Recommend a good universal remote for my new Hopper setup?

[mdavej]

Incorrect. I programmed my Harmony One to do it.

After some experimentation I posted this:

... I do have to retract something I said earlier (can't edit my post). I managed to get my hopper captions macro down to 5 steps, so it should theoretically work on harmony.

So on that count I was wrong, having missed the fact I could use number shortcuts.

However, you cannot change the delays between sequence steps. You can only change the global inter-key delay. So if you have to slow down one command, you slow down everything for that device.

Someone else mentioned the hidden sequence capability on the 700. True, but it is very well hidden and requires the use of the old 7.7 software and costs you 2 devices, making your 8 device 700 only capable of 6. When you buy a 600, 650 or 700, the included instructions tell you to use MyHarmony.com to program your remote. So the average user would have no idea the 7.7 software even exists or how to install and use it. Sequences are still completely missing from the 200, 300, 900 and 1100.

So enjoy your 5 step sequences while you can. In the mean time I'll enjoy my unlimited length sequences, with variable delays per step on my remote that cost about 20% the price of a comparable harmony.

 

[GaryPen]

So enjoy your 5 step sequences while you can. In the mean time I'll enjoy my unlimited length sequences, with variable delays per step on my remote that cost about 20% the price of a comparable harmony.

I will. I find it much for convenient and user-friendly than the JP1-compatible remotes I used to use. They were cheaper and more versatile, yes. But, usability is king. And, simplicity is queen. And, in those two areas, Harmony rules over the cheap alternatives.

 

[GaryPen]

BTW- For those wanting to set up a CC on/off toggle macro/sequence, it's "yellow-3-select-select-cancel". You will probably have to slow down the command delay, as well.

 

[mdavej]

I will. I find it much for convenient and user-friendly than the JP1-compatible remotes I used to use. They were cheaper and more versatile, yes. But, usability is king. And, simplicity is queen. And, in those two areas, Harmony rules over the cheap alternatives.

While I absolutely love JP1, I realize they're harder to use and program, so aren't for the masses. But the cheap remote I was actually talking about is Xsight, which is just as simple as harmony but fills in harmony's functionality gaps, like macros, multiple remotes per account, ability to edit all steps in activity macros, ability to have commands held for a user specified duration, among a few other things. The only thing Xsight lacks is state tracking, which luckily isn't necessary in devices that have discretes.

Anyway, thanks for posting the CC sequence. I wish they would add number shortcuts to the main menu too. My Weather sequence is 6 steps and I can't make it any shorter.

 

[GaryPen]

But the cheap remote I was actually talking about is Xsight, which is just as simple as harmony but fills in harmony's functionality gaps, like macros, multiple remotes per account, ability to edit all steps in activity macros, ability to have commands held for a user specified duration, among a few other things. The only thing Xsight lacks is state tracking, which luckily isn't necessary in devices that have discretes.

Xsight remotes do not cost 20% of comparable Harmony remotes. I wouldn't consider $80 and up for the LCD models to be "cheap". They are reasonably-priced compared others. But, not cheap.

BTW, the Xsight brand is marketed by One For All in Europe. I wonder if AR merely licenses it from OFA for the US market.

 

[gregleg]

Before my brother got me my first Harmony for Christmas, I had a pair of JP1 remotes which I adored. Come to think of it, I still have them somewhere The Harmonies have a much higher WAF, though.

 

[GaryPen]

The Harmonies have a much higher WAF, though.

Ding ding ding ding ding.

 

[yosemitesam]

I was going to ask this question. The 722 doesn't have colored buttons. But the 922 does. So setting the remote to the 922 should work better? Does anything else change? Right now to access my DVR list directly, I have a sequence set to hit the DVR button twice. Takes me right to my list. What do the colored buttons on the Hopper do?

What ever you tell them to control !

 

[Bobby]

What ever you tell them to control !

That is not true. The hopper color buttons are very Hopper specific. Each one controls something different depending upon what area you are in. For example, the Red button when depressed while watching TV will bring up a screen that tells you what each of the three tuners are viewing. That same red button, while in the Guide will allow you to change from My Channels to My HD Channels, etc. That same red button, while in the DVR menu allows you to move about DVR functions like: Timers, PTAT, Schedules, etc.....

 

[Jhon69]

That is not true. The hopper color buttons are very Hopper specific. Each one controls something different depending upon what area you are in. For example, the Red button when depressed while watching TV will bring up a screen that tells you what each of the three tuners are viewing. That same red button, while in the Guide will allow you to change from My Channels to My HD Channels, etc. That same red button, while in the DVR menu allows you to move about DVR functions like: Timers, PTAT, Schedules, etc.....

That's what I need on my VIP922/wMT2,press the Red button and see what my other 3 tuners are viewing.

 

[mdavej]

Xsight remotes do not cost 20% of comparable Harmony remotes. I wouldn't consider $80 and up for the LCD models to be "cheap". They are reasonably-priced compared others. But, not cheap.

BTW, the Xsight brand is marketed by One For All in Europe. I wonder if AR merely licenses it from OFA for the US market.

The Xsight 12G is $30, which I consider quite cheap for an LCD remote, the cheapest I've ever seen. AFAIK, the closest 12 device harmony is the $150 One. That's where I got the 20% number. The $80 18G is more comparable to the $300 harmony 900, though not exactly cheap, still works out to 27%.

US and European Xsights (and Nevo's) are all identical. AR does indeed simply license the name.

For you harmony folks asking what profile to use (722 or 922), the answer is none of the above. I worked very hard with my contacts at Logitech to get the Hopper profile complete. So by all means use it. In fact, I generated nearly 2000 codes to give them complete code sets for all Dish models and addresses. My spot checking indicates that they have indeed added most of them to the public profiles.

