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Topic:
OBSERVATIONS ON HARD POWER MACRO
This thread has 7 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 12:03
Mike Gifford
Historic Forum Post
I've been observing this thread and reading about everyone's need for a hard POWER macro. Although this could be something I'm sure our engineers will remedy in the future, I am wondering on a personal level how this would be convenient. Remember that the hard button MACRO on the SL9000 remote control disabled normal power functionality per individual device and caused much confusion for your everyday remote user. I always recommended to consumers (and dealers alike who had difficulty) to use M1-M4 for macros and to just leave the POWER macro alone. Now, if there were a hard POWER macro on the MX1000, you would still have to press a device button first. You couldn't just press POWER and have it turn on specific devices because you would have to first create the POWER MACRO under a particular device button. And say for argument sake that you were able to create a POWER MACRO without first creating it on a device button - how would the remote control know which devices you wanted to turn on? So from my point-of-view, I'm wondering why a POWER MACRO is important when you can simply have a device button execute your MACRO.

Any comments are greatly appreciated!!
OP | Post 2 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 12:24
Kimo
Historic Forum Post
Mike:
Thanks for entering the fray. I am one who has been bemoaning the lack of such a button. Here's why.
On my One-for-All URC 8090 (which has now been replaced by the MX-1000) the hard Power button can be programmed with ANY macro you wish. It is not restricted simply to commands that would power on individual devices. For instance, when I press my 8090 power button, it triggers a macro to (a) turn TV power on, (b) turn A/V receiver power on, (c) turn VCR power on and (d) switch "device functions" to TiVo device page. (Note that when I say "turn power on", this is actually a toggle between on/off, so if I get out of synch for some reason, I have to manually toggle the applicable power switch on the device to get back into sync).
Obviously, when my wife or a guest wants to turn on the TV set, they're going to assume that hitting the big button on the front of the remote that says "Power" is going to turn the thing on. They do not need to know that there are other commands being sent, and that the channel selection is controlled by the TiVo or that the Volume functions are punched through from the A/V receiver. They just want to watch the darn TV. I seriously doubt if any of them would figure out how to hit "M1" on their own. Frustration breeds contempt, particularly with spousal units, who long for the day when "Power" on meant "Power On". I'd REALLY like to see this function incorporated. It may, I must admit, be the difference between me keeping the unit or sending it back.
Thanks for your time.
Kimo
OP | Post 3 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 12:36
Kimo
Historic Forum Post
As an addemndum to my earlier post, and for better clarification after re-reading Mike's original post, the One-for-ALL URC8090 Power Macro actually goes like this: (a) select TV device, (b) turn TV power ON, (c) select A/V receiver device, (d) turn A/V receiver ON, (e) select VCR device, (f) turn VCR ON and (e) select TiVo device commands page.
Note that there is no "TiVo" ON because TiVo power is ALWAYS on. Also, the One-for-All URC8090 TiVo functionality is VERY poor, i.e. won't do many of the functions and NO joystick. That's why I was so stoked about the MX-1000.
Kimo
OP | Post 4 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 13:42
mroll
Historic Forum Post
Kimo, I have exactly the same situation and echo your comments. I also have a One-for-All 8090 and one of the best things about it is the one touch power on/off. While this may present a problem with certain systems, I think it works well with the majority of the home theater setups out there. By the way, your point about spousal units is particularly well taken. That being said, the MX-1000 is superior to the OFA 8090 in many other ways. I have the DirecTivo unit and setting up custom buttons to control it would never be possible with the 8090. The MX-1000 is a great remote that could be even better with a few improvements.
OP | Post 5 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 14:15
Scott L.
Historic Forum Post
I'm trying to decide which remote to buy next, so I have been reading about the MX-1000 with interest. My two cents on the power button:

It is my opinion that many people buying a higher-end remote would prefer All On and and All Off buttons. This allows the use of discrete codes when available and eliminates the problems that Kimo alluded to above regarding the current state of your components.

So, what if that big power button were split in two; left side is On, right side is Off ( and slightly recessed so it is harder to hit.) Both buttons would be macro buttons. In this scenario I would bury the individual power buttons on the LCD, since they would be used infrequently. I would use my Cinema 7 to teach discrete On and Off commands to the LCD as well, allowing them to be incorporated in the All On and All Off macros.

Users who don't like this scenario could still use the Power On hard button to power each individual component if they choose.
OP | Post 6 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 18:58
Doug
Historic Forum Post
There should be a power button on each device screen, certainly, but the hard buttons should ALL be configurable. I agree about having a power on-off be separate buttons, some components (Harmon-Kardon) use a separate command for on and off.

This remote is ALMOST perfect. If they had 2-4 more hard buttons, for example F1-F4, is would be TOTALLY perfect. Of course I'm waiting for the software to improve and hopefully it will with time.
OP | Post 7 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 19:33
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
So, I think what this boils down to is that what people would like is the ability to put macros on any button they want -- be it hard or LCD based.
OP | Post 8 made on Friday October 27, 2000 at 23:57
Peter
Historic Forum Post
I'll hop in on this one too. What I would do is this:

On the "main" (devices) page, I'd have the "Power" send "Power off" to EVERYTHING. On each device's page, I'd have "Power" toggle that device. That way, in two presses, I could shut everything down.

So a few things I'd like to see:

1) I'd like to be able to configure the hard keys per-page, including the devices page.

2) I'd like to be able to rename, reposition, or remove the M1 through M3 buttons. (Can I?) Nobody should have to memorize what "M2" does. In fact, why would I ever want to restrict extended macro capability to a few persistent buttons? And why on earth would I consume the most ergonomically precious space (that closest to the hard buttons) with those buttons?

3) I'd like to have the "Favorite Devices" ("Main") page be more configurable. When I hit "main", I want to go to a task-driven page:

Watch TV
Listen to a CD
Watch a DVD

If I hit "Page" there, _then_ I'd want it to go to the full device-selection page, where I can manually control each device. Then I'd script Watch TV to turn on the TV, turn on the receiver, switch the audio input, switch the TV input, bring the TiVo Central window up, and go to the TiVo device page.

4) I want to be able to create an LCD equivalent to "Main". For example, in the top corner, I'd probably put a "?" button, which would be equivalent. A guest who picks up the remote would probably find that helpful.


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