Keeping your remote control’s firmware up to date is an important part of home theater maintenance. You’ll find that with the latest software, your remote behaves better, and often will even have a longer battery life than with older software.ProntoEdit (and RCEdit, Marantz’s branded version of the same program) makes this update easy via an automated update (and download) process.

Start up the editor, select Tools → Update Firmware, and then choose your remote’s model. You’ll get a progress screen, and then you can click to start the update (shown in Figure 10-3). You also can choose whether you want to keep your old configuration file (you generally will).

Figure 10-3.  Updating remote control firmware

Naturally, ProntoPro isn’t as graphically capable as your desktop PC. This is a given with the obviously limited black-and-white Pronto, but might need clarification on the color ProntoPro: the word color doesn’t actually imply a PC-quality interface. First, most computer desktops are set to run in 64,000 or 16.7 million colors, which results in photorealistic images. The ProntoPro can display 256 colors—a far cry from millions, or even tens of thousands, of colors. Two hundred and fifty six colors might still sound like a lot, until you work out exactly how many shades of red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, black, etc., are possible.

Thus, when designing, it’s always a good idea to first test out how your graphics will look when converted to a limited color set. The color bars in Figure 10-4 demonstrate this issue. On the left side of each bar is a 24-bit, 16.7-million-color gradation, as your computer would normally display, and on the right side of each bar is an 8-bit, 256-color image as the ProntoPro would display. You can see how much rougher the bars are on the right. What this amounts to is a limitation to how much fine detail the remote can reproduce faithfully. For instance, green might not be the best color choice if your design involves a lot of small, detailed buttons because the end result would be fairly crude. Finally, never start off working in 8-bit color; for best results always use 24-bit color and convert down to 8-bit later.

Figure 10-4. Comparing 24-bit color to 8-bit color

Another consideration in color choice involves what ProntoPro’s screen can actually show. The “passive matrix” LCD in most color remotes doesn’t reproduce colors exactly like your computer. What looks great in ProntoProEdit might not look quite as good on the actual remote. Remember that colors on the remote will be more washed out. Dark colors will tend to fade out to black, while very light colors will disappear into white. For best results, always use strongly contrasting colors to differentiate your buttons from the background and the text labels from your buttons. Avoid using similarly toned colors; for instance, don’t place medium-red buttons on a medium-blue background.

Simply put, antialiasing is a method of smoothing out the edges of images, eliminating what are commonly referred to as jaggies. This is a technique similar to Windows’ built-in font smoothing, which makes screen fonts easier to read. For example, instead of creating a black object solely out of black, the edges of the object are filled in with different shades of gray (see Figure 10-5). So, a small circle appears as a smooth, even curve rather than a jagged stack of Lego bricks.

Figure 10-5. Blue dot without and with antialiasing

You can use this professional technique for a lot more than just sharply contrasting objects. For instance, look at the two examples in Figure 10-6. The one on the left was created without antialiasing, while the one on the right was created with antialiasing. You’ll notice that the right-side graphic appears to have greater detail and is more pleasant to look at. Thus, when importing or creating graphics for your remote, always ensure that the “antialiasing” or “smoothing” option is enabled. This will give your remote’s user interface a truly refined look.

Figure 10-6. Adding antialiasing to a button graphic

If such an option isn’t available, you might be able to emulate this function by resizing a larger image to a smaller one; keep reading for more on this approach.

Although this might seem like a strange idea, it’s always better to start off with an image larger than you need. To be specific, if you start off with an image at least four times bigger than the finished piece will be, the end result will be that much better.

Over the years, I’ve found that creating graphics at a ratio of 1:1 (actual size)—although resulting in decent-quality images—just isn’t quite as good as starting off larger and then resizing to a smaller size afterward. I imported all the images in my ProntoPro layout from vector artwork four or eight times as large as I wanted them, then shrunk them down to the proper dimensions. This allows the software’s resizing algorithms, which generally are better than the import or creation algorithms, to refine larger amounts of detail and come up with the best-looking image.

Compare the two examples in Figure 10-7 closely. The one on the left was originally imported at 250 pixels wide with antialiasing enabled, while the one on the right was created at 1,000 pixels wide, then resampled down to 250 pixels with antialiasing. Look closely at the television, the text, and the vertical lines immediately below the text.

