Remotes...please punch my button!

[TABCON]

I need some help with this my AV friends.

You can take a look at the AV room equipment I have below, now lets move on to downstairs, add to the list a Sony KDL-46XBR4, a Sony BDP-S2000ES Blue Ray, a Denon AVR-2808CI, a Rotel RCC-1055 CD player, a Polk Audio XRt12 XM Digital Satellite Radio Tuner, a Direct TV High Def box, an X-Box 360 zoned ceiling speakers throughout the house and Klipsh outdoor speakers.

Forget the AV room stuff for now, what I want is a remote that will control all this stuff and do exactly what you want at the push of a single button. Not 2 buttons or 3 buttons, but one (1) button. The reason for this, well is my wife. Probably the most non-techie person on the face of the planet. Any more than 2 buttons and she's lost...yes she is a blond, but very intelligent in all other ways.

For my needs, I want a remote that not only controls the equipment, but actually communicates in real time with it and gives me info on what my choices are insofar as titles, shows, stations, speaker zones, etc.

I've been through a couple of the routine RC's by Logitech, but they fall way short of what I'm searching for.

My research has led me to Philips, in particular the Pronto TSU 9600 and 9400. I'm leaning towards the 9400, mainly because it looks more like what a remote should look like and therefore should be a little less confusing for you know who.

Is this a good choice for the equipment I have? Will my wife really be able to punch ONLY one button on the touchscreen to "watch tv", "listen to radio", listen to XM", etc. Will the "dynamic user interface", i.e. Star Trek junkie lingo, work with the equipment I have?

Now get busy and give me some real time answers!...lol.

Oh, one more thing, my wireless network is controlled by an Apple Airport Extreme that also streams I-Tunes audio and video.
Thanks!

TABCON

 

[bandphan]

check our some by urc

 

[MDS]

I always second the suggestion of URC remotes. It's what I use and they work flawlessly.

Any decent universal remote can be set up for 'one button' action - but that is of course only to turn everything on and get ready. I hope the wife can handle pressing additional buttons later to change the volume, channel, etc.

I set up an MX-350 for my sister and she didn't have any problem understanding it, it was actually my brother-in-law that would reach for 5 different remotes!

 

[Haoleb]

I think that whats more important than the remote itself is how its programmed for what your looking to do.

Your going to have a hard time programming it to do everything with one button for a couple of reasons:

Not all of your equipment has discrete On and Off codes (as far as I can tell by looking at your list) This can be a huge headache...

Its just plain hard to do when you have to integrate that much gear!

If you want a remote with feedback then you are talking about getting into crestron or AMX. $$$ This is most likely not something your going to be able to program yourself if you went this route.

In all honestly I think your kinda in the same boat as nearly every client I have done an install for. Want the world at the touch of one button. Its just not that simple. I called it quits in the A/V install field for that reason. It was just too frustrating.

 

[bandphan]

alot of your equipment has discrete on off codes. If you use a controler that uses rs232 and relay trigers like this you will be a ok. The type of control your looking for is a little beyond basic, but can be done with a little effort, ie running a couple of cat5e wires, and make the home system seemless

 

[bandphan]

http://universalremote.com/product_detail.php?model=108

forgot to note this touchscreen.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I need some help with this my AV friends.

You can take a look at the AV room equipment I have below, now lets move on to downstairs, add to the list a Sony KDL-46XBR4, a Sony BDP-S2000ES Blue Ray, a Denon AVR-2808CI, a Rotel RCC-1055 CD player, a Polk Audio XRt12 XM Digital Satellite Radio Tuner, a Direct TV High Def box, an X-Box 360 zoned ceiling speakers throughout the house and Klipsh outdoor speakers.

Forget the AV room stuff for now, what I want is a remote that will control all this stuff and do exactly what you want at the push of a single button. Not 2 buttons or 3 buttons, but one (1) button. The reason for this, well is my wife. Probably the most non-techie person on the face of the planet. Any more than 2 buttons and she's lost...yes she is a blond, but very intelligent in all other ways.

For my needs, I want a remote that not only controls the equipment, but actually communicates in real time with it and gives me info on what my choices are insofar as titles, shows, stations, speaker zones, etc.

I've been through a couple of the routine RC's by Logitech, but they fall way short of what I'm searching for.

My research has led me to Philips, in particular the Pronto TSU 9600 and 9400. I'm leaning towards the 9400, mainly because it looks more like what a remote should look like and therefore should be a little less confusing for you know who.

Is this a good choice for the equipment I have? Will my wife really be able to punch ONLY one button on the touchscreen to "watch tv", "listen to radio", listen to XM", etc. Will the "dynamic user interface", i.e. Star Trek junkie lingo, work with the equipment I have?

Now get busy and give me some real time answers!...lol.

Oh, one more thing, my wireless network is controlled by an Apple Airport Extreme that also streams I-Tunes audio and video.
Thanks!

TABCON

Nothing short of Crestron, AMX, or some other high end control system will really deliver what you want, and you will still likely be left a bit short depending on the exact functionality of what you want and the depth of control that's available from the gear you actually own.

