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Remotes (1 Viewer)

Chris Bruner

Auditioning
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Jul 3, 2005
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Ok, so is the philips 7000 the best remote under a grand? My goal is to let my family use the theater, right now I'm the only one who can use the system. I have a Panasonic ae700 HD projector, Direct TV / Samsung TS160, Denon 4806 rec, Denon 3910 Dvd, and a Dell PC. Its all switched via HDMI or DVI through the Denon. You would think for $3500 bucks the Denon remote would be a little better like the Marantz/Phillips. Anyone with a similar set up or suggestion would be appreciated
 

nolesrule

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The Harmony remotes are great for the WAF factor, and require less programming time and are less complex to set up than the Philips Pronto line. I've been using my Harmony for almost 3 years now. Never have to pull out the other remotes except when needing to tweek some obscure feature. The online wizards make it a piece of cake. I have set up Harmony remotes for my parents and my aunt and uncle in their homes (they like technology but don't know how to use it) and they don't have problems either.
 

mylan

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I have been thinking about getting a 880 for some time but I have some reservations about macros. How do I set it up to keep the DVD drawer from opening until I can open the cabinent and then close after I have inserted a disc? Will I have to program a delay? I would love to make it a true one button action.
 

Charlie Campisi

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Does your dvd drawer open automatically when you turn the player on? I always wondered why there was a button on the remote to open the drawer. Never made much sense to me since I had to be standing next to the dvd player to change the dvd anyway. I guess that's why I don't understand your question. Why can't you just open the drawer without the remote when you are putting in the dvd?
 

mylan

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Oh yeah, I can just go over and load a disc but that means that I have to turn it on, manually or via remote, and then hit another button to close the drawer. I'm not trying to complicate this but it will still require more than a one button push on the Harmony remote negating the simplicity of a button labled "watch a DVD".
 

nolesrule

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Well, you'll run into that kind of issue on any "macro" remote. The "watch a DVD" button just turns everything on and sets it to the right inputs. If you need to eject it, then that's always going to be an additional button press no matter the remote. A disc not in the player will not change itself, even by macro. But if you just want to resume the current disc (and your player has that capapility) it'll do that automatically.
 

Scott Merryfield

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The Harmony remotes allow you to execute additional commands other than switching inputs on your TV/receiver and turning on components when you execute a macro (called an "activity" in Harmony-speak). I believe you can also assign a delay to the execution of these commands (I've never tried it, though). However, since these are IR commands, the trick would be to keep the remote pointed at the component rack during this delay while you are walking over to open the cabinet. It seems like it would be simpler to just open the drawer manually when you walk over to open the cabinet and insert a disc. The Harmony will turn on the DVD player as part of the normal "watch a DVD" activity.

I simply assigned a "open/close" command to one of the buttons on the main screen of the LCD for the "Watch a Movie" activity on my Harmony. I do not always want the player's drawer to open when I switch to the activity, since I sometimes leave a partially-watched disc in the drawer and want to resume watching where I left off. If I'm putting in a new disc, I can either hit the button on the remote or the one on the front of the player.
 

mylan

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Thanks, thats what I was looking for. I guess it will be a "two" buttom operation to watch a DVD but still much easiier than the current remote shuffling that goes on now.
 

Chris Dias

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Chris,

To get back to your original question about the Pronto, I've got one of the older prontos and it is great. I coulndn't be happier with it.

While it's true that the harmony is easier to program, if you aren't afraid to get into the Pronto Edit software, a Pronto is much more powerful than a Harmony, giving you full control over anything you want.

I'm not sure how much it is, but now there is a newer Pronto 7500 out which is only a minor upgrade with more memory and a few other tweaks. However the 7000 will probably suit you just fine.

Chris
 

Zach Nelson

Agent
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Apr 12, 2000
Messages
36
Are there any remotes that support RF control? Not the IR-to-RF extender stuff, I need RF support for my DishNetwork HDTV receiver. It doesn't support IR control.
 

nolesrule

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When I turn on my TV, I need to have a 10 second delay before switching inputs, because they will not switch while the guns warm up. Not sure why, but that's just the way it is.
 

mylan

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I hear the Harmony has a version of the 880, called the 890 Pro that is RF. It should be out in Dec. for $449.
 

Zach Nelson

Agent
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Apr 12, 2000
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36
I checked out the 890 but it seems to use RF in conjunction with its RF-to-IR box. So they're using RF as a means to control IR-based gear from any room, but no mention of controlling RF gear directly.

I also checked out the support faq's and they mention controlling a Bose system based on RF but state that you must use the Bose IR-to-RF convertor.

Maybe the faq hasn't been updated to reflect the 890.. I can't seem to find a tech page for the 890 to read about it in more detail.

Here's the faq:

http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/...i=&p_topview=1
 

Scott Merryfield

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Home Theater Master has a couple of models that support RF -- the MX600 and MX800. I'm not sure if they have the same issue you found with the Harmony 890, though. I do not have any components that use RF.
 

Zach Nelson

Agent
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Apr 12, 2000
Messages
36
Scott, thanks for the info. I checked and it looks like the HTM remotes use RF for RF-to-IR as well. So far I haven't found any manufacturers that use RF for directly controlling gear.

I'm getting rid of this Dish Network receiver next year anyway, so I'll have to be sure not to get another than uses RF for it's remotes.
 

JeremiahH

Auditioning
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May 10, 2004
Messages
5
I too am looking to get a remote that will control Dish Network's HDTV PVRs. After doing a little research it appears that while the remotes for these tuners only work via RF, the tuner itself works via IR as well and most/all universal IR remotes can control it just fine.

I just purchases the Harmony 659 for $60 shipped and it should work fine with the DN tuners as well as all of my other components.

For more info about controlling the DN boxes via IR, check out the following links.
www(dot)avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-492309.html
www(dot)avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=465847
www(dot)avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-518950.html

Good Luck.
 

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