Figure 10-7.  Converting larger images to smaller ones

Even if you’re not starting off with a vector-based file and instead are working solely in a bitmap-editing program, you still can obtain better results, especially from special-effects filters, if you work on a larger file.

As already mentioned, ProntoPro is capable of displaying 256 colors (8-bit). However, those colors can’t be any 256 of your choosing; you must work with the remote’s preset palette. Although specifications claim that the remote uses a 215-color “web-safe” palette, this isn’t completely accurate. The first 215 colors of ProntoPro’s palette are indeed made up of 215 “web-safe” colors; however, an additional 41 colors are specified—mostly pinks, blues, and grays. So, because this doesn’t match up with any default palette, this presents a tricky issue: exactly how can you take advantage of these “hidden” colors?

If you merely convert an image to the 215-color “web-safe” palette, you’ll be losing out on a lot of color—particularly gray shades. Some users have found that the default “Windows system” palette that many programs include uses the “web-safe” palette and adds an additional number of gray shades; however this still doesn’t make use of everything that your remote is capable of. To find out what colors are valid, load up the default configuration in ProntoEdit and start the ProntoProEmulator. Take a screen capture by pressing Print Screen, then start up your favorite bitmap-editing program and load the capture. Most programs will allow you to take the color palette stored in that file and save it to disk for use later in converting 24-bit “true-color” images.

Take a look at the three examples in Figure 10-8. The one on the left was converted to the “web-safe” palette. The graphic in the center uses the “system” palette, while the one on the right uses the true "ProntoPro” palette. The enlarged sections show the difference that some additional gray shades can make. One of the reasons my layout uses a lot of blues and grays is because that’s what ProntoPro’s color palette leans toward. Note that most of these additional colors aren’t mentioned anywhere in ProntoProEdit, and can be discovered only by the method outlined earlier.

Figure 10-8.  Using the hidden colors in ProntoPro

Something that goes hand in hand with using the right color palette is a technique called dithering. Dithering is a method of alternating a limited number of colors to emulate an even greater number. Remember those strong, stepped colors in Figure 10-4? You can “smooth these out,” as it were, by using dithering. Although quite a few automated dithering techniques have been created over the years, I can only suggest using one of the randomized versions (often called error diffusion) to convert your image from 24 to 8 bits.

Observe the differences between the examples in Figure 10-9. Both images use the ProntoPro color palette and antialiasing. The image on the left uses no dithering, while the image on the right employs diffused dithering. You might think the differences are negligible, but it’s these small touches that take “good” to “professional.”

The green bar in Figure 10-10 demonstrates the difference between 24-bit true color (left bar), ProntoPro normal (middle bar), and ProntoPro dithered (right bar). Although ProntoEdit can do some image conversion, it does a poor job of color selection and dithering. You always are better off doing this beforehand, even for the black-and-white Pronto remotes.

Figure 10-9. Comparing a nondithered to a dithered image

Figure 10-10. Various color variations, with and without dithering

Even if you employ all of these techniques, there’s often still a need for manual editing. Some dithered pixels might be in places you don’t want them to be; a small bit of text might not be quite readable; you might find that part of an image looks good with dithering while the rest doesn’t. A little bit of hand editing can go a long way toward a perfect layout. Figure 10-11 shows two examples. One uses all the suggestions made earlier, while the other uses none. Quite a difference!

Figure 10-11.  Nontweaked and tweaked images

—Daniel Tonks, Remote Central

The most accepted method of teaching another remote an infrared code is by holding down the original button until the programmable remote finishes capturing the code. In fact, this is how the process usually is described in manuals. Continually sending a signal allows the remote to sense its auto-repeating portion and store it once, properly.

Even when following directions, often one or two buttons from a particular remote will simply refuse to learn. It’s even been reported that codes for entire brands can experience problems. In these cases, it’s worthwhile to try pressing the button just once, briefly. You might want to experiment by pressing for different lengths of time, but generally a good solid push is all that’s required.

The reason this “single-push” technique is not normally recommended is because learning remotes are generally unable to sense repeating codes when buttons aren’t held down (repeating codes are needed for commands such as Volume Up and Fast Forward to work properly). Plus, the remote might store the signal one and a half or even two times, wasting valuable memory. But when you simply must learn a particular button, this technique can be helpful.

