Registered: Oct 2001
Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Posts: 10

Secret "Learning Remote" with Sony

I finally got my Sony DirecTiVo, and noticed that Sony failed to document the remote's limited learning capacity.

Yeah, the interface where you select your TV or A/V Receiver's brand onscreen is cool, but there are a couple good circumstances where the learning capacity is quite useful:

1) If your equipment isn't one of the onscreen choices, it's a lot easier to use the learning feature than that clunky Code Search feature.
2) If you want to make one of the buttons do something other than the expected task, this is the only option.

In my case, I use the learning feature for both reasons. My processor doesn't appear to be in the list; also, I've programmed the "mute" button to toggle closed-captions on my TV.

Here's the process:

Place the TiVo remote and the remote that it will be learning from head-to-head.

Press both the TiVo button *and* the TV Power button on the DirecTiVo remote, and hold them until the LED stays lit.

To assign codes to control a TV, enter "0975" on the remote. To assign codes to control an A/V reciever, enter "1975". The LED will flash three times.

Within 30 seconds, press the button on the remote that you want to program. (You can choose TV Power, Mute, Volume Up, or Volume Down.) The LED will flash.

Press the appropriate button on the other remote, and hold it until the LED flashes three times. (If it doesn't work, try repositioning your remotes, and try again.)

Repeat with any of the other buttons you want to program.

Press "Clear" to exit learning mode.

Note that by using *both* the 0975 and 1975 options, you can have the same button send two IR commands with a single press.

I haven't tried it, but I assume that if you flip the switch on the side of the remote to "TV", you'll probably be able to program most of the buttons - not just the four listed above.

-Vic.
.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 31

Thanks, that's great. I wonder why Sony did not document this in the manual.

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Tustin, CA USA
Posts: 9

I have a Mitsubishi TV. I tried programming the Sony remote's "mute" button to act as the "go to" function, to skip from the channel I am watching to the channel I was watching. It didn't work.
I pressed TiVo and TV power till the lite stayed on, entered 0975, then the lite went out. I then pressed the "mute" button and the "go to" on the TV remote. I held it for a while, but the red lite just stayed on, probably because I had the "mute" button pressed. Anyhow, the LED never flashed three times. It just stayed lit for as long as the "mute" button was pressed. I tried it several times.
What am I doing wrong?

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Posts: 10

Well, you may be doing a couple things wrong. Did the light blink three times immediately after you entered 0975? If not, you didn't enter 0975 fast enough, so it never actually entered learning mode.

Also, you don't hold "mute" down after that - just press it once quickly, and then press the appropriate button on the other remote. Then it should blink three more times.

In an unreleated note, I also found a little quirk after I did my initial programming - when I pressed and held "Volume Down," it would send the signal once, and then stop. But if I held "Volume Up," it would repeatedly send the signal until I let go (which is a good thing for me). I'm not quite sure what caused that, but I reprogrammed V-Down, and it worked fine the second time.

By the way, this is all documented in the booklet that comes with the standalone Sony TiVo. I really can't imagine why they left it out of the DirecTiVo booklet. It reduced the number or remotes I regularly use by 2/3!

-Vic.
.




[This message has been edited by indigovic (edited 11-19-2000).]

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 31

newsshooterderek:
The learning feature does NOT work when the switch on the side is set to TV.

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Tustin, CA USA
Posts: 9

Thanks, Intrepid-NY. I was just about to reply a question about the same. If the remote won't learn on the TV side, what things can you program the remote to do on the Sat side? You'll have to excuse me. I'm new at this whole thing. I just wish I could afford a Pronto, but the Sony remote does do so much more than the Phillips remote does on the TV side...that much I know!

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 31

see indigovic's post above for programming on the SAT side

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Highlands (east of Houston ), Texas, USA
Posts: 1147

Does this mean that I can program my SAT-T60 remote to have a timer like my TV remote? If so, do I follow the instructions above. I don't want to mess anything up by trying it if it won't work

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Tustin, CA USA
Posts: 9

At the risk of sounding really dense, here goes...So I can only program a TV function in the SAT setting, which means I will only be able to control that TV function in the SAT setting, not the TV setting? Is this correct?

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Posts: 10

>what things can you program the remote to do on the Sat side?<

You can program any of the four buttons (Volume Up and Down, TV Power, and Mute) to send any signal you can get from any other IR remote. I know that the TV Power button can be programmed to send any *pair* of signals - teach it one signal using 0975 and the other signal using 1975. (I don't know if that works for the other three buttons - I haven't tried it.)

-Vic.
.

