Hello everyone - I have been a long time visitor but never could offer much info and always found my info.

In a short time we will begin building our new house. I am having a wall moved/window removed for a theater. With the move of one of the walls there is a closet that I plan on keeping. It opens into an upstairs living room which I think is perfect for a media closet for the entire house.

I already have a server rack that I plan on using for the closet. The goal is to put 4 DirecTV sats receivers, HTPC, xbox, projector (for the theater) and receiver in the closet. As well as any networking gear needed.

I believe I have the solution for the long video runs by running HDMI via Cat5e/6 output via a matrix splitter but I am not clear on how to properly control everything.

I currently have 4 Logitech 880 remotes in our house now (one for each room).

1) do I upgrade to 890's for the RF capabilities
2) keep the 880's and go with some type of IR/RF blaster
3) how to i control the sat receivers separately?
4) long distant Xbox controller? is there a way to boost the control signal?

You would be better off losing the 880's altogether and going with another system like URC with assignable base stations.

Unless I'm missing something from the post, it seems like a simple xantech or russound IR repeater will do the trick.

Matt -

Let me offer you the same advice I would if you were my client.

In order to best realize your enjoyment as well as quality of experience I reccomend an all RF unit with a possible processor. Let me explain.

You will need RF for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that you need routing capabilities. All that means is the ability to control which SAT box gets the command your sending. Last I checked Directv only allowed 2-3 codesets for additional boxes. Another reason is that if you go with a repeater you will have to aim the remote for the duration of the macro. If you have TVs or other equipment (as I imagine you do with PC based systems) you will have activity macros in the range of 12-20 seconds. That's a lot of time to be pointing the remote at the eye you try so hard to conceal. The result will either be missed commands or carpal tunnel, maybe both. Another reason (and this is sure to draw some fire from harmony owners) is that I don't think Harmony is your best answer in controlling the versatile array of equipment you own. I think you need another level of customization that it doesn't offer.

My last suggestion and this is more of an optional thing but like I said, my client will not be told otherwise, is the use of a processor rather than a base unit. Why? Because processors run the activity macros at the equipment via a trigger command. What that means is that you send one trigger to the processor in the closet and that executes the 5-15 activity macro commands AT THE EQUIPMENT rather than going one command at a time fromt he remote to the extender. Translates to a quicker, smoother and way more reliable situation. Plus, with a processor you are most likely going to get the benefit of RS-232 control , power and video sensing, triggers, etc. (things that make your system behave better).

Centralizing your equipment is a big investment and rarely do you get a second crack at it. It would be a shame to see a reduction in the quality of your experience after the move. Here are some things to look at that I think would fit your design (I don't know about budget) They are listed at least expensive to more expensive (left to right)

Remote / Processor
URC MX-880Z,MX-980, MX-5000, MX-6000 / MX-260Z,MX-350, MSC-400
RTI T-2+, T2-C, T-3V, T-4 / RP-1, RP-6
Nevo Q50, S70 / Nevo Connect

There are other systems to consider, this is just a short list. But the above three will give you control options you can add on later if a problem persists. Hope this helped, feel free to send me an email if you have any questions.

Vincent

Vincent - WOW thanks for all the veiw points. I hadn't thought about it in such detail thank you very much. I am sure you clients are pleased with the amount of detail that you go into. Had I not be such a DYI I would certainly be hiring someone to manage this task, where is the fun in that? haha

Yesterday I was successful at programing/locking the 880's to a specific receiver. FYI DirecTv now allows for 7 unique devices. However you have to program the factory remote to the receiver than go into the Harmony site and validate the IR signal, update remote and you good to go. No issues there..... extept you have now opened a new set of options for me.

As you stated using IR macros could be an issues holding for long periods. Not that I have to many macros to begin with it could still generate issues.

Because I worked out the issue with the receivers it might be cost effective (not working with any real budget) and utilized IR for now and migrate to RF. THere are 6 viewing areas in the house so replacing all of the remotes to RF will be expensive,

The question now is can I get IR/RF using one receiver joined to all the extenders?

There are options. You can buy emitters from xantech that have double and triple plugs (but one emitter shell). OR you can use a mono plug in the back for one connection, an RS-232 connection for another, and an emitter or two in the front. Anything is possible. By the way, replacing all the remotes wont be enspensive if you go URC. They have MX-350 and 450 which are pretty cheap and quite cpaable. For my clients I usually make them a touchscree for multiple rooms since chances are every room won't be occupied at once. To me, IR is a really bad way to control activities. Macros nowadays are anywhere from 2-10 seconds and aiming the remote at an eye that is hidden is tedious.

Making harmony work to communicate correctly is one thing... The issue is what happens when you have 2+ remotes that are sending commands at the same time. The harmony rf extender will not be able to handle more than one at a time and with 6 "viewing areas" and the high probability of multiple users, there's the issue.

Then again, if it is just you and a wife, maybe not, depends on the scenario. Same with extending the Xbox, it is feasible but takes some work and anytime you want to change games or anything, plan on a trip downstairs. If you are planning on HDMI distribution with baluns via cat6, is cost really a huge issue? That's not too cheap there and I would be more inclined to go with a 4x4 component with cat5 extending so you get some options on sources and avoid the annoying handshakes, but that's just me.

I'd be leaning to RTI in a strong way but if you are doing it on your own, well the options become slightly more limited. You can make harmony work, just depends on how you (and others) use your system.