The sensitivity of your learning remote’s eye (the IR sensor) can play a large part in determining how far apart your remotes should be from each other when learning commands. Though most manuals recommend 4 to 6 inches, certain original remotes can send a particularly strong signal that can overwhelm the target remote’s circuitry. By placing the remotes further apart, often more than 1 foot, you provide a weaker, easier signal to learn. Conversely, remotes with faint IR beams might need to be placed as little as 1 or 2 inches away. Finally, you can try placing the remotes at a 45° angle if you continue to have problems.

Yes, your original remote might appear to still work...but if you’re having trouble learning from it, its signal strength might be too weak or erratic to be picked up properly. Simply installing brand-new batteries can solve your difficulties. If you use NiCads, you might find you need to recharge them more frequently than you would have to replace alkalines because NiCads tend to lose their charge at a fairly fast rate, even when sitting idle.

Weak batteries also generate poor-quality signals with fluctuating code structuring and frequency. The original remote might still work with your devices, but these unreliable signals can cause serious issues when captured and then reproduced.

Attempting to learn codes in a dark or near-dark room can help with some difficult remotes or buttons. In particular, some fluorescent light fixtures emit a fair amount of IR interference at 50 or 60 Hz that can confuse your learning remote. Incandescent bulbs and plasma televisions also can throw off great quantities of infrared light that can overwhelm sensitive learning remotes.

If you own a Philips Pronto, Home Theater Master MX-700, or other computer-programmable remote control, you have the option to program your remote through a personal computer. Although this is usually the best option, you might find certain codes that the software reports as properly learned don’t, in fact, work during testing. The software might even filter or process codes in a way dissimilar to the hardware, causing certain protocols to fail completely.

Something that you might want to try in situations such as these (particularly with the Pronto) is to use the learning function of only the hardware. Unplug the remote from your PC, and learn everything through the built-in menus. In many cases, codes that don’t work through the software are captured perfectly. Alternatively, if you are having a similar problem with one of these remotes but aren’t using the PC software, you might want to try it.

If your remote’s computer software has a Test button to transmit an infrared signal through a connected remote, don’t rely on this to test learned signals. Instead, to test codes, download your complete configuration to the remote and use the buttons on the remote, not your software simulator.

Can’t figure out why not even one command will learn? Something that has stumped more than a few users is that the learning eye on certain popular remote controls is not at the front of the unit, but is instead on the bottom.

Two-way IR equipment is gear that sends infrared signals back to the remote when activated. This is common in components that have higher-end displays and want to indicate state to the remote. If you use two-way IR equipment, such as many high-end receivers or DVD jukeboxes, you might find that infrared signals sent from the device back to the remote can interfere when attempting to learn codes. To provide a clean IR environment, you instead should learn codes in another room, out of sight of the original equipment.

Sometimes, learning signals on a glossy or reflective table surface can produce IR reflections that confuse the learning remote. Instead, try learning codes on a matte or soft surface, or try placing the remote you are learning to slightly off the table’s edge, and then hand-holding the remote you are learning from.

In the rare case that none of the previous tips works, you might want to try another, more complicated, method. When placing both remotes head-to-head, place a book or magazine in between them. Make sure the book is of sufficient size to block the infrared signal completely. Then, start pressing the button you want to learn on the original remote and continue to hold it down. Set the target remote to learn mode and, while continuing to press, remove the magazine. This blocks off the initial burst of code and, in situations where that burst confuses the learning remote, can sometimes allow a remote to pick up the remaining important parts.

This method also is handy when trying to learn a particular segment of code from a “hardcoded macro” button. For instance, many Sony receivers have input source selection buttons that perform various steps besides changing the receiver’s inputs; they also can turn on the TV and change its video input. The problem with this is that the code becomes too long to be learned, and so the whole thing is rejected. The idea is to remove the magazine and put it back so that only the short portion of code you desire is seen by the learning remote. This might take many tries before you can claim success, but it could be worth it. This also works with some “system on” and “system off” buttons, and can work with other mysteriously long infrared sequences.

Is nothing working? Then you might want to try "fluttering” the code. To do this, set your learning remote ready to capture, and then quickly and repeatedly press the source button as many times as you can in one second, effectively sending brief “bursts” of the command to the remote. You might want to experiment with exactly how quickly you flutter the button.

