Hello,

I am the Maintenance Director in a Long Term Care Facility and we are having a HUGE problem in our resident rooms.
As you may have already guessed, either both remotes control both TV's... or one remote controls both TV's.
Our cable supplier, Spectrum, recently 'upgraded' the network to carry HD. Which meant we had to now have all DTA's in our rooms with a 'universal remote.'
In several rooms (upwards of 30 different rooms) we are having this issue.
I have this issue in several rooms whether the TV brands are different or not.
I do understand that in some cases TV codes overlap because of the RF issue within the programming. It's my understanding that the federal govt. maintains these codes and that only 'so many' (only 16?) codes have been released into the general public for civilian use. So, RCA might put code *1234 on every 5th TV made, and LG might put code *1234 on every 10th TV made. Is this correct?
I'm having this issue in so many rooms that swapping TV's with new ones would be cost prohibitive (and could potentially still have the same effect) if the latter is true. Also, trying to figure out what remotes work with what brand is going to be mind-blowingly time consuming and tedious.
Is there any other way to correct this issue? Adding in another piece of equipment and/or something aesthetically pleasing to the remote itself to quelch this problem? I've read where some people had used some sort of peel and stick label over the remote sensor to weaken the RF signal enough that it didn't effect the other TV in close proximity. However, the down side to doing that, is that you would have to be VERY direct with the TV you wanted to actually control, and make sure that it is pointed directly at the TV sensor etc. I fear doing this would only add to my numerous maintenance calls in the run of a day with "remotes that don't work."
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much!

The TV codes sent by the remotes are IR not RF, even if the cable boxes are RF.

Newer tv's can be controlled via RF from tv oem remotes, like the Roku tvs. It is a good chance some of the TV's are roku tv's already, just that the supplied oem remotes are IR, but can be switched for RF one. Once RF remote is paired with a roku tv it controls everything on the tv by RF including Volume and Mute.

Sounds to me like you have rooms with 2 people in them...so 2 TVs each having its own cable box and universal remote.

I assume that the cable box remotes control the cable boxes via RF and the TVs via IR coming out of the remote or IR coming out of the cable box.

NOTE: Most TVs do not have RF communication capabilities so your universal remote cant control it over RF.

Maybe you are saying that the RF remotes are overlapping and cross talking? I have never seen this before even in large buildings with hundreds of people using cable box universal remotes.

Questions:

1. When you say "either both remotes control both TV's... or one remote controls both TV's." are you talking about the TV or the cable box? Are you able to use either remote to turn both TVs on and off and adjust volume? Or are you saying that you can change the channel on both cable boxes with either remote?

2. What model cable box and remote? I want to see if the remote can be set to IR only. If so you could try IR repeater systems with IR shields.

3. What is the room layout? Can you sketch a typical room out so i can see whether or not this will work. For example... if the 2 TVs are on the same wall close to each other then both remotes will most likely "hit" both IR receivers making the IR repeater system a waste of time.

There's a lot to unpack here.

The Federal Government has no say on your particular problem. They do regulate the frequencies which can be used for consumer products, and these devices must comply with FCC rules as to not cause interference on other equipment. (they don't define "interference" as something controlling more than one TV - they just want to make sure the policeman or fireman can talk on their radios and that airplanes don't fall out of the sky).

That being said, some set-top boxes have a couple of code sets available to avoid this issue. You would need to study the owner's manual.

The other thing you need to know is how are these remotes communicating?

1. They could be IR which requires you to point the remote at the equipment. Sometimes this blast of infrared light can bounce off of walls and send the command to another piece of equipment but it's most likely to happen if the equipment is visible from one spot.

2. They could be RF which doesn't need to be pointed at anything and could control equipment in several rooms that are near enough to receive the signal. These are the remotes that would be more likely to have more than one code set available.

If you can't change the remote code set, or if the remotes use IR, your next step would be to install an IR Routing System (Google it) which would be much less expensive than new TVs and set-top boxes.

