Logitech Harmony and Virgin TivO

laurence@key2.co · 02-21-2011, 09:32 AM

Tivo arrived last week. I sat down to program the Harmony (one). Not surprisingly, it's not on the database yet. I spent a while trying to set it up before losing patience. I'm about to have another go, but before I do, wonder if anyone else has set it up yet - and if so, do you have any tips?
I need to set up three Harmony ones (I use them in different rooms with IR senders). Does that mean that I'll have to learn all the IR codes three times? Last time I set it up, I remember that I had to learn commands that weren't in the database for each account (remote) separately.
Not sure how long it takes for Logitech to put user entered codes on their database, does anyone else?

cwaring · 02-21-2011, 09:37 AM

Well firstly, the US Tivo is in the Harmoney DB and, as the UK one uses the same IR codes (I assume!) then it should be useable to control it.

Secondly, if not, try this first to find a suitable code-set:
http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/...ail/a_id/11097

jonphil · 02-21-2011, 10:16 AM

I finished up setting it as a Tivo premiere and it asked me to confirm a few keys. It gets most keys correct but then you will need to manually program missing keys.
Anyone know how Logitech get to know about new devices to add them to the database correctly?

laurence@key2.co · 02-21-2011, 10:16 AM

Thought I'd read somewhere it was different.
Closest Logitech could find was some satellite box (can't remember what make). Have just edited the codes from that one, will go and have a play and see if it works.
If that is too different, will try a US tivo code and see how I get on with that.
Thanks Carl!

jonphil · 02-21-2011, 10:16 AM

I finished up setting it as a Tivo premiere and it asked me to confirm a few keys. It gets most keys correct but then you will need to manually program missing keys.
Anyone know how Logitech get to know about new devices to add them to the database correctly?

passingbat · 02-21-2011, 10:39 AM

This post on the av forums says it's on the harmony database as V+ box 2

http://www.avforums.com/forums/14089767-post675.html

laurence@key2.co · 02-21-2011, 10:54 AM

Thanks jonphil too - posts crossed so I didn't see yours.
Have painstakingly put all the additional buttons in and it seems to work pretty well.
Irritatingly, having set it up as a device, the Harmony software wouldn't recognise that it was capable of changing channels, so I couldn't set up an activity based on it. Instead, I added it as a device to my original watch TiVo activity and then replaced all the tivo commands with virgin tivo commands.
Hopefully, it'll still work when I remove the old tivo from the device list!

laurence@key2.co · 02-21-2011, 11:03 AM

Was all working perfectly - until I deleted the old tivo from my device list!
Now it's disabled the watch tivo activity. Typical.
I have a love hate relationship with the Harmony remotes. At the moment I hate it.

LampyDave · 02-21-2011, 02:34 PM

I've been through the process with 2 of my 3 Harmonys so far - and while it is a bit dull it really didn't take all that long. Perhaps half an hour for each one once I'd figured how to get past all the 'We think it's a <such and such> device?' and could just learn the commands.
I did start going down the V+ box 2 route - but then couldn't face trying every command to see what was working before going back in to learn those that didn't. Once you're through to the manual learning screen it's pretty quick.

Plus another 15 minutes or so going through the activities, and re-setting the customised buttons for each activity.

I did have a hunt but couldn't find any local cache on my computer of the settings on each of the 3 Logitech accounts. How nice it would be to lift the settings from 1 remote and drop them into other accounts. Ho hum.

The alternative - using more than one remote again until Logitech catch up - was too horrific to contemplate!

Tony Hoyle · 02-21-2011, 02:47 PM

I just selected V+ and re-learned the missing keys. I still haven't got it right yet but it always takes a few iterations to get a harmony how you like it.

To work around the 'can't change channels' bug if you go through the device configuration wizard again hitting next each time it clears it.

childe · 02-21-2011, 03:18 PM

I set mine up as a Tivo Scenium and simply reprogrammed the buttons manually, then replaced my old V+ with the new Tivo Scenium - did not take too long, maybe 40 mins. I did it this so that I would have the icons for Thumbs and colour buttons.

The only problem now is the slowness of the signals. I have set inter device delay to 0ms and the signal length to zero, but it is still much slower than the Peanut.

I have also now programmed the Peanut to control my AV receiver, so I may just start using it that way, as I do love the Peanut, and always have. If only it could also control the TV on off it would be near perfect.

Tony Hoyle · 02-21-2011, 04:15 PM

Pressing Power for >2 seconds powers the TV on/off

Pine Cladding · 02-22-2011, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LampyDave

The alternative - using more than one remote again until Logitech catch up - was too horrific to contemplate!