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Registered: Not Yet
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Posts: N/A

Controlling my Sony reciever, I had the same oddity with the volume down issue. I'm not sure what exactly did it, but after reprograming it a couple times it worked as it should. I'm not quite sure how it works, but for some reason, if I had 3 of the 4 buttons programed (it could actually count as 4, as I had 2 commands associated with the TV off button (TV off and receiver off), it wouldn't work on the others.

So, right now.. I have Volume Up/Volume Down controlling my reciever (as it should - hold it and it continues to go up or down), and my TV On powering on/off my TV and receiver (I had some trouble at first - for some reason it sent the commands twice so it's power off/on the TV and receiver quickly), and my mute button doing what it does by default - mute the TV (which currently doesn't do a thing, as my receiver controlls the sound).

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Registered: Not Yet
Location:
Posts: N/A

As long as we're talking about remotes, instead of starting a new topic, I just wanted to ask if anybody has the Sony touchscreen remote. And if so, does it control DirecTiVo functions? I'm sure not going to buy a Pronto remote, although it looks pretty decent....I'm a Sony man. I have all Sony equipment...and just want to keep it the same. But the determining factor will be if the Touchscreen remote can "learn" the DirecTiVo functions. I know it is a learning remote, but, I don't know about all the DirecTivo commmands....thanks....

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 71

Is this just a Sony feature, or can the Philips remote be programmed in this manner as well?

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Posts: 10

The Philips remote is apparently not programmable.

-Vic.
.

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Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 45

I am so pleased with discovering this info!

I just got a Sony T60, and have been settingit up like my dead defunct Hughes.

I like the asymmetrical sony remote more then the Peanut. But I did like the peanu't feel. I always got it upside down though.

By using the SAT/TV switch on the side, and the instructions above, I can now do everything I need to with just the Sony DirecTiVo remote. The TV power fires up BOTH the TV and Sony AV center receiver (which is required since it switches optical audio and SVideo to the TV).

With the switch in SAT mode, the volume quickly scrolls the receiver volume. In TV mode, the TV gets the input. Same for Mute. So each are individually controllable via the Sony TiVo remote.

The Sony remote also controls vdeo sources, so I can switch to DVD easily without findinghte TV remote. I just went from 5 remotes to 2!

Thanks so much for documenting the learning functions!

__________________
Mike
---------------
Replay TV 5080 on 802.11G -- woo hoo!

Sony SAT-T60, 2 * 40GB + 12V fan -- sitting in a box
Hughes GXCEB0T D-TiVO -- Sold on e*Bay

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Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 1031

Holy cow you found an old thread!

__________________
All comments made in this post are my opinion and my opinion alone. Deal with it.
Otto, Zen TiVo Master - Moderator - AVS Tivo Forums - Tivo Underground, Tivo Coffee House
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."

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Registered: Jun 2002
Location:
Posts: 2

I found this old thread, too, and if anyone (Otto) is listening, can a Sony SAT-T60 remote be programmed to control a Hughes DirecTiVo?

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 3135

No - totally different.

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TOTAL Digital

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Registered: Jun 2002
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 425

Thanks Indigovic

Thanks a bunch Indigovic. Ever since I got my new Anthem processor in January I have been unable to use the Tivo remote because there was no code listed. I even called both Tivo and Sony to see if there were any undated codes or undocumented learning capability. I was told no by both of them. So you post today came as a very welcome surprize.

__________________
Jack --Indianapolis--

Proud owner of:
DirecTV HR 10-250 powered by TiVo
Sony DirecTiVo 108hrs
Sony DirecTiVo Unmodified
TiVo owner since 09-99
DirecTv owner since 09-94

Last edited by JLWINE on 07-02-2002 at 11:40 PM

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Registered: Jun 2002
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 425

quote:

---

Originally posted by JonJon8320
As long as we're talking about remotes, instead of starting a new topic, I just wanted to ask if anybody has the Sony touchscreen remote. And if so, does it control DirecTiVo functions? I'm sure not going to buy a Pronto remote, although it looks pretty decent....I'm a Sony man. I have all Sony equipment...and just want to keep it the same. But the determining factor will be if the Touchscreen remote can "learn" the DirecTiVo functions. I know it is a learning remote, but, I don't know about all the DirecTivo commmands....thanks....

---

__________________
Jack --Indianapolis--

Proud owner of:
DirecTV HR 10-250 powered by TiVo
Sony DirecTiVo 108hrs
Sony DirecTiVo Unmodified
TiVo owner since 09-99
DirecTv owner since 09-94

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