HomeTheaterMaster MX500 & VIP622
- Thread starter cjsmigelski
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cjsmigelski said:
I hope so. It works great with my 811 now. The MX500 is a great remote. I'll know after this weekend when my 622 gets installed.
I have the MX-350, which is IR & RF capable. Nice. After wrestling with it off and on over a few weeks with my HT & 721, I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. I moved the 721 to another room & put the ViP622 in with my HT. I bought a Harmony 880, picked my HT equipment from VERY extensive lists online, and it just works. The remote plugs into your USB port on a PC, & downloads the data. The remote keeps track of what components are on or off. With the MX-350, and all other remotes I've dealt with, you really need to use discrete ON & OFF codes, or switching between modes (satellite viewing to DVD, etc) might turn off your TV.
I've become a big time believer in the Harmony remotes. They are SIMPLE, and well worth the price. Not much more than the price of the MX-350. And for the first time in my life, I can really say I only need and use the one remote for all my HT equipment- HDTV, Dish ViP622 DVR, audio receiver, VCR, multi disk DVD player, and combined DVD burner/VCR. Plus, I sometimes plug in a laptop or other source to the HDTV and it switches the HDTV/audio receiver just fine.
I've become a big time believer in the Harmony remotes. They are SIMPLE, and well worth the price. Not much more than the price of the MX-350. And for the first time in my life, I can really say I only need and use the one remote for all my HT equipment- HDTV, Dish ViP622 DVR, audio receiver, VCR, multi disk DVD player, and combined DVD burner/VCR. Plus, I sometimes plug in a laptop or other source to the HDTV and it switches the HDTV/audio receiver just fine.
My MX500 works great with my 942 so I'm sure it will work with the 622 also (it had worked with my previous 921 too). Of course, as mentioned above, I'm using single mode.
navychop said:
Model 659 - 2 years old :down :down :down
1. Have to re-program it now every few weeks or it stops controlling random components.
2. Eats batteries - new set every 4 to 6 weeks.
3. Flimsy build quality - battery cover falls off ( probably wore out from having to change batteries so frequently)- Some buttons don't want to work anymore - Was rebooting randomly because batteries kept losing contact - fixed that.
4. It gets confused - Forgets state of components that don't have discrete on/off codes - Turns things off/on when it shouldn't.
5. Wife (who is only reason I kept Harmony in the first place - I thought it looked/felt cheap) now hates it because of the above. Keeps stealing my MX-500
Think I'll order a another/new MX-500 and the next time the Harmony acts up I'll take a hammer to it! :devil:
Won't get my my $120 back, but might make me feel better.
NightRyder
Last edited:
Well, I have my 622 and I have been playing with the MX-500 since I got the DVR. PreProgrammed code 122 (Echostar) works. The only thing is that the DVR buttons are what controls the guide functions (the secondary labels on the remote). This is how it worked on my 811. Since it wasn't a DVR, no big deal.
All I did was learned the DVR functions into the the DVR buttons. I the learned and labeled the LCD buttons for the menu and guide functions. I can get all the functions I need with no problems.
I did run into a strange issue while programming the favorite buttons. For example, I would program ESPNHD (9424) into a fav button. When I would hit that button, the remote was send the 9-4-2-4 but then another 4 would follow and send the 622 down to channel 4. It wasn't just 9424, it was other numbers that I programmed as well. And it wasn't just the number 4 either.
What I did to fix it was I made a "dummy" device and learned all the numbers from the 622 remote. I didn't use the preprogrammed code (122). Then I programmed all my favorites from the "dummy" device. Every favorite button worked like a charm. PIA, but it works.
The fav buttons on the MX-500 can do mini macros as well. Since my HDTV is 4:3 when I watch HD, I have to set it in compress mode, which is only a 2 button sequence on the TV remote (PICSIZE + 2). Plus it's PICSIZE + 0 to get it back to normal. You can only use 0-9, DIS, ENT, and PAUSE in fav macros on the MX-500.
Cool. I used my "dummy" device and I learned PICSIZE to DIS, the tv's "0" to PAUSE and the tv's "2" to ENT. So the macro for ESPNHD would look like DIS-2-9-4-2-4. The actual LCD display looks like DE9424. The Weather Channel would be DIS-0-2-1-4 (DW214).
For some unknown reason, the FAV macro will not transmit the PAUSE button, no matter what is learned into it, from any device. The pause button works fine if you just press it, but not in a fav macro.
I'm starting to not like my 500 as much. Maybe I'm just asking it to do too much, but the manual even states about these FAV macros. It should work.
Can anybody who has a MX-500 and a 622 try this for me? All you have to do is learn a code into the PAUSE/INFO button, then make a FAV button with the PAUSE button in it and see if the 500 transmits it? It could be from your 622 remote or any remote for that matter.
TIA.
All I did was learned the DVR functions into the the DVR buttons. I the learned and labeled the LCD buttons for the menu and guide functions. I can get all the functions I need with no problems.
I did run into a strange issue while programming the favorite buttons. For example, I would program ESPNHD (9424) into a fav button. When I would hit that button, the remote was send the 9-4-2-4 but then another 4 would follow and send the 622 down to channel 4. It wasn't just 9424, it was other numbers that I programmed as well. And it wasn't just the number 4 either.
What I did to fix it was I made a "dummy" device and learned all the numbers from the 622 remote. I didn't use the preprogrammed code (122). Then I programmed all my favorites from the "dummy" device. Every favorite button worked like a charm. PIA, but it works.
The fav buttons on the MX-500 can do mini macros as well. Since my HDTV is 4:3 when I watch HD, I have to set it in compress mode, which is only a 2 button sequence on the TV remote (PICSIZE + 2). Plus it's PICSIZE + 0 to get it back to normal. You can only use 0-9, DIS, ENT, and PAUSE in fav macros on the MX-500.
Cool. I used my "dummy" device and I learned PICSIZE to DIS, the tv's "0" to PAUSE and the tv's "2" to ENT. So the macro for ESPNHD would look like DIS-2-9-4-2-4. The actual LCD display looks like DE9424. The Weather Channel would be DIS-0-2-1-4 (DW214).
For some unknown reason, the FAV macro will not transmit the PAUSE button, no matter what is learned into it, from any device. The pause button works fine if you just press it, but not in a fav macro.
I'm starting to not like my 500 as much. Maybe I'm just asking it to do too much, but the manual even states about these FAV macros. It should work.
Can anybody who has a MX-500 and a 622 try this for me? All you have to do is learn a code into the PAUSE/INFO button, then make a FAV button with the PAUSE button in it and see if the 500 transmits it? It could be from your 622 remote or any remote for that matter.
TIA.
Well, I found out what is causing the PAUSE button issue. When in MACRO mode (which FAV is) pressing the PAUSE button inserts a WAIT into the macro. So when in MACRO mode, it doesn't matter what is learned into it, it'll always insert a WAIT.
Crap.
Crap.
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