Hi All,

I'd love to unify my 8 remotes into one single unit, but I'm afraid I'm asking too much.

My RS1 projector sits behind and above me. My components are off to my right. My PS3 takes RF (although that cool dongle could solve that), and my light controls also use RF. My anamorphic lens requires a "held down" IR signal while the motors move the lenses into place.

Is this all too much for one universal to handle? Do they make remotes that are a mix of RF and IR? Thoughts?

In general you must point the remote at the device(s) to be controlled unless you get the Harmony 890 which claims no line of site is needed. The PS3 is bluetooth, but yes the IR dongle will allow you to control most features. You can program most universal remotes to allow for custom commands.

Harmony 890. Check. I'll look into it.
Obviously, I can't point the controller behind me and off to my right at the same time. A multi-direction IR blaster would do the job, of course.
Thanks for the feedback... Anyone else have any input?
-Pete

....
Thanks for the feedback... Anyone else have any input? ...

Pete,

Yup the Harmony 890 with the RF module. You will set the RF module in the vicinity and it will receive your commands via RF and distribute by wire to each individual IR controlled component. It will control any Zwave lighting modules by RF also.

That leaves just your overhead projector - point the 890 at it if it being used - otherwise you can keep the 890 in your pocket. :)

Pete,

Yup the Harmony 890 with the RF module. You will set the RF module in the vicinity and it will receive your commands via RF and distribute by wire to each individual IR controlled component. It will control any Zwave lighting modules by RF also.

That leaves just your overhead projector - point the 890 at it if it being used - otherwise you can keep the 890 in your pocket. :)

The RF base module will also flash IR so that it could hit your projector without having to run a wire to it or point the remote at it.

You will not be able to control your RF devices with the 890 or any other RF remote. The only non-IR devices that you can control are ZWave. And as mentioned you can use an IR to USB dongle for the PS3. The limitations are the power toggle and home buttons. There is a workaround for the former, but not the latter.

Thanks all,

I've reduced my requirements to not have to include the room lighting. This is primarily because I DO like the "his and hers" little remotes I have for spot lighting and there's no real need to have the universal handle those.

I ordered one of Mike's (at Schmart) cool USB PS3 controllers (with power), so all I need to do now is to decide on which remote to buy.

Several folks have referred to a "wire" on the RF module. What's that? I thought the RF add-ons simply received the RF signal from the remote and then blasted IR?

Also, I think I've decided to stay away from the existing harmony line due to ergonomics. One of my largest pet peeves happens to be button placement... and the fact that the rewind and fast forward buttons are not actually on the left and right of the play button would (sorry) drive me nuts. I think I'll wait for the Harmony One to start shipping and then look into (perhaps) an RF repeater for it if pointing in multiple directions is too much of a hassle. Or maybe I'll just buy a couple of mirrors. :)

IR just like visible light will bounce off walls and other stuff. I have a 659 and it controls all my equipment including the projector in the back of the room no mater where I point it.

Thanks all,

I've reduced my requirements to not have to include the room lighting. This is primarily because I DO like the "his and hers" little remotes I have for spot lighting and there's no real need to have the universal handle those.

I ordered one of Mike's (at Schmart) cool USB PS3 controllers (with power), so all I need to do now is to decide on which remote to buy.

Several folks have referred to a "wire" on the RF module. What's that? I thought the RF add-ons simply received the RF signal from the remote and then blasted IR?

Also, I think I've decided to stay away from the existing harmony line due to ergonomics. One of my largest pet peeves happens to be button placement... and the fact that the rewind and fast forward buttons are not actually on the left and right of the play button would (sorry) drive me nuts. I think I'll wait for the Harmony One to start shipping and then look into (perhaps) an RF repeater for it if pointing in multiple directions is too much of a hassle. Or maybe I'll just buy a couple of mirrors. :)

The RF capable remotes will send an RF signal to a reciever which will act as a blaster and will also have individual wires coming out of it that you can then tape the ends to your equipment. These wires carry an IR comand sort of like fiber optically. This is handy because it will sometimes be difficult to get an IR blaster to adequately send signals to all of your equipment. I like using these wire flashers because then you have no need for line of site anywhere in the equation.

