RF/IR Universal Remote (1 Viewer)

[matt2805]

I am fairly new to home theater universal remote setups and I would like your help with selecting the best system to purchase. I have home theater components in three different rooms (see below) and would like your opinion on which universal remote system to purchase (budget is not an issue). I have seen that many systems require a dealer license, which I do not have. I am technically savvy with most of the home theater equipment and do not want to have a dealer come install or program the remote every time I add a new component to the system.

Living Room:
Samsung 60" Smart TV
Speakers/Subwoofer

Bedroom:
Samsung 42" Smart TV

Closet:
Onkyo NR-626 Receiver
Samsung Blu-Ray Player
Verizon FiOS Cable Box

The speakers are hard wired through the walls from the living room to the receiver in the closet. I have HDMI and RJ-45 CAT 5 cables running through the walls from the closet to the living room and bedroom (behind each TV). There are two RJ-45 cables in each room - one for Internet access for the smart TV and the other dedicated for a universal remote system. The Blu-Ray Player and FiOS Cable Box are connected by HDMI to the receiver in the closet and then the receiver is connected by HDMI to the both TVs. The Cable Box is only used with the TV in the living room, but I believe I can set up the receiver to output the Blu-Ray Player to either the living room or the bedroom - haven't tried this yet. The equipment is the closet cannot be reached by IR, so I need an RF solution. Which universal remote equipment would you recommend that I purchase? I would like to set up either one system that has two remotes (one for bedroom and one for living room) or two separate systems. I would also like a system that I can download software for and program with a computer connected to the remote(s). An iOS app would be a nice addition, but is not required. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[schan1269]

I'm confused why you want RF remote when Xantech or Cables to go IR extension is all you need.

 

[schan1269]

By the way, even if you bought a Next Generation RF system, the stuff in the closet is still going to need IR blasters.

 

[matt2805]

The contractor that built my house installed RJ-45 cables thorugh the walls from both the living room and bedroom leading to the closet. He said these were specifically for IR remotes. He was going to install the Pro Control One-Way Kit (http://commercial.snapav.com/p-1303-kit-pc-pro24r.aspx), but this system requires a dealer to install and program new devices. I want to be able to install the system myself and program it. I thought this was an IR to RF kit, but maybe I am not understanding how it works correctly. Does anyone know how this kit is installed and what the RJ-45 cables would be used for? I am thinking that the processor unit would be located in the closet along with the IR blasters. Each IR blaster would be pointed at a different component in the closet. The remote would communicate through RF with the processor unit to control the AV receiver, blu-ray player, and cable box. The remote would also have an IR function to control the TV directly. I am unsure what the purpose of the RJ-45 cables are.

 

[schan1269]

Yeah.It is called...IR extension over cat5

 

[schan1269]

IR blasters aren't pointed at anything.They are "taped" over the IR sensors.

 

[schan1269]

You don't need that SnapAV remote.You don't need RF at all.all you need is...1. IR sender at each TV.2. Those linked over cat to a control box in the closet.3. IR blasters to the components Done.

 

[schan1269]

By the way...

Much simpler if you retro-fit something like this...

https://www.hdwise.com/hdmi-extender-ir-over-cat-5-6-power-over-cable-hdcat-ir.html

By the way...

In my opinion, installers that are still running HDMI room to room...instead of converting to cat...are not following the times. They are behind 3 years.(three years in CE is like 30 years in automotive progress)

Edit:
I'm having trouble finding plain Jane "IR over Cat" modules as everybody moved on from those once HDMI over Cat came along.

 

[matt2805]

Thanks for all the info. If I understand you correctly, I would have an IR receiver in the living room connected via CAT 5 to a control box. This IR receiver could receive commands from several different remotes (cable box, AV receiver, Blu-ray) and transmit them to the closet and send the commands through various IR blasters to each component. Is that correct? Do you have any control boxes that you recommend? I would need one that could control at least 3 devices.

 

[schan1269]

The IR extension is simply a relay. You set it up for 1 device to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 devices.And you can either use your existing remotes...or buy a handy dandy universal. The 626 came with a remote to run any brand of BD player, any STB ever made and any TV ever made.So at worst.You don't need a universal remote. Cause you got two already. 626's remoteFios box

 

[matt2805]

Would this item work - http://sewelldirect.com/BlastIR-by-Sewell-IR-Emitter-and-Receiver-Kit.asp#openboxanchor? If I use this item, would I just cut off the 3.5mm jack end IR receiver cable and splice it into 3 of the CAT 5 cable wires? Then in the closet, I would just hook up the cut off end of the CAT 5 cable to the connecting blocks "GND", "+12VDC" and "SIGNAL" connections?

 

[schan1269]

If you can pull that off, sure.Depends if the cat twisted wire themselves are robust enough. That, essentially, is what the IR over cat did anyway.

 

[matt2805]

I ordered the parts today. Hopefully it works out. Thanks for the help.