I've tried the following one-for-all remotes, and if I could pick-and-choose features from each one, I'd have an acceptable remote:

ProProducer 7: (won't learn on any standard keys, not backlit, no menu layout)

Cinema 6: (won't learn one specific code from my remote, not backlit, limited to ~28 learned codes otherwise, doesn't support the 518 codeset as well as the ProProducer 7 did).

RS 15-1994 (doesn't have the 518 codeset, and has all other disadvantages of the Cinema 6 except it has a backlight).

As I understand it, the Home Producer 8 won't learn on any keys except the L keys, but does have room for 48 codes.

Does One-for-all make anything that will learn on non-L keys, has an area for menu buttons, and can learn more than ~28 codes? I realize that this still won't answer whether or not it will learn the menu-left button from my DVD player, but at least it gives me a direction to look.

The Cinema 7 and Radio Shack 15-1994 CAN learn on ANY button (well, just about any button). Dunno about the Home Producer 8.

[Link: ampersand.hypermart.net]

I'm aware of the Cinema 7 and RS being able to learn on any key. It was the ProProducer 7 that wouldn't. The Cinema 6 and RS won't learn one of the buttons on my remote, and yes I've gone through the learning FAQ.

At any rate, the long list of near misses shook my confidence enough that I'm willing to try the big guns. After describing what you can do with a Pronto with activity-oriented screens, my wife decided that we will get a Pronto. I'm not quite comfortable spending that much on a remote, feels like killing ants with a sledge hammer, but I've heard almost nothing but positive remarks.

I don't think there's one Cinema 7 owner out there that wouldn't trade in for a pronto if the price was right :)

BTW, what the heck was that function that refused to learn? Did you try tapping the source remote's key rather than holding it down for two seconds?

Tried that. Even tried a 9-8-0 reset, set the device code, then tried to learn that button first (and on different keys).

The button that wouldn't learn is menu-left, used by the DVD player to select menu items, singleframe backup, adjust the equalizer, etc.

Part of the problem is that the DVD player is an all-in-one unit, complete with 5 DVD/cd changer, radio, casette deck, and aux inputs, and 5 speakers plus line-out subwoofer outputs. The nonuniversal remote outputs 57 distinct codes. The ProProducer output about 15 of those codes, the Cinema 6, 7 (but 4 of which were obscure ones that I'd rarely use anyway).

On the other hand, it at least has discrete-on. *snicker*

At any rate, I found a place that had the Pronto in stock and ordered it. I'm going to continue to try to make the other remotes work, simply because I *KNOW* we will occasionally loose the remote, and out of all my other universal remotes, the RS is easily my favorite, with the Cinema 6 close behind it.

Are you sure there is not available device code for your unit? It seems to me that the learning feature can be at times fustrating. I avoid it and use advanced codes whenever possible.

I take it you did a code search? What brand/model is your unit?

Yeah, went through all 256 advanced codes for 3 device codes, three times since there wasn't any single mode that I could put the stereo in that would react to any key press. I found some discrete codes, but not any important ones.

Though that is how I found out that I can use the selector buttons (DVD/CD/tuner/cassette/AUX) as discrete power on buttons.

Oops, forgot to mention, this is the Panasonic SC-DV1, an all-in-one sound system/DVD player.

Eric: That's a very odd problem, but almost seems to mimic one a Pronto user was experiencing where learning his Panasonic VCR's "cancel" button resulted in the remote rebooting. Odd, since all Panasonic codes I've seen have been very "plain".

My Pronto got here today, so I'll be able to learn the key to that, and take a look to see if that signal was doing anything unusual (thanks to the info on this site).

Pronto learns the code fine. The Cinema 6 and RS remote still won't learn the code, even from the Pronto. The next step is to dump the learned code, and replace it with the algorithmically generated code, make sure that that code works, and see if the Cinema 6 will learn that.

The behavior of the remote when it tries to learn the code is like this. It acts as if it learned the code, but when I try to use the button, it goes back into learn mode on that button (LED flickers for 10 seconds, or until I shoot it with a remote code).

Just to finish the thread, the pronto doesn't show anything unusual about the code, it's formed just like the other codes that do learn. Replacing the code with the generated code didn't change anything. Just one more of life's little mysteries.

Eric,

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[Link: remotecentral.com]