Here’s one final method you can try: set your learning remote ready to capture, but this time start with the source remote a distance away—perhaps 6 to 8 feet. Start pressing the source button and then, while continuing to hold down the button, quickly move the original remote closer to your learning remote. Although this is effectively similar to the duck blind technique (see the section “Duck Blind”), it has helped in rare situations. You might want to try combining this with the flutter effect (see the section “The Flutter Effect”).

Another explanation as to why your remote won’t learn a particular code could be that its memory is full. Some remotes have the capability to store only a few codes—15 or 20—though most should be able to hold many more. Low-memory remotes include the Marantz RC2000, Sony RM-AV2000, almost anything from One For All or RadioShack, and many “learning” remotes that ship with televisions or receivers.

To save space, try to use preprogrammed codes first, and use the learning function only to fill in holes for other unsupported devices. Plus, remember to use the “Hold” method detailed in the section “Press or Hold?” because quite a bit of space can be wasted if you unnecessarily use the “Press” method. If all else fails, try resetting the remote and starting over from scratch, being careful not to make too many mistakes that can fragment memory on older, less advanced models, and reduce their overall capacity.

—Daniel Tonks, Remote Central

Folks with an older Sony receiver who have just purchased a brand-new learning remote might ask, “Why won’t my new universal remote learn any codes from my receiver?”

The very first thing you should check is your receiver. See if the word VisionTouch is printed on the faceplate, if the model number ends with G, or if it came with the Air-Egg remote. If any of these items is true, chances are you are the proud owner of one of Sony’s infamous VisionTouch (also known as CAV) controlled systems. The short answer to your problem is that almost no learning remote can work with a VisionTouch receiver (nice surprise, huh?).

A longer explanation is that the VisionTouch system uses a 455-kHz carrier frequency which uses a completely unique IR protocol that is unlearnable by almost every universal remote to date, including the Philips Pronto and Sony’s own models. In fact, you can’t use “normal” Sony remotes or IR codes to control the receiver; even the Sony RM-AV3000 won’t work.

Affected models include the STR-DA90ESG, STR-DE805G, STR-DE815G, STR-DE905G, STR-DE1015G, STR-D760Z, STR-G1ES, STR-G3, STR-GA9ESG, TA-VE800G, and TA-VE810.

If you own one of these models, your options are:

Several brands of equipment feature IR systems that operate at frequencies much higher than normal. Though the overwhelming majority of IR remotes operate in the 30– to 40-kHz range, several brands and components don’t. Equipment from Bang & Olufsen, some Kenwood equipment, and some lighting control systems use a 455-kHz frequency. More unusual and difficult to work with are the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite components built around 1997 that use a 1.125-MHz carrier frequency.

The only remote that can begin to cover all those frequencies is the Marantz RC2000 MkII, featuring IR coverage up to 1.125 MHz (the original RC2000 will not work). Pioneer owners also can use regular 40-Hz codes from older and newer equipment.

The Philips Pronto models [Hack #85] are capable of learning up to only about 56 kHz, although they have the ability to send at much higher frequencies. However, Philips has devised a way in which its remotes can capture certain high-frequency Bang & Olufsen and Kenwood codes through a trick whereby the remote “guesses” what the code should be via information received at a low frequency, and then matches it up to a high-frequency database version. Codes not previously decoded by Philips can’t be learned as well, however.

If you need only 455-kHz coverage for Bang & Olufsen devices, most of Sony’s newer remotes (such as the RM-AV3000, RM-AV2100, RM-VL900, and RM-VL700) are capable of capturing up to 500 kHz.

Having trouble getting your Pace cable box to operate with your snazzy new learning universal remote control? Well, you might have one of Pace’s infamous IRDA boxes. For its 1000 and 2000 series digital cable boxes, Pace designed a remote control using a protocol not actually designed for remote control use. The IRDA variant it used was intended for high-speed data transfer over short distances (such as from a laptop to a printer) instead of using the slow-speed/long-distance standard for remote controls. The IRDA standard specifically includes a format for remote controls; Pace just decided to ignore it.

Trying to learn such codes is much like asking an AM radio to receive FM signals—it simply isn’t possible. At this time, the only remote controls that can offer even partial functionality are certain models from One For All, and even then you’ll most likely have to ship the remote to the factory for these codes to be added. Apparently, TiVo also is releasing a converter for control of these devices. More recent—and older—Pace models aren’t affected by this problematic protocol.

