I'm getting ready to setup my first universal remote. However, I have been reading a lot of the threads and the following has occured to me.

All of the URC remotes appear to be highly functional with interface and usability differences, but the ability to support discrete on/off commands is not easily accomplished with most of them. Unless I'm missing something, a setup will not work well if you cannot set the on and off states of key devices. I know there are work arounds for most VCRs and DVD players, but it appears that the on/off state of the TV, suround system and possibly other components can only be controlled with discrete codes.

If it is necessary to program some discretes (on/off of the TV at a minimum), what is the best remote to use? I believe the MX-700 and higher can take discretes directly, but anyting else requires a 3rd party remote to teach the discretes via IR.

I know I haven't provided the configuration, but in most cases will I need to program some discrete codes for a solid setup? If so, why work with anything less than the MX-700? My customer was looking at the URC-300.

Regards,
JBE

I hope you understand that the remote can't invent new discrete codes. A decently programmable remote can generate the discrete codes that the device is designed to understand.

Quite a lot of devices aren't designed to understand any discrete codes for some of the functions (On/Off, Input select, Aspect ratio, etc.) over which you want discrete control.

You might want to deal first with the question of what discretes exist for the devices you want to control, and only later with the question of what remote you want to use to send those discrete codes.

I have little clue about the relative prices of various URC remotes. But if you need to get an OFA remote (around $20) and maybe a JP1 cable (around $15) to help program a less expensive URC remote, that should just be included in the overall cost/benefit comparison between models. It shouldn't be a total roadblock to less expensive URC models.

John: I appreciate your response. I do realize that discrete codes may not exist for all functions or devices, but it appears that for flexibility I may want to use them, if available.

You make a good point about finding out what's available for the devices, but the customer hasn't figured this out yet. I'm tying to look at it from a setup point of view, as I'd like the configuration to be solid.

It sounds like there are cases where you cannot control the on/off state of say the TV. Wth toggle commands like on/off I imagine that this could result in the TV getting switched on (through a macro sequence) when you really want it off, because the on state was not previously set.

Thinking ahead, I'd like to avoid this kind of problem. Using discrete codes sounds like a good solution, but if they are not available, the setup may not be 100% reliable.

Regards,
JBE