Universal Remotes (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Bozo to You]

I’m looking to set my dad up with a remote that enables him to control his TV, amplifier, cable box and streaming services with one remote. I like the look of the Fire Stick and know how popular they are. I want to be sure he’ll be able to control all his devices though. He has a Roku box currently, which we’d be able to get rid of and replace with the Fire Stick. Can the Fire Stick turn his other devices on and off, adjust volume and scroll through channels on his Fios cable box?

 

[Todd Erwin]

All the FireStick remote can do is turn the TV on and off and adjust volume in addition to controlling the FireStick. It will not control his cable box. Before you swap out the Roku with a FireStick, make sure all of the apps he uses on the Roku are available on the FireStick.

 

[John Dirk]

Normally one of the Logitech Harmony remotes would be the answer here. I'm sure you can still find them but you may want to peruse the below thread before going down that road.

Logitech bows out of the Harmony Universal Remote market

Hey everyone. How is your Harmony doing? Mine, not so great. I think mine is a 665. Just simple taps on the table when I put it down are resetting the remote or turning it off. Not loving that. Bought it a couple years ago right when we learned of Logitech dropping the remotes. Will have this...

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[Dennis_H]

I love my Harmony remotes, but since they have been discontinued, the price is pretty high. I have a Sofaboton U1 I use for the deck TV. Controls TV, Firestick, and soundbar. It is bluetooth compatible, and fairly inexpensive. Programming is done over an app on the phone. Has hard buttons and layout is OK. Will certainly handle that many devices. Worth a try if you don't want to spend a lot. I did buy a spare since I wasn't sure how long it would last or if one of my Harmony remotes would crap out, but my grandson misplaced my son's remote and I gave him my spare. Has been using it with no problem also. The original has been working fine and even got pretty wet one time during a storm and had to be dried out. Worked fine after.

See on Amazon

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, too bad about the Harmony remotes. I'll check out the SofaBaton.

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Thoughts on the One For All Smart Control 8? The devices that need to be controlled:

Verizon Fios set top box, Roku Premiere+ box, Pioneer VSX-520 receiver, and a Samsung TV and Blu-ray.

 

[Dennis_H]

Thoughts on the One For All Smart Control 8? The devices that need to be controlled:

Verizon Fios set top box, Roku Premiere+ box, Pioneer VSX-520 receiver, and a Samsung TV and Blu-ray.

It would 'probably' do all those. I think those can all be IR controlled. Not 100% sure on the Roku box. It won't work on the firestick out of the box (no bluetooth). You would have to add an OTG cable splitter, FLIRC IR receiver, and might as well add a hub with ethernet while you are at it. Programming might be limited with that also.

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Thanks, Dennis. I've actually got an email in to One for All to see if they can confirm that. The Verizon box and the Roku are both IR controlled, so hopefully it will work...

 

[Todd Erwin]

If you are still going to swap out the Roku for a FireStick, any Universal Remote you get will need to support Bluetooth and check reviews to make sure it is compatible.

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Thanks. I think in order to keep things simple for my dad, we'll keep the existing Roku so that everything's IR.

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Update... I purchased the One for All remote... Worked fine for his TV and receiver, but would not work with the Roku or the cable box. I spent nearly 45 minutes with chatting with Verizon "tech support," asking them to provide the universal remote code for the Arris STB. It was like pulling teeth to get any kind of coherent information from them, and they finally told me that their cable box cannot be controlled by a universal remote. Only the Verizon remote can control it. Waste of time.

So I guess he'll have to keep using the Verizon Fios remote, but if he could use one other thing to control the other stuff that would be at least better than nothing. If I replace the Roku with a Fire Stick, would that at least be able to control the TV, receiver and Blu-ray?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Which Roku model are you trying to use with the One for All remote? Seems odd that it will not work. I have been able to get Roku Ultra and Roku Premiere boxes to work with this simple RCA universal remote -- have it working on three different setups. Unfortunately, it does not control a receiver. I do use it with a Polk Audio soundbar via CEC and ARC in one setup, though.

I tried the Sofaboton U1 mentioned earlier in the thread with the soundbar & Roku Ultra setup, and while it worked I found it cumbersome to use compared with the less expensive RCA. Even my 87 year old mother, who has no concept of technology, is able to use the RCA in her setup with a TV and Roku.

I do use a Harmony remote for my more complex main hone theater, and even purchased a backup after the company got out of the business. Hopefully these will continue to work for many years, as they are still the best remote for a home theater, IMO.

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

It's a Roku Premiere+. I tried several codes for it to no avail. When I tried the 3061 code, the Roku light would blink when I attempted to turn it off, but the box did not turn off. The light just blinked... Not sure what that means. Maybe I'll return the One for All remote and try the Sofabaton U1. I definitely want this to be easy for him, but it's gotta be able to control at least the tv, blu-ray, roku and receiver...

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

I'm wondering if we can just ditch my dad's Fios box, as this is the main culprit. I personally don't have any sort of cable tv - everything I watch is streaming. I'm not aware of how extensive live tv is with Fire Stick. I don't want my dad to have to endure a severe learning curve, but if he'd still be able to watch all his programs on PBS, MSNBC, CNN, etc., maybe kicking the Fios cable box to the curb would be a good idea.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's a Roku Premiere+. I tried several codes for it to no avail. When I tried the 3061 code, the Roku light would blink when I attempted to turn it off, but the box did not turn off. The light just blinked... Not sure what that means. Maybe I'll return the One for All remote and try the Sofabaton U1. I definitely want this to be easy for him, but it's gotta be able to control at least the tv, blu-ray, roku and receiver...

The Roku boxes do not turn off. The power button will not do anything. Did you try the other keys -- directional arrows, OK, home, etc. ?

 

[Mr. Bozo to You]

Ah! I hadn't even thought of that! OK, so likely it worked for the Roku as well.