recommend a remote

[Abev107]

after seeing my brothers directv tivo, i was a *little* jealous how easy it operated. Obviously, the integration makes a big diff compared the piece-together nature of Sage systems (MEVO's).

Anywho, right now I work my sage system somewhat manually - most of the time I select what I want to record from my Sage client on my pc, and most time will watch the recording shows on my pc. I rarely use Sage thats hooked up to my tv b/c its such a pain - I actually have a manual switch on my tv to switch between the pc and the tv. Annoying, yes.

So could someone recommend a remote that would tie in all of this? My tv, sage, cable... I have seen the remotes from logitech that look pretty interesting but do i need to spend $100+?

My goal: I want the functionality of my cable systems EPG to be able to watch tv. I dont need the cable cos EPG - I could use Sage, but I just want to be able to select from my couch

[silkshadow]

You can use a Tivo remote with Sage. Just get USB-Uirt. However, thats not a universal. I use the Logitech Harmony 680 with USB-Uirt and I love it. However, playing $100+ for a remote and then another $50+ for USB-uirt is quite steep. If you have it to spend though, I do recommned it (keep in mind I hate those touch screen remotes). Two cons:

1) there is no way to restore a backup config to your remote. You can make a backup but you cannot restore it. This is incredibly shortsighted IMO. Recently, Harmony had some website glitch. To fix it, they messed up one of my device configs and couldn't restore it and they refused to restore it from a backup I have. I can see no reason for this besides their intractability/CS rep's stupidity (send my backup file to the web team - voila - how hard is that?). So I had to spend an hour re-setting the device back up. That sucked and Harmony's support was maddening.

2) the buttons are kind of small. You get used to it pretty quick and I don't even notice it anymore. However, at first, I kept hitting the wrong buttons. The same is true for directional 'ring'. It takes some getting used to.

I've been considering writing a review of this remote as there seems to be no decent review of it anywhere (lots of reviews of the other Harmony models though). Hope that helps.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Abev107

after seeing my brothers directv tivo, i was a *little* jealous how easy it operated. Obviously, the integration makes a big diff compared the piece-together nature of Sage systems (MEVO's).

I'm confused, how do you have Sage set up now? It should work very similarly to a Tivo, as in nearly everything can be done with the arrow and enter keys on a remote.

[Abev107]

silkshadow: good info, i have the usbuirt already. i really dont care how much i have to spend if it works.

stanger89: I have a dedicated pc rite next to my tv with sage on it. To use sage, i actually have a switch where i can switch the tv screen to a computer desktop. So i use sage with a keyboard and mouse rite next to my tv. I also have a networked pc with sage client on it. i have been using sage mostly through the client. And watching on the pc with the client software - not on the tv like i want to. I am not using the remote with the pvr at all. So i want a remote that puts it all together and i can use sage like it was meant to be. I am pretty much using it like a pc recording software, not a pvr.

[stanger89]

To use sage, i actually have a switch where i can switch the tv screen to a computer desktop.

What do you have to switch? That's I guess where I'm confused. For a remote, either the one that comes with the PVR 250 (especially if it's the new one) or something like the Streamzap is more than enough to control Sage.

I am pretty much using it like a pc recording software, not a pvr.

What do you mean by that, are you using favorites, and the other features (EPG, IR, etc)?

I guess I'm trying to figure out if your only problem is that you have to use a keyboard/mouse or if you have bigger problems.

[Opus4]

How flexible/customizable do you want the remote to be? If you just want to pick something up & use it, nearly anything will do the job with the USB-UIRT. (What tuner do you have? It didn't come with a remote?)

If you want a much more customizable remote...

A couple sources for remotes: BlueDo & SurfRemoteControl.

A good remote resource/forum site: Remote Central

An index thread here: Information Resources for Remotes, Receivers, and IR Blasters

Inexpensive, fully programmable remotes (using free software for Windows): JP1 remote interface & JP1 forum. Many JP1 remotes exist: "One For All" makes quite a few -- see the stores, above.

More expensive remotes: "Universal Remote" -- MX500/600/700/etc, some with PC software; Philips Pronto remotes w/PC software.

Since you already have a USB-UIRT, I would consider something you can program on your PC to control nearly any device & download the setup to the remote so you can make it do pretty much anything. To me, that means JP1-capable remotes, some Universal Remote models, and the Philips Pronto series. These are all very flexible, but it depends on how much you want to do with it.

- Andy

[silkshadow]

To use sage, i actually have a switch where i can switch the tv screen to a computer desktop

Is there a specific reason you are doing it this way? Do you have a video card with TV-out? Or maybe something like this: http://support.radioshack.com/produc...5-1977&Reuse=N would help?

[Abev107]

ok heres my setup:

cable comes in the house and gets split -> one goes to cable box then to pvr250 -> the other goes to my cable ready tv. Svid and Audio cables go out of my pvr250 to a svid switcher. Another svid goes out of my vid card on the pc to the switcher so i can see the desktop on the tv.

Sage records the cable->cable box->pvr coax. B/c I have no way to control sage rite now with a remote, I do most of the scheduling from sage client on another pc. I almost always watch tv with just the cable ready analog cable signal.

I have the switcher b/c I sometimes need to see whats going on with the pc (e.g. sage crashes). I guess the switcher really doesnt figure in to my config rite now, it just caused more confusion. All i really need to be concerned with is switching the tv from tv to video.

We are getting away from my org request - I was mostly wondering about the $100+ remotes and if they're worth it. Id like to control sage, the tv, the cable box.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Abev107

I was mostly wondering about the $100+ remotes and if they're worth it. Id like to control sage, the tv, the cable box.

