Next Generation Remote Control Extender

Generally speaking, the NG remote extender will work with most remotes that don't have their own rechargeable battery packs. With that said, if it works with your Cox cable remote you'll be able to use the same remote from both locations if you choose to do so.

If it doesn't work with Cox you might want to consider an inexpensive learning remote. I use the NG remote extender with my DirecTV HD DVR remote and also have a 2nd transmitter installed in a URC-8820 to control the DirecTV DVR from a 2nd remote location. I also control the same DVR via line of sight in the room where it's located with another remote.

Next Generation always works...

But, does your remote have codes that can't be RF'd?

That is the question you will answer when you buy one and use it.

The NextGen extenders should work perfectly with the Cox cable boxes. It sounds like you want to be able to control the next Gen extender from both of the Cox remotes regardless of where they may be in the house. if that is correct then you will need the NextGen Extender Plus Kit plus an additional transmitter (for the second remote). Th kit and extra transmitter should all be the same frequency and 418 or 433 does not matter if you are not worried about interference with other rf devices in the home (ie. remote system or wireless weather station)

My components have been banished from the room to a closet 25' away. Have read about the Nextgen unit but they always specify "same brand" components. I have a compatible Harmony remote and want to control a Comcast DVR cable box, a receiver, PS3 and possible a Denon CD/DVD player as well as a line of sight Samsung plasma. So I assume the remote still puts out an IR signal to control the TV but will the Extender with the 6 eye setup work for me? Do I need the extender plus or the "genius". Not clear to me what the genius does, adds another controller battery? Thanks for the info.

Jeff

You don't have any same brand conflicts, so the cheapest model is all you need. Not sure why you think you need more than 6 blasters. Genius would handle a rack of identical components which you don't have.

Not sure I follow what you are saying. Did somewhere I say I needed more than 6? I thought I might need 4 and I did not know if you needed the "genius" to control more than 2 components, etc. The info on their site is fairly obscure. I was asking what would I need to get to control the 4 or so things I will be using. My major equipment is in storage when the home theater got voted out for a pool room.

So the Extender plus will control multiple different units as long as they are different manufacturers? I was under the impression I would need an "eye" for each component to make sure it was able to be line of sight with each component. So an Extender plus with a three eye addition will allow me to control 3 + the native one with the unit? Will control the samsung directly with the IR. My concern was they keep specifying you can control "same manufacturer" equipment and did not make sense that you could not control multiple units from different manufacturers.

Thanks, and no need for the snarky edge. Not suggesting I am trying to control a rack of esoterics.

Forgive the terse responses from my phone. You don't need one eye per component. If any blaster(s) or the base itself are LOS with your devices, that's sufficient. Each has the same effect as standing in front of you equipment with the remote. Creative placement of the base or a single blaster could control everything if you want.

Forget about the "same manufacturer" stuff. It doesn't apply to you unless you have several identical devices. Any Next Gen model, including the cheapest one will work fine on any number of devices of any mix.

They make the Genius model for the special case of controlling identical devices independently. For example if you have 5 identical cable boxes in your rack and used a traditional remote extender (non-addressable), all would respond at once to the same signal, which is undesireable. Genius lets you isolate each one and control it independently. All Next Gens can control any mix of devices just like your original remote can.

Thanks very much. I suspected that might be the case but as this is going in a tight closet I do not think I will be able to get line of sight, so the 3 eye was about $14 and seemed worth it. Many thanks for the into (Ext plus only $39).

Jeff

Sorry to be back but have the Nextgen Extender with 3 eye (could not place unit where would get line of sight. Have the 433 unit in a Harmony 659. The components work with direct line of sight, but nothing seems to be getting RF transmitted. Battery was fully charged. When I put the remote off line of sight with an IR lead right over the IR receiver area, or hold the base in front of it, nothing. It is the Comcast DCX3400. In user settings it says A/B disabled also IR blaster off. Not clear how to change those settings or if that is the problem. Can you tell by looking at the Extender base if it is receiving a signal? Have also tried the A or B setting in the extender base with no luck. Is it just the simple answer the transmitter in the kit is bad? Also, as I have kids and they lost the "door" over the batteries in the remote, I have an extra battery taped across the back that holds everything in. Can't imagine how that would cause a proble but just in the interest of full disclosure. Appreciate your time in advance. Thanks
Jeff

