chapter 4ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/imprint_downloads/informit...tivo, inc. in 1998. he was a designer...

ChapterChapter 4Remote Control FreakIf you’re a media junkie (and you wouldn’t be reading this book if youweren’t), you likely have a disturbingly intense love relationship withyour remote control. If you’re really old (like us), you probably remem-ber your family’s first remote and how revolutionary it seemed. It wasat this moment that the couch potato was born and America’s backsidesstarted expanding to fill the available space.

In this chapter, we’ll discuss the three types of TiVo remotes; a fewcontrol tips, tricks, and advanced functions; how to get a stubbornremote to talk to other devices; and what you need to know about usingthird-party remotes with TiVo.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the tips, tricks, and hacks in thischapter are Level 1.

Found a PeanutThe most popular TiVo remote, affectionately referred to as thePeanut because of is distinctive shape, is arguably one of the nicestremotes ever designed. Those who design remote controls have a dif-ficult task. The average remote has 30 to 40 buttons on it that have

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to handle a host of different functions, often more than one assigned tothe same button, and be understandable to many different types of users.The remote needs to be sensibly laid out, comfortable to hold in yourhand, and easy to navigate with a single thumb. Unfortunately, mostremotes are poorly designed and suffer from “buttonitis,” a profusion ofbuttons that always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, orthat, even after years of owning the device, you have no idea whatthey’re for. In contrast, the TiVo remote is beautifully designed, is funand easy to use, and has most of its well thought out buttons right whereyou need them.

There are three basic TiVo remotes: the Series 1 remote, the Series 2remote (we could call ‘em Peanut 1 and Peanut 2, respectively), and theSony TiVo remote (sold with all Sony-branded TiVos). (There is also anentirely different remote that ships with the Toshiba DVD/TiVo units.)There are few differences between the S1 and S2 peanuts. The Series 2 islonger, separates a few functions that used to be combined on one button,and provides a DVR 1/DVR 2 toggle switch (stand-alone S2-only) so youcan program and control two TiVos (either S1 or S2) from a singleremote. The Series 2 remote also has a button called Window, which ismarked for future use. (See Figure 4.1).

The Sony TiVo remote is more traditionally shaped, is much wider andflatter than TiVo, Inc.’s remotes, and its button arrangement is totally dif-ferent.

Which remote is “best” is largely a matter of personal taste. Some peopleswear by the original Series 1 remote, claiming that its smaller size makesit more comfortable and the buttons easier to reach. Others like the moregenerous layout of the S2 remote and the addition of the separate LiveTV and Guide buttons. And then there are those—even those who don’thave a Sony-brand TiVo—who swear that the Sony remote is superior.Personally, we think they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and thatany of them will serve your needs. If you have two TiVos you want to usein the same room, you’ll want to buy a Series 2 remote to separately con-trol both machines, or you may want to buy a universal remote to controlboth TiVos and most of the rest of your home media gear. We’ll discussuniversals later in this chapter.

C h a p t e r 4 R e m o t e C o n t r o l F r e a k

Leo Laporte’s Guide to TiVO

Paul Newby, TiVo’s chiefproduct designer whoheaded up the remotedesign team, designedsomething entirely dif-ferent before joiningTiVo, Inc. in 1998. Hewas a designer of con-struction machinery forCaterpillar. Talk about achange of scale!

The online TiVo store(store.tivo.com) sellsSeries 2 remotes (thatwill work with eitherstand-alone or DirecTiVomodels) for $30.Designer models inclear or blue cases arealso available (for $35).These replacementremotes will not workwith Sony or ToshibaTiVos and don’t have allthe buttons for com-plete control of Pioneercombo units.

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1. Activity Light2. TiVo Button3. Power4. Live TV5. Guide6. Screen Navigation Arrows7. Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down8. Select9. Mute10. Volume11. Channel Up/Down12. Record13. Play

14. Back (Rewind)15. Forward (FF)16. Pause17. Slow18. Instant Replay19. Advance to Tick 20. Numeric Keypad21. Enter/Last22. Clear23. DVR 1/2 Switch24. TV Input25. Info/List26. Window

F o u n d a Pe a n u t


TV remotes really cameinto their own in the1970s, at the sametime that stretchablepolyester was the reign-ing fabric. Coincidence?You be the judge.

