Remote Control issue

[ReesR]

Continuing on the road of remote control chatting....

Last night I called Sony Tech support (that should give ya the first clue why I am bringing it up here) to ask what would I need to do to be able to access "directly" any of the six inputs on my Sony HDTV. I called three separate times and got three separate people who had absolutely no clue what my question even meant.

Here is more background...

I went to Best Buy, Circuit City as well as American yesterday to check out those expensive remote controls that Sony makes. Their best one ($199) only has direct access to video 1-4. So video inputs 5 & 6 would still be unavailable. No one at any of those stores could help either.

Anyone here have any idea how to access all six inputs directly without having to press a TV/Input button 6 times (at most)? It's driving my wife (and I must admit me) crazy.

With my old 14 year old Sony, which died, it had three inputs and there was a button for each input. Would be nice to find a solution which does the same or similiar.

Any ideas?



------------------
Rees Roberts
Racine, WI
reesr@wi.net

HDTV Receiver: Sony KD-34XBR2 16X9
Bi-directional AntennaCraft VHF Yagi Model #2260P
+
2 Winegard PR9022 UHF yagi's pointing N & S
Antennas at about 30 feet
Samsung SIR-TS160 HD Directv receiver

[StarvingForHDTV]

If you have or could get a learning remote, possibly that would help you. I'm not positive though. My thoughts are you would have to program each of the inputs to a seperate button on the learning remote. Of course then you and your family would have to remember which buttons on the new remote go to which inputs on your TV, as I doubt they will be labeled properly for you.

I'm not positive this is possible, you should verify the idea before purchasing such an item, if you do not already own one.

Good luck,

Starving

[ReesR]

Hi Starving:

Unfortunately, this is not an option because you first need a remote which has those Video 1 through 6 buttons on them in the first place to learn from. The remote which came with my Sony only has a button (TV/Video) which you hit and it toggles up from 1 through 6 once per hit. No where can you get a remote control button to learn from which would define video 4,5 or 6.

But thanks for the suggestion.

Rees

[Todd Wiedemann]

Hey, Rees ...

Have you tried www.remotecentral.com (http://www.remotecentral.com) ??

I've had great success there getting the discrete codes for my receiver and Mits.

Let us know.

[RobbQ]

You will find some good information on remotecentral as Todd suggested.

I have the Sony KP51HW40 with the Sony RM-AV2100 remote. On that remote you can hold the input button and press the number of the input to go directly to it. For example, input-6 goes directly to my HD input. This can be programmed into macros. I understand that this also works with the newer AV3000.

You just have to love how they put this functionality in yet no one seems to know about it.

Robb

[Tom Snyder]

I bought a Home Theater Master SL-9000
right after I got my set. It's pretty cool... Controls everything, TV, STB, Audio, VCR, DVD and CD changer. It's a learning remote with virtually every code programmed into it, and a bunch of macro buttons can be programmed to control several devices and functioons with the press of a single button.
http://www.remotecentral.com/sl9000/

You can probably get one these days on <a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=Home+Theater+Mas ter+SL-9000">ebay </a>for 50 bucks...

[ReesR]

as usual, you guys come through. I had not known about the site.

But here I go... hehe

Thanks again.

Rees

[JoeK]

If you can find codes or a remote that sends the right codes you may want to take a serious look at a MX-500 from Home Theater Remote. It is a pretty amazing piece of equipment. It has a small screen in addition a full array of buttons. The screen can be use to label unique functions. It will mimic up to 8 remotes plus handle miscellaneous items like lights or shades. It allows for macros and "punch through" for things like volume control. I have seen it available for $139.

[ReesR]

I'm trying to figure out how to get a MX-700 right now. They indicate that the price is $499 but is sold in lots of 3. I wonder if 3 of us would buy it if we could divide that price by 3. Not sure. The MX-700 seems to be even better than the MX-500.

I would be interested in any comments from anybody using the MX-500 or MX-700.

Rees

[Tom Snyder]

Going rate at ebay looks like right around $300, so at retail, it's probably $499 EACH in lots of three. http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/frown.gif

<A href=http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&from=R7&ebaytag1=ebayreg&query=MX+700+remote&query2=MX+700+rem ote&search_option=1&exclude=&category0=&minPrice=&maxPrice=&ebaytag1code=0&st=&SortProperty=MetaEndSort> Link</a>

[This message has been edited by Tom Snyder (edited 11-10-2002).]

[ReesR]

http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/eek.gif Well so much for that idea http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/eek.gif

I found looking at remotecentral that I could use the Sony RM-AV3000 to combine video 4 plus two "input" keys into a macro which would then give me video 6 etc. That might be a solution. However, I am drooling over that Home Theater Master MX-700. Time to save up my $ yet again.

Thanks for the feedback.

Rees

[JoeK]

I assume you have looked at the Remote Central write-up.
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.html

I have not found anything I can't do with the MX-500. The computer programing capability of the MX-700 remote is neat, but is another step I would probably not use. As for getting 2 remotes when you buy the MX-700, I thought that's what I (multiple remotes) was trying to get rid of. The $200 or more price difference between the two units is alot to over come.

