IR control of TV2 on 722?

[STL]

1) Will the ViP 722 allow you to send it an IR signal to control the TV2? And can the TV2 remote that comes with the ViP 722 be setup to send IR instead of UHF?

2) If not, can the TV1 remote that comes with the 722 be setup to control TV2 instead? I would just use my Sony RM-VL600 (programmed from TV1 remote IR) to control TV1 via IR.

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! I have my 622 set for 1 user so hopefully someone will answer you...

 

[TheKrell]

1a) My understanding is that it will not. I also experimented a bit with the IR blaster on a Hava Platinum HD (like a Slingbox solo) without success. My Hava is now plugged into the TV1 outputs.

1b) The remote that came with my 722 was a 6.3 UHF/Pro universal remote. If you buy the universal remote separately, it comes with 3 or 4 keys to make it control most any Dish receiver ever made. So the answer to this is "Yes."

2) The remote that comes with the 722 for control of the TV1 output is IR-only. So... Given the answer to (1a), it cannot control TV2.

Annoying, isnt' it?

 

[STL]

Thanks for the reply. And, yes it really annoying!

It is downright silly that the 722 hardware isn't setup so that TV2 can be controlled via IR signals. I think the new 222k box comes with two remotes that are both IR/UHF so maybe TV2 on that box can be controlled via IR -- but I don't think DISH has enabled the DVR software (with the addition of a USB hard drive of course) on those boxes yet.

 

[STL]

You would think that Dish Network would take one of the remote address values for the TV1 remote and make it so that value actually controls TV2 instead -- that would be an easy software fix that would make us all happy!

 

[TheKrell]

Agreed! There should be a free software fix for this problem. But the mere existence of the UHF-to-IR TV2 converter (in development but not yet released) implies that our receivers have a hardware limitation, namely that TV2 can only be controlled via UHF. Strains credulity I know. But why else would Dish bother engineering this hardware workaround, if a trivial firmware update would fix the issue for everybody?

 

[STL]

I seriously doubt there is any hardware limitation. Maybe Dish is going the converter route so they can charge $$ for it and make a few dollars. And doesn't this converter need to be a IR-to-UHF converter (for TV2)? I keep hearing it called a UHF-to-IR converter which makes me wonder if it's really what we want/need.

 

[STL]

Okay I found this old product from dish:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/technology/remote/IR-to-UHFProUpgradeKit132327.pdf

They call it a IR-to-UHF upgrade, but it really take UHF signals (from a Dish remote) and converts them to IR. So I am willing to bet this "new product" they are supposedly working on is just an updated version of this module that will work with the 622/722. If so, then it is NOT what we are looking for.

Does anyone have an email address of knowledgeable person in Dish's technical support? If so PM it to me.

 

[TheKrell]

Actually the new product is exactly what we're looking for. See photo from the Team Summit last year.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=24723&d=1210909907 Now why in heck can't I inline that photo?

Agree that this might just be another money-making scheme by Dish. Incredibly lame way of making money if all that is really needed is a firmware update.

 

[old corps]

Okay I found this old product from dish:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/technology/remote/IR-to-UHFProUpgradeKit132327.pdf

They call it a IR-to-UHF upgrade, but it really take UHF signals (from a Dish remote) and converts them to IR. So I am willing to bet this "new product" they are supposedly working on is just an updated version of this module that will work with the 622/722. If so, then it is NOT what we are looking for.

Does anyone have an email address of knowledgeable person in Dish's technical support? If so PM it to me.

I have and still use one of those kits to control TV2 from a bedroom as well as having the 21.0 remote to control TV1 & an Olevia TV from another room. Both work fine with my 722. The "kit' was used with my 622 previously. Yes, it comes with its' own remote--8.1 IR to UHF. A repeater is mounted in front of the IR "eye" on the receiver, thus UHF to IR. Hope this helps.

Ed

 

[chainblu]

That converter box is for people with TV-2 that's too far from the receiver for reliable UHF remote operation.

All the firmware upgrades in the world won't make an IR remote work through walls.

 

[wmcneil]

From the video and discussion here, it sounds like the 722K might support IR control of TV2 in dual mode:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/2009-consumer-electronics-show/161324-video-722k-explained.html

On the other hand, if the receivers are never going to support IR control of TV2 natively, then the TV2 to IR Converter could be the solution for that going forward. I guess it is also possible that the 722K and newer receivers will support it natively, and the TV2 to IR Converter is targeted for all the existing receivers.

