OK, here's the deal. Got a 37" Vizio, and normal source is Comcast HD cable using the little box, not the one with DVR. So Comcast gives you a remote that can select channels do the volume. It's not a smart tv so I got a Chromecast. Now I can juggle remotes and watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, or HBO GO bc I have HBO on my DirecTV downstairs.

Anyway, I'm wondering if there's any remote App for an iPhone6 that would control everything, or even a "universal"remote or maybe there's a way to program the Vizio remote to control the Comcast box. The Comcast remote has no button to switch sources like from HDMI1 to HDMI2. The Vizio doesn't seem to be able to control the channel switching of the Comcast box LOL. Are you confused? I know my wife is!

Anything to make it easier please.

DrGrafix,

Your iPhone cannot emit Infrared. You'll at least need a "box" to help with this. What is your price sensitivity? Would you be comfortable doing some programming? "Programming" could mean filling out a form and checking a few boxes, or working in a language, such as JavaScript. Do you want a touch screen or a conventional button remote?

Hmm that sounds too complicated for an old fart like me LOL. Is there any way I could program my Vizio remote to use the Comcast box at least? Or could I somehow use some auxiliary button (?) on the Comcast remote to switch HDMI 1 to HDMI 2?

You haven't told us exactly what equipment you've got, so I'll make some guesses here.  I think you're describing a Comcast DTA which uses the UEI Delta remote. If it looks like this one, then it can't be modified to control your Vizio.  If instead it looks like this DVR remote, we can tell you how to assign the HDMI codes to the TV button.  BTW, this latter remote is typically available new, shipped, from eBay for $6, so this can be a very cheap way to control everything within IR range.

I don't know of any Vizio remotes which can shoot the XMP IR protocol which is used by the DTA.   Other universals which will work include the OneForAll OARUSB04G (this one is nearly future proof, with support both from OneForAll and by using the RMIR freeware, in case you change or add components), the OARC05G, the RCA RCRP05BR, or the Inteset 422.

If you choose one of these, we can help you get it fully set up to control the Comcast box and the Vizio TV.  They can control the DirecTV also, but only if the remote is in the same room.

Oh I apologize, I can give you some model numbers.

The Xfinity box is a model DC60Xu
The Xfinity remote is a XR2 version R1

My Vizio TV is a SV370XVT 37", has 3 HDMI ports
The Vizio remote is a VUR9M

I was able to program the XR2 remote to power on/off the tv as well as control the volumne. There's no "source" button which I suspect would be able to shift from cable to component to any of the three (3) HDMI input ports. Don't know how programmable the Vizio VUR9M is relative to the Xfinity box, but it obviously has all the buttons to select sources.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Mike

I don't believe that the XR2 remote can be configured to send the Vizio discrete signals, and the VUR9 can't be configured to control the Comcast box.  COnsider getting one of the remotes listed a couple of posts above.

I'm going to take your advice and go with the OneForAll OARUSG04G. You guys will have to school me on how to "program" it LOL. If I can use one remote instead of two... I'm definitely ahead of the game.

Mike

Got the OneFor All today, should I mess around or wait for you to give me some directions on codes?

Mike

Well, I would set it up for TV  using the built in search function or manually with setup code 0178 (Press Setup until 2 blinks, Press TV, Enter 0178.  The remote should blink twice).

Then, assuming you want to get the same functionality as the HDMI button on the OEM remote, either
A) Copy the HDMI signal from the OEM remote to the OARUSB04G
  1.  Press Learn until 2 blinks (in upper right corner of the remote)
  2.  Press TV
  3.  Press e.g. TV Input (lower right corner)
  4.  Place OEM remote nose to nose with OARUSB04G about 1-2 inches apart.
  5.  Press the HDMI button on the OEM remote.
  6.  Press Learn until 2 blinks to exit learning mode, assuming you have no other functions to learn

OR

B)
  1. Press Setup until 2 blinks
  2. Press TV
  3. Enter 994  (should get 2 blinks)
  4. Press Setup  (don't hold it)
  5. Enter the EFC 00174
  6. Press e.g. TV Input
You should get 2 blinks.  If you don't, the remote may have come with old firmware.  Go to Simpleset.com, and click on Restore Remote, follow the instructions, and then try the above procedure again.

If instead you'd like to be able to select any of HDMI1, HDMI2, HDMI3 with a single press of a dedicated button, follow the above 994 procedure using EFCs
HDMI1 00193
HDMI2 00191
HDMI3 00195
You might for example assign these to the colored buttons.
A major resource is post #84 in the Vizio discretes thread.
If you want to do more extensive programming consider installing RMIR.

Of course, if this isn't clear, ask again.