The biggest mistake people run into is that they buy gear and think because it has some nifty form of control, that the control itself isn't 100% proprietary, or protected by the manufacturer. Some control protocols may be excellent, but could take 40+ hours to write for a single product, if it doesn't exist already, especially IP controls.

Yet, it would be incorrect to say it can't happen. My home system offers 14 zones of audio, with two DVRs distributed to four HD displays in my home and includes a digital music server, XM radio, tuner, etc. throughout. All distributed and all available through local controls, or through touchpanels. My four year old has almost no issues, my wife even less.

It is a Crestron system, with a fair bit of Crestron product, but I use the MX-850 remote, which talks to Crestron, to achieve most standard control.

 

[Hi Ho]

I use a URC MX-900 and MRF-350 RF base station to control all of the gear in my signature plus some and I have achieved one button operation for everything. The only thing that doesn't have discrete on/off codes is the VCR which is very rarely used. The MSC-400 can be used to control components that do not have discrete power codes.

I use my Yamaha receiver to stream music from my PC and zone 2/3 are both used. Operation is very simple. It is all in the programming. It took me a bit of time to program my remote but now that it's all done it works 100% of the time.

HERE is a screenshot of how I programmed the VCR macro. It's the most complex because of the lack of discrete codes and the fact that it plays through the DVD recorder.

 

[TABCON]

Nice screenshot!

Scares the bejesus out of me!

LOL

Seriously, some of what I want I realize is a pipe dream, but hopefully I'll be able to achieve some degree of middle ground. Am I totally naive to believe that there is a remote that when your press the "Watch TV" button, you don't actually get to watch TV, but instead receive a cacophony of irritating sounds and error messages?

I went ahead and ordered the Pronto TSU 9400 and if I can't make it work, I'll just return it I guess.

Maybe i am expecting too much for a $900 remote control to make my life easier. Maybe marriage counseling???

Thanks!

TAB

 

[BMXTRIX]

As weird as it sounds, I go onto eBay all the time and pick up Crestron gear for under $300 a unit. I can pick up wired touchpanels, new generation control systems (RF base stations!), and some remotes, like the MX-850 to integrate with it.

The learning curve is a real PITA, but once you start to get it, then you realize that you can really do everything.

The biggest issue, with all other brands, tends to be reliability. Because most work with lesser expensive RF pieces, and the brains are in the remote, there is no way to know if the receiver properly got 100% of the commands. That's the difference, because Crestron uses dumb remotes (no macros), but uses a control system (like a computer), it only receives one command. Basically, if you hit a button that says 'CABLE' - it can be programmed to check to see if the TV is on, if it is, then it just switches to the cable input (call it input 2). If the TV is off, then the system will first turn the TV on, it will wait until the TV warms up (8 seconds or so?) and then it will switch to input 2.

It works the same with all of your equipment, and only turns on what you need to use, not everything in one shot. Items without discrete on/off are a bit more difficult to deal with, but because you can program it, the reliability of non-discrete devices can be 99% reliable.

Is it better than Pronto? Hands down, yes! Is it more difficult to program? Once again, hands down, yes.

If you are up for a serious challenge, but want to reap the rewards, Crestron is a solid step ahead of almost anything else.

If you use the 9400, and you find that you are able to program it alright, but it doesn't meet your expectations, then you likely are ready for a control system instead of just a remote control.

In perspective, I've had programs which have controlled hundreds of inputs going to dozens of outputs, with full two way feedback and such nifty features as weather, shades control, full XM interactivity, full iPod interactivity, etc. It's not straightforward to PROGRAM - but using it truly is as easy as it gets.

 

[Hi Ho]

The biggest issue, with all other brands, tends to be reliability. Because most work with lesser expensive RF pieces, and the brains are in the remote, there is no way to know if the receiver properly got 100% of the commands. That's the difference, because Crestron uses dumb remotes (no macros), but uses a control system (like a computer), it only receives one command. Basically, if you hit a button that says 'CABLE' - it can be programmed to check to see if the TV is on, if it is, then it just switches to the cable input (call it input 2). If the TV is off, then the system will first turn the TV on, it will wait until the TV warms up (8 seconds or so?) and then it will switch to input 2.

That's the way the MSC-400 works. All the macros are controlled by the MSC unit and the remote is left to send a single command. The MSC-400 unit has video and voltage sensors that tell it whether or not a component is on or off. I'm guessing it's easier to program than a Crestron system as well though I have not had the chance to play with one yet. The software looks similar to the MX-900.

 

[bandphan]

That's the way the MSC-400 works. All the macros are controlled by the MSC unit and the remote is left to send a single command. The MSC-400 unit has video and voltage sensors that tell it whether or not a component is on or off. I'm guessing it's easier to program than a Crestron system as well though I have not had the chance to play with one yet. The software looks similar to the MX-900.

it is fairly easy to program. like any good remote system aside from the programming, connections and wiring make a system work. ive done 4 or 5 of them, and definetly gets high marks for the money.