Universal Remotes, your config

[IVB]

My other thread got way off track, so in case others have an opinion:

I have this remote (stock image, NOT my config):



First I said...

Originally Posted by IVB

Good point. I guess I just miss SageTV spoiling me and how easy this used to be for the wife to control in the days before streaming. Right now I have:

1) HD200 - TV, DVD/BR
2) Roku - HuluPlus, Netflix, AIV
3) 3D BluRay player (friday night is 3D family movie night in the IVB household)
4) ChromeCast (GooglePlay movies, since current GTV boxes which also do above suck)

Add in
5) Gaming
6) Random website video streaming for cricket. (My Father-In-Law picks up kids 2-3x/week and brings them to our house until me or wife get home, I can keep him happier if I let him watch cricket while he's waiting)

6 video sources = complexity for wife/kids, impossible for F.I.L., even with getting CQC & a universal remote control to "simplify" it.

Android has gotten really good with voice control, if the MotoX drops in price or a tablet gets the AlwaysOn microphone, I could just connect it to CQC to auto-configure receiver/etc. The user could just say "ok jarvis, watch amazon" and I could map the services inside CQC. That could get me back to a single very simplistic physical remote.

Originally Posted by IVB

Oh, I have a $350 MX-850 URC remote control with the same thing. Where my relatives angst comes in is that after pressing the "Roku" button, it takes you to the roku screen for play/pause/etc controls. But then how do you switch to other sources? I have 10 LCD buttons, will start a new thread tonight asking all how they're creating their buttons, but what I realized is that I'm physically out of room. (I keep left column for vid sources, right column for device specific actions). Teaching people how to switch from one video source to another is...frustrating.

Originally Posted by wayner

But why does the user have to know anything about video sources with a properly configured remote? They just have to be clear on what activity they want to do. So if your FIL was on the Roku but then wants to go to watch cricket on TV he just clicks the Watch TV button, he doesn't have to know anything about video sources.

My point here is that I'm out of buttons with 4 video sources, and need to add 1-2 more. With 10 programmable LCD buttons, I typically need just to control device specific things (ie, Skip+, Skip-, Options, Home). I currently dedicate 4 to my 4 input sources (Roku, Chromecast, SageTV, BluRay) and pressing those switches remote context where it now controls that particular device. If I add 5)gaming, and 6)PC, I need to either
A) lose the ability to do 2 device specific things
B) implement "pages" on the remote, which will drive complexity up.

Hopefully soon technology progresses and I can do
C) Use Android AlwaysOn VoiceRecognition connected to my HA system to handle receiver inputs, and don't have buttons dedicated to source control.

But for now, I'm at the physical limit of the remote.

My question to those of you who have 5+ video sources: How are you handling the remote control coding?

[wayner]

On my Harmony One you get three activities per page but you can have multiple pages. I believe the number of activities is limited at FF or 256. But you can only have 15 devices. Here is an example of what the screen looks like and you just press the left or right to navigate amongst screens.



I don't know how many exact activities I have but there is at least this many:
Watch Sage
Watch CableTV
Watch OTATV
Watch DVD
Watch HTPC
Watch Neflix
Listen to Music
Play Xbox
Play Wii

[IVB]

I assume you only use the screen for activities, and not device specific functions?

I notice both left/right and two different skip ahead/back buttons which is nice, mine doesn't have that. But that remote doesn't have a few buttons I used my LCD buttons for, the ones that come to mind are "home", "options". There's 2 more but I'm drawing a blank.

It sounds like you don't miss having those buttons on the Harmony One? Do you keep the Sage remote physically nearby in case you need it?

[stanger89]

Well the way URCs are set up is there's a main menu page (or two), on which you select your "devices" (in URC speak, but they can be activities or devices or whatever you want them to be), this page has macros fire off all the source switching, power sequences, and finally jump to the correct device/activity page at the end of the macro.

So in your case you would set it up so when you hit "Main" it would take you to a list of:
Source 1
Source 2
...
Source 10 (or system power off)

So if Source 1 was SageTV, you would just hit "Main, SageTV" and it would fire off whatever it needs to do, and switch to the SageTV page, giving you 10 free soft buttons for SageTV.

I can post screenshots of my MX880 setup later if that would help.

[wayner]

There is another button called Devices that is orange-ish in the bottom right of the photo above. Push that and you go into the Device mode - but I rarely need to do that.