Seems that the remote had old firmware so I followed your advice, went to the Simpleset web page and I _think_ its updated but I'm not 100% sure. There doesn't seem to be a utility to check the firmware or if it was loaded properly. I use a Mac, so I connected the cable to my Mac, DL the file, then opened it in finder, clicked on the "Settings.bin" file as instructed, and a "settings.bin.cpgz" file appeared. I clicked on that... and it said archiving then the cpgz file was gone. So I clicked the bin file and it reappeared.

Maybe you guys can explain how I know that the remote has been updated.

As far as how I'd _like_ it to work? Here's a quick synopsis:

Power Button - Obviously turn on the TV only... don't need to turn cable box on/off, but I'd like it to power up on HDMI3 which is the Comcast cable box source. Its most normally watched.

Switch to Chromecast/HDMI1 - I'd be fine with using a button like "DVD" as the trigger to switch to HDMI1, and at that point you have to use the iPhone/iPad to "cast" whatever it is your sending (i.e. HBOGO).

I did try a simple "dry" run and using the 994 code, saw that the Power switch worked, Volume and other normal controls worked fine including the TV Input, but you had to scroll through all the available selections before getting to the HDMI1 option. Maybe you can explain the exact sequence of assigning a button to a specific HDMI port. Perhaps I should use the "TV" button for HDMI3, then simply pressing either "STB" or "DVD" will jump it to the HDMI1 without seeing the Vizio source menu?

Don't expect an answer today LOL... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and thanks so much for trying trying to help me out.

Mike

To tell which version of firmware, use the 983 command:
1) Press Setup until 2 blinks
2) Enter 983
3) Press the "1" button and count the number of blinks. No blinks means 0
4) Repeat step 3 using buttons "2" through "5"
Steps 3 and 4 should yield in succession each digit of the signature.

Old FW has signature 25764, and new is 25761.

A cpgz file is just a compressed file.  It ordinarily will automatically expand to the uncompressed settings.bin file.  You then copy this file to the remote which acts just like a USB thumb drive.  On my son's Mac, it showed up on the desktop as a folder titled VOXX4REMOTE.

For some reason, the simpleset.com website doesn't have the actual manual.  You can download it from hifi-remote.com.  Note however that the manual doesn't describe the 9XX commands which can be used with the remote.   For example, the manual tells you how to assign a macro to a digit button which will only run if the remote is in the device mode for which the macro was defined (frequently termed a Device Specific Macro).  One can also use the 995 command to assign a Global macro to most of the buttons which will run in any device mode.  The remote doesn't allow assigning EFCs or macros to the device buttons or Combo buttons, and 995 Global macros can't be assigned to the digit buttons.

Regarding how you would like the remote to function, realize that we have to take into account the behavior of the Vizio. Will it accept a discrete HDMI3 command immediately after being powered on?  Will issuing the HDMI3 command turn on the TV?  I expect that most models of TVs on power up will remember which input was last in use.  Is that not true for the Vizio?

Also, from your description, I guess that the remote wasn't actually successfully programmed to issue the HDMI command--otherwise I suppose that the Vizio would only cycle through the HDMI inputs, and none of the others.  You should be able to get the OARUSB04G to do whatever the OEM remote does with its HDMI button.  Try reassigning it (or try the HDMI1, 2, or 3 discretes). Make sure that the remote blinks twice when step 6 is competed.  A single long blink means the EFC wasn't accepted.

Let's get all of the commands working before trying to choreograph th estartup of the system.
 

Hi...

Finally got a few minutes free time, the holiday guests have all gone LOL. So I "tried" to check the firmware and was getting the 25764 no matter how many times I tried on the Mac to update it didn't work so I switched over to my usually idle PC. I managed to get the firmware updated in a couple of minutes, double checked using your procedure (25761).

So now comes the hard part LOL... you trying to explain to me how to make this work.

1. Press Setup until 2 blinks - OK... That works.
2. Press TV - This button blinks once as I'm pushing it.
3. Enter 994 (should get 2 blinks) - Seems that when I do this I get one blink for each keystroke but no 2 blinks after entering it.
4. Press Setup (don't hold it) - Tried that.
5. Enter the EFC 00193 - entered 00193
6. Press RED Button
7. You should get 2 blinks - Nothing happens.

I'd like to be able to select any of HDMI1, HDMI2, HDMI3 with a single press of a dedicated color buttons, tried to follow the above 994 procedure using EFCs
Red Button for HDMI1 use 00193
Green Button for HDMI2 use 00191
Orange Button for HDMI3 use 00195

So do I repeat the entire process, steps 1 thru 7 substituting the corresponding EFC number code or do I repeat step #5 a total of three times before pressing the red button? But I still have to figure out why it doesn't seem to be accepting the EFC 00193.

