I just thought I'd start a thread that gets people talking about the macros/activities they've used that may help others get past mindblocks, etc.

The main headache I remedied was my power on/power off problem. As has been stated numerous times, the electronics industry does not support a standard (i.e a separate button for on and for off) and that a lot of macros are over-engineered because you have to allow for the "power" button turning things off when you meant to turn them on, and vice versa. I have nine remotes I've replaced with the TC1000, and only two of them support separate on and off buttons. Solution: A decision that I'll turn EVERYTHING on at the start of the session, and turn them ALL off at the end. I have a simple "power up the system" macro on my home menu. Each activity (watch a dvd, watch dss, etc.) has a setup button (macro) on it's screen that does things like change the Lexicon's input to that source, change the projector's aspect ratio to the proper one (my dvd activity has three set-ups depending on anamorphic, letterbox or 1:33), and set the source to some ready position (eject, etc.). Each activity screen has buttons relevant to that activity. At the end of the day/session, I go to home menu and execute the "power down" macro. Simple? Please advise if I'm overlooking the obvious.

P.S. Great remote (other than device screens), great forum.

This is an obvious solution I belive most have considered. The problem is, most people don't want to turn everything on just to say, watch TV. Or listen to the radio with the TV on etc.

George,
Why the heck would you CARE what I had to say, let alone respond to it? You've made it quite clear you are not a TC1000/IRIQ fan, let alone a user. My post was for those folks that are.

To those interested: my tuner and cd activities include tv power buttons; however, I find myself occasionally watching tv while listening to audio, so the flexibility is there.

Ted,

Excellent post and I have a few thoughts that may be relevant. Basically, I leave everything on 24x7 except my receiver and RPTV. DVD, CD, SAT, VCR, Sub, and amps stay on all the time.

That leaves me with power functions for the two remaining components. I work this with two functions:

There's a All Power macro on the home page that send the power toggle signal to the RPTV and Receiver.

There's a Power Menu shortcut on the home menu that goes to an activity screen with individual power buttons for each component.

Additionally, there may be power buttons for the RPTV on various activity screens. For example, I have a "TV Power" button on my "Watch Satellite TV" activity screen. I realize that's a bit of an oxymoron, but I sometimes tune to one of the Music Choice channels and don't need the TV for that.

I also put a "TV Power" button on my "Listen to a CD" activity screen. That way, if I do "All Power" from the home screen, select "Listen to a CD", I can then turn the TV off from there. I also added a "Receiver Power" button to the "Listen to a CD" activity screen. That way I can go directly to the activity screen, turn on the receiver, select the CD input and go from there.

In summary and before someone jumps all over me, I have always been a fan of leaving equipment turned on. My last VCR was on 24x7 for like 10 years and never gave me any trouble. I got rid of it because I wanted more features on a newer model. I have a pair of Bryston amps that have been on 24x7 since 1984.

Charles

Ted, I gave you my opinion on a GENERIC question about power on/off with remotes.

Your problem and suggestion is not specific to the IRIQ remote.

Leaving equipment on all the time is an excellent idea. I've always wondered if it really increases the electricity bill. Most IC's are built to run 100,000 hours straight. The problem is when you turn it off and on you send a surge of electricity through a cold circuit. Cold circuits conduct more electricity for a brief period. This can damage components. Also, notice when a lightbulb burns out; when you turn it on. You see a flash and then poof. Rarely does a bulb just burn out (unless there is a vacuum seal failure).

What we need is an IR controlled power bar. Send it the relevant command and it downs a component for a few seconds or for the night.

It might be a bit harsh on the equipment, but it would certainly give us a baseline to work our macros from and could be retrofitted to just about anything....

Gordon,

Yea, it could be done with a IR controlled power bar or strip but it would be pretty nasty. Crestron and AMX make some VERY expensive remotes that have a device on the component side that detects the state of the device (on or off) and avoids this issue.

Like I said before, I've always left my equipment on. I started when I had all tube based amps and preamps and they really did sound better if they were kept hot all the time. When I reluctantly switched over to solid state I just continued the habit. I turn off my RPTV for obvious reasons and the receiver so it will be quiet in the house at night! Everything else stays on all the time.

Charles

From monitoring this site (try the Sony Remote forum) as well as several home automation sites, my understanding is that in the majority of cases (such as with Sony TV's) there are extended codes to be had that can separately turn the component on or off. This is a big issue in home automation where everything tends to be out of site in an equipment closet.

There are also codes to directly access an input (like video1 video2 video3 on some TV's).

From monitoring this site (try the Sony Remote forum) as well as several home automation sites, my understanding is that in the majority of cases (such as with Sony TV's) there are extended codes to be had that can separately turn the component on or off. This is a big issue in home automation where everything tends to be out of site in an equipment closet.

There are also codes to directly access an input (like video1 video2 video3 on some TV's).

From monitoring this site (try the Sony Remote forum) as well as several home automation sites, my understanding is that in the majority of cases (such as with Sony TV's) there are extended codes to be had that can separately turn the component on or off. This is a big issue in home automation where everything tends to be out of site in an equipment closet.

There are also codes to directly access an input (like video1 video2 video3 on some TV's).