Your Universal Remote Control Center
RemoteCentral.com
Which Remote Should I Buy? Forum - View Post
Up level
Up level
The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:

Login:
Pass:
 
 

Original thread:
Post 7 made on Tuesday February 11, 2014 at 12:58
Ernie Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
Joined:
Posts:
December 2001
30,104
Looks like 3FG has the remote control portion of this down. You need a way to get the signals to the TVs, which I suppose is why you spoke of a web-based setup.

I can't begin to imagine what it would take to implement a web-based setup, so I'll answer with what I know: simple IR on a wire pair.

This is done with an IR sensor powered by a small power supply. A pair of wires runs the output of the sensor to an IR-emitting LED that's stuck on the front of the TV where IR from it will be picked up by the TV. The LED can be anywhere in the room where the TV can see it, but inside the enclosure that the TV is in (my assumption) is the best and safest place.

Let's say all the TVs are different brands: an IR sensor in the room with the remote can sense the IR signal and carry it out to all five TVs. The one whose brand has been chosen will respond. It's not likely that all five will always be different brands, though, so you have to route the signals.

The opposite case has all identical TVs. No matter which TV is chosen, the control signals will work all TVs, so you have to pick and choose where to send the commands.

One way to do this is to use an IR router, but that requires the remote to switch the router and I don't know if the suggested one can do that.

An approach I used once would have five IR sensors, one for each TV. A sensor is placed at the back end of a tube... the tube is of dimensions such that you can stick the remote about a half inch into it at the front; the sensor, a few inches away at the back, picks up the signal. You make a box with five such tubes in it. To control TV A, you stick the end of the remote into Tube A and push the appropriate buttons. To control TV B, you stick the end of the remote into Tube B and... like that.

I used this successfully at a sports bar where we wanted simple equipment -- a satellite remote -- to control a half dozen identical satellite receivers on the opposite wall. The remote did not have to learn any special codes. We used Xantech pickups which were a bit wider and higher than the remotes and it all worked great. A bonus of having all six tubes parallel to one another was that when day was done, you could back the remote up about two feet from the tubes, point into the tubes, and turn everything off at the same time. Send me a message if you'd like a sketch of this. It's very clear to me but written description is often not worth even the corner of a picture!
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw


Hosting Services by ipHouse