Other people on this forum could be of more help if you were to provide model numbers for the TVs and for the set-top boxes.

A client/friend in Arizona has a ranch where one of the buildings is called The Hotel. There are four bedrooms upstairs there. They have twin/king RF-controlled mattresses, two per room, four rooms... and there are a total of 6 RF frequencies.

It has happened that a person raises their bed in the middle of the night, awakening a person in another room, who then lowered the mattress.... etc.

I have seen this with ceiling paddle fans too.

If some of the residents tv are Roku tv's, and you suddenly need a bunch of wifi remotes to prevent controlling each other, see this ebay auction:

[Link: ebay.com]

These are usually furnished Roku sticks, but they will pair to roku tv, only thing its missing is MUTE key. Can't beat the price.

Spectrum has four boxes with their name and some older 'legacy' products in the field. What this place needs is two brands of TVs in each double room and the Spectrum 110 cable box. The remote can be paired via RF to the box  and then, the remote will be set up to control the TV. CEC is involved- after pairing the remote and going to the TV control section, the screen asks if the brand of TV is correct, so it's detecting it through the HDMI cable.

With two TVs, there's less chance of one remote controlling the wrong TV, although someone needs to make sure the code sets don't intersect. As long as the cable boxes are paired correctly, they can't change the channel for the other TV. This remote is different from the old one with device buttons across the top-

I don't see a way to get older people to not hate the Spectrum app on a Roku TV. IT SUCKS and it doesn't have numbered buttons for channel entry.

Hello all,
Many thanks for all of the input and replies. I have been unclear in my account on some of this info. I do not know if the remotes are RF, or IR.
Yes, both TV's are located on the same wall, and in SOME CASES, less than 3ft apart. Some have more distance (maybe 15ft apart) but have similar issues.
None of these issues have to do with someone being able to change the channel of the TV. Let me elaborate further... TV set up is as follows: Coax cable out of the wall to an "IN" on a small DTA that is provided by Spectrum. HDMI cable then from the cable box to TV. The "channel" no longer changes on the TV itself as it just gets set to an HDMI input. The remotes have a specific "pairing code" that will pop up on the screen to enter that will allow them to control the cable box which will change the "channel" for them. The issues are in the TV functions (TV on/off, and TV volume) as this is where this some overlap. There are no programming codes supplied with the Spectrum remotes for the TV's, they do a code search feature where you must press buttons 1 and 3 at the same time, wait for a red light to blink twice at the top of the remote, then press and hold the TV "On/Off" button with the set on, until the TV turns off. At which point you release the button and the code locks in automatically.
The problem is that, different brands of TV (including but not limited to: LG, ProScan, Magnavox, Zenith) functions (TV on/off, and TV volume) are being controlled by BOTH remotes in the same room. Reprogramming the TV does not help as there seems to be only one code that works.
The other scenario I spoke of is that while in SOME rooms, BOTH TV remotes control BOTH TV functions (keep in mind that the TV's may or may not be different make/model). In SOME rooms, ONE remote can control BOTH TV'S.
There are no Make/Model printed anywhere on either the DTA, or the remote themselves. On the underside of the DTA there is only a serial number (which varies by DTA) and a MAC address.
I'm currently trying to find a way to attach some pics of the boxes, remotes, and set up in the rooms.
Thank you all for your help.  I hope this is more clear.

Here, in Milwaukee, Spectrum rarely leaves the DTA in place unless the customer isn't migrating to full Spectrum services- they call these 'Legacy Customers' and they have separate models of equipment for them.

I would be surprised if the facility couldn't save money by migrating to Spectrum for their services and AFAIK, they don't have access to the higher internet speed of Spectrum, or the channel lineup.

The DTA is a very simple device and it won't do what you need, which is allow the TVs to be controlled separately. The other problem is that some or all rooms have the same model of TV, so any optical control commands will be able to disrupt one of them.

We are a 69 bed facility. Each TV has it's own DTA so the cable channels are able to be controlled independently (Bed A can watch channel 32, and bed B can watch channel 109). Spectrum supplies a Universal Remote that is "paired" to the cable box, and works off of a code search to program the TV functions (TV on/off, and TV volume).