If you have batteriesthat “go dead” in adevice that uses amotor (say a toy or aCD player), those bat-teries may still haveplenty of juice left inthem to power yourTiVo remote. There isstill a fair amount ofcharge left in a batterythat has stopped pow-ering a high-demanddevice. TV remotes onlyneed small amounts ofpower to operate, soyou can get weeks,even months out of acouple of AAs that areno longer bringin’ danoise (or da funk) toyour CD player.

Tip

FIGURE 4.1Anatomy of a remote.

Controlling Other Devices with Your TiVoRemoteAs we mentioned earlier, a Series 2 TiVo remote is designed to control twostand-alone TiVos (using the DVR 1/DVR 2 toggle switch located underthe Slow button). The TiVo remote also has the ability to control otherdevices in your home media arsenal, namely the TV and a stereo receiver.

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Besides the DVR switch, the S2 remote adds a TV Input button. Oncelinked to your TV’s IR receiver, this button lets you switch between all ofthe input sources going into your set (TiVo[s], DVD deck, VCR, and soon). The TiVo Installation Guide that came with your Series 1 or Series 2TiVo describes how to access the control code lists on TiVo for manypopular TVs and stereo receivers and how to program your remote torecognize them. But what if they don’t work, or you have a piece of equip-ment that’s not listed? Here’s how to set up your remote so that it will sig-nal you when it’s stumbled upon the correct code.

1. Before you try the manual code search method, you shouldmake sure that you’ve tried all of the control codes that arelisted in the code libraries on TiVo (if they list anything foryour brand). Try them several times.

2.Point the remote away from your media center and place yourhand completely over the IR window on the front of the remote.

3. Press the appropriate two buttons (see Table 4.1) simultaneously fora count of five. The red light above the TiVoGuy’s head shouldlight up and stay on to signal that the remote has entered CodeSearch mode.



There actually is no“TiVoGuy” on DirecTVDVRs. TiVo’s whacky littlecartoon mascot isreplaced by the DirecTVlogo. BORRRING! So welike to imagine that theDirecTV logo is theTiVoGuy in disguise.Please play along with us.

Table 4.1 Remote Programming Entry Codes

TV Power, Stereo Power, Stereo Volume To Program: Volume, Mute TV Input Volume, Mute and Mute Only

Press These TV Power and TV Input and TV Power and Mute and TiVoGuyButtons TiVoGuy TiVoGuy (Series 2 TiVoGuySimultaneously: remote only)

4. Once the entry codes are engaged and the red light is on to indicateCode Search mode, you need to enter the beginning code to startthe search. For TV controls, that number is 0999. For stereo con-trols, you’ll want to enter 1999.

5. To start cycling through the control codes, point the remote at thetarget device (TV or stereo) and press the Channel Up button.Each time you press Channel Up, you’re sending a new controlcode to the device. When the correct code is received, the targetdevice will turn off. Stop! You’ve likely found the correct code! Try

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pressing the Mute and Vol (+/-) buttons to see if they work. If theydo, press the Enter button on your remote to lock in the code. You’llwant to wait a few seconds between each Channel Up press beforetrying to send the next code. After you’ve found the correct code forthe first device, if you want to program the second, go back to Step 1and repeat.

If you go through all of these steps and the target device never turns off,and the red IR light on the tip of your remote finally winks out, unfortu-nately, your TV or stereo was probably made in some forgotten corner ofthe Earth under hellish sweatshop conditions and it has never met a man-ufacturing standard it cared to conform to. We kid! We kid the consumerelectronics industry! Anyway, if you get to the end of the codes and it didn’tfind one for your device, you’ll have to use that device’s original remote tocontrol it—or buy a universal remote.

Remote Control ShortcutsOnce you have the hang of all of the standard features on the TiVo remote,there are a few shortcuts you might like to know about. Pressing these but-ton combinations will work from anywhere with the TiVo software.

