My AV guy, and a good guy he is, has set up my system and I am happy with it. He has programmed the M1 key to turn on everything. I was always told turning on and off equipment is the worse thing to do to electronics.

So my question is--Did he do the right thing or should I make a change. If turning on everything when I only want to watch TV through my tuner is ok then I am fine with that.

Well, there's no reason to turn everything on if you don't need it on. You might consider using each of the "M" keys to only turn on the devices for the particular use (ie: M1 for TV viewing, M2 for DVD viewing, M3 for CD listening).

Mike
www.surfremotecontrol.com

Some devices don't make any difference whether they're "on" or "off"... like DSS or DVRs. Some things are probably better left on, but you wouldn't want to, like the receiver or DVD. Other things probably make no difference, like tape decks.

I don't think it is a problem except if you turn things on and off every minute.

I believe TV's are the worst to toggle on and off. Like starting and stopping your car more often than it should. Not good for the life of the device!

The System On button on my MX-500 turns on the TV and the Preamp. I leave the digital cable box on all the time. The System Off button turns off everything except the cable box: TV, Preamp, VCR, DVD. This works great for me since most viewing is cable. I turn on the DVD and VCR independently using discrete on/off commands on the LCD as needed.

I'm the kind of guy who never replaces anything until it falls apart (the one exception being when the technology changes). I've owned various home electronic devices since the early 70's. I have always switched them on and off whenever I wanted to. I also power everything using switched outlets, so they get a full surge of juice every time instead of coming on from a standby mode.

In all those years, only TWO of my components have ever broken! The others are still alive and well in the possession of various relatives. In the cases of the two broken components (one TV and one turntable), the "autopsy" -- naturally I tried to get them fixed before throwing them away -- revealed the cause was not related to how the item was powered on or off.

So, maybe I've just been lucky, but my personal experience has been that there's no need to worry about reducing the life expectancy of home electronics by powering them on and off too frequently. Just my two cents... -Bruce

Why is it "bad" to keep DVD power on?

And while I'm here, both my Yamaha DVD and HK CD players have no power button on their remotes. Might discrete on/off codes be available for these anyway?

Thanks.

Billy,

I would think that the power supply could get over heated and damage some internal parts on the DVD player, but that's not likely. I've left components on for weeks without problems. (Amplifier, DVD, VCR, etc)

It's certainly possible that codes exist that aren't on your factory remote - few discrete codes are!

David
www.BlueDo.com

where did you see that? the only comment about DVD was Daniel's post, and it states the opposite

In the past I have used consumer gear in commercial installations, such as cassette decks, cd changers, and receivers, in restaurants. These components were left powered up 24/7, and the most common failure was mechanical, not electrical. These environments were often much more "hostile" than the typical home (smoke, heat, grease!!!). I eventually discovered commercial gear was a better choice for these installations, but as far as leaving the equipment powered up, I saw no evidence that it contributed to a shorter life.
I would, however, recommend quality surge protection for everything.
Scott

Another factor might be heat. If you do not have good air circuculation, leaving unneeded equipment on could shorten the life of electronic equipment. Personally I turn on my DVD or VCR only when needed. I only power up the TV and Home Theater Receiver with the MX-500 Power On Button (makes my macro shorter too), and of course my TIVO is always on.

Duane