Hi all,

After reading the massive amount of information online, I am having a tough time selecting a remote.  I was originally considering a Logitech Harmony (One, 900, 700, 650 or 600), but some of the user reviews related to durability put me off.

I'm interested in a relatively durable remote that will control the following devices:

Vizio SV422XVT LCD TV
Vizio VSB210WS Sound Bar
Dish Network VIP722K DVR
Sony BDP-S570Bx57 Blu Ray Disc/DVD Player

Can someone suggest a good universal remote with some expandabilty?  Right now, other than the above listed remotes, I'm looking at a URC R50, as it seems to have a good combination of price, durability, flexibility, but I'm not sure if it can operate the devices I have above and can't find any reference information.

LCD screens, rechargable batteries are nice, but for me, the bottom line is reliability and function over luxury.

Thanks,

Dave

Sure, get a RCA RCRP05B ($20 at Walgreens or Best Buy). Another possibility is the OneForAll URC-8820N (Sears), which has 8 devices. The RCA is more Blu-Ray friendly with yellow, blue, red, and green buttons, and page up/dn.

For the Vizio SV422XVT use Setup Code TV 1758.
Vizio VSB210WS Sound Bar Audio 1517. (sub volume is on Ch+/-, Tru Volume on Info, Tru Surround on Guide.)
Dish Network VIP722K DVR Cable 0775
BDP-S570Bx57 Video 1516

Unlike the R50, these remotes are user programmable for each button. Except the Sound Bar, your components respond to discrete commands like Power ON or Power Off, and inputs. You can easily add these functions, even though they are not available in the original remotes, and therefore can't be learned. You can also move functions if you don't like the button assignment.

3FG,

Thank you for the information.  Had the wife pick up the RCA remote at Best Buy on the way home and am going to try it out and see how it goes.

Dave

You may want to use the Volume Punch Through feature so that the Volume buttons control the Sound Bar in all device modes. As of 3 or 4 months ago, the instruction sheet provided with the remote gave incorrect instructions on how to set that up. The correct instructions are in the 6th post of a thread which details many of the special programming commands.

Even if you don't want to use VPT, would you mind comparing the instruction sheet provided with your remote to the one in the above link?

Thanks.

Sure, I'll check it out tomorrow when I fine tune the remote and get back to you.

Dave

3FG,

I'm done checking out the information on the RCA RCRP05B.  Here's what I've found:

1.  The date code sticker on the card that came in the plastic retail container for my particular remote is 4917.  Not sure if this helps, but it establishes when it was packaged.

2.   Here's a cut and paste of the data for the RCA RCRP05B off the JP1 forum you provided a link for and a comparison of what the sheet in my package actually said.  I put the information from your post at the JP1 forum in quotation marks and follow it with the instruction sheet information in bold.

"Volume Punch Thru 993-- lock all devices to one VPT device.
1. PRESS and HOLD the SETUP button until the red LED flashes twice, then RELEASE.
2. PRESS 9 - 9 - 3. Two blinks.
3. PRESS Vol+
4. PRESS the VPT device button. Two blinks of the selected device."

Locking Volume to One Mode
(Global Volume Lock)

Note:  The audio mode's volume controls are active regardless of Volume Lock settings.  However, if you lock the volume controls to the AUD mode, you wll control the audio device's volume in all other modes (i.e. DVD/VCR, DVR/AUX, TV, or CBL/SAT).  This can be an advantage if, for example, you always listen to home entertainment devices through your receiver's speakers.

1. On the remote control, press and hold SETUP until the last-selected device key blinks twice.

2. Enter 9 9 3. The last-selected device key will blink twice.

3. Select a mode (e.g., TV or AUD) which you want to use to control the volume.  The selected device key will blink twice.

Now, when you press VOL+, VOL-, or MUTE, the volume of the selected device (e.g., TV) is controlled regardless of volume.

"To unlock volume control for all devices:
1. PRESS and HOLD the SETUP button until the red LED flashes twice, then RELEASE.
2. PRESS 9 - 9 - 3. Two blinks.
3. PRESS VOL-. Four blinks."

Unlocking All Volume Control (Global
Volume Unlock)

Note:  Performing these instructions will set independent volume control for al programmed devices.

1. On the remote control press and hold SETUP button until the last-selected device key blinks twice.

2. Enter 9  9  3. The last-selected device key will blink twice.

3. Press VOL+ once. The last-selected device key will blink four times.

"To assign the Volume group of one device to a set of devices.
1. PRESS the device button of the desired Volume group
2. PRESS and HOLD the SETUP button until the red LED flashes twice, then RELEASE.
3. PRESS 9 - 9 - 3. Two blinks
4. PRESS each device button in the set of devices to be reassigned
5. PRESS Setup. Two blinks of the VPT device.

For example, Setup, 993, Vol+, CBL. Now pressing Vol in any device mode causes the CBL Volume command to be sent.

Next, AUD, Setup, 993, DVD, CBL, TV, Setup. Now pressing Vol while in DVD, CBL, or TV mode will send the AUD Vol commands. But in AUD or DVR mode, the Cable volume commands will be sent."

I did not see an equivalent command set to this set of commands.

Hope this helps, let me know if you want more information, I'll be glad to post it from the sheet.

By the way, I notice a 6 pin connector in the battery compartment.  Is this a JP1 connector, does the unit have a flash prom/eerom, can it be connected to a PC via a JP1 to DB25 easily for reprogramming and finally, is that what the other website is all about?

Thanks again,

Dave

Thanks for the info. Looks like they haven't bothered to fix the instructions (which would be correct for older UEI remotes).

Yes, the 6 pin connector is called JP1. The processor includes flash memory which allows different IR protocols to be loaded, using a serial connection. Most people use a USB based cable ($30) to program the remote. Using a DB25 or DB9 connector is possible, but typically needs an older computer.

You can do a fair amount of customization without a cable. For example, the 994 command is used to assign function numbers to buttons to provide e.g. discrete functions. 995 sets up global macros, while 978 can set up macros which only run in a single device mode.

You can do lot more with a cable, and so there is an enthusiastic community of users. That community has generated a lot of knowledge about UEI remotes, and that is why we could be sure that e.g. the Vizio sound bar could be controlled. A user learned the IR signals from his OEM remote, downloaded the learned signals, parsed them and found that the signals could be categorized as NEC2, device 131.95. His results are on the website, including the function numbers.

I used the Lookup Tool to find that setup code Audio 1517 shoots the required  protocol, and that the RCA has the setup code built in.  Finally I could see that 1517 assigns e.g. Sub Vol+ to Ch+ on the RCA remote.

Users who have other UEI remotes, e.g. Comcast, can also control the Vizio Sound Bar, even though those remotes don't have 1517 built-in.  Using free software, the user can upgrade his remote to have 1517.  A very common upgrade for Comcast remotes is for Sony BluRay players.

3FG.

Thank you for the JP1 information.  I've got a couple of questions about the JP1 information highlighted in red in context below, because I want to do some customization.

The main site for JP1 stuff is hifi-remote.com/forums/.
Look under the Marketplace forum to find the cable vendor Tommy Tyler.  To get started learning about JP1 programming of the remote, look at the Beginners forum.

If you're having trouble finding some desired functionality, you can ask here, or you can download RemoteMaster from the Software forum, and examine upgrades that other users have posted.  That will give you function numbers for your equipment, and the Lookup Tool will tell you which button it is assigned to, or if it isn't assigned at all.  If a function isn't assigned, use the 994 command to make an assignment yourself (see the non-JP1 forum for instructions), or if you get a cable, you can set up the remote any way you like.