• TiVoGuy + TiVoGuy—Takes you directly to the Now Playing menu.

• TiVoGuy + 0—Reruns the Introductory animation (great for enter-taining easily amused children or the very elderly).

• TiVoGuy + 1—Takes you to Season Pass Manager (Ver. 3.1 orhigher) or Now Playing (Ver. 3.0 or earlier).

• TiVoGuy + 2—To Do List

• TiVoGuy + 3—Search Using WishLists

• TiVoGuy + 4—Search by Title

• TiVoGuy + 5—Browse by Channel

• TiVoGuy + 6—Browse by Time

• TiVoGuy + 7—Record Time/Channel (a.k.a. Manual Record)

• TiVoGuy + 8—TiVo Suggestions

• TiVoGuy + 9—Showcases

• TiVoGuy + Slow—TiVo messages and Setup (only works in Ver. 4.0 or higher)

C o n t r o l l i n g O t h e r D e v i c e s w i t h Yo u r T i Vo R e m o t e


Cycling through theentire code list can takeawhile, up to 20 min-utes, so you’ll have tobe patient to do thisoperation.

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Area-Specific Button FunctionsWhile the functions of the TiVo remote’s buttons should be fairly obviousto you after spending some time with them, there are a few functions thatchange depending on what area of the TiVo software you’re in. Let’s runthrough some of these.

• Program Listing Screens (Now Playing, Season Pass, WishLists,To Do List).

• Chan Up/Chan Down becomes a Page Up/Page Down but-ton to jump through the list one screen at a time.

• Clear takes you directly to the Delete Recording screen forthe item you’re on in the list.

• Play starts playing the program selected in the list (NowPlaying only).

• Program Information Screens (Now Playing, Season Pass,WishLists, To Do Lists).

• Chan Up/Chan Down takes you to the previous or next pro-gram description in the list.

• Info (or “Display”) takes you to a second page of moredetailed information about the program, including a full list ofactors, episode number, and original air date (see Figure 4.2).



FIGURE 4.2The Detailed ProgramDescription screen.

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• Clear takes you directly to the Delete Recording screen for theprogram whose description you’re looking at.

• Play starts playing the program whose description you’re look-ing at (Now Playing only).

Live Television While watching live television, using the following remote buttons causesthe results described:

• Live TV (Series 1: LiveTV/Guide) brings you to live television fromany TiVo menu. Pressing it while within live TV brings up the Guidescreen. Pressing it again makes the guide go away and returns you tolive TV. On DTV units with both built-in tuners connected to yourdish, this toggles between the tuners.

• Info (or “Display”) brings up the Channel Banner. If you press itagain, the banner goes away. If you press the Right navigation arrowwhile the banner is displayed, it cycles through the three differentchannel banner designs. If you press Info/Display again to dismiss thebanner (or otherwise go someplace else within TiVo), the last bannerdisplayed becomes the default banner until you change it again.

• Forward (afterpressing Pause or Slow) triggers a single frameadvance. Holding the Forward button down advances frame-by-frameuntil you let up.

• Back (after pressing Pause or Slow) triggers a few frames in reverse.Holding the Back button down reverses frame-by-frame until you let up.

• Clear dismisses any graphics laid over the live signal (ChannelBanner, Status Bar, iPreview prompt, and so forth).

• Enter/Last (Series 1: Enter) takes you back to the previous channelyou were on.

• Record pressed when you are already recording something stopsthe recording.

Program GuideWhile within the Program Guide, pressing the following buttons on yourTiVo will enable the features described:

• Info (Display) brings up Guide options. For stand-alone Series 2TiVo with version 4.x of the software and DirecTiVo, this includes

A r e a - S p e c i f i c B u t t o n F u n c t i o n s


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the option of switching between a TV Guide-style grid or the origi-nal TiVo two-column guide (see Figure 4.3).



FIGURE 4.3The two differentGuide options (ver. 4.xand DirecTiVo only).