Several links for info on remotes were posted above. If you spend $100+, I would go for one you can program on your PC for full control/added flexibility. Some have buttons you can label. You can spend <$50 for a JP1-style remote and also have full PC programmability. It all comes down to what you want in a remote & which one looks most useful for you.

- Andy

[tch65721]

Originally Posted by silkshadow

I use the Logitech Harmony 680 with USB-Uirt and I love it. However, playing $100+ for a remote and then another $50+ for USB-uirt is quite steep. If you have it to spend though, I do recommned it (keep in mind I hate those touch screen remotes).

I just bought a Harmony 680 and love it. I would like to use it with Sage but I don't quite grasp how the usb-uirt works. I thought it required Girder and a lot of complicated setup. I don't have the time or inclination to deal with that.. Is that wrong? If the usb-uirt is just plug and go that would be ideal. Otherwise, I think I would be better off buying a cheapie like streamzap and copying the codes to the 680.

[Opus4]

SageTV can use the USB-UIRT directly; when using it that way, you would simply teach the codes to specific SageTV commands. See p. 144 of the v2.1 manual, "Detailed Setup: Commands Settings".

- Andy

[ToonGal]

Originally Posted by Abev107

So could someone recommend a remote that would tie in all of this? My tv, sage, cable... I have seen the remotes from logitech that look pretty interesting but do i need to spend $100+?

Originally Posted by Opus4

You can spend <$50 for a JP1-style remote and also have full PC programmability.

Here's the remote I use and would recommend: URC-8810. As it is sold, this is a "good" solution. Tack on JP1, and this is the best value for functionality, but requires some effort. If this is a good trade off, read on.

Detailed picture: http://www.replacementremotes.com/st...CategoryID=225

Manufacturer home page: http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC%208810

Purchase at: Wal-Mart, should be ~$20. Can test / return as you see fit.

JP1 cable (Hovis Direct, great guy): $14 at http://www.hovisdirect.com

JP1 resource: http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums

JP1 benefits: programmability for every button for every device. Best of all, can be backed up on your PC, restored, tweaked, etc. You can use your backup data or other users' data to program / restore codes to ANY JP1-able remote.

Other JP1 remotes are generally One-For-All or Radio Shack. A JP1-messiah ("The Robman") always has various JP1 remotes available in his thread at http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=413.

Most other people's recommendations went high end for their remotes. I went JP1 because I like to tinker and like the flexibility. (Ok, and I'm cheap) For the cost of the JP1 remote and cable, given all the software is free, you can easily maintain all peripherals.

Hope that helps, hun!

[silkshadow]

Originally Posted by tch65721

I just bought a Harmony 680 and love it. I would like to use it with Sage but I don't quite grasp how the usb-uirt works. I thought it required Girder and a lot of complicated setup. I don't have the time or inclination to deal with that.. Is that wrong? If the usb-uirt is just plug and go that would be ideal. Otherwise, I think I would be better off buying a cheapie like streamzap and copying the codes to the 680.

Well I am using Girder but its not necessary. Actually, while its an amazing product, most apps support the USB-uirt directly and renders Girder kind of useless for simple operation. Sage has a USB-uirt plugin and you can use it to assign remote commands to Sage directly. As an aside, if Harmony would freaking figure out a way so that backup configs could be resotred to the remote, I could just email you my config .

Anyway, what I did was create a new remote 'device' based on the myHTPC remote and assigned every ir command there to a button. Then I went though all the Sage commands and assigned each myHTPC button to a command in Sage (disregarded the actual myHTPC button label just assigned what button I wanted to the Sage commands).

One problem with this, I discovered that I didn't have near enough buttons. So I went to the device config screen and discovered the 'learn command' function. So I took all my old remotes (including the remotes that came with my Happauge and my prolink cards as well as old VHS, tv, etc remotes) and started adding more random ir commands to my Harmony's myHTPC device. I kept going and added, I think, 16 more buttons to the Harmony's LCD screen buttons as well. Then assigend all these to Sage via Girder (but you can just use Sage directly with the USB-uirt plugin). Voila every command Sage has got assigned to a button. I have since reassigned most of the LCD buttons to other Girder commands as alot of the commands Sage gives are pretty useless.

As a side note, if you want the 'media' button (aka 'the green button') to transmit an IR command, you have to use the MCE device config. It won't transmit an ir signal using any other device profile (yeah thats pretty annoying). The MCE profile can also be used with Sage. I fooled with this for a week but gave up, as its a pain in the butt because, for some reason, if you use usb-uirt it recieves two unique ir command from each button. It dosen't do this with the MCE reciever. If you have the MCE reciever, you can use that and the 680's MCE config with Sage as, I believe, Sage now has an MCE remote plugin. Anyway, now I use the 'media' button as a better 'glow' button . When I was fooling with the MCE profiles (and when I am using the 680 with my MCE box), I keep hitting 'mute' and 'guide' trying to hit the 'glow' button. Now, I just hit the 'media' button to light the remote up, much easier and I use the 'menu' button for "home" functions in all my HTPC apps.

[tch65721]

Thanks for the replies, especially your very detailed reply Silkshadow. Interesting that SAGE has a MCE remote plugin. I didn't realize that was an option. Although more expensive, I suppose USB-UIRT would be better and more flexible considering possible future expansion/change.

[silkshadow]

My pleasure! USB-uirt is definatelly the way to go if you plan on running other HTPC apps on it as everything supports it natively.