The issue is within the TV functions (TV on/off, and TV volume). Bed "A" turns on his/her TV and it will turn on/off bed "B's" TV. Bed "B" could turn the volume up on their TV, and it will do the same for bed "A" etc.

There are probably 80% of the rooms effected by this issue.

The only time we have an issue with person in bed "A" changing bed "B's" channel is if the remote accidentally gets "paired" to the other person's cable box.

Since the introduction of these individual DTA's for each TV, "changing the TV channel" no longer exists. The "channel" is only changed through the DTA, leaving the TV set to HDMI input and just receiving the signal. If one was to physically push the "channel button" on the TV itself, it would simply display either static or "no signal" until the input is returned to HDMI.

There are also varying makes and models of TV's in every room (little to no uniformity at all). Some rooms have two 24" LG TVs. Some may have a 19" Magnavox and a 32" Emerson. Another may have and 48" Zenith, and a 19" RCA. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to this. I could understand if two like brands and/or models were having issue, but it's all varied.

In terms of minimal equipment costs, one solution would be to rearrange the TV brands such that rooms each have two different manufacturer's TV's. Of course, this implies that you would be physically swapping a bunch of TV's. And, if more than half of your TV's are from the same manufacturer, you'll run out of unique pairs of TV's.

Stepping back a bit, I think that you will have a management issue for the remotes. In each room the staff will need to be aware of which remote matches the TV's. Perhaps one could tag each remote with a room number and set number. ("105-A")

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One arrangement that I have seen is that each bed has a wired controller that can operate the bed, call the nursing staff, and control the TV. You may have such a system in place or might be contemplating installing such as system.

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A novel approach would be to partner with a local college or tech school and have them brew up a bunch of IR translators. These would be small, inexpensive computer boards that could be placed behind each TV. The computers would receive arbitrary IR commands and translate them to control the specific TV that they are mounted behind. This is the scale of project that the school could handle and the students would love the challenge -- and, this could become a point on their resume.

In the rooms, there would only be 'A' and 'B' remotes and all rooms would be the same. The computers would be programmed to match their TV and, since the computers would be mounted to their TV, the only reason to reprogram the computer would be if the TV manufacturer changed. As TV's break, the TV and computer could quickly be swapped with another pair. (making sure that 'A' is swapped with another 'A')

"Reprogramming" would be straight forward because you probably have a limited number of TV brands. If this is the case, a set of "jumpers" on the computer board would select the appropriate manufacturer and 'A' or 'B'.

It seems to be that the general consensus of the panel here is that there will need to be some sort of IR translator bought and installed, is this correct?

Can someone explain to me why there are several different TV makes and models that are experiencing the same issues?

Buzz,
You are correct on your thought process that we are out of unique pairs of TV's to put into rooms. I have already tried to swap TV's from other rooms that don't have like pairs. In some cases, even swapping out different brands, makes, and models, one can still put a TV back into the same room that creates the same issue. Example: 105 A and B are not having a problem. Take 105 B TV to put into 218 A, and it doesn't fix this problem, or creates a new one in 105B.
This facility has no TV policy or program and the resident's themselves (in some cases) are asked to bring in their own TV from home. There's no way to guarantee that if/when we have to remove and replace a TV that we will not generate the same problem, even if one didn't persist in a certain room in the first place.

Is there any way at all to start troubleshooting this issue by taking the affecting remote around to different TV's within the facility? IE, if remote 105B turns off multiple TV's throughout the facility, it would stand to reason, that each of those TV's that said remote turns off/on and controls volume, would be the same problem if brought to room 105B. Is this correct?

We don't have any sort of system in place like Buzz spoke of in his post, and really no plans to implement one. It would be a costly venture, and one the facility would not entertain at them moment. So, I need to create a viable solution to correct this issue for not only the rooms that have issues now, but for the ones that WILL in the future.