Roomie Remote - Page 27

I got a question...

I just purchased Roomie Remote with no in-app purchases just yet. I'm going to purchase the IR and HT packs at least, but I am waiting for a buddy to give me some iTunes credits.

I know by default you can only control 2 non-IR devices. I have my receiver working just fine and it was a piece of cake to setup.

I'm now trying to get my Projector working with this. I have the GC-100 and it is using firmware over 3, so it should work fine. I have my Projector hooked up to the GC100 via serial cable. I can't get it to find it and work by testing the remote out with the IP's that I think may be it.

So my questions are...

1. When connecting to a device that is connected to the GC100 adapter, so I connect to the GC100 IP or another one? It looks like there are separate IP's already given to the 4 other devices I have hooked up via IP, when I look at my network. But I don't see a separate one for my projector.

2. Do I have to purchase the IR in-app purchase for my projector to work? Since it is running via serial and it's not IR I thought that it would work without it, but I could be wrong.

Thanks.

Okay I figured it out. I was manually entering IP's and stuff, then was searching around and seems my FIOS router has issues by default, and Roomie has some help on their FAQ that solved the issue.

Now it automatically found everything (AVR and projector) and its pretty damn awesome!

So now that I have all my stuff added, I have a question for people who have a PS3 and use Roomie.

I have the Logitech PS3 adapter, which doesn't support a true "power on" and "power off" function. To "power on" you simply press the PS button. However to power off, you have to press PS, X, X. The problem is, if you have a "system off" that tries to do that on the PS3, and the PS3 is off, it will turn it on.

I worked around that by simply not having it as part of my "system off" activity, but have an additional PS3 off activity. I know it's not that big of a deal, but it would be nice to have an actual way to just turn everything off with one button.

Anyone know if there is a way to do this? According to Logitech, they say that this adapter includes ways to power the PS3 on and off. But I'm guessing it is just a hack that does PS, X, X on Harmony remotes as well?

You could try a hack where you create a second system off activity. One has the "Off" toggle and the other doesn't. I know it may be initially confusing to have two system off activities, but it looks like it will solve your issue.

Would I need a Wifi iTach to work with my setup or would the wired version suffice? My router is located in the living room. Do the IR Emitters come in a wireless version? If they are only corded then I would need a very long corded version of them to complete my setup. In my living room, I would need at least 40 feet of cable that would run from the iTach to the HDTV.
To access the HDTV and Apple TV that are in the master bedroom upstairs, I would most likely need like a 80-100 foot IR Emitter cable and/or the ability to link multiple IR Emitter cables along with some drilling through the ceiling and floor.
I only ask because I'm still somewhat confused about how these iTach things work. It seems as if a IR Emitter cable is ran from the iTach to the device in which you want to control. If that's the case then I hope the IR Emitters offer a very long cable version in order to control my devices that are upstairs in the master bedroom and the basement.
If I decide to go with just the Wifi iTach then I would place it in the entertainment center area where it would be close to the blueray player and xbox 360. This way I shouldn't need a extended IR Emitter cable for the blue-ray and the Xbox. The standard length cable should suffice.
Could I then point the blaster toward the HDTV (the Apple TV is mounted behind it) and control both the HDTV and the Apple TV via the blaster?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.


My setup is the following.

Living Room: Panasonic HDTV, Panasonic Blue-ray Player, Apple TV, Xbox 360

Master Bedroom: Emerson HDTV, Apple TV

Basement: Hannspree HDTV


Edited by BeKure - 2/3/13 at 5:49pm

Not really. I searched for this a lot and can't find a solution. If you really want and need the individual power on/off, you need to get a different PS3 adapter, which sells for like 100.

And yes, the harmony remote just do the macros too. You can see it just bringing up the menu and go through the shutdown.

The iTach just functions as a hub (in the non-networking sense) for all the emitters - people use the wireless ones if they don't have convenient wired access to their network (such as at the end of a house or in a basement, where it may be hard to tap into existing Catx cabling). The wired iTachs are used when it's easy to pick up a network cable connection. Using a wireless iTach gives a lot of placement flexibility, and as you said, allows you to keep your emitter cable runs short.

There are such things as wireless emitters, but they are usually a dedicated pair of devices and not typically used in an iTach setup.

The good news about IR emitter wiring is that it will comfortably travel over large distances (maybe several hundred feet) - you can use a pre-made IR extender cable or make your own 2-conductor extension.

A blaster located across the room will be able to control the TV, however, any IR-controlled device needs line of sight access to the emitter - if your Apple TV is hidden behind the flatscreen it won't be able to receive the IR signals. Having said that, I control one of my devices by bouncing the signal off a facing wall - you may just have to play around with the installation to see if you can hit the ATV while still keeping it discretely out of view.

Not sure these ramblings hit all of your questions, but it may give you some food for thought.

Dave
Edited by DGF - 2/4/13 at 9:29am

Actually the Apple TV's IR remote works just fine with the ATV mounted behind the HDTV so I don't see why the IR blaster wouldn't work being that's the case.
Your post was helpful. Thank you. I now have a better understanding to this confusing iTach setup.

Glad the post helped - it's definitely harder to read & write about putting it all together than it is to actually do it - once you see it in the flesh, everything will seem very obvious! (hopefully )

That's interesting about the hidden ATV - AFAIK, IR waves have almost non-existent abilities to pass through any solid material, so maybe the IR rays are ricocheting up behind the flatscreen and the wall?! I've no idea about the power of the ATV remote's IR transmission versus a normal emitter/blaster, but given the success you've had already with this setup, your assumption that it will work okay definitely seems plausible!

Dave

Connect to the GC100 then you tell roomie what port the projector is connected to on the gc100 and what type of device..

