Well, I am so glad this forum has been started.

I will be moving on September 1st and have bought an HT armoire to house my entire HT equipment, including my Sony HDTV, and although I have enough remote controls, RF receivers, etc. to easily use my equipment, I have no way of seeing the front displays of my equipment.

Without getting into ultra high end remotes wired remote controllers, is there a remote out there that would at least give me feedback from my TV when the armoire doors are close so that I can see the the TV's OSD (On Screen Display) of my Marantz 8500 receiver?

I would think that this would also allow me to see anything on my TV, including the TV's menus.

Or, do you have another idea for a small LCD tuner that I could have near my listening area that can receive the OSD information from my receiver? IN REMOTE would be preferable though.

My equipment list:

Sony HDTV
Marantz 8500 AV receiver
Motorola Cable Box
Sony DVD player
Sony 5-disc CD changer
Sony 995 400-disc changer within a year, which coincidentally has an On Screen Display)
Sony VCR
Sony Dual Tape Player
XBox

In a nutshell, I'd just like to see what's going on behind those closed doors!

Price range? I don't know! I'd have to see the capabilities of such an item, if it exists, to see if it justifies the cost.

Thanks!

Greg

Where are you looking to have this info displayed? If it's on the remote itself (like on the LCD of a Pronto, that sort of thing), I don't see how that would be possible. The only example that I know like that are the high-end Sony AV receivers that come with an OEM remote that displays that sort of info, this is possible because the remote and the receiver communicate with each other using IR signals. So, I guess option 1 would be to replace the Marantz with a high-end Sony.

A low-tech solution might be to split the AV out from the receiver into two, with one end going to your current TV and the other end going to a small (maybe B&W) TV set that is not enclosed in the armoir. You would only use this small TV when the armoir is closed.

Sony makes a portable 12" wireless flat panel TV that can go anywhere in your house. You could use it as a portable display.

hard to say. IU think there might be something in the theater touch remotes or maybe the new Pronto might be your best bet. With RS-232 and sensors you might b able to fake it

Hmmmmmmm...... I like that Sony wireless flat panel idea (and the B/W TV if the LCD is too expensive). I'm going to check it out.

I don't see anything in the RTI remotes. The new Pronto might have something I'm looking for, but I won't know until after CEDIA, I'm sure.

Thanks for your comments so far!

Keep them coming please!

Greg

P.S. How does everyone else who has their stuff behind cabinet doors know what music mode their receiver is in, or what CD is playing, etc. etc.???

Well, my equipment's all exposed, but even if it weren't (and it may as well not be since the SR9600's display is not readable at any significant distance) my receiver is basically "set it and forget it". Once I've set a mode for a particular input... well I just never change it.

PL2x Music for TV, VCR, DSS, CD and Radio; THX Ultra2 for DVD; PL2x Movie for OTA HDTV and HD DVR. I'm happy with those choices, and I hate DSP modes, so I don't feel the need to fiddle.

Otherwise, if I'm really nosey, everything's video except for the TV is routed through the receiver, so I can just use the receiver's on-screen display to find out.

And despite over 450 DVDs I still only have a single disc player.

Guess that doesn't really help your problem! :-)

Are we talking about the Sony "Location Free" TV?

The thing is that I don't want to leave the armoire doors open all the time and my CRT TV on all the time just to check the OSD of the receiver.

I'm thinking that the ROI is way too high for this, except for maybe the mini-B/W TV idea.

Yes, when it came out it wasn't cheap.

I wonder if any of those portable DVD players would work? They have small LCD screens and maybe some AV inputs.

If you're looking for feedback, then you're looking for something considerably higher-end, like Elan, AMX or Crestron. Those are the only control systems that offer true feedback at this time. If you wait several months, RTI's XP-8 & T4 should provide you with the same capabilities as those other systems.



Thank you,
Damon DG
= = = = =
http://www.ProRemotes.com - Authorized Dealer & Remote Programming Services

Okay, thanks everyone!

It's too expensive for me right now! I wasn't sure, so I asked!

Greg :-)

Sounds like that little B&W TV set on the shelf at Walgreens is starting to look attractive?

Yes, it sure is, Rob, except I'd be looking at Wal-Mart since we don't have Walgreens..... yet. I'm sure Walgreens will buy out a Canadian store sooner or later!!!

The thing is I don't even need more than about a 9 inch screen or so, and I know that they sometimes have clearance sales on these small ones...... the ones you take camping with you..... so maybe that is what I'll do.

But, I'll deny it's a mini-B/W to anyone who asks. I'll just tell them that I have a separate video feed for OSD, and that will impress them!!! he he he :-)

Does the Marantz not offer osd on component video? (I assume that's what your using?)

If it only offers osd on composite or s-video, use the PIP of your Sony tv.

Run a composte or s-video from the marantz to an unused input on the display, set the PIP to that input, set up a couple of well crafted macro's and WHALA!

A color 9" display for free!!

Perhaps I didn't understand the question. I've done what I described on many occasions with great results as long as the display had great descrete's (wich most Sony's have).

Just a thought.

Mike.

Greg's problem is that when the doors are shut, he can't see the TV. That's why we're talking about him hooking a cheap B&W TV set just so he can see the OSD when the doors are shut.