I am exploring HT and although I am new to this, I have this keen interest in the topic.

This might seem like a silly question, but I wish to gain a general understanding of how one can use a remote to trigger off all your equipment if all components such as dvd player, receiver etc. is behind you etc.

For instance, I am use to having all my components in a cabinet below the tv. If I were to go with a projector screen for instance, I would like to have my components maybe in the back of the room. However I dont want to turn around and point my remote to the device evrytime. Are there remotes that you dont have to point directly to the components?

What solutions are out there that can address this issue, that is cost friendly?

I welcome your input on this.

You could use an IR repeater for all of the devices. The IR "receiver" could be in the front of the room and hook to all the equipment in the back of the room. There may be a way to convert everything to RF and use an RF remote.

Studio -

I sense that you are looking for a more fundamental understanding of this issue, and will explain it the way I had wished someone explained it to me just a short while ago, when I didn't have a clue.

IR (infrared) is your typical line-of-sight signal - anyone who has used a basic remote is familiar with this; the remote must be pointing in the general direction of the IR port on the equipment. RF (radio frequency), on the other hand, travels as a radio wave - through walls, around corners, etc. Since most equipment is set to receive IR signals, the way around this is to send RF signals to a device that will convert these signals to IR. That same device, by definition, must be able to send a line-of-sight signal to the equipment.

I use the Universal Remote MX-950 remote control coupled with an MRF-350 RF base station. My MX-950 is programmed to only send RF signals, which the MRF-350 receives and converts to IR signals. The converted IR signals then travel through long wires to IR "flashers" that emit the IR signal. These little flashers are placed directly over the IR sensor on the equipment (the MRF-350 can be hooked up to 6 different flashers). So out of the base station runs a wire to the cable box, the TV, the AVR, the 2 DVD players, and that leaves me with one remaining IR wire (I plan to run that to three adjacent IR wall switches by splicing three emitter heads onto one wire).

So far, the set up works like a charm - no more "pointing" the remote, no more missed signal transmissions, and I can go into the living room (my "zone 2") and use the remote to play a CD or the radio even though the equipment stack is in a different room. Only issue is that I'm still in the habit of "pointing" the remote even though I no longer have to - old habits die hard...

Lee

Kidziti,


Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for to understand and to be educated on this topic. Now that I understand how it works, I can go forward and make a selection.

I put together a little FAQ to help explain RF. Hope it helps
http://www.remoteshoppe.com/index.php?itemid=267&catid=12