I hoped to get.

Looks like I'll need to re-upgrade my Denon AVR remote. I was browsing around the Device I have loaded on my remote for the Discrete On/Off and realized it only has 37 functions. I don't know how I lost the other 323. I created a test device using the same file and all 360 are there (scratching head emoticon) so it must be something I did.

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:23 am

What counts is which ones are assigned to buttons. I made 3 copies to a dxevic per zone with the appropriate functions mapped in each. It's impractical to utilize all the functions. L

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:21 am

That makes sense. I'm sure I'll use very few of the commands overall. My issue (which seems fixed after re-opening the remote upgrade file) was only 37 commands showed on the Functuions tab for my Denon AVR X4000. I re-opened the file and all were there.

So the Discrete On is now there for the AVR. But I don't see the Discrete On or Discrete Off for my Sony Blu-ray. You said in another thread of mine that all Sonys use the same codes so I grabbed one that had a high qty of downloads - but no Discrete On or Off. I've looked around and found some "codes" that I think will do it but don't understand how to add my own function. The code 47 seems to be the command but there are other fields on the row when I add a Function that aren't self-explanatory to me. Any hint?
Or is cheating for someone to give me their remote file with the function already added?

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:00 am

I think I got this covered. I found another Sony DVD upgrade that had the Discrete On/Off functions.

Regardless, thanks.

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:24 am

We have plenty to choose from. Don't know if you have DVD or blu-ray, but the codes for each are different for Sony. Keep that in mind when picking a file.

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:04 pm

Thanks, Dave (is it?).

I tried giving the activity a go and weird behavior and remote not controlling the blu-ray. Long story short... I have a Samsung Blu-ray, not a Sony. Wonder why things aren't working.

No idea why I thought it was a Sony.
I'll get the Samsung device set up and do some updating and then give it another go.

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:37 pm

I could have sworn you posted Sony in another thread, although that didn't look anything like any Sony model number I'd ever seen. Samsung has no discrete power codes. Instead use Play for discrete on and the sequence Play-Power for discrete off. I personally won't buy devices that have no discrete power codes.

Unlike Sony, all Samsung BD and DVD players use the same codes. Sony codes obviously won't work at all on Samsung.

Matt_inSC · Post by **Matt_inSC** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 1:01 pm

You're right. I did say Sony in another thread. I somehow "saw" Sony on the front of the device when I was getting the model #. I guess I'll blame it on age

.

Glad you mentioned not buying a device b/c of this. I think I do have a Sony in another room. Maybe I'll move it to the AV closet for the universal remote purposes.