Hi all,
This is my first post.... I've come to the site at times to learn and gather info needed for remote programming. Thanks for all the expertise!

I have a general question. We all need discrete commands for power and input selection. As a custom installer, I'm continually presented with the need to have these commands for universal remote programming. Being new to the industry, my understanding is that gradually TVs, A/V receivers, etc are being built with discrete command support, but even the latest components don't always have this capability from the handheld remote (i.e., from specific buttons), so even if they do support discretes, you have to search online to see what's possible. Can't the manufacturers simply post the codes on their web sites?

I see many posts looking for codes for certain components, it seems so silly. There must be a better way. Is there an industry advocacy group or possibly a portion of this site that is discussing ways to make the acquisition of discrete commands a matter of looking up the hex codes (or whatever the most primitive/standardized form is... sorry, still learning the details of IR code design; I'm assuming there must be some universal form the commands can be put it) and then importing them into our URC/Pronto/etc programming tools?

This is very frustrating and seems to be just another example of how the manufacturers are holding back the maturation of the CI industry by making it so time consuming and unrepeatable/unpredictable a process in creating a universal remote product offering.

Thanks in advance for the thoughts!

Most manufacturers that have discrete codes for their gear readily supply these codes. There are dozens if not hundereds of discrete codes right in our remotecentral database. I think the number of posts looking for discretes have dropped considerably over the past couple years. and I'd say most of them are answered by pointing the poster to the discrete code section here on rc.....

Your idea is a good one.... not original... but good... unfortunatly, trying to get manufacturers to work together on something like this is never going to happen.

And as a last thought, I would NEVER accuse a manufacturer of holding back the maturation of the industry. If they do not have discrete codes for their devices, then they are NOT focusing on CI and its simple not a manufacturer worth my time inCI projects. By continuing to use these products, your holding yourself back.

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated! I guess I'll have to dig further to see what you mean by "readily available" by researching further through the remotecentral database and other resources...