There is no Home Key but I use the Menu Key to get to the Home menu in Sage, and I think that is what the default setup is for Sage on this device. There is no options button but there are six "soft" buttons on the touch screen tht you can set to whatever you want. I set them to Options, AspectRatio, PwrToggle (for Sage), etc. There also is no Delete and I use a soft button for that or I use the E key in the bottom right of the remote.

The one thing that I would change with this remote is to move the transport keys up about an inch. I ride the SkipFwd and SkipFwdX2 while watching sports (the Dynamic Skip Times Plugin is awesomefor this) and they aren't quite in the right spot. My favorite remote for this is/was the TiVo "peanut" remote.

[IVB]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Well the way URCs are set up is there's a main menu page (or two), on which you select your "devices" (in URC speak, but they can be activities or devices or whatever you want them to be), this page has macros fire off all the source switching, power sequences, and finally jump to the correct device/activity page at the end of the macro.

So in your case you would set it up so when you hit "Main" it would take you to a list of:
Source 1
Source 2
...
Source 10 (or system power off)

So if Source 1 was SageTV, you would just hit "Main, SageTV" and it would fire off whatever it needs to do, and switch to the SageTV page, giving you 10 free soft buttons for SageTV.

I can post screenshots of my MX880 setup later if that would help.

Oh thats exactly what I do, but once you're in the SageTV page, I keep 4 of the left column buttons reserved to always be the 4 video sources. No matter what page you're on, those buttons will ALWAYS be the same. I used to do things your way but people kept getting annoyed. (Plus I want to disable that stupid "favorites" button, was also confusing the FIL.

I may have fallen victim to the "make something idiot proof and only idiots will want to use it'...

[Fuzzy]

I use a similar remote, but do not have as many inputs. I don't worry about switching TO the chromecast, as it will automatically switch my receiver when i activate it via a chromecast app. I have a button to switch the the Wii, and a button to switch to the karaoke. Aside from that, power on will switch it to sage. The only soft buttons that ever end up getting used are GUIDE and HOME in sage mode, and nothing in the other modes.

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by IVB

... My question to those of you who have 5+ video sources: How are you handling the remote control coding?

I had the same issue and then some. I went with structured IR and use HomeSeer to control everything via touch screens (tablets as well).

So I have one question for you, what happend to the CQC setup you had, or am I confusing you with another IVB?

[IVB]

Originally Posted by Skybolt

I had the same issue and then some. I went with structured IR and use HomeSeer to control everything via touch screens (tablets as well).

So I have one question for you, what happend to the CQC setup you had, or am I confusing you with another IVB?

Family won't use a touchscreen for startup, they prefer the rapid reaction of just grabbing the IR remote. That remote tells CQC what to do, but still bound by remote button constraints.

Once AlwaysOn a la MotoX is cheaper I could use voice control (it would tell CQC what to do) but for now that's too much money.

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by IVB

Family won't use a touchscreen for startup, they prefer the rapid reaction of just grabbing the IR remote. ...

Yeah, I had that problem at first, then they cought on. I used a pronto as a remote until that happend. Completly programable touch screen remote.

[IVB]

Honestly, I also don't like using touchscreens in the H/T. I vastly prefer tactile response, where I don't even need to look at it. The MX850 is perfect as there's a hardbutton next to a 5 character LCD screen.

There's another CQC'er who's learning how to set up natural language voice recognition leveraging Android, Autovoice, and CQC together. (ie, no need for stilted speech like <ok google> <device> <command>). I could easily see me using that before I ever deal with a touchscreen where I have to look at it every time.

[panteragstk]

I use a very simple remote and use SageTV to switch to the other sources I have. There is a PS3, roku, PC game, Emulator menu that I can choose any of those things from and it will switch to the appropriate input. Push the "green button" to get back to sage.

Anyone else know of a remote that has some sort of "home" button?

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I use a very simple remote and use SageTV to switch to the other sources I have. There is a PS3, roku, PC game, Emulator menu that I can choose any of those things from and it will switch to the appropriate input. Push the "green button" to get back to sage.

Anyone else know of a remote that has some sort of "home" button?

I use the MX-500 (similar to the OP's), and while it doesn't have a 'HOME' button, it has discrete AN and OFF buttons. The ON button will switch everything on, and switch to sage.