A somewhat common problem is when a device (such as a cable box) will accept a learned code once, but not twice in a row. For instance, you can enter the channel 12, but not 33. This is not the fault of your new remote, but rather, a very-hard-to-work-with design employed by your equipment.

In these situations, your original remote tacks on a parity bit to the end of each code. So, the first time it sends the code (say, a 3), it follows up that code with a 0. The next time it sends the code (another 3), it ends the code with 1. So, your equipment wants to get the code for 3 followed by a 0, and then the code for 3 followed by a 1, to recognize 33.

The problem is that a learning remote can learn or send the signal only one way: the way it learned it. That will be either 3 with the 0 at the end, or 3 with the 1 at the end, never both. Your equipment, unfortunately, will not accept the repeated code unless that code ends with a new parity bit or you send a different code to clear the memory buffer.

The Philips Pronto is the only remote I am aware of that can learn codes with alternating parity bits in the method required for several (but not all) brands of equipment. Using this approach, your button for 3 would send the 3 code followed by another special code to clear the buffer.

But what should that code be? Anything the equipment senses as a real code but doesn’t affect operation. So, if you can find a “do-nothing” code, you’re in business. However, it might be next to impossible to find such a code for many devices. So, even with the Pronto, you’ve got a problem that might not have a solution.

For anyone attempting to consolidate all their remotes into a single unit, satellite systems can pose a potentially major problem: radio frequency (or RF) through-the-wall controls. As satellite receivers are the only mainstream audio/visual devices manufactured today using this technology, IR universal remotes don’t include RF support.

Satellite receivers come with either an RF-only remote, or an RF and IR remote. In the former case, you should contact your manufacturer to determine if your model still has IR capability (most do today), in which case you can purchase a new remote or capture the codes from another preprogrammed model. For the latter, you might have to make a choice between RF and IR; most receivers can’t operate with both activated at the same time. You can find this adjustment in the receiver’s setup screens and you probably will have to toggle it to IR before the remote will transmit IR signals.

All other RF equipment, such as most Bose systems, can’t be controlled by any universal remote currently in existence. Don’t be confused by remotes advertising RF capability; this is not for the control of RF devices, but rather, for controlling IR components from other rooms. The remote sends an RF signal to a base station in the same room as your equipment, which then rebroadcasts it as infrared. There is no way to consolidate control of an RF-only device into a third-party remote, learning or otherwise.

If you’re currently using a wireless remote to control your X10 home automation system, it’s most likely transmitting via RF signals to a transceiver. The transceiver plugs into the wall and resends commands as actual X10 signals through the house wiring. If you want to use a universal remote to control your system you will need to purchase an IR-to-X10 transceiver, which takes IR signals from your remote and rebroadcasts them directly as X10.

The only such economical device that I’m aware of is the IR543, shown in Figure 10-12. It is a small, black console unit with white buttons on the top for manual control of up to eight devices on a particular house code. Note that the console can control only one house code at a time and that the IR codes remain the same no matter which code it is set to, making it nearly impossible to work with more than one house code at a time.

Figure 10-12.  X10 transceiver

Many inexpensive preprogrammed remotes include compatible X10 codes. Pronto users can download a complete X10 CCF file for control of a full 16 modules. Owners of other learning remotes might want to purchase an inexpensive X10 IR remote direct from their X10 dealer to capture codes. Though more expensive and complicated home automation systems exist— some, such as those by JDS Technologies, also can work via IR remotes— the price of the IR543 can’t be beat.

Remember that X10 is not an RF-based technology. You can control it via a radio frequency remote, just as you can with an infrared one. X10 actually sends commands through the electrical wiring in your house. This means that any X10 transmitter plugs into the wall, including the IR543 IR-to-X10 controller mentioned earlier, as well as RF-to-X10 and manual pushbutton-to-X10 consoles.

European owners of the Philips Pronto NG RU950 remote controls are in a special situation. Because the RF frequencies of the RU950 and X10 RF transceivers are identical, it’s possible to use the built-in RF section of the RU950 to operate those transceivers (thus avoiding the purchase of an IR transceiver). An appropriate PCF file with codes is available on Remote Central (http://www.remotecentral.com). This is absolutely the only exception to the “can’t control RF devices” rule, and it will absolutely not work with the TSU3000 in North America.

—Daniel Tonks, Remote Central