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Need advice on remotes and possible codes.
This thread has 3 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Tuesday February 21, 2012 at 01:42
5-HT
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I'm trying to solve a problem some of my elderly family memnbers are having using a stock Comcast remote (silver with red OK button) with a Samsung UN40D5005 LCD TV and Samsung BD-B5250C Blu-ray player and Comcast HD DVR set top box. The problem seems to be using Comcast's All On button. I doesn't take much for the various devices to get out of sync power-wise, probably because the Comcast remote takes a while to send out the sequential device power codes and the operators don't keep the device pointed in the right direction long enough. This has the effect of turning one device on while simultaneously turning another off or vice-versa. So, my questions are: 1. Do these devices have/support separate ON and OFF power commands to unambigously turn a device on or off? 2. Can the Comcast remote be programed to use these codes? 3. Would I be better off using a third-party remote to support this function (provided the answer to question #1 is yes)?
The Comcast remote does of course have the ability to send a power command to each device separately but it is not immediately apparent to the elderly (and some other family members, I might add) whether a particular device is actually in the ON or OFF state.
Thanks!
Post 2 made on Tuesday February 21, 2012 at 19:20
3FG
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1. No, neither the Comcast box nor the BluRay have discrete power commands.  The Comcast box hardly matters, since it uses about the same power whether on or off.  Most people just leave the cable box on.  The BluRay probably will respond to Play as an on command, and to Play-Power as an off command.  You should be able to experiment with these to see how well those work.  Probably the delay needed between Play and Power (to simulate discrete off) will be much too long to make this an improvement over the current situation.

2. Yes, the Comcast remote is programmable to send commands that weren't included in the standard setup codes.  So if you find that the simulated discrete commands mentioned above are workable, we can tell you how to make the Comcast send those commands as macros, and to assign them to other buttons.  If he components had discrete commands, the Comcast could send those too.

3.  Logitech Harmony remotes have power state tracking, and have much less delay between issuing power toggle commands compared to the Comcast.  If the units get out of synch, there is "Help" button that guides the user through getting the components back in synch.  I have no experience with these remotes.

4.  We use Comcast remotes at our house, and I have a JP1 interface cable, so I know quite a bit about them.  The AllOn button is setup to have a 0.75 second delay between the power toggle commands to each component.  It is possible using the $30 cable to shorten the delay to near zero, and that cuts down on synch issues considerably.  You could also (counter-intuitively) program a different button to send the power toggle macro, and that would reduce the delay to 0.25 seconds, which might be fast enough.  Unfortunately, it has to be a different button than AllOn.
OP | Post 3 made on Tuesday February 21, 2012 at 19:58
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3FG,
Thanks so much for your detailed response, it's quite helpful.

There does seem to be a growing need for CE manufacturers to have an increased awareness of the limitations of our aging population. There are any number of large-button, simplified universal remotes out there but at least in this instance until the box manufacturers support discrete ON and OFF command the options are limited.

I'll certainly try your reprogramming suggestions.
Thanks again!
Post 4 made on Tuesday February 21, 2012 at 20:58
3FG
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Well, if you're going to actually program macros and/or keymoves, read 9XX command instructions.  Then maybe ask a question.....


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