Hi -

I think I have a strange situation that I hope someone has encountered before. I have an 880 and use a Samsung HTQ70 Receiver for digital audio output from my Scientific Atlanta STB. I have not been able to get the Samsung AV unit to switch to the right input no matter what I do. The problem is that it seems to think that a remote has individual buttons for each input OR one button that flips through all of them. The Q70 seems to be in the middle. It has a dedicated button for DVD input and one for FM Radio, but then one "AUX" button that flips through AUX1, AUX2, and Digital In (what I need for the TV).

I've tried the following:

1 - By default, the software thinks I should push one button to cycle through all inputs, which is partially true, so I started with that. The problem is when it lists the different inputs, it includes the ones that have dedicated buttons, i.e. DVD, FM. So that didnt work.

2 - I tried re-doing the input list to include just the ones that are cyclable - AUX1,2,Dig. That didnt work.

3 - Since that didnt appear to get anywhere, I tried telling it to go directly to the input using the commands InputAUX then SetAUXInputDigitalIn. Sounded good, but didnt work.

4 - Still telling it to go directly to the input, I then used the commands SetInputTypeAux then SetAUXInputDigitalIn. Still no luck.

I hope that makes sense - I've been at it for a while. The Harmony is working great other than this and I will be all set if anyone can point me in the right direction on here. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Is there a way to force it to a specific Aux input? If so, you can say that go directly to the inputs, give it that command so that you know which aux input you're starting on, then issue additional Aux commands as necessary. This won't work if you can't predict which aux input it will start on. If that's the case:

The standard workaround is to create 2 TV devices - one for the discretes and one for the Aux cycle. Give the discrete device the power control - set the Aux cycle device to "leave on all the time". On any activity where you need Aux inputs, add the Aux device. Set the discrete device to a bogus input (create one with a bogus command so it won't interfere) and then set the Aux device to the correct Aux input. Setup the Aux device as if the Aux inputs were the only inputs.

Also try all the input commands in device mode. Press each one at least twice and note their behaviour (cycling versus direct action). Elaborating on Akirby 1st suggestion, for the AUX cycling input command, you might be able to reset it to its 1st cycle by preceding it with a discrete command like InputDVD. To test that, set your receiver to AUX2, then press the input DVD button followed by the AUX button. If it goes to AUX1 (and not AUX3), then you found a way to force it to a specific Aux input. You would still use the direct input method but for your Aux cycling inputs, you would select the "I send more than one command" option, and start the sequence with the discrete InputDVD command. As an example for your Aux2 input, the command sequence would look like this: InputDVD, InputAUX, InputAUX.

Hi Akirby/Jlet -

Thanks for the tips. I understand option #1 - essentially try to find a way to get it to go back to the same input each time and then send as many AUX commands as necessary to cycle to Digital.

I dont think I get #2 though. How will I be able to cycle to the right AUX input on the dummy device? I've already tried stripping out the inputs that I dont need in the original device and it still never made it to the right input.

Thanks again.

Dan

Because in the Aux device you setup the 3 Aux inputs using the cycle method. The exact details depends on how your TV responds. If you press Aux the first time, does it go back to last Aux input it was on or does it always go to the first one? What causes it to cycle to the next input? How do you select an input?

Assuming the "InputAux" is the cycling command, then in the "Adjust Inputs" for the dummy device, you would select the 1st option (I flip through the inputs until I get to the right one). List only the 3 Aux inputs in the right order, and select the "InputAux" for the cycling command. It will track the aux input of the dummy device but you will need to synchronized it first. Note: This will work (stay synchronized) only if the Aux input does not get reset by the other direct input command like InputDVD. In this case, you will have to use method #1 (the preferred method). Also don't forget to answer the questions (skipping unused inputs, stay on same input after a power cycle) properly. In the activities that use one of the Aux inputs, select the real device as usual but with a bogus input (as explained by Akirby), and add the dummy device. It will ask you what input to use for the dummy device.

I've read the other replies, and I am finding them confusing (as well as not being clear on how they are going to solve the problem).

Here is how I am coping with the problem, and what I plan to in the future. I have the Samsung Q80 AVR, which is similar to the system that Dan006 has, except my rear speakers are not on towers.

Most of our TV watching is via a Motorla 6412-III DVR. The video feeds directly to the TV via HDMI, and the audio feeds via optical cable to the audio system. (I'd prefer to feed the HDMI signal to the AVR and have it feed the video to the TV, but the DVR won't talk properly until it gets a firmware upgrade someday.)

Here is how we're coping with the problem Dan006 describes. Our AVR is set to HDMI input and it stays that way. Each time it is turned on it stays in that mode, so there is no problem. We never use it in FM nor XM mode, so those aren't an issue, although I do have an activity for "Listen to FM" set up.

I've added an "Eject" button to the "Watch DVD" activity. That was easy to do and the Harmony database already knows that code. In fact it is one of the buttons for the device, but I also added it to the "Watch DVD" activity main screen for convenience.

To watch a DVD I pick the "Watch DVD" activity and then press the Eject button. That does two things. It opens the drawer on the AVR/DVD player; and it causes the AVR to output a video signal.

When we revert back to our normal "Watch DVD" activity I press the InputAux button the correct number of times to get us to the HDMI input on the AVR. I've added an "InputAux" button to the "Watch DVR" activity main screen for convenience. I've also labeled that button "Audio input" just to make things less confusing for the user.

Something that I think presents a challenge for the Harmony is that the AVR changes the devices that it cycles through depending on whether it was in DVD mode or not. If I recall correctly, when it was in DVD mode, hitting InputAux cycles through Aux 1, Aux 2, HDMI, Digital, FM, XM, and maybe DVD. But if it was in HDMI mode when powered on, then it only cycles through Aux 1, Aux 2, HDMI and Digital.

For the future, I'm looking forward to the day that our cable provider distributes the firmware update for the DVR. Then I will feed the HDMI output of the DVR to the Q80 AVR. I'll be able to remove the optical audio cable then too. Then I'll be able to feed the video from the Q80 to the TV for both television and DVD's. At that time I'm hoping it will also be a bit easier to make the Q80 function the way I wish or I'll contact Logitech again. When I first got the 880 I was routed to second level support and a very helpful person thought we could get everything working, and may even have set it up for the time that the DVR does get updated, but I may have wiped out some of that setup in my susequent adjustments.

Hi all -

I tried Option #1 last night and it worked. If I go to DVD (a direct input button), the receiver always goes back to AUX1 afterwards. If I send InputAUX three times after DVD it will always bring me to what I need.

You guys are really good with the workarounds for this stuff...

Separate question for Bernie33 - Are you having any sync issues with the Audio and Video in your setup? I have a similiar setup where my Cable Box (SA 4250HD) outputs HDMI to the TV and then Digitial Audio to my AVR. For some reason with that setup, the Video appears BEFORE the audio. If I use digital audio to the TV speakers it all syncs up fine. Just wondering...

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

Could someone confirm that the technique discussed in this post is no longer possible with the new web site update?

Confirmed. See post 13 of this thread: [Link: remotecentral.com]