Greetings,

I'm trying the Harmony remote again, after giving up in frustration about a year ago.

This time around I bought a 676. The Web site software seems quite a bit more polished than it did a year ago, but I have some newbie questions that I hope can be easily resolved.

Question 1: Can you "start over" with the remote config? I entered in the device info (type, manufacturer and model) for five devices. The Harmony only matched on three of them. I created a separate account, and went through it again, choosing Hughes as the vendor for my HR10-250, which solves that one, but if only I could have been able to go "back" on the initial account, I think it would have been easier for everyone involved.

Question2: I had asked last month about trying the Harmony again. Someone mentioned that my receiver, a Sony STR-DE885 was in the database. I can't get it to match, either using the full name, as I've listed it here, nor did it pop up when I entered STR-DE as the name. Any suggestions? Why can't we choose devices from a dropdown, and only manually add them if they don't show up in the list?

[FYI -- I have been searching the forum for answers to these questions, and the only thing I saw as a possible solution to Q2 is to take a Test Drive. I didn't see how to do that on the Harmony Web site. The one like just took me to the main Harmony page of [Link: logitech.com]]


Thanks,

John

I just added that SOny receiver to my account...it's definately in the database, under Amplifier->AV Receiver.

I'm not really sure what you're asking with 1) ...can't you just delete the incorrect device and add a new device with the correct info?

It might be in the database, but it starts by asking me to get out the original remote and start pressing keys. I thought it only did that if it wasn't in the database. It didn't ask me to do that for any of my other devices. Did you add it as STR-DE885, or did you enter it some other way? If I enter STR-DE, it try to offer STR-DE9, but I think that is quite a bit different.


It turns out you can, but only after you enter in all the keypresses (Learning) as listed above, and set up your activities. When you are on the initial screen entering your device info, the minute it tries to ask me to press keys on the remote, I'd like to be able to press BACK and enter a different device. It seems you can't do that.

Thanks,

John

Some devices support more than one IR mode (like AV1 or AV2 on some Sony A/V receivers), so that is why it ask you to press a few keys on your OEM remote.

When it asks you to press the keys it also has the option that says that you don't have the remote but know the command. Just use that and the command that's there.

OK, I bought that as a reason, and the system decided it needed to walk me though about 15 key presses, including all the input selections.

Sadly, after all that, it doesn't work.

In the activities set up, the receiver never selects the correct input. The input never varies at all. The volume controls work, as does the mute button, but in the activities setup, the input never changes.

If I hit the Device button, I can manually choose inputs there. Most of them work, but I see many more input options than there really are on my STR-DE885.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

John

Try the various input selection commands in Device mode and note down the ones that work and which input they take you to.

Then check that these are the commands that have actually been configured to select the inputs for this device.

I have an old Sony STR-AV1010 which support only AV1, and a newer Sony STR-DA5ES which supports both AV1 and AV2 modes. The newer Sony STR-DA5ES Harmony default dataset was AV1 but I needed to use AV2. I added your STR-DE885, and it defaulted to AV2 but you probably use AV1 - go figure. Anyway, do as suggested by Remotevisitor, teach it any missing input commands, then reconfigure the device "Adjust Inputs" accordingly.

Thanks jlet and remotevisitor. The commands that actually work in device mode are certainly not the ones labeled and selected from the activities. I'll do as you two have suggested and see what happens.

I think I recall changing the receiver from AV2 to AV1 (using this procedure [Link: remotecentral.com]) when I purchased the Sony VL900 remotes that I've been using for a few years.

I appreciate the help!

John

I ignored the database and used the Learn Raw option (in "advanced" mode). I used the original remote and named the commands that would make sense to me, such as "InputMenu" "NextInput" and "SelectInput". Make sure that the list on the input menu corresponds to the order on your list. If it goes backwards, then delete the list and change the order to the opposite.

I'm starting to think that that would have been faster for me. I might still go back and do it, since there are so many input functions that don't make sense, and many of the other soft key entries don't seem to work at all.

But -- thanks to these notes, I got all the basics working!

I would like to better understand how the configurations in the database are built. I would have to say that the configuration for the STR-DE885 seems to be quite different than I would have expected.

Thanks again. This is now working to the point that I'll keep it, and I can see many useful tweaks down the road.

The database entries (datasets) are by "brands" rather than by particular "models". That is why a dataset has many more commands than your particular model. Just use the ones (subset) that worked when you tested them in device mode. That is really what the device mode if for.

That makes sense then. Thanks.

its trying to confirm the IR language so u get the best set of commands from the database. so what if it asks you to press 15 keys, it just seems lazy of you not to want to do that.