On one hand, you should have been able to catch that when you did the install. If you had caught it yourself instead of the client catching it after you left, you could have let him know that that you were not 100% satisfied with the incompatibility of HIS equipment, you had ran out of time, and you will be back to fix it in a couple of days.

Of course on the other hand your client was a little cry baby about it.

So here's the deal.
There are NO FAVORS...except on the rare occasion that we know somebody really well, who has proven to you that they VALUE what you do and who has proven that they will reciprocate. (I have an HVAC friend that I do favors for.....I'm the luckiest guy on the block because of him and he feels the same way about me.)

If you whore yourself though, you are only making less value of yous work. Sounds F'd up but the more favors you do for someone, the less the overall scope of what you did is acknowledged, especially when things don't turn out to be perfect. All your client sees is an oversight.

Best of luck bro...and don't hate on LG! They have consistently provided us with lots of controllability over the years.

i know that favors and deals normally come back to haunt me, but i still did it (guess that makes me the retard). i also have a HVAC friend that trades services with me, it really came in handy when my outside unit froze up in the middle of the night on a saturday. woke up and my house was 52 degrees.

i can see that everyone seems to agree that i should have caught this and fixed it from the start. i didn't even know to check for this, but i do now. between being rushed from the job and not ever seeing this before, it may very well be my fault that it went unnoticed.

the problem still remains though, what do i do now. and before you say it, this client will NEVER spring for a ir routed control system.

proaudio

the cable box doesnt have its own volume level adjustment does it? 

very interesting question, i don't believe this one does. when you use the volume button it automatically tries the volume on the tv. this is a default feature, and i am not sure if you can change it. great idea though.

proaudio

 do you know the model of the box?  does it change to Ondemand with single button presses, or only when he holds down the volume button? 


could the box be located in a different area?  he could point the remote at the box to change channels, and back to the tv to change volume.


or maybe use an i/r controllable line level volume control between the box and tv?  of course you would most likely need a learning universal remote to pull that off. (and it would be a pretty hokey solution)

Every cable box I've seen can change to volume control of the cable box.

This can't be the issue, though, because the volume command changes the "channel" to on demand.

As for the client, and his wife saying she had to run out, I've got one like that. It's a referral from another installer who has modified her system and doesn't do RTI, and I'm updating the remote.

The client has been in such a hurry that I only saw her for about five minutes and she did not answer her phone to come back to the house when I was done, so I could show her how the remote worked. If she had answered the damn phone, it would have been obvious to her that something else was needed and I could have done it on the first trip.

Fool that I am, I'll be in the neighborhood so am only charging a quarter hour for this...fool that I am. What was it you said about favors?

URC remote, mrf 350 set cablebox to RF only, tv IR only assign cablebox to port 1.

Overkill for TV and cablebox, maybe but it will work.

Or you could do this. Is the cable box the only source? if it is you could set the comcast remote to work the CABlE box volume, turn the tv voulme up manually, (hopefully no one will change it) as long as they dont adjust the TV volume this will work.
Ir routing would be better, more expensive but the waay to go

i do understand very well the need for ir routing as i stated in my previous post. i will however try the volume control by the cable box idea.

BTW- this is the little black standard def box, about 6" wide and 8" deep and 1.5" tall.

thanks again for all suggestions i am going to try them all to get these guys off my radar.


proaudio

Something on the side, as you all know we are the LAST persons to enter a house to finish it. IF construction delays e.t.c. e.t.c then everything hits back on us. They tell the client delivery is on the 20th and we have to be finished by then but they never consider the amount of work we have to deal with expensive equipment, programming e.t.c so we always make clear to the client that AFTER the house is delivered to you by your developer or whatever, we need at least 1, 2, 3 weeks depending of the size of project of course. That way the client is calm about you not delivering when the developer construction delivers. On the other hand though, you SHOULD have checked it :) Sorry keep ranting about it. Clients will bring new clients in the LONG term. Don't expect a client bringing another client the next day. And as far as projects are concerned we have no problem yet. Use a Pronto TSU9200 with an extender and end your troubles. Or you could have just send the TV back and get a different model (testing of course that the comcast does not operate that)

Can't get the cable co to switch to a different cable box?

A different cable box! Could it be that easy?

If not...

How about TIVO? He might part with money easier if hes getting a feature vs. paying for a unversal remote.

Did you provide the TV? (if you mentioned it I did not notice).
If not tell him that you have tried all of the available no cost options and that from here it it is T/M or he could call Comcast or LG and get them to fix it.
If you provided (or spec'ed the display) them you need to solve the problem, even if it means giving the guy a SMALL break on a new remote.

all comcast boxes use the same remote in the atlanta area. that being said i doubt a new cable box will fix the issue.

no i did not provide the display, it was purchased by the client without ever consulting with me.

the problem with doing a remote for him is that the FACTORY volume command is the same as the FACTORY command for "on demand" on the cable box, so the remote would also need some ir routing processor. i know this client isn't going to spring for that. it would be cheaper to get a different display than get the remote. this client meeting is going to one for the books. i'm sure it will not go well, but i am goig to put o my game face and do my best to come out of this with a satisfied customer.

proaudio

What!!?? Mr. Client, I am Shocked! Shocked! The Box Store didn't tell you that the remote codes for this TV are incompatible with the cable boxes in use throughout this entire area??? They certainly must know about the products they sell to unsuspecting customers. They mislead you, at the very least and screwed you at worst. You should return this TV. The Professional Displays that I sell do not have this problem; that is why I have never seen this problem before. All my clients are wise enough to trust me to choose Professional Components for them that work well together in their systems. Those clients don't have to go through the headaches and expense that you are having to experience. This TV from The Box Store is obviously not designed to work in your system. Fortunately for you, I have the experience and expertise to make this non-compatible TV from The Box Store work well in your system.

If you don't want to return the TV, I can solve the problem this TV from The Box Store is causing by providing and programming a professional quality system controller with signal routing. Plus, it will get rid of the other six remotes on your coffee table and make your system a joy to operate, which I’m certain will make Mrs. Client happy. Here is how much it is going to cost to solve the problem The Box Store TV has caused you.

How much did you say you saved by not buying your TV from me?

When you buy quality, you only cry once!