Universal Remote Advice

[ssrini]

Hi,
My in-laws purchased and had some one install a Home Theater system a couple of years ago and I have since seen them struggle with mundane activities such as turning on their TV, Rcvr and DVD to watch a movie. In other words, they are prime candidates for an easy to use activity-based universal remote such as Harmony 550. Unfortunately, their TV is in one corner of the living room while all their A/V equipment is on the other corner of the same wall, about 10 feet away. All their A/V equipments are enclosed inside a wood cabinet and a wall mounted IR sensor outside the cabinet sends the IR signal from remote via an IR hub to the individual devices. The IR sensor for the A/V devices and TV form rougly 45 degree angle from center of the viewing area.
1. Is it possible to program a pause in an activity such as "Watch DVD" so that the remote can be pointed to TV to turn on the TV set to the right input (VIDEO1, etc.) and then point to A/V equipments to turn them on? OR
2. Do I have to set up two separate activities ("Watch DVD" and "Turn on TV").
3. When the power off button is pressed on the Harmony, does it send power off only to devices that were turned on by the previous activity? If this is the case, I may have a problem turning off both TV and the A/V devices if they are turned on by two separate activities.

Any ideas/suggestion would be appreciated - any major changes such as getting a RF sensor on the back wall and threading wires, etc. would get vetoed by my mother-in-law in an instant.

Thanks
Srini

 

[jake5717]

I can’t really answer your question about aiming the remote, but I think that it might be hard for some older folks to use. It sounds easy and for some more technical people it’s a pleasure to have but I would never recommend for my parents.

 

[MDS]

Most remotes with macro capabilities do allow you to insert a pause as a step in the macro. On HTM remotes you just press the pause button (no suprise there).

You may be better off with an RF remote for this kind of situation as long as you can run emitters from the basestation to the TV. That way no pointing is required.

 

[ssrini]

Do you have any suggestion on extending a IR emitter cable to over 10 feet. I could connect an IR emitter from the TV to the IR hub. However, they don't seem to come in length over 10 feet. The television is roughly 20 feet from the IR hub housed inside the cabinet. Is there any particular type of wire/cable that I can splice in the middle to extend the length?

Thanks
Srini

 

[Tom Andry]

Depending on the remote, you can always buy a second hub. I know that the TX-1000 can control multiple hubs. It'll depend on the make/model of the universal remote.

Edit - Or if you have IR/RF capability, use RF to the hub to control the components in the cabinet and IR to the TV. If they are used to pointing the remote at the TV, the macros should still run. Just a thought.

 

[MDS]

If the emitter cables connect to the IR hub using a 3.5mm mono mini plug, you could just get another cable with mini plugs on each end and use a coupler to connect the new cable to the old.

 

[ssrini]

MDS,
What type of cable should I look for extending length of IR emitter - monoprice.com have Audio,Video, mini-toslink cables with mini plugs on both sides.
Also, I didn't see a mini plug coupler on monoprice or Parts Express. Any idea where I can get it?

Thanks for your suggestions,
Srini

 

[MDS]

Radio Shack carries all kinds of adapters and cable extenders. Even big box electronics stores have some (though generally more expensive as they will have the name 'Monster' on them. )

Using radio shack, here are some examples of what you need: [I did a search for 'mini plug']

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103868&cp=2032058&pg=1&f=Taxonomy/RSK/2032058&categoryId=2032058&kwCatId=2032058&kw=mini+plug&parentPage=search

That one has the 1/8" mini plug (male) on one end and a 1/8" mini jack (female) on the other end. You'd plug the male end into the IR hub and the the male end of the current emitter cable into the female jack of this cable. [Sorry for stating the obvious but it isn't obvious to everybody. ]

OR

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102949&cp=2032058&pg=2&f=Taxonomy/RSK/2032058&categoryId=2032058&kw=mini+plug&kwCatId=2032058&parentPage=search

That cable has the mini plug on both ends and you'd need a coupler to connect it to your current emitter cable. I couldn't find a coupler on their site but I know for a fact that they sell them. The coupler has female jacks on both ends.

Note that these examples all have stereo plugs. They do sell cables with mono plugs. You only need a mono plug but the stereo ones will work too. In case you aren't aware, you can tell if it is mono or stereo by the number of stripes on the plug - one stripe = mono (tip and ring) and two stripes = stereo (tip, ring, and sleeve).