At work we have 15 blu-ray players (and growing).

I need a remote where I can differentiate between each player. I read some instructions on the Harmony remotes and I saw that it categorizes devices, like "Watch TV" or "Play DVD"...etc..etc... I can't have 15 entries that say "Play DVD" cause that would be confusing, is there a way to customize the entry so it says the players name for example? And if yes, which of the Harmony's can do that for me, or perhaps another remote....

Thanks!

What you have mentioned are activities. But you input the devices you will use and then set up the activities. If you have no need for controlling anything but the DVD players, input them one at a time and then go into settings and Rename This Device to DVD 1 or whatever. If you need to control more than 15 devices you will need more than 1 Harmony. I think.

As myron243 mentioned, you can just use Device mode to control only the Blu-Ray players individually. There is a Device button and a menu to choose from.

If you need to control additional devices you can setup an activity for each one, but you can name those activities whatever you want (you don't have to call it Watch TV). Same idea except you use the activities and off button and the harmony will automatically turn on the equipment when you start the activity and turn it off when you hit OFF or go to a different activity (or leave it on - it's configurable).

All harmonys work this way - the only difference is the buttons and screens plus RF support on some models and regular batteries vs. rechargeables.

I will need more than 15 at some point, since we get them as they are released. Is there a 15 device limit?

And is there a character limit on what I can have it say?

Here's what I found out with the character limit:


The buttons you make allow you to type in up to 3 lines of text [you must put a space between each line] up to 10-11 characters on each line, which allows you to actually read what the button does. Each button I made on the LCD screen was perfectly readable.

Now this all depends on whether you use capital letters, lower case, or even numbers. But I was able to put numbers & lower case letters on a button looking like this....

11 EACH LINE (NUMBERS)
12345678901
12345678901
12345678901

11 EACH LINE (LOWER CASE LETTERS)
abcdefghijk
abcdefghijk
abcdefghijk


10 EACH LINE (CAPITAL LETTERS
ABCDEFGHIJ
ABCDEFGHIJ
ABCDEFGHIJ

Thanks for the quick reply! That should probably work. Now any word on the 15 item limit... or is it 15 device limit? Do all the Harmony's have this limit?

All Harmony remotes are the same: 15 activities, 15 devices. If you really need more than this then I would suggest either multiple remotes, or some other remote such as a Pronto which has no hard device limit.

It's actually 15 devices and 255 activities.

Your other problem is that I'm pretty sure there aren't 15 Blu-Ray manufacturers, so I assume some or all of the players are the same brand? If so, you'll have problems with multiple players responding to the same IR commands. If you need to address each player individually you'll either need to make sure they all can use a different command set, or you'll need an RF remote.

Sorry, my mistake... it's just that being able to create 255 activities holds no meaning when you can only base them on 15 devices. :-)

I think what might be helpful is an indication of how these BD players are set up. Are they 15 of the same model, or a random variety? Are they in multiple rooms, or the same room? Do you need to be able to control multiple players at the same time? If you have multiples of the same unit in the same room, do you need to be able to control them discretely?

All 15 are in the same room, on a rack. They are different models... 3 from Sony, 3 from Samsung, I think a panasonic, two from LG, etc..etc..

I don't think its realistic to be able to control one of the Sonys without the other Sonys also responding for example, so if that happens its not a huge deal.

My main concern is just being able to have them all controlled by one remote. So it sounds like 15 is the limit, and I'd have to get another remote for the next batch... does that sound accurate?

Thanks for all your help guys!

The limits are 16 devices and probably 256 activities. Remember that in binary, device 0 counts as one device.

If they are going to respond as a "batch" anyway, then you could just set them up as a manufacturer's group. ie instead of adding 3 different Sony players, 3 different Samsung players etc, just add one of each manufacturer. This will make the device limit go much further.

You would then just create "Watch Sony", "Watch Samsung" etc...

I know he posted this in the Harmony forum instead of the "which remote should I buy" forum, but I still question whether the Harmony is the right remote for his needs. I mean, OK, so you squeeze in your current selection of BD players. But more down the road? And what about controlling any sort of display devices, audio devices, switching devices?

This obviously isn't a standard home theater setup we're talking about here, so the activity concept doesn't really fit. I think something more along the lines of an RTI, URC or Pronto remote might work better for his purposes (at least the ones with no device limits), but of course that also depends on how much he wants to spend. He can buy a couple 880s for the price of any of the above. :-)

Yeah, I saw a Pronto for about 500 some bucks... that seemed a bit excessive. Its not for my personal use, its for my work, but still, its more of a convenience than a necessity. I am more than willing to listen to other suggestions though. Are all these remotes in the $500 range?

Well, you can get the latest Pronto TSU9400 for about $550... but if you want cheaper you might actually want to take a look at something like the URC MX-900 which I think can be had for $250-$300. It supports 252 devices, and is the fastest "freeform" remote to program.