Long story short ... I have a Harmony 890 remote made by Logitech. It controls my Directv HD receiver/DVR, Sony Blu Ray player, Sony CD player, Yamaha home theater receiver, and Sony Bravia TV. The Harmony remote is fantastic in every way except one ... I cannot get it to allow me to produce a SLOW MOTION command like I can produce on my Directv RC64R remote (i.e. by pressing and holding the play button). The Harmony will do it only by pressing and holding, then releasing, and then pressing and releasing. This might be OK except that it only does it about 1 time out of ever 5 tries!

The last email from the Logitech Harmony tech people said that I needed to "contact the manufacturer of the device and request the Hex-codes. Once you have the Hex-codes, please contact us back with the codes and we will add them to your account."

I called Directv and the only codes they could give me appear to be the codes that are used for telling the Directv remote what model TV you have so it can control the TV. In other words, the following codes ( 10810 11317 11685 10011 10834 10111 10353 10080 11904 11100 10010 11925 10505 10273 11962 11641) are possible codes to control the Sony TV. I think that 10810 is the one to control my Sony Bravia TV, but are these the codes (i.e. Hex codes?) that the Harmony folks are asking for or is it something else entirely? I suspect something else entirely. If so, where can I get the Hex codes?

This forum was suggested by someone on the Directv forums. Can you help?

Here's the Pronto Hex that Logitech is looking for.
Slow Play--Device Code: 12 Function: 58

0000 006C 000A 000A 00E7 002E 002E 002E 0017 0017 0017 0017 002E 002E 002E 0017 002E 0017 0017 002E 002E 002E 0017 0481 0073 002E 002E 002E 0017 0017 0017 0017 002E 002E 002E 0017 002E 0017 0017 002E 002E 002E 0017 0481

This assumes that your receiver is set to the default receiver address 1.

Wow! Thanks for the help. Now, let me try to understand this. Will this (if Logitech somehow gets it into the Harmony 890's brain) allow the Harmony to produce slow motion if you press and hold the play button?

Rob

I don't own any DirecTV equipment, but according to the file I took this from (at hifi-remote.com) a long press of the play button on the original remote sends this code. And the result is slow motion. A short press sends device 12, function 48, and that causes normal play.

Logitech can add it to your remote. Once it is in the remote, I expect that the PVR will begin slow play as soon as you press the button. I don't know if you will need to hold the button--I wouldn't expect that you need to.

Just to give you an update here's what this does:

Although the Directv remote need only be pressed and held for slow motion to start the Harmony needs a little bit more. If you just press and hold the play button it does nothing except keep playing normally. However, if I press and hold the play button for approximately 2 to 3 seconds, release it and then press the play button again it does then start slow motion.

It is a little bit more hassle since you have to make sure you hold it down long enough (or it won't work) and, of course, it takes longer. So if you want it to start at, say, a particular point in a football play you have to back it up a little bit farther if you are trying to analyze a play or if you are trying to just start slow motion from where you are in a live show the slow motion won't start until about 2 or 3 seconds as opposed to about 1 or 2 seconds if using the Directv remote.

However, it does work pretty consistently now. Before it would only work sporadically.

Thanks for the help!

Is your description the behavior of the Harmony works after adding the Pronto Hex, or before? I think the Pronto Hex should be assigned to a button other than Play. Slow Play is a different IR signal than Play.

It is the description AFTER adding the codes. I don't know how to change it to another button so it is set for the play button just like it is on the Directv remote.

Rob

I don't know anything about Harmony remotes, but I am at a loss to understand what "set for the play button" means. Have you replaced the assignment of the normal Play signal with Slow Play? Assigned both codes to the Play button? Does the Harmony recognize long presses and send different signals for short and long presses?

In any case, this is the Discrete Code Hunter section of the forum, and the questino of which code to use has ben answered. Now it would probably be better to post in the Harmony section, where there may be folks who know about Harmony remotes.

I suppose that I should have said that it is "assigned" to the play button. Yes, I have assigned both the play and slow play commands to the same button (i.e. the play button). This is exactly how it is done on the Directv remote so although I have no idea about any of this stuff just know that it is possible since it functions that way on the Directv remote.

I'll try not to bother you here again. I simply was wanting to give you an update on what the results had been.

Rob

It's not a bother at all. And if you're happy, that's great. But I suspect that you can get the Harmony to send a signal which will cause your DirecTV to immediately enter slow play mode, probably by assigning the slow play function to some other button, and using that button to switch to slow play mode.

You have a better chance of finding out how to do it in the Harmony forum, or over at  AVS Forum.  Actually AVS Forum is where most of the Harmony enthusiasts hang out.