• Forward moves through the Guide one hour at a time (instead ofthe Right navigation arrow’s one program at a time). (Grid-styleGuide only.)

• Back moves through the Guide one hour at a time (instead of theLeft navigation arrow’s one program at a time). (Grid-style Guideonly.)

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Text-Entry Screens (Search by Title, WishLists)On the TiVo screens that include a text-entry box (the so-called OuijaScreen), pressing the following buttons yields the described results.

• Forward inserts a space in the text-entry box.

• Back does a backspace.

• Clear erases everything in the text-entry box.

• Pause enters a quote mark (“) in the text-entry box to enclose aphrase. This works in Keyword WishLists only.

• Slow generates an asterisk (*) that acts as a wildcard which willmatch any word that begins with the letter typed before the asterisk(for example, tech* would find technology, technical, techno, techie,etc.)This works in Keyword WishLists only.

• 0 Takes you to the top of alphanumeric list (Search by Title only).

Undocumented Control TricksIn the next chapter, “I’m Your Backdoor Code,” we’ll cover a number ofnifty hidden features you can access after enabling TiVo’s “Backdoors,”or secret routes into the TiVo software. In this section, we’ll cover a fewhidden features that can be turned on without needing to enable back-doors.

A Word About Code ClassesThe hidden TiVo control codes were found by obsessive TiVo userswho’ve spent countless hours of their free time banging out different but-ton sequences on their TiVos to see what the results might be. Theyinvested all of this time getting thumb cramps so you don’t have to. Let’sall aim out remote controls in their collective direction and give them a bigThumbs Up!

One of the things that TiVo hackers discovered is that there are classes ofthese hidden codes. Each code class involves a set three- or four-buttonsequence and then a variable (such as a digit on the remote’s number pad).There is only one major code class available outside of backdoor mode andit’s known as Select-Play-Select (SPS).



Caution

These undocumentedcontrol codes were notdesigned to be acti-vated by consumers.TiVo, Inc. does not offi-cially support them. Assuch, you should under-take them at your ownrisk. We cannot guaran-tee that they won’tmake your TiVo startspewing smoke, makingbad ‘50s sci-fi haywirecomputer noises, andfinally expiring in ahorrible digital heatdeath—though we cantell you that all this ishighly unlikely.

These codes, becausethey are unofficial andunsupported, could goaway at any time—ornew code sequencesmay be discovered. Tokeep tabs on the latest,go to http://www.weaknees.com/links.phpand take the link toOtto’s “TiVo Codes List.”

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Select-Play-Select (SPS) CodesEach of the SPS codes are enabled by pressing the Select button, thenPlay, followed by Select, the specified code, and then Select one finaltime. All SPS codes should be done while playing back a recorded pro-gram (otherwise, when you press Select, it’ll…well…select something).All of these functions can be turned off simply by re-entering the code(also while playing back a recorded program). SPS codes stay active untilyou re-enter them to toggle them off or you restart your TiVo (or ifthere’s a power outage).

• 30-Second Skip (S-P-S-3-0-S)—We already covered this one—perhaps the mother of all secret codes—in the previous chapter.This code changes the Advance button on your remote into a 30-second skip button.

• Clock/Elapsed Time Indicator (S-P-S-9-S)—This code sequencepops up a clock and an elapsed time display in the bottom-right cor-ner of your TV screen. This clock/timer displays on both live andrecorded programs. The elapsed timer is useful for rememberingexactly where you were in a recorded program if you have to leave itand then want to return to where you left off. For instance, if you’rewatching a show with somebody else and you have to leave whilethey continue watching, you can use the timer to take note of whereyou were and then fast-forward to that exact spot when you returnto the program. The elapsed time indicator has been removed andreturned from TiVo’s OS a number of times. It is not enabled inversions 3.0 and 3.1 of the TiVo software, but it is in versions 3.2and higher. When you re-enter the code sequence to remove theclock, it doesn’t actually leave the screen until you leave the pro-gram you’re in (to go to a TiVo menu) and then return to recordedor live TV.