Did the roomie software ever update to turn off specific components when switching from activity to activity? I have that now with the Logitec remotes but want to switch to the roomie if it has this. Thanks

^ No problem with Roomie turning off devices when switching activities. You can add as many commands to the Stop macro as you wish.

Thanks neighbor!

Yep. Stop commands (if they are discrete) work when switching activities.

So how does that exactly work? If you are on one acticity such as "watch TV" and then you decide to watch a bluray and press the "Watch a Movie" button, does that send those commands to turn off the directv box and turn the bluray player on with the correct settings on the avr? Or do you have to do something else such as "stop watching tv" and then proceed?

There is no "easy way" as they don't "remember' the state. I think what you have to do is in your example, on the "watch a movie" button, you will add the "stop directv box, (and probably stop other device) command" manually.

That just makes me not want to switch from the harmony remotes then. It is very convenient at the single push of a button between activities. That is a shame because I love everything else about roomie.

When you switch to Watch a Movie (bluray) from Watching TV the commands in the Watching TV Stop macro will execute automatically. It is there you can add as many commands as you want such as Power Off whatever device. That way when you leave that activity the component will get shut off, the bluray player will turn on and the receiver will switch to that input, tv will stay on and flip inputs if necessary. I went from a Harmony to Roomie, I would never look back. The only annoying thing about it is you have to turn on the Ipad/iphone to change the volume.

I have a question regarding the roomie remote. I have a Sherwood RX5502 multi-zone stereo receiver and I need to figure out a way to use the volume (and for that matter witching sources) in room2 without having to press the "room 2" button before. Is there a way to do this or does roomie already have this receiver in its database with IR codes for the volume and sources in room 2?

does roomie remote allow me to control everything? Denon 3312 AVR, Samsung Plasma, Blu Ray, Comcase cable and Roku? Also, my denon 3312 (open box) came with a 3313 remote. I am waiting for all my speakers and supplies to get in. Will this remote allow me to dig into settings like running Audyssey or changing specific speaker volume levels?

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Yes, I'm assuming they do. The Sherwood AVR Zone 2 shows up under the Sherwood devices in the Roomie DB.

I own a Denon 1713 and it has every function available.

Awesome, thank you, how is this remote different, better or worse than the L5 remote i have been reading about in the app store? Also, would you recommend or say this is as good as a harmony? I really dont want to have to shell out the cash. What are the trade offs of one vs. the other? For example, simplicity of programming, devices it can support, etc.

roomieruler, I saw that in the ir database on the website but the Sherwood rx5502 is not an avr, it is simply a stereo receiver, not capable of handling video. Does this make a difference?

Looks like Roomie doesn't handle the rx5502 'out of the box' but is able to handle the rx4103, but I imagine there may be some commonality among the RX series. Even if your specific model isn't listed, Roomie support is pretty accommodating about adding devices to the DB on request. Failing that, it wouldn't be too hard to add IR codes for something like your Sherwood receiver to the Roomie config file - basically anything that has IR capabilities can be controlled using Roomie, once you've got the appropriate IR codes. (I took a quick look on RemoteCentral (the best online source of all things relating to remotes) and they don't appear to have hex codes for the rx5502, so you may need to use some form of IR capture device if you decide to go this route.)

Dave

I'm not worried about the possibility of using IR codes if it comes down to that it's just that I was wondering if there would be a way to handle certian room 2 commands without having to always press the "room 2" button beforehand. My primary example is with the volume for room 2. In order to be able to change the volume to room 2, you would press the "room 2" button on the sherwood remote and that would put you in to room 2 mode (and it would stay there for about 5 seconds waiting for commands or else revert back to main room mode) and then you can use the regular VOL+ and VOL- buttons to change the volume in room 2.

If I were to program this as a macro on the roomie remote, would there be a way to have the "room 2" button pressed once at the beginning and then just the volume buttons because if I program the macro as pushing the "room 2" button and then the "VOL+" to pick up the volume, the second time I press this it will disengage the room 2 mode (or sometimes make it do funny things). I don't know if you understand what I mean but I guess I want to know how complex the macros can get on the roomie remote. Can it work to do what I'm looking for?

Ok good to know. That did swing me back towards the roomie. I was also wondering about the turning the ipad back on to change activities or to turn the volume up or down. Thanks.

I certainly defer to the learned opinions of any of the more skilled "Roomie-ites" but I haven't seen a way to set the "Room 2" state for a finite period of time, enabling you to control Room 2 volume, etc. and then automatically revert back to the main listening zone. However, I've achieved something functionally similar on my Lexicon pre-amp by having separate Zone-2 commands - like a Zone-2 volume button - in addition to the primary controls. These can be nested below the primary page buttons, so you don't get the visual clutter or confusion with the apparent duplication of controls.

So if i buy a L5 do i need an itach? I want to try roomie. I have a networked AVR, blu ray, etc. but my TV is not networked. My concern with doing a itach is that the TV is mounted and I would need a 30ft cord to run it behind the wall and out he bottom and into the AVR. It seems easier to just use a L5 if that is all i need. Any thoughts? Also, do the remotes get in depth enough to run complex functions like Audyssey from my Denon 3312? Final question, my Denon 3312 does not have a remote to learn from. I am assuming it is part of their catalog so i dont need to worry?

So anyone have any suggestions on how to get the Logitech PS3 adapter to turn off the PS3? I tried their suggested way (PS Button, X, X) but that only works if you are already out of a game or movie. If you are in a game or movie, you have to hold down the PS button for a sec before you press X, X.

Had I known about this issue, I probably would have gotten the more expensive adapter that actually has true on/off actions for PS3. In fact I may return this to Amazon if they let me return an open product, if I can't get this resolved.