Regarding the Harmony remote it says specifically it works up to the 880 series except with rechargable batteries which the 659 does not have. Not clear why it will not work and how do you know if a signal is going out? Will try it inthe cable universal as someone suggested.
Jeff

In case anyone wants to venture a guess, I swapped the transmitter to the cable universal, still Squat. Anyone know how to "enable" A/B on the Comcasr cable boxes? Wonder if that is the problem or the transmitter is just not working.
Jeff

Have you tried placing the transmitter in any of the original remotes for the other components (other than the cable box) you're trying to control? This will help determine whether or not you have a bad transmitter.

I've used the Next Gen with the Harmony 550 and the 670 (very similar to the 659) without issue. If you haven't already done so, try placing the transmitter in the other battery position and see if that makes a difference.

Vin-
Was going to try a different battery position until the cable universal did not work either. I had heard that sometimes it can be sensitive to battery position. The problem is my receiver is in another thread! it is the dreaded Onkyo 606 that has known HDMI issues. Just got done finishing that repair myself and the sound has dropped out. But I will check the remote as you suggest. Does anyone know the Comcast cable A/B question and is that a problem? They tell you to set the cable box to "B", but how do you do that??? Thinks for the injection of orderly thought and common sense. Will let you know. No answer from Nextgen, though as I think about it, I don't think they have EVER answered one of my email questions.


Jeff

Vin- Tried the Universal Cable remote, the Receiver remote. Everything works line of sight. I put the other battery in and with the base set at B I was seeing flashing light on the base when I pressed the remote, so it was transmitting. Just did not do anything. Thought maybe the 3 eye extetion was bad and held the base in front. Still nothing. So it seems to be transmitting but not affecting the units. Do they need to be on some special setting? I have heard instructions say to set them to B? What does that mean? It makes no sense that this is not working.
Nextgen was of course no help still. Not sure why they have never returned any emails or calls.
Jeff

Jeff, I think there are three settings on the base, aren't there? I'm not home right now or I'd just look at mine but I seem to remember there being A-B-C settings but honestly, this thing has just always worked for me with my DirecTV DVRs, Roku box and IR controlled A/V switcher. I'm sure you would have already tried all 3 positions if there are in fact 3.

Have you tried moving the base/emitter eyes a little furthur away from the IR sensor....too strong of a signal has been known to cause probems with some components.

Not sure what else to say, it sounds like it could be a faulty transmitter. You might also want to check out this thread, you may stumble upon the answer to your problem there >
http://www.amazon.com/work-Scientifi...sin=B000C1Z0HA

Let us know if you get this resolved...good luck.

Does anyone have any actual experience with these units? It does not seem the equipment responds to the extender at all. Tried setting A B C, base blinks and nothing happens. No clear reason why the cable box and receiver just ignore it.
Jeff

Anyone have any luck with the people at Nextgen. Never run in to such a sorry lot. Don't ever answer the phone. Never return emails. Really lame. Would have to say would never touch one of their products, and if each of you will tell ten friends, and they each tell ten friends, the company should be history in about 63 days. Just like that movie contagium. Why would anyone want to do business like that? Just so lame. If you sell something, support it.

Posted my Nextgen problem in a Remote Central "Custom installers" forum, this is what I got...

You, sir, have been had. The whole idea that you can turn an IR remote into a RF remote just by putting in magic batteries is silly.

BTW, if you are looking to invest in some real estate, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'm will to sell you for an amazing price.

My response to that...


That is sort of a retarded response. There are thousands of people that are currently using this without a problem. It is discussed regularly in the AVS Forum where people actually know what they are talking about. It clearly produces an RF signal and 95% of people using it have no problem. But there are certain units that don't respond well. I suggest you keep the bridge in Brooklyn in the family.

That really reaffirms my belief that most people that give you directions when you stop and ask, have less idea than you do. That is how I justify not asking.