If money is not an issue then the MX-700 is the way to go for the WOW factor alone. If you currently drive a new Lexus or Mercedes then you have to have the 700. If a two year old model will work then the 500 is a very nice drive.

[ReesR]

JoeK:

Thanks for your comments. No, I do not drive a Lexus or Mercedes but I drool over those too. http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Yes, I read that review of the MX-700. With the MX-700 you do not have the option of not using a pc with it.

I could use some advise, however, concerning the MX-500. What I am trying to find is an easy way to access all six video inputs of my Sony. The original remote that came with it merely has a TV/video input button which requires constant toggling to whatever input you want. This is driving us crazy here. But not having a remote which allows access directly to each input makes it impossible to learn that IR code. How would the MX-500 handle learning a code which isn't available? Further, can the MX-500 access descrete inputs of a Sony TV 1-6?

------------------
Rees Roberts
Racine, WI
reesr@wi.net

HDTV Receiver: Sony KD-34XBR2 16X9
Bi-directional AntennaCraft VHF Yagi Model #2260P
+
2 Winegard PR9022 UHF yagi's pointing N & S
Antennas at about 30 feet
Samsung SIR-TS160 HD Directv receiver

[JoeK]

Rees,

The MX-500 has the capability to handle up to 5 macros. I'm not familar with the exact Sony imput issue, but it seems as though programing a macro would be a partial solution as you suggested with the Sony remote. It could learn the imput 4 command then the toggle command. The macros would then be imput 4 and one toggle for imput 5 and two toggles for imput 6. If you can get access to a remote to send those signals it may be a clean solution.

The MX-500 can learn any IR command except for the very high end of the spectrum. Some very high end audio equipment is a challenge. My blockout shades were difficult to get it to learn, but it does handle them.

Do you know what remote code your orginal remote was. Remote Central list 7 different Sony TV codes. I would start trying those codes. If one works it would be pretty easy from there.

A system designer from Sound Design said the MX-700 can be programed the same as the MX-500 or from a PC. I just happen to be talking with him about a new rack shelf and he mentioned he was now using the 700 instead of the 500.

Joe

[ReesR]

Joe:

Thank you for your input and help. I will go out now and start pricing some options. The current Sony 3000 remote still may be a good option for me as well because I have a Sony TV. That remote already handles input number 4 so your suggestion could also work there too.

I think I have a handle on the issues now thanks to your help. I will be researching both the MX-500 as well as the Sony.

Again, thank you.

Rees

[JoeK]

Rees,

Here is Remote Central link to a discussion on your issue. The imput selection on Sony TVs appear to present others with problems also.

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-master/thread.cgi?2166

Joe

[This message has been edited by JoeK (edited 11-12-2002).]

[veyj]

Rees,

I've got the MX-500 and the OFA 8811. I'll try programming the OFA with the discrete code for Video 6 and then try transfering it to the MX-500. Will do this tonight and post either tonight or tommorrow.

John

PS - The MX-500 has the "Wife Approved" label

[ReesR]

So the One for all has descrete IR codes for Sony all the way up to input #6? Oh wait, your going to try it. Ok. I will await your results.

By the way, I was very impressed with the "Wife Approved" label" comment. That holds much weight here. http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/wink.gif

Thanks to all, by the way.

Rees

[This message has been edited by ReesR (edited 11-13-2002).]

[veyj]

Rees,

It worked as expected. The OFA(One for All) remote does not have all the advanced codes preprogrammed. The advanced codes for a device can be programmed to a specific button. Once programmed, the MX-500 can then "learn" from the OFA. You can "learn" to a single button, LCD button or macro.

The advance codes for my Sony KP57HW40(TV 0000) can be found at http://www.hifi-remote.com/cgi-bin2/ueic.cgi?TV_0000 These should work for most Sony's from what I've read.

The code for "Video 6" is 158. To program the OFA follow the instructions at http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/advanced.shtml

I purchased both remotes for ~130 in July from http://www.surfremotecontrol.com/
Mike is a regular at Remote Central and was very helpful in answering all questions that I asked. The remotes came well packaged and on time.

The MX-500 has worked without a hitch on all of my equipment(See below) including some $25 IR Dimmer switches I picked up from Home Depot.

HTH, John

Sony KP57HW40
Hughes Hird E86
Denon AVR-3802
Toshiba DVD SD-3750
Mits SVHS HS-U69
Sony CD CDP-C365

[ReesR]

John:

Thanks for your help. However, because I do not have an One for All remote to start from I decided to go with Sony's latest. One of the reasons is when I was at Flanners this afternoon, my wife didn't seem too interested in the MX-500 while she did find the Sony quite acceptable. So, I say if it passes the wife test then that is what you go with. http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/ubb/smile.gif

I ordered it from:
www.aaxes.com (http://www.aaxes.com) which is currently changing their site to:
www.aaxes.net (http://www.aaxes.net)

Total price with shipping was $113.95

Can argue with that. I talked to John at Aaxes and he sounded genuine to me. Free shipping, by the way. Quite good compared to the $199.99 anywhere I looked around town.

Again thanks for your help.

Rees