 

[copperavery]

Dont know if anyone mentioned it, as I have not read every page of this thread, but I have been using an Icon Remote IR34A, from x10. Its about a year old and works flawlessly. All of the basic codes are in the unit, but any button can be cloned from any other remotes buttons, and very easily. Also RF to control X10 devices. Like it so well that I bought some for friends. s far as I know, they are using and liking them, very much. They can be found on the web in many places for as little as $25-$30. Also can seen for as much as $100. Ergonomics not the greatest, but the best value I have found. Makes switching to sub channels very easy, since Hopper doesn't get them.

 

[GaryPen]

The Xsight 12G is $30, which I consider quite cheap for an LCD remote, the cheapest I've ever seen. AFAIK, the closest 12 device harmony is the $150 One. That's where I got the 20% number. The $80 18G is more comparable to the $300 harmony 900, though not exactly cheap, still works out to 27%.

You are merely comparing the number of devices that can be stored. The 12G is not otherwise on par with the Harmony One. (It's not even on par with the other Xsights, putting aside the device number.) The 18G is not quite the equivalent of the 900, either. But, I would consider it over the 900, as I feel that $300 is just ridiculous.

 

[mdavej]

A fail to see why the 18G isn't comparable to the 900.

In any case here's a comparison I did on Amazon of a 12G vs. a 650, something you may find more reasonable:

Xsight Plus
- 12 devices
- Can reorder and rename all activities and devices
- Practically unlimited macro steps with delays and holds (what Logitech calls sequences)
- Complete user control over the contents of activity macros
- Adjustable backlight time
- 24 favorites (no icons, just text)
- 3 commands per page
- Single login handles multiple remote
- Help function allows you to choose which commands to re-send
- All activities are on LCD
- Has physical DVR List button
- AllOff is an activity. Power button functions for each device
- Supports only PC
- Retail price $80, Amazon price $33

Harmony 650
- 5 devices
- Can't reorder or rename activities or devices
- No sequence capability
- Can't edit steps or add steps to activity macros
- Can't adjust backlight time
- 23 favorites with icons
- 4 commands per page
- Each remote requires a different account and login
- Help function re-sends all commands in a row until the user stops
- 4 activities have dedicated physical buttons
- No physical DVR List button
- Power button turns all devices off. Individual device power can only be controlled by power functions on the LCD
- Supports both PC and Mac OS
- Retail price $80, Amazon price $53

Here are some features common to both:
- Backlight
- Color LCD
- Learning
- Programming via PC
- Code database of approximately a quarter million devices

In summary, Xsight addresses many shortcomings in current Harmony models, the major ones including macro support, unified login, device and activity renaming and reordering, and more devices. State tracking is one of the few advantages Harmony has. But that's unnecessary if discrete commands can be used.

 

[clotter]

1. TAP SAT
2. PRESS and HOLD the SETUP button until the red LED flashes twice, then RELEASE.
3. TAP 9 - 9 - 4.
4. TAP the SETUP button
5. TYPE the 5 digit code
6. TAP the button (i.e., RED) - two Blinks

The RCA uses 5 digit codes, so prepend 00 to each, i.e., 00048, instead of 048.

Thanks so much! I bought the RCA remote just to get these buttons and it worked great for my URC MX850.

 

[Jhon69]

The Xsight 12G is $30, which I consider quite cheap for an LCD remote, the cheapest I've ever seen. AFAIK, the closest 12 device harmony is the $150 One. That's where I got the 20% number. The $80 18G is more comparable to the $300 harmony 900, though not exactly cheap, still works out to 27%.

US and European Xsights (and Nevo's) are all identical. AR does indeed simply license the name.

For you harmony folks asking what profile to use (722 or 922), the answer is none of the above. I worked very hard with my contacts at Logitech to get the Hopper profile complete. So by all means use it. In fact, I generated nearly 2000 codes to give them complete code sets for all Dish models and addresses. My spot checking indicates that they have indeed added most of them to the public profiles.

Question:

I have the Logitech Harmony 300i set for 922,should I change it to "Hopper" as my colored buttons do not work the same functions on my 300i as my 32.0 for the 922.

 

[mdavej]

The colored functions are the same on both. Are you sure they weren't simply mapped to the wrong buttons on your 300? In any case, all the codes are identical, so it won't hurt to try.

 

[Jhon69]

The colored functions are the same on both. Are you sure they weren't simply mapped to the wrong buttons on your 300? In any case, all the codes are identical, so it won't hurt to try.

Well I tried,it won't work because no matter if I put in for my device a Hopper,or XIP813,or VIP922 it requests the original remote control and it won't work because my 300i is IR and my 32.0 is UHF so it can't learn.I would imagine if I went with an Logitech Harmony RF remote control it would be able to learn the commands and the colored buttons.So I will just be happy it works what it does.My colored buttons all show the correct colors in change what a button does section.

 

[mdavej]

Oh, that's no problem at all. Just answer no about having the original remote and it will work fine. It just wants a few samples to match and confirm the address, which defaults to 1. No confirmation uses address 1. The confirm step isn't saving anything, just confirming it's used the right codes.

 

[Jhon69]

Oh, that's no problem at all. Just answer no about having the original remote and it will work fine. It just wants a few samples to match and confirm the address, which defaults to 1. No confirmation uses address 1. The confirm step isn't saving anything, just confirming it's used the right codes.

Well basically everything works except my blue button(that will take me directly to broadband setup when pressed),and the yellow button(which will take me directly to settings) like it is on my 32.0.I figure it's probably because the Logitech Harmony 300i does not do macros?.