• Speed Reader’s Status Bar (S-P-S-Pause-S)—TiVo’s Status Bar isone of the cooler features that it lords over its competitorReplayTV. It shows you where you are within a recorded or liveprogram, whether the show is being recorded or not, what modeyou’re in (FF, Pause, Play, and so on), and other useful info. But ifyou find that the bar stays onscreen too long for your taste, you can



You’ll know that youhave successfullyentered a remote con-trol code when you hearthree system chimes inresponse to your buttonsequence. Obviously, ifyou have disabled TiVo’ssystem sounds (underPreference -> AudioOptions), you won’thear the chimes.

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accelerate its operation with this code sequence. And when we say“accelerate,” we mean it. You’ll have to have Superman-like visionaryprowess to read the bar, as it’ll only flash onscreen for about a half-second. If this feels like a perfectly reasonable amount of screen time,you may want to think about cutting back on the caffeine and allthose all-night Xbox fragging sessions.

• Status Message Display (S-P-S-InstantReplay-S)—This one’s prob-ably for geeks only. Toggle it on and a status indicator pops up in thebottom left corner of the screen. It indicates the Input Type, theChannel (active in Live TV mode only), the episode ID number, asassigned by TiVo’s internal “Media File System” (MFS) database(Live TV only), and the Mode (“COMPLETED: PlayRecording” or“RECORDING: WatchLive”). Here’s what the status indicatorswould look like for a recorded and live show:

Input 0: InputLiveCache* 8 || Mode: COMPLETED(PlayRecording)

Input 0: InputLiveCache* 4 FOCUS (1471410/155) ||Mode: LIVETV (WatchLive)

We can’t think of anything terribly useful for this function, except tofurther disgust your friends with your Professorial level ofGeekitude. Like the Clock code, you have to leave the programyou’re in and then return to recorded or live programming beforethe status indicator will disappear from the screen.

Miscellaneous Remote TricksHere are a few other useful things you can do with your TiVo remote.There are probably plenty of others. If you’ve gotten this far and are stillhungry for more stuff to do with your remote, start hanging out onDVR-related bulletin boards, such as TiVoCommunity and AVSForum(see the “Resources” section). There are plenty of other TiVo inactiviststhere who, in lieu of having an actual life, are constantly thinking of newways of using their remotes and other DVR gear. Relax! We’re kiddingthe A/V geeks! Believe us, we’re right there on the virtual couch besidethem.



On some televisions,the clock/timer andstatus message read-outs may be displayedpartially off-screen orcompletely off-screen,depending on yourscreen size/design.

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TiVo: Save My Place!If you’re watching a recorded show and aren’t going to finish it, make sureto hit the TiVoGuy or the Left Arrow button before you leave; don’t justturn off the TV. If you do, the show will continue running until the end,and you’ll have to start from the beginning when you come back.

Scrubbing BuffersIf you’re watching a show and you decide to start recording it, TiVo willstart its recording from whatever’s already been written to the live TVbuffer (up to 30 minutes). If you don’t want to record this buffered con-tent, change the channel first (you can quickly hit the Enter/Last buttontwice to switch to a different channel and then back again). This clears thebuffer, only recording the show from where you are at that moment.

Two-Fisted DeletingIf you want to delete a bunch of stuff from a program list (Now Playing,Season Pass, To Do List), you don’t have to select each one and go to theDelete Now item for each; you can use the Clear button directly from thelist. If you want to do a bunch of speed deleting, you can hold the remotein both hands with one thumb poised over the Clear button and one overSelect. Pressing Clear/Select will quickly delete an item and move to thenext item in the program list. Of course, there’s really no need to deleteall of the recorded TiVo Suggestions in your Now Playing list. TiVo willoverwrite them with your requested shows or new Suggestions, but theanal compulsive among you might enjoy tidying up stuff you don’t want.