Well I've assigned my Harmony to number 2 son as he is the one who uses it most swapping between inputs to the tv/av and I get to keep the peanut

quite happy to wait a while for Logitech to wake up. Do they have a handset code request system?

laurence@key2.co · 02-22-2011, 03:19 AM

Now have 2/3 set up as I want them.
Most of the codes were on there when I did the last one, so maybe the logitech site has done some learning. Presumably it incorporates ir codes from users in some way, I wonder how though.
There seems to be a bug in the software; if I set up a new activity, it works fine, but editing an old activity doesn't. Just annoying to have to start from scratch when you've got a few devices in an activity as I have.
Selecting VirginMedia or Cisco as manufacturer doesn't let you see the thumbs or colour icons, so I selected TiVo, then entered Cisco CT8685 as the model. It did find all but about 5 of the IR codes last time (pause was wrong and a couple were missing).

Pine Cladding · 02-22-2011, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurence@key2.co

so I selected TiVo, then entered Cisco CT8685 as the model. It did find all but about 5 of the IR codes last time (pause was wrong and a couple were missing).

Ah, I tried VM then CT8685 - It found nowt

digiflip · 02-22-2011, 10:57 AM

Ive added virgin tivo has Cisco CT8685 and just did learning all the buttons for the harmony. Maybe it will populate the database for cisco ct8685.

laurence@key2.co · 02-22-2011, 11:13 AM

Just spent best part of an hour on the phone to Logitech.
After getting one of the remotes set up perfectly, I couldn't persuade it to recognise the TiVo as a PVR on one of the others, so it wouldn't let me set up an activity (no device that will change channel). Logitech couldn't work out why and they can't copy the device across (they seem to be able to do only as much as we can).
Upshot is that I had to add device selecting the option that I don't have original remote. Then it searches by name, I selected a tivo (160, I think), then learned all the remotes. That lets you set up Watch TV (tivo option), so you get the thumbs and button colours appearing.
First chap I spoke to said that they would get IR codes for database from manufacturer direct, the second chap said that it's based on customer entries and that it's added once sufficient customers have entered it (sounds more likely to me).

NeilCoburn · 02-22-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurence@key2.co

Logitech couldn't work out why and they can't copy the device across (they seem to be able to do only as much as we can)

Was the second guy you spoke to a level 2 support person (they are in Canada)? The level one people only can do as much as we can, but the level 2 guys can do pretty much anything, and in the past I've had them 'clone' accounts so that I can then set up 2 different variations starting from the same place

digiflip · 02-22-2011, 11:25 AM

i've added my thumbs up and down to page up and down buttons on my harmony remote

laurence@key2.co · 02-22-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilCoburn

Was the second guy you spoke to a level 2 support person (they are in Canada)? The level one people only can do as much as we can, but the level 2 guys can do pretty much anything, and in the past I've had them 'clone' accounts so that I can then set up 2 different variations starting from the same place

Yes, second guy was level 2. He did offer to clone my accounts, but that would have meant adding all my other devices in the other two rooms again - and that would have been more of a pain. He said they don't have a way of copying a single device.

laurence@key2.co · 02-22-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiflip

i've added my thumbs up and down to page up and down buttons on my harmony remote

I've done the same - can't believe I didn't think of that with the old tivo!

Tony Hoyle · 02-22-2011, 01:35 PM

Ooh.. good idea!

cwaring · 02-22-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiflip

i've added my thumbs up and down to page up and down buttons on my harmony remote

So how to you page up/down through, say, the TV Guide now?

I'd put my thumbs on the extra programmable buttons

Tony Hoyle · 02-22-2011, 02:08 PM

Channel up/down already perform that function. I don't think the tivo actually has a 'page up' as such.

digiflip · 02-23-2011, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwaring

So how to you page up/down through, say, the TV Guide now?

I'd put my thumbs on the extra programmable buttons

lol on virgin you have to use red green blue buttons for paging anyways

cwaring · 02-23-2011, 02:08 PM

^ A god point, but that's the V+; this is Tivo

°Keir° · 02-25-2011, 04:55 PM

So what's the best option to pick from the menu in the Harmony software?

I'm trying to get ready for my install next Saturday.

scgf · 02-26-2011, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by °Keir°

So what's the best option to pick from the menu in the Harmony software?

I'm trying to get ready for my install next Saturday.

My Harmony was already set up with the Virgin Media V+ box. This also operates the TiVo, so all I did was got it to learn a few extra commands like Thumbs Up and Down and allocated these to the page up and down buttons on the Harmony.

°Keir° · 02-26-2011, 04:22 PM

Cool I'll give that a go

cwaring · 02-26-2011, 05:52 PM

I deleted my V+ device when I got the Tivo

Although, to be honest, since I found out that my peanut can control my TV as well I haven't actually used my Harmony