I would say to check out remotes from URC, the Home Theater master line. They make excellent remotes. Look at the mx-850, mx-980 or the mx-810. They are a bit pricy and will need an accompanying RF module but they work very well and are very capable with good programming. Check out this site for more info on remotes http://www.remotecentral.com/.

Great advice! Thanks guys! This is fantastic, you're really helping to educate me!
-Pete

some components such as Denon av receivers and my SA8300hdc box have a 1/8" mono jack in the back that will bypass the IR reciever on the front of the unit. You can plug one end of a 1/8 mono cable to your IR base and the other end into the component. This way you don't have to have the funky cable ands IR Blaster stuck on the front of your component to send it IR signals

get either the ONE or the 1000 depending on your budget

quick question: can u control a PS3 with the Harmony 1000?

get either the ONE or the 1000 depending on your budget

quick question: can u control a PS3 with the Harmony 1000?
The PS3 is Blu-tooth controlled. The Harmony is IR & RF.

I use an IR Dongle plugged into a USB port on the PS3 to allow the Harmony to control it. http://www.schmartz.com/main.sc


a (quite long) discussion is found right in this very forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=946674

So, I really like the lay-out of the One. But, I'm back to being worried about not being able to shotgun the IR. Here are some potential pitfalls I'm predicting. Am I worrying too much?

1) I have a Prismasonic anamorphic lens that receives an IR signal, but requires it to be sent from the remove for roughly 4-5 seconds while the lenses move into place. Can I teach a remote to do this?
2) My scaler has several aspect ratio controls, but you don't send a single signal to set the control, you have to scroll through the available options until you get to "vertical stretch." How do you teach a remote to send just the right number of signals to go to a particular setting? To complicate things, the scaler remembers the last setting you used per input and starts there.
3) I haven't read any way to have the One make use of either an RF based IR extender, or other device that would allow me to activate both my projector and components (they're about 90 degrees apart right now.)

Sorry to be tossing wet blankets!
-Pete

Pete,

I am not familiar with the Harmony one but I think you could probably get it to do the things you are asking. Here are my thoughts on your questions (most of my answers come from my experiences with harmony remotes and URC remotes);

1. This may be possible by creating a macro for that task that will essentially result in numerous consecutive button pushes. I don't really know of a way to program a command to be sent for a set duration. So, if when you push the button for your lens on your existing remote and it moves incrementally each time you push it, then my aforementioned macro solution might work; but if you have to actually hold down the button for a certain amount of time before anything happens then that might not be possible. This is probably something that a higher end remote may be capable of though.

2. This may or may not be doable as well. If you are lucky, there may be discrete codes available on the internet or in the remote programming software that will directly allow you to change aspect ratios. Often, IR databases will have additional discrete codes that aren't always represented on the original remote's button layout. If you aren't lucky, then what you need to do to work around a senario like this is to try to find some combination of button pushes or settings that will get you to a starting point and then program a macro that will toggle from there. For instance; If a TV only toggles inputs from one to the next when you hit the tv/video button and you want to chose a specific input, often pushing the channel up or down button will automatically switch the TV to the ANT input which then gets you to a starting point for your macro. Often, many programming issues can be worked around in this sort of way.

3. I could not find any information on wether the One remote does RF or not. If it doesn't, then you would have to utilize IR blasters somehow and there are some generic ones out there. Again, for your setup, you may be much better off by going with a remote that uses RF and IR so that you can set up an RF reciever and IR blasters. Ultimately, unless all of your equipment is in almost the exact same place and within easy line of sight, then an RF capable remote will do wonders for you.

bnelse92,
Thanks, you've confirmed what I was thinking. I can look further into number 2 on my own. The Prismasonic lens seems to move into place as long as it's receiving the signal (starts immediately, ends when you release the button.)

The main reason I like the One is because of the button layout. For me, having the buttons be in a place that makes sense is a big deal. I'm not in a hurry, so I'll keep researching. (Although my wife would appreciate the system in place by March when I'm out of town for a bit.)
Thanks again,

-Pete