Bouncing BeamsThis one’s for the desperately bored, the monstrously geeky, or those justlooking for a cheap party trick. Infrared beams are tenacious little suckers(which is why they can cause the kinds of problems we talked about inChapter 2’s “Troubleshooting” section). They like to bounce all over theplace, so much so that you’d be surprised where you can aim your remoteand still have it send signals to your TiVo. Try it. Aim it off to the side,behind you, at the ceiling, the floor. Go into another room and aim theremote so that it’ll bounce off the wall in front of the TiVo. It’s hard tofind a place to aim where the signal won’t reach TiVo’s IR receiver.

One of the few criticisms that users consistently have of the TiVo remote’sdesign is that it’s so symmetrical, it’s hard, in the dark, without looking at



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it, to know which end is which. Luckily, when you’re quickly grabbing theremote to pause it, it doesn’t matter where it’s pointing. The large, cen-trally located Pause button is easy to fumble for, and even if the haplessTiVoGuy ends up face-to-face with your intimidating beer belly, he’s stillgoing to go ahead and bounce the Pause signal off of you and send it toyour TiVo.

My Peanut’s Gone RottenIt’s amazing what kinds of abuse our remotes are subjected to. Computergeeks call the crud that builds up on computer mice and keyboards “handsalsa.” On remote controls, it’s often even worse because we’re muchmore likely to be trying to negotiate a slice of stuffed-crust pizza whilewe channel surf. Over time, all sorts of disgusting goo, grease, and grimbuilds up on the remote and seeps between the buttons and into the elec-tronics. Eventually, buttons will start sticking or stop working alltogether. Before you schedule a funeral for your beloved Peanut, try giv-ing it a good bath.

1. Remove the batteries and unscrew the Philips head screw insideof the battery compartment.

2. Using a thin flat head screwdriver (or butter knife), run italong the seam between the two remote halves, starting from

the back of the remote. Be careful not to “cut in” to the rela-tively soft plastic of the case. Working the seam will eventually popthe top off of the remote.

3. Peel off the rubber button pad and carefully remove the printed cir-cuit board (PCB). Your remote should now be in five pieces: the casetop, the bottom, the battery door, the rubber button pad, and thePCB (see Figure 4.4).

4. Wash all of the parts in warm, soapy water. Obviously, be especiallycareful with the PCB. If it’s particularly grimy, use an old toothbrushto gently scrub it. Thoroughly rinse everything and leave it all out todry overnight.

5. After you’re certain that everything is completely dry, re-seat thePCB and the button pad, re-snap the cover on, and screw the caseback together. Replace the batteries and try out your refurbishedPeanut. It will often be as good as new.

M i s c e l l a n e o u s R e m o t e T r i c k s


If your remote stilldoesn’t function prop-erly, even after sendingit to the showers, beforeyou throw it away, tryputting the batteries inbackwards for about 60seconds and then load-ing them in as usual.This effectively acts as areset and may be allyour Peanut (or otherremote) needs to receivea stay of execution.

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1. Case bottom with battery door2. Printed circuit board (PCB)

3. Rubber key panel with separateTiVoGuy button

4. Remote case top



FIGURE 4.4A Series 1 TiVo remote:the “exploded” view.

3 421

Gareth On…Most consumers seem aware of the fact that many electronicsdevices get wet (either on purpose or accidentally) and still

work fine, as long as they are allowed to thoroughly dry first. Ihave a bad habit of dumping tall glasses of ice water onto my iMac key-board. I simply shake it off, let it dry for a few days, then plug it back inand go about my business.

Several years ago I was at the beach when a giant, freak wave came up andthoroughly soaked everybody’s stuff. The large family in front of me had CDplayers, digital cameras, and cell phones on their blankets, all of which sud-denly became flotsam. So what did they do? Simultaneously, they allgrabbed their gear in a panic and turned it on (while I did a slow-mo“NOOOOO!” in my mind). They likely fried the lot of it. They could have justtaken the batteries out, rinsed away any sand, let it all dry for a few days,and everything (except maybe the cameras) could have been fine.