Back with more frustrating info. Still cant get the Nextgen to work. Curiously it sometimes will work for one command, change channel up or down by one, than no longer responds. Using the Moto DCX3400 and the Nextgen clearly is receiving the ir signal. Tried it on my Onkyo 606 receiver (back from the dead) and it is odd. Program the code in and will turn off but not channels. Use alt code and does power off (but not on???) and channels. But still no luck with cable box using IR. So took a 3.5 mm input in the ext ir on the back of the box, that people claim works, and still nothimg. Have the 433hz nextgen which i saw somewhere was needed for the Comcast box. Especially pissing me off now as just had second knee surgery and have to hobble over to this mofo every time i want to change the channel. Nextgen continues to be a remarkable POS company as they NEVER answer the phone for cust service and NEVER answer emails. Anybody out there to end my anguish?
Jeff

Found out the problem, my cable carrier Comcast is a piece of crap. Even though the DCX3400 has an ir ertenal in jack, they do not support it. But they are"working to make this available". I said other cable carriers offer this and it is not rocket science, you are simply choosing to restrict this service. How much "work" could it be if every other provider has it? They suck.

For no clear reason, the. Unit now works for both my cable and receiver. Set on B in the nextgen unit. New batteries, third eye ir repeater moved slightly to the side of the ir receivers on the units. Thank god after months of annoyance.

Jeff

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I'm hoping you guys can help me determine whether what I'm about to try is a good idea.

I am a big fan of Harmony remotes, and have 3 of them in my house (One in the bedroom, 700 in the living room, 550 in the basement). I have Hot Link Pro setups for both the living room and basement (in both cases, components are located remotely from the display, on the same rack actually). In the living room, I have some line-of-sight problems -- there is no place I can put the receiver "eye" to get rock-solid performance without it being too visible. In the basement, I don't have problems, but my wife sometimes doesn't have the patience to maintain line-of-sight during activity start-ups.

Proposed solution: get a Next Generation remote extender (or two) to either replace or augment the Hot Link Pro setups.

Questions:
1. Is the Next Generation system compatible with the Harmony 550 and Harmony 700? I've done some searching online and seen indications that the answer is "yes" for both, but I'd welcome confirmation from users on this forum.
2. Is the "flying saucer" small enough to be easily hidden behind a TV on a low-profile wall mount? Not a deal-breaker if "no", since my understanding is the range is good enough I might get by putting the saucer down on the equipment rack instead.
3. I have two XBox 360s in my rack, which I would very much like to control independently. My concern is if I end up trying to use the Next Generation on both, will I be sending spurious commands to one or the other? Any workarounds for this?

Thanks!

I have partially answered my questions after more searching.

It looks like there is a PLUS model that will allow up to two "like-branded" devices without conflicts (curious as to exactly how they achieve that, since it looks like it only ships with a single transmitter). It appears that the Remote Extender Plus along with an extra transmitter and probably a 3 or 6-emitter cable should do the trick, and may let me retire one of my Hot Link Pro setups. Anybody know more about the "Plus"?

I'm no longer worried about fitting the saucer behind TV; seems like it would make much more sense to put it on the equipment rack in the basement.

I am still hoping for confirmation that the Next Generation works with Harmony 550 and 700 remotes. Any users here care to comment?

The PLUS comes in two fequencies, 418MHz or 433MHz (as did the original NextGen) allowing you to independently control two "like-branded" devices by using two setups, i.e., you need to buy two complete kits, one of each frequency.

They also have the Genius model which is capable of controlling 5 "like-branded" devices....see my post here:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/979814/next-generation-remote-control-extender-both-rf-ir-possible/120#post_21184217

As far as the Harmony remotes, I've used the NextGen with the 550 without issue but have never gotten it to work with the 650 whose design is similar to that of the 700 so I might be inclined to conclude it wouldn't work but like you I've also read posts that said it worked, for example > http://www.amazon.com/harmony-combined-extender-combine-together/forum/Fx2D98BTJYMSSLA/Tx1BH3PNFWHH87U/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B002IC0YLS.