[Telecore]

Interesting thread. I was using URC remotes (MX-850, MX-700) for years and I just switched to Harmony 700/650's.

On my URC remotes I had "START" on the main menu. That would navigate to another menu that had activities such as "SageTV", "Xbox", etc. Thus it would take two button presses to begin watching SageTV - which ran a macro to set up all the equipment (using discrete power codes) and then exit into the HD300 page. To turn off the equipment, you navigate to the main menu and press "OFF" which executes a discrete OFF for all equipment.

The URC's cost a lot of $, and I was spending a lot of time setting up macros to set up equipment for various modes. This is something that the Harmony does for you.

So far, I am very pleased with the Harmony 650's and 700. Got them refurbished for $46 each (a bit more for the 700). Most locations have less than 5 pieces of equipment, except 1, so the 650 works. The harmony 700 can actually control 8 different pieces of equipment. Got IR repeaters from Monoprice for $17, so I don't need RF anymore and am using Channel Vision IR extenders over coax to get IR to my home automation (lighting) controller.

[Fuzzy]

You can routinely get URC MX-500's on eBay for <$50, and as rugged as these things aer, I feel no problem buiying a used one. The MX-500 doesn't have the computer interface for programming (though I did, years ago, purchase a 3rd party interface for them - that unfortunately only works on winxp). I prefer the MX-500 over the newer models for sage, because of the better transport control layout (very easy access to both little and big skips).

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by Telecore

Interesting thread. I was using URC remotes (MX-850, MX-700) for years and I just switched to Harmony 700/650's.

On my URC remotes I had "START" on the main menu. That would navigate to another menu that had activities such as "SageTV", "Xbox", etc. Thus it would take two button presses to begin watching SageTV - which ran a macro to set up all the equipment (using discrete power codes) and then exit into the HD300 page. To turn off the equipment, you navigate to the main menu and press "OFF" which executes a discrete OFF for all equipment.

The URC's cost a lot of $, and I was spending a lot of time setting up macros to set up equipment for various modes. This is something that the Harmony does for you.

So far, I am very pleased with the Harmony 650's and 700. Got them refurbished for $46 each (a bit more for the 700). Most locations have less than 5 pieces of equipment, except 1, so the 650 works. The harmony 700 can actually control 8 different pieces of equipment. Got IR repeaters from Monoprice for $17, so I don't need RF anymore and am using Channel Vision IR extenders over coax to get IR to my home automation (lighting) controller.

What kind of battery life do you get out of the Harmony 650 / 700 remotes? I've seen some posts of people claiming batteries need to be recharged daily or weekly.

I've been using the simple Hauppauge remotes (that come with their capture cards) and batteries last for years in them. I wondered if the touchscreens on the Harmony sucked a lot of power.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Tiki

What kind of battery life do you get out of the Harmony 650 / 700 remotes? I've seen some posts of people claiming batteries need to be recharged daily or weekly.

I've been using the simple Hauppauge remotes (that come with their capture cards) and batteries last for years in them. I wondered if the touchscreens on the Harmony sucked a lot of power.

Well, don't expect them to last years. I've been surprised by the battery life. Logitech says about 3 months, and I think I've been getting at least that on my 650.

My Harmony One gets pretty bad battery life, though. That has a rechargable battery, and I need to keep the remote on the cradle or it will die after a few days. It doesn't end up being a problem- mostly it just encourages me to return the remote to a well-known place when I'm finished watching tv- but I do find it oddly short compared to the 650.

By the way, the Harmony 650 and 700 don't have touchscreens. They have color LCD screens with four physical buttons around them. I find that much easier to use than the touchscreen on my Harmony One.

[Telecore]

So far battery life has been pretty good with the Harmony's. Just saw a low battery indication in the 700 for the 1st time - I've only had this for 3 weeks, but not sure if the 1st set of batteries was fully charged. I'm using Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable AA's for the Harmony Remotes. I've had the 650's for a couple of months and haven't had to change any of them, but those locations are not used as much. Overall, have 6 Harmony remotes for 6 A/V locations.

One thing about the URC MX-850's/700's that I used to have - at some point, I had to open up and fix every one of them for various reasons (kids dropped them, etc). A lot of times the backlight went out. My overall impression was that they were not as durable as I would have liked.