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MediaPortal 1
MediaPortal 1 Talk
Audio pass-through and Volume Control
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<blockquote data-quote="CyberSimian" data-source="post: 1250883" data-attributes="member: 141969"><p>Having all of your audio and video devices controlled by a single remote control is truly a wonderful experience. I have never used CEC, but I do use a universal remote control that has support for "activities", namely the Logitech Harmony 650.</p><p></p><p>The Harmony allows most of the buttons to control the source device (TV, HTPC, DVD player, CD player, audio streamer, ...), while the volume up/down and mute buttons control the amplifier. I found it relatively easy to setup the Harmony using their internet application, and it supports the Ortek/Hama MCE remote control as well as the alternative Microsoft MCE RC6 remote controls.</p><p></p><p>The vital characteristic of the Harmony is that it does device state tracking, i.e. it remembers which devices are powered up, and which are powered down. When you switch from (say) listening to a CD, to watching recorded TV, the Harmony sends the necessary commands to power up the TV and HTPC, power down the CD player, leave the amplifier unchanged (since it is already powered on), and change the input on the amplifier.</p><p></p><p>A brand of remote control that is widely available is the "One-for-All" range. They also make universal multi-device remote controls, but their significant disadvantage is that they do not support device state tracking. This matters if one or more of your devices has only power-toggle instead of explicit-on and explicit-off. One-for-All will claim that they do "activities", but it is inferior to the Harmony support.</p><p></p><p>My Harmony 650 is not perfect; in particular I would make the following criticisms:</p><p></p><p>(1) The buttons are too squidgy.</p><p>(2) The response to pressing a button is slightly too slow (but you get used to this).</p><p>(3) It ignores button presses that occur just as it is switching to standby (e.g. after 10 seconds).</p><p>(4) The batteries need changing rather too frequently (I use rechargeables).</p><p></p><p>One-for-All remotes are better in these respects (I have several). There is also an excellent open-source freeware tool for customising One-for-All remotes (but you need a special cable). And One-for-All supports both the Ortek/Hama MCE remote and Microsoft MCE RC6 remotes. But the lack of true support for activities puts One-for-All in second place.</p><p></p><p>-- from CyberSimian in the UK</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CyberSimian, post: 1250883, member: 141969"] Having all of your audio and video devices controlled by a single remote control is truly a wonderful experience. I have never used CEC, but I do use a universal remote control that has support for "activities", namely the Logitech Harmony 650. The Harmony allows most of the buttons to control the source device (TV, HTPC, DVD player, CD player, audio streamer, ...), while the volume up/down and mute buttons control the amplifier. I found it relatively easy to setup the Harmony using their internet application, and it supports the Ortek/Hama MCE remote control as well as the alternative Microsoft MCE RC6 remote controls. The vital characteristic of the Harmony is that it does device state tracking, i.e. it remembers which devices are powered up, and which are powered down. When you switch from (say) listening to a CD, to watching recorded TV, the Harmony sends the necessary commands to power up the TV and HTPC, power down the CD player, leave the amplifier unchanged (since it is already powered on), and change the input on the amplifier. A brand of remote control that is widely available is the "One-for-All" range. They also make universal multi-device remote controls, but their significant disadvantage is that they do not support device state tracking. This matters if one or more of your devices has only power-toggle instead of explicit-on and explicit-off. One-for-All will claim that they do "activities", but it is inferior to the Harmony support. My Harmony 650 is not perfect; in particular I would make the following criticisms: (1) The buttons are too squidgy. (2) The response to pressing a button is slightly too slow (but you get used to this). (3) It ignores button presses that occur just as it is switching to standby (e.g. after 10 seconds). (4) The batteries need changing rather too frequently (I use rechargeables). One-for-All remotes are better in these respects (I have several). There is also an excellent open-source freeware tool for customising One-for-All remotes (but you need a special cable). And One-for-All supports both the Ortek/Hama MCE remote and Microsoft MCE RC6 remotes. But the lack of true support for activities puts One-for-All in second place. -- from CyberSimian in the UK [/QUOTE]
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