Speaking of TV2 to IR Converter, Dish first announced it at last years Team Summit in May, then said it would be out late last year, and now just last Monday said it would be a "few months". This makes one wonder if it is ever going to happen?

 

[chainblu]

That's typical Dish Network. They say something is coming, but it takes a while to make it out.

They kept teasing installers about the DPP33 switch for about 2 years. There was some discussion if it would EVER come out. Then when it finally did, they said we couldn't use it. (at first)

 

[STL]

Actually the new product is exactly what we're looking for. See photo from the Team Summit last year.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=24723&d=1210909907 Now why in heck can't I inline that photo?

Agree that this might just be another money-making scheme by Dish. Incredibly lame way of making money if all that is really needed is a firmware update.

Okay, I see the new product is indeed an IR-to-UHF converter. It is also setup distribute the IR signal on existing coax in the house -- which I don't really need.

If a 722 is in single mode, can you not control both TV1 and TV2 via one IR remote? If so, then the hardware and software are capable of controlling TV2 via IR. Even if that is not the case, you cannot tell me that TV2 code and TV1 code are so separated that one cannot "talk" to the other. All one needs to do is make it so the code looks for IR commands with remote address 16 (currently for TV1) and instead passes those commands to TV2 instead of TV1.

 

[STL]

All the firmware upgrades in the world won't make an IR remote work through walls.

And NO ONE is asking for that.

 

[Pepper]

What we are asking for, is for the front panel IR receiver to accept signals from two remotes with two different addresses, one of which happens to be the same as the address of the TV2 remote.

No reason in the world this would require any extra hardware.

 

[TheKrell]

No reason in the world this would require any extra hardware.

Agree this adapter shouldn't be needed, yet it is. If the receiver hardware is somehow crippled such that it can't accept IR control of TV2, then it was designed in a rather perverse way with rather odd designed goals, or perhaps instead was designed by an imbecile. If the hardware can do it and a firmware update is all that is needed, then the programmers are imbeciles, or at least controlled by imbeciles. One way or the other, the reason exists to require this extra hardware, I am sorry to say.

 

[STL]

One way or the other, the reason exists to require this extra hardware, I am sorry to say.

I disagree. The IR-to-UHF hardware DISH is creating appears to be for people whose TV2 is too far away for the UHF remote to work. The fact it is setup to convert the IR to UHF and carry it on coax (the same line carrying the TV2 signal) back to the rec'r makes that fairly clear.

What we want is for DISH to allow the IR eye in the 722 to respond to some IR signals and control TV2. What we want would not help most people whose TV2 is too far from the 722 for the UHF remote to work -- so hence the new hardware. That said, what we want would be a somewhat trivial code change -- so maybe if we could ever explain this difference to the right person at DISH then maybe we could get some action.

 

[TheKrell]

I disagree. The IR-to-UHF hardware DISH is creating appears to be for people whose TV2 is too far away for the UHF remote to work. The fact it is setup to convert the IR to UHF and carry it on coax (the same line carrying the TV2 signal) back to the rec'r makes that fairly clear.

Huh? I thought you got these two devices straight! The UHF-to-IR converter exists and is used to control IR devices via a Dish UHF/Pro remote from a remote location. These are handy if you don't have line-of-sight between your IR remote and your receiver. In this case, you stop using your IR remote entirely, and instead use the supplied Dish UHF/Pro remote, with your converter (back to IR) at your receiver.

The IR-to-UHF hardware, on the other hand, is not yet available and is designed to allow non-Dish universal remotes, Slingboxes, Havas, and in general those with IR outputs, to control TV2. You can already go over a hundred feet with the UHF/Pro. If that's not enough or there's something attenuating the signal, you simply diplex the remote's antenna lead on the receiver through a coax to some faraway place and stick the little UHF antenna at the far end (with the remote). There is no need for an IR-to-UHF TV2 adapter (if all you need is a bit more range), since the TV2 input is already UHF, and the UHF/Pro remote can already travel a long distance.

 

[KAB]

Does anybody with a 722 notice any delay or lag from the TV2 (uhf) remote?

No.