RF Remotes
 

Okay, total noob here when it comes to RF remotes.

Basically, I have a DirecTV HR-20 HD DVR. They sell an RF remote for it for $25. Easy enough, I guess that the HR-20 has an RF receiver.

My confusion comes from if/how the remote would operate the TV (a Samsung LCD) I want to use it with.

Would it a) simply be unable to control the TV, b) control the TV via IR, c) only work if the TV is RF-capable, or, d) require a RF-receiver.

If c), how do I know if it is in fact RF capable.

If d), where do I find one, where does it plug in (how do I know if it has somewhere to plug in), and how do I configure it.

Also, general advice or commentary is appreciated.

Cheers,

Steven

Best advice is to just get a logitech harmony it controls anything you throw at it and is super easy to program just put in the model number of the device on a computer wizard.

The xbox version is cheapest and does NOT require an xbox.

Does the xbox harmony do RF? Most of them do not, including my Harmony One.

Edited:

I see that your HR-20 supports both IR and RF. Totally agree with the above poster that RF is not worth it - if you want a universal remote go with the logitech. I've never really been sure what the point of a RF remote to change TV channels from another room would be....

I also have a DirecTV HR-20 that lives in a closed cabinet below our TV. I use a Logitech Harmony 890 to control it, an Onkyo 7.1 system, 50" plasma, PS3, and room lighting. The only thing you see in the room is the cabinet and the TV, everything else is hidden.

The room lights use a ZWave dimmer outlet. The remote also controls our kitchen TV which is connected to the HR20 over a really long HDMI cable, so that it shows the same as the living room.

We programmed activities like "Morning TV" which turns on the tv, changes the channel to our morning tv program, and turns the lights on full. "Watch DVD" turns the lights to medium, turns on the surround sound, sets the correct surround mode, turns on the PS3, changes the TV input, and mutes the TV internal speakers.

Before getting the remote, I was the only one in our family that could figure out how to get everything just right to be able to watch a movie, and it took a couple minutes to do it.

Is the 890 RF or do you have some IR receiver somewhere?

That was exactly my follow-up question. With remotes like the 890, they must be RF, right, since everything is hidden? But then do you need to connect something to all your devices (eg PS3, TV, lights) to RF-enable them? Also, how do you make your lights remote-controllable? I would love nothing more than to be able to turn off the lights in my bedroom using a remote, it would justify the cost of the 890 itself - but I have no idea how to do it.

Yes, the 890 is RF and IR. It comes with a RF box that has a bunch of IR emitters that go in the cabinet. The RF it uses is actually a standard called ZWave. You can buy Zwave outlets, dimmers, etc and they replace the standard outlets in your wall.

There are even modules that can control powered window blinds and shutters, that's our next upgrade.

Here is an example of a dimmer. I don't remember which one we got because it's been a long time.

Since the PS3 uses bluetooth, it required a cheap 3rd party IR remote that plug into a USB port, then the logitech IR emitters are stuck onto that. Most of the time though, I still use the dedicated PS3 BT remote since the button layout works better.

One thing to note is that I really don't like the 890 remote hardware that much. The buttons are very hard to read in certain lighting conditions and it feels very plasticy. For the price I expected much better, but it does work very well after we got it setup. Setup took a long time to perfect though. I got mine during an Amazon sale for around $199, but have seen them for as little as $169.

But you really aren't using the RF receiver built into something like the DirecTV dvr. It would be incompatible. You are really using the IR input on a device like that.


I have had previous Harmony remotes, and would say that the Harmony ONE is by far the best from a materials and ergonomics standpoint.

Just to add to the discussion about the Harmony 890, which I have.

The remote transmits from the remote both a conventional IR signal and an RF signal. The RF signal gets picked up by an RF receiver, which is included with the remote. The RF receiver then emits an IR signal from the remote box itself and/or from up to I think 4 plug-in IR emitters intended to be attached to the front of the device you intend to control. The RF range is at least 25 feet, maybe 30, after that I ran out of room.

For each device you want to control from the remote, you can program the remote to either send the command via the remote's IR emitter or via RF to the RF receiver. This is useful for controlling the TV via IR and the STB, DVD, etc. via RF.

In my setup, I just have the RF receiver "spray" the cluster of equipment (STB, DVD, VCR) with IR from about 4 feet away from the equipment all located in a small room behind the TV. As others have said, you can bury all the equipment behind the TV and out of sight. The programming of the unit is straightforward and offers a lot of flexibility if you care to take advantage of it. Logitech's support is excellent, IMO, and I would highly recommend this remote. ^

Does the RF receiver need power? And how many IR emitters does it come with? If < 4, where can you buy extras?

Yes, AC power through a wall plug-in supply. It comes with 4 but I guess you can buy more. BTW, both the remote and receiver get programmed from a USB port on your PC/MAC.

Specifications

Depending on which HR20 you have, you might ALREADY have the RF remote. Look on the back of the remote or in the battery compantment for the FCC ID sticker. If that is there, you have the RF version. The RF signal has to be changed on the STB and then it will work. The IR will continue to work for all TV's and AVR and other devices that you program the remote to control, but won't ALSO do IR for the STB.

You can also get this remote from D* for 25$, and you can USUALLY get them to send you ONE for free, but ONE only.

Otherswise, I have also used the little RF remote extenders, that replace ONE of the batteries in the remote and then you put a receiver in your AV cabinet. these work fine as well, I have them in use all over the USA but the only downside is that the battery that they use (which is rechargeable) has to be swapped about every 20-30 days depeding on use.

You can also change your IR remote and IR equipment into RF by using this.

good
 

These are the ones I mentioned in my post above, which replaces the BATTERY iin the remote. They work pretty well, I found them online for 25$

RF remotes really come in 2 flavors - things like the harmony which to RF to a "blaster" and then IR from the blaster to everything else, and the RF remotes that come with some set-tops. Both flavors are dual-more - they do IR + RF.

The Logi/Harmony uses 900MHz, and has been known to have problems if using an old 900MHz phone or Wavebird game controller in the house at the same time.

Then there is the Bluetooth remote for the Playstation 3, and a lot of Multimedia PCs use remotes with a 2.4GHz technology called WirelessUSB which is also used in Gyration remote controls and keyboards/mice (which should not be confused with Certified Wireless USB which uses ~6GHz Ultra wide band).

The good news is that a new standard, called RF4CE is about to be released (supposed to be November) from leading CE vendors like Philips, Samsung, Sony, etc. This standard will use the 802.15.4 2.4GHz radio that is also used by Zigbee. Expect very rapid adoption of this standard in high end TVs and audio gear - though remote will need to have IR as well for many years to come in order to talk to that 1997 VCR you are embarassed to admit you still have tucked away for when your wife wants to watch your wedding video....

Forget Z-wave, Insteon, X10, etc - all rather poorly engineered technology with little hope of a long term future.