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Universal Remote ControlsAs we mentioned in the “Accessories” section of Chapter 1, “Which TiVois Right for You?,” some TiVo users ditch their TiVo remotes altogetherand spring for a universal remote. As we also discussed, universals are notalways so universal, with some functions or devices not being addressableby the remote, leaving the user to still need one or two other remotesaround to control these stubborn devices. Also, there aren’t that manyremotes that have DVR buttons (especially TiVo’s unique ThumbsUp/Thumbs Down buttons) built into them. All of these issues, as well asthe exorbitant cost of many universals, have led many in the TiVo com-munity to embrace a few specific low-cost remote models.

Universal Electronics (UEIC) RemotesUniversal Electronics Incorporated (a.k.a. UEIC) makes a number of rea-sonably priced (under $30) universal remotes. UEIC makes most of RadioShack’s multi-device remotes and remotes sold under the One For All(OFA) brand. The All-For-One 6 Device Universal Remote (URC 6131)is particularly popular among TiVo users because it has ThumbsUp/Thumbs Down buttons and comes with TiVo codes built into its codelibraries (see Figure 4.5). The Radio Shack 6-in-One (RS 15-1994) remotedoes not have thumbs built in, but buttons can be assigned to create them.See Figure 4.5.

Besides the price, the relative ease of out-of-box operation, and the num-ber of devices (and all their functions) that can be successfully controlled,UEIC remotes have two other huge benefits: They can be interfaced withyour PC for custom button programming and there’s a very large andactive user community online.

PC Control of UEIC RemotesMost UEIC universal remotes have something called the “JP1

Interface” pin available inside of them. This 6-pin jack is usuallyright above or below the battery bay, visible when you open thebattery door. To interface with your remote using a PC, you needto either buy a JP1-to-parallel port cable or assemble one from

parts. The cable will cost you $14, or you can get a parts kit for $9, both fromJP1 Cables (jp1.filebug.com). Free software, available from JP1 Cables andthe Yahoo! JP1 Users Group (groups.yahoo.com/group/jp1/), can then beinstalled on your PC to send customize button codes to your remote.

U n i v e r s a l R e m o t e C o n t r o l s


If you have a devicethat does not seem tobe supported by a OneFor All Remote, fearnot. If you call OFA(330-405-8655) anddescribe your setup,they’ll research theproper code(s) for you.If they can’t locatethem, they’ll tell youhow to capture the con-trol codes from youroriginal remotes andhow to enter the codesinto your new universal.

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FIGURE 4.5The All-For-One 6Device universalremote (URC 6131).

Some UEIC manufac-tured remotes don’thave the JP1 jackinstalled, but they dohave pads on the cir-cuit board to acceptthe jack. The jacks arereadily available andeasily soldered on. Ifyou’re not comfortablesoldering, get a friendwith soldering experi-ence to do it. The URC6131 only has the padsto accept the JP1 jack,not the jack itself.

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If you’d like to learn more about JP1 remote control programming, checkout Tommy Tyler’s excellent “JP1 for Beginners” tutorial at www.lucindrea.com/jp1/. For a list of UEIC remotes with JP1 interfaces (check before youbuy), consult this chart: jp1.filebug.com/remchart.htm. Also, check out the“Remote Controls” section of Appendix A, “Resources,” in the back of thisbook for more JP1 vendors, tutorials, and discussion forums.

More Remote Control AlternativesOf course, there are many other perfectly good cheapie universal remotesas well as very fancy high-end remotes. The Universal MX-500 is very pop-ular, as is the Philips Pronto line. And there’s the Harmony SST-659, billedas the first Internet-powered remote (see Figure 4.6). It connects to theWeb via a USB cable for brainless device setup. It even has a TV schedulethat can be downloaded to it: You can bookmark shows you’re watching andthe next time you connect the remote to your computer, it’ll fetch infor-mation on the Web about the shows you’ve marked. Of course, all of thesefancy remotes can cost a bundle, between $100 to $300, making themaffordable to only the freakiest of remote control freaks.