Thanks for the reply!
I had posed the same question to nextgen via e-mail, and hadn't yet heard back from them. I was really hoping there would be a way to control everything with one setup, but it's not a huge deal. My basement setup works well enough via IR that I could probably leave it alone. Or maybe I could get creative (e.g. basement components other than XBox controlled via the nextgen, but the XBox stays controlled via hotlink -- that would prevent me from getting rid of one of my hotlink setups, but I could live with that).
Now to find out if anyone else has experience using it with a Harmony 700 (can't really swap remotes between the two rooms, as the basement needs the 550's higher device capacity).

I am having some issues with my next gen. It works basically as advertsed, except i now have the issue that the channel will periodically and randomly switch from whatever I am watching to either channel 8 or 1. And it happens even if I take the batteries out of the remote.

If anyone has any thoughts vis a vis troubleshooting if they have had the same issue i am all ears....

I did contact Next Gen and they did respond to me very promptly. They said to move the units away from the cable box, cover the bulb, and move the eye further from the box as well. So far still have the issue, will contact them again tomorrow.....

Also got this from another forum.

"First,

Try disconnecting the expander and just using the remote as it came with the box/TV. If it works fine than, it could be an issue with the expander. Reprogram the expander to see if the issue goes away.

IF THE ABOVE DOESN'T WORK:

A customer without any expander had this issue with the channel 8 coming up at random, and when the TV turned on, it would show channel 0. If I remember correctly, they did a Google Search for their brand of remote and reprogrammed the remote for their equipment. You might have to reprogram your remote. Make sure to select the right codes for your TV.

If you can find the instructions for your remote, look to see that there is a setting to set the remote back to factory defaults. Than, after that is done, reprogram it for your TV and any optional equipment. When you reprogram the remote, make sure that the on and off processes work for EACH piece of equipment as well as the volume control."

That was from a Time Warner forum I think....

Too bad, because it works beautifully except for this glitch.....

So I've received and set up my NextGen Plus. So far, things are working out quite well. My basement system with the Harmony 550 is performing as well as it ever did with the straight-up IR extender system (but with the bonus of less line-of-sight sensitivity and slightly improved range). My upstairs setup with the Harmony 700 isn't quite as trouble-free... it works beautifully controlling a Blu-Ray player and an HDMI switch, but it isn't playing nice with my HTPC.

Regarding the HTPC control problems, I did some troubleshooting and noticed that when I pop the NextGen transmitter into the cheap Rosewill remote that came with my USB IR Receiver, it controls the HTPC just fine. That was a relief, as I was originally worried that my USB IR receiver or my IR emitters were going wonky. I think I have isolated it down to the remote's programming, which I changed at the same time as I installed the NextGen (I know, never a good idea to change too many things at once).

Sorry if anyone's getting bored w/ my little monologue here...

Stayed up late troubleshooting and finally came to the conclusion that, at least in my installation,the NextGen will not successfully extend Windows Media Center SE commands sent via a Harmony 550 or 700 remote. As a result, I've had to change my living room rig back to using an XBox 360 as a media center extender (instead of using the HTPC directly). That also means I can't use it to run my basement rig (it has an XBox 360 as well, so I get spurious commands if the other room's remote is sending XBox 360 commands).

What's odd to me is, the 550 and 700 will control all my other equipment just fine via the NextGen. Taking the NextGen out of the loop, the Windows Media Center SE commands as sent by either the 550 or the 700 will successfully drive my HTPCs with a direct IR line of sight. Taking the Harmony remotes out of the loop, if I stick the transmitter in my cheap Rosewill WMC remotes, they will successfully drive my HTPCs via the NextGen (no IR line of sight). It seems to only be the 3-pronged combination of the Harmony remotes plus the NextGen plus the HTPC (I even verified this with my server, which also has a USB IR receiver and runs WMC).

Not the end of the world, but a bit of a disappointment. If anyone out there actually has a Harmony driving a Windows Media Center PC via a NextGen, I'd like to hear about it... maybe there is something I'm missing.

On another note, I've noticed one other funny behavior with my NextGen (433 MHz model)... I have the "flying saucer" level with and about 6 feet away from one of my XBox 360s, and whenever the XBox is running, the talkback LEDs on the NextGen (and on the IR extender that's hooked up to its emitter) light up like crazy. Makes me wonder what sort of radiated emissions the XBox has in that frequency region (I did find some EMI data on the XBox 360, but it started at 1GHz).