This is all an edit.

I was looking for a working URC set of IR codes for the Apple 4K and I found that some of the codes in one set, and some in another set, seemed to work. Investigating this, I found the following:

EDIT: I spoke with URC. Their solution is to follow the weird-ass process that Apple TV provides. I'll call it reverse learning because it's backwards from the IR code learning or assigning process that we've used since the late 80s.

URC has a set of IR codes that don't do anything. You put those into your remote. Then, using the native Apple TV remote, you navigate to the section of Apple TV named "Add a remote." You then teach the Apple TV which commands you want to send to it for each function. Yes, this is backwards.

Taking PLAY as an example, you locate PLAY in the Apple TV list, then point your remote at the Apple TV and hit the PLAY button of that URC code set. You then associate that command with the function PLAY on the Apple TV. It has now learned that when it sees that code, that code means "PLAY." So it goes into PLAY. Yes, this is backwards.

You do this with all the commands. That is, you create a set of correspondences between IR codes (that you happen to have) hanging around for this) and Apple TV functions. Think of it as totally backwards from what we're used to.

Once you've got this remote programmed... I mean this Apple TV programmed, to respond to this set of codes, you can move on to the next Apple TV and do the whole damn thing again, because you're teaching each Apple TV, one at a time, to respond to those codes. I mean, who would think anyone would ever want to use remote codes for more than one device? Ever? Not Apple.

Thank you, Apple, once more.

EDIT EDIT: Oh, yes, URC says that if you manage to assemble a Frankenstein codeset out of Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3, some commands will seemingly randomly not work in random apps. The thing that comes closest to working is the reverse learning method.

I do this with all Apple TV 4K. What is a PITA, although it still has seemed to work, is transferring those URC commands into Control4. They learned ok between the URC remote and the C4 processor. But when I tried to learn those into the Apple TV using the weird ass process, or so you call it, it did not like half of them very well. As in, when you press and hold the button you are trying to learn, the progress bar progresses to about half way, and then goes back to zero. However, if you press the button repeatedly, in quick succession, it will fill the progress bar, and the code will be learned "successfully".

The codes, once entered into C4, do work. But they seem a bit slow to respond compared to the URC remote natively. Luckily, I believe the IP control works ok on them, although I have not tried it. Been too scared. :P

Why don’t you put all of the ATVs in the same room. Get all the ATVs into learning mode, multiple TVs are needed. Then blast all of the ATVs at once for this learning process. Keeping holding the button until all ATVs are done learning the button, which really should be all at the same time.

KOT

GREAT IDEA!

Everybody send your Apple TVs to me, then....

I don’t get all this. All I have to do is use the Apple TV 3 codeset then then use Universal Browser to drag and drop the ATV 4 Pause and Play commands onto the pause and play buttons.

Exactly.

URC tells everyone they have the most comprehensive database, but they don't. They also don't have the most easily usable database and the tech support I have received has made me hate calling them.

I'll bet that's true. I found that some of the codes in Apple 3 and some in Apple 2 worked, but I wasn't about to go through making a hybrid of the two just to see if they would work. One difficulty in doing that is that SKIP in one of those code sets works, but there's no working PAUSE or PLAY in that code set, so you have to put it in SKIP and then switch to the other code set just to stop it so you can test another button. Plus, I could see exactly how to make a unified file, but you have to do the entire thing in order to find out if it's worthwhile.

So, yeah, "all I have to do is" what you said. But when you start looking for what to do, it's not at all obvious or simple. I'll bet that the first time you tried to control an Apple TV 4K using a URC remote, you weren't able to just sit there and say "well, all I have to do is...."

AND the buttons are not placed in reasonable positions on the display, so they also have to be moved. So thanks for the advice, NOW I know it's simple to do. For anyone else in the position of working this out, now the Apple TV method is explained here at remotecentral, too.

You're welcome.

I just assumed everyone that programmed remotes professionally knew this 2 years ago

Sound, that's a reasonable assumption. I've been doing mostly commercial work for the last several years, where there's been little to no remote control programming.

No, it wasn’t that easy at first. Actually since I don’t always test every button on every device, I had already deployed several ATVs before I realized what they had done so there were several wasted truck rolls on that. Had to call URC asking what the hell you’re supposed to do on it and they emailed me the codes. Guess I still don’t understand why they keep doing it this way instead of updating their database.

I'm struggling to get my new AppleTV 4k to play nice with my Pronto 9400... yes I know its old.

I tried the reverse learning procedure described above- just using the codes that work with my current generation AppleTV- It was happy with up arrow, but complained about down arrow (said its already used...).

I'd like to try what Ranger did- replace play/pause with proper codes...

Would anyone have these codes in a format Pronto would accept or that I could somehow convert?

Thanks...

I just grab an IR file for any BluRay player and teach those codes to the AppleTV

Now that someone has suggested this, yes, it's a great solution. What I came up with will work and is nowhere near as elegant as your solution. So, either way, there's a solution or two now.

Thanks.

Great! Fwiw before the 4K one came out I didn’t have to do anything except use the Apple TV 3 codeset. Didn’t need to do anything special with play/pause.

Also one more word of warning, I know gas is pretty cheap these days... but...for some reason it seems I’m not able to import the 4K from another project to avoid having to use the Universal Browser. You literally have to use the original procedure every time and for every ATV in the project (aTV 3 codeset then drag and drop play and pause from UB) or the pause button will not work. No idea why importing the device from another project doesn’t work.