Universal Remote Buying TipsRegardless of whether you buy a modest universal remote or one that hasdelusions of world control, there are a number of…er…universal things toconsider:

• Number of Devices Controlled—You want to make sure that theremote you buy will be able to control at least all of the home mediadevices you already have, with maybe room for a few more. You likelyhave at least a TV, VCR, home stereo, and of course, TiVo. Toss in aDVD, and that equals five devices already. So, you probably want toget a 6-in-1 or even a 7-in-1 remote.

• Buttons Available—Even though many remotes let you assign differ-ent functions to buttons (especially ones that can be JP1 interfaced),you ideally want as many buttons with the proper labels on them tobegin with. You can spend all the time you want moving button func-tions around, but unless you’re the only person using the remote, it’sgoing to get confusing to other users. If you have a lot of buttons thatmean different things in different devices, it’s even going to get con-fusing to you. So try to get a remote that starts off with a lot of theproper button functions already designed in it.



By now, the lexicallycurious among you areprobably wondering:“What does ‘JP1’ standfor?” It simply refers tothe part location on theprinter circuit boardand stands for “JackPort 1.”

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FIGURE 4.6The Cadillac Escaladeof Universal Remotes:The Harmony SST-659.

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• Large Built-in Code Library—You want to make sure that theremote you choose ideally already has the control codes loaded ontoit for the devices you’ll be controlling, or that it can at least havethem easily coded in. If you do your research ahead of time, youshould know whether the remote you’re interested in can controlyour gear or not. So-called “learning remotes” are good for this easytransfer of code data from your individual remotes to the universal.

• Design Considerations—There are many different opinions aboutwhat makes a good remote control design. A lot of it comes down topersonal preference. You really have to see the remote in person (orsee close-up images of it on the Web) to get an idea of whether you’lllike the design, the button arrangements, and so forth. If possible,test drive the remote in person. Some remotes are wide and not com-fortable to hold. Remotes with full touch-screen displays tend to bethis way. Some are heavy, and if you like to hold the remote in yourhand or lap while you veg out, a hefty remote can be a drag…liter-ally. Most users are persnickety about button arrangements—the but-tons have to make sense in how they’re grouped and used. Someusers don’t mind buttons being small and close together; others can’tstand it. One big complaint about the One For All URC 6131 is thatits buttons are too dinky and tightly packed together. The TiVoremotes are widely praised for their superior layout and big, sensiblebuttons.

• Use Considerations—How you use the remote and who uses itneeds to be considered too. If you tend to watch a lot of TV in thedark, in bed, for instance, you probably want a remote with glow-in-the-dark or lighted buttons, or with an LCD screen. If you have alarge family with a lot of remote users, you probably don’t want any-thing too complicated to use. And if the remote is going to be subjectto a lot of abuse by family members and slipper-chewing pets, youprobably don’t want to invest in an expensive model.

• Do Your Homework—It pays to do research on universal remotesbefore you buy one. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses,and dozens of users are likely sharing their experiences of popularbrands in online forums devoted to the subject.RemoteCentral.com is a great place to start your research. Alsocheck out the Customer Reviews on e-tailers like Amazon.com.



Some people loveremotes with touch-screen displays. Theselet you customize manybuttons (which appearas icons on the screen),have a backlit, andoffer many programma-ble options. They’reoften “learningremotes,” too, whichmeans that you cantransfer the codes fromyour old remotes to theuniversal with a fewbutton presses. We’renot so big on all touch-screen remotes. They’reexpensive, usually widerand heavier than otherremotes, and can eatbatteries. We also findit hard to locate thebuttons on a touch-screen without lookingdown at the remote—there’s no tactile feed-back! Your mileage mayvary, so try before youbuy (if possible).

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They Can Have My Remote When They CanPry It…With the information in this chapter, you have hopefully brought yourTiVo and other home media devices under your control and have learneda few remote control shortcuts and special functions you may not havebeen aware of.

In the next chapter, the last in Part 1, we’ll get your feet wet with a littlesoftware hacking, peering down TiVo’s secret passageways and openingup a few features and utilities that we mere mortals were never meant tosee. Ew…we feel so wily…



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chapter 4ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/imprint_downloads/informit...tivo, inc. in 1998. he was a designer...

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