I'm stuggling with the supplied HDR remote. I have a Bose lifestye 48 Audio system and other components. The issue is with the Bose which works on radio frequency. Is there any control out there which will replace this as well as the normal infra red remotes for my other devices? If not what's the best for the other devices and do these work better with the HDR because they are more powerful?

Woolfynorm.
Last edited by woolfynorm : 20-04-2009 at 19:52

I think you have 2 choices, the philips prestigo and the logitech harmony.

The philips doesnt even require you to need the manual to setup while the logitech is a nightmare.

I wouldnt go for any of the cheaper ones, you will regret it.

If you are looking for a cheaper option to simply replace the Humax what about considering the One for All 7556 ? - It's very good with intuitively placed buttons and nice to use. It can individually learn remotes/keys it doesn't have.

Compared to the supplied remote it's excellent - does macros too - so you can turn on/off more than one machine with a single key press. I haven't regretted buying it all, for my kit, - does the job.

I don't know if it will work with the BOSE radio frequencies though, perhaps that is entirely different, you would have to go to the Oneforall site and check.

It does have a preset code for the Humax.

Patrick

I second that. Tried the Logitech Harmony but found I am much more in control with the OneForAll... and personally I find the buttons more manageable on the OneForAll.

Harmony One.

I've tried several multi-remotes over the years and this is the first that just 'felt right' when I used it. The only gripes I have (and they are pretty minor) are that it's sometimes possible to miss press the soft buttons and the programming software is a bit noddy.

If you have a full home cinema set up then the Harmony's are worth investing some time in. Once working they are really good.

If it's just to replace the Humax remote with something that has fewer, larger, better laid out, buttons then a Harmony is probably overkill.

I have the Harmony One and it's got some quirks but as I have a home cinema set-up, it's nice and easy to press "Watch TV" and all the devices are changed, just like magic

Yeah. I'd been using it nearly a month before I found out what the 'Activity' button did.

I just get annoyed sometimes when the soft buttons change to the 'Devices' page.

Actually another problem I have is changing inputs on my TV. It's not the Harmony's fault but unfortunately it's a stated/menu system and has over a dozen choices. If only my TV auto changed from HDMI to Scart :-/

Another vote for the Harmony one. Easy to set up and controls every single A/V box I have in my house - even some relatively old and obscure stuff. Excellent.

The OFA 7556 is a great remote if you have an IR-only or basic AV setup, but it doesn't do RF and isn't as programmable as a Harmony. Horses for courses.

I have a Harmony 555 and it’s a dream.

I would admit it takes awhile to set up but once that’s done, I press the button for the HDR and every thing sets up by itself, first the TV turns on then it changes the input to HDMI then it turns the HDR on then turns on the AV amp and selects all the correct inputs and outputs all from one button press.

If I change my mind and want to watch my Sony Freeview PVR then I press the one button for the PVR and it shuts the Humax HDR down starts the Sony up, changes the inputs and outputs on the amp.

As noted by other posters, it takes awhile to set up and has to be done on line with a broadband connect but once connected to the server you set up what you want the remote to do following the screen guide and if by small chance you have gear that’s not listed the remote has a learning mode and fully customising buttons.

There's a recent review of the Harmony 720 here: http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news..._Them_All/2706

Theres also a review of 3 different ones on the gadget show website.

I'm also dissapointed with the supplied PVR remote - Specifically the need to 'point' the remote directly at the PVR to have any chance for it to work.
The OFA 7556 sounds a great replacement - Does it overcome this 'pointing' issue??

I too would like to be able to use the remote more reliably. I don't know whether it's the buttons, HDR remote itself, the IR receiver or what but the Humax box is only about 1m away as it is behind me feeding the projector but it is very hit & miss when it comes to controlling the it.

The design of the remote is crap too. Superficially it looks nice but what idiot tucked away the pause & play buttons amongst a bunch of other buttons just the same size so that they can't be easily found in the dark? Why not a nice big Play/Pause combined button as this must be the single most pressed button on the remote after the cursor keys.

The Foxsat HDR is almost all ways better than a Sky digibox but the Sky remote is one of the nicest that I have used for any piece of equipment.

No - that's due to the receiver being behind the front panel. There's a clear window in the front panel but because there is a gap between the panel and the receiver the effective angle is very narrow. It might have been better if the window was larger but there are only two ways to improve it now -
1) remove the front panel or leave it open all the time
2) use a remote extender with a transmitter sitting directly over the IR window.

What helped with mine was to remove both pieces of plastic film on the receiver. The first is fairly obvious but there is another inside the box when you open the flap. Once I got them both out of the way my control over the box improved quite a bit.

Patrick

I've found the OFA remote is slightly better with regard to directionality than the supplied Humax remote, but not entirely. I haven't tried leaving the front flap down, I might have to give that a try...!

There's an interesting thread on Logitech remotes and your Bose system here:

http://forums.logitech.com/logitech/...message.id=826

Apparently the Bose can be switched to use IR instead of RF which would open up your choice of remotes considerably.

BTW, I have have the Harmony 885 which I'm very happy with.

Thanks to all for your replies. Still not decided

Disappointed that nothing seems to overcome the directional issue, so will try with the flap down first.

Thanks again.

Woolfynorm

I opened the flap last night and noticed a big immediate improvement. It'll be staying down.

I removed the two plastic strips & front flap ages ago but still have the 'pointing' issue with the remote. It does work better when I use a Powermid to change channel remotely from another room so I suspect that the 'pointing' issue is due to the remote being very directional. It's probably made worse for me by having the remote about 1m from the box whereas if it were across the room the beam would have a wider spread.

885 for me. I've had the 885 for a few years and it's still going strong. Logitech customer support are also very good should you need them.

On the recommendation here I bought a One For All remote. It seems to be as good as suggested, but how do I copy the 'Media' button from the Humax remote? The recommended One For All procedure doesn't seem to work. And which button should I choose to copy it to?
Humph

I mapped the following buttons on the OFA, based on which buttons I would ever actually use and how often I need them:

Media = AV
Schedule = PPV
Opt+ = ?
V-Format = Fav/9:16
List = -/--
Exit = Back

I didn't bother mapping the Humax Back key, as it has almost no use not replicated by Exit.

The standard "Magic" function on the OFA (the "975" procedure) worked fine for me.

Also, don't forget you can activate "volume punch-through" so that the volume keys always adjust the TV regardless of which mode you're in. Very useful.