Incidentally, I tried the "B" sequence with the updated firmware, and it also would not acknowledge any input once I entered the EFC 00174, and yes... I confirmed the updated firmware again.

Almost forgot: Tried the online programming, that doesn't seem to work properly or the GUI just isn't well thought out. Should be a way to edit or rename the four devices (TV, STB, DVD, & Audio). Also tried to download the manual but there's a glitch? in the registration at JP1 Remotes where the anti-spam asked me to enter 17,000,000 numerically and I did but it said it was the wrong answer. Plus no way to contact the Administrator to ask for some help. Does everyone sound as dumb as I do LOL?

Mike

After updating the firmware, have you assigned a setup code to TV and any other  device buttons which you're going to use?  If you haven't assigned a setup code to the TV button, the remote won't accept any other kind of programming.  Press Setup until 2 blinks, Press TV, Enter 0178.  The remote should blink twice.  Then you can go on with the 994 commands.  Each EFC should be put on its own separate button, using all 7 steps.

If you want to e.g. change the device type of the button labeled Audio to one which accepts DVD setup codes, use the 992 command.  However, when you want to make this kind of change, I recommend installing RMIR so that you can see how the remote has been programmed.

The hifi-remote site gets new registrations every day, because it is the primary site for providing custom remotes for Slingbox users.  So I'm pretty sure that the registration routine normally works OK.

OK! I'm 90% there, I've got the remote programmed so that it works like the Vizio remote more or less. The Red = HDMI1, Green = HDMI2, and Orange = HDMI3! For others who may be as dense as I am, I'll re-list my steps to this point.

1. Press Setup until 2 blinks
2. Press TV - This button blinks once as you push it.
3. Enter 994 - It will blink once for 9, then 9, and twice for 4.
4. Press Setup
5. Enter the EFC 00193 (HDMI1) - enter 00193*
6. Press RED Button
7. You get 2 blinks

To also program HDMI2 and/or HDMI3 with a single press of a dedicated color buttons, follow the seven steps above with the codes below, repeat ALL seven (7) steps for each HDMI assignment:

Green Button for HDMI2 use 00191
Orange Button for HDMI3 use 00195

* HDMI1 is linked to my Google Chromecast, pressing RED button now brings up the Chromecast Home Screen.

Now, the only missing step is how to get the channel to change in TV/00195/HDMI3 mode. What happens right now is it switches the TV channel, NOT the Xfinity STB. So a "no signal" blue screen appears. If I can get your advice on how to do _that_ (get the channel selection working), be able to either use the Channel Up/Down (+/-) and/or use the numeric keypad to select say 901 for MSNBC or whatever... that would be near perfect.

Mike

Here's one way to arrange things.  We're going to use the Watch TV Combo button so that some buttons will control the TV and some will control the STB.  First make sure you have a setup code assigned to the STB button, either by searching or by entering setup code 1982 (I guess that is correct for the Xfinity box.)  Then assign the same EFCs to the Red Green and Orange buttons, but make these effective in STB mode by adding an additional step to the previous 994 procedure.
1. Press Setup until 2 blinks
2. Press TV - This button blinks once as you push it.
3. Enter 994 - It will blink once for 9, then 9, and twice for 4.
4. Press Setup
5. Press STB  (this is the added step)
6. Enter the EFC 00193 (HDMI1) - enter 00193
7. Press RED Button
8. You get 2 blinks
Now in either TV or STB mode, the color buttons should control the TV input.

At this point, if you press the TV Combo button briefly (it's the same button as Setup, so don't hold it) subsequent button presses of the Vol or Mute buttons will send a signal to the TV, while the other buttons will cause a signal to go to the cable box.  If you need to use e.g. the arrow or Select/OK functions on the TV, press the TV button to revert to TV device mode.

In TV mode, you can toggle Power on the Vizio by pressing the Power button.  In Combo mode, you need to hold the Power button for 2 seconds.  By default in Combo mode, holding Power for 2 seconds will send toggle signals to both the Vizio and the Xfinity.  You can stop the remote from sending power toggle to the cable box in Combo mode by:
1. Press Setup until 2 blinks
2. Press Setup briefly
3. Press STB
4. Press Power (should get 2 blinks)

Last thing:  Set Volume Punchthrough to TV
1. Press Setup until 2 blinks
2. Enter 993
3. Press TV  (should get 2 blinks)
Setup in this way, the remote will control the TV volume in any of Combo, TV , or STB modes.  In Combo or STB mode, all of the buttons except the Volume group and color buttons will control the Xfinity.  In TV mode, any button which sends a signal will send it to the TV.