[MMMCOOKIES55]

Hey guys,

Closing on our home in 54 days woot! We are going to have every component in the home in a closet adjacent to our master bedroom (first floor master). Our living room is directly across from the closet. My question is, what do I need to buy to have one remote to control everything in that closet without losing signal? Pics for reference:

Pic from the edge of the living room looking at the closet where the components will be hidden (Two cable boxes, blueray, apple tv). The tv will be above the fireplace.



Here is another angle so you can see how far/close the tv and closet will be to each other (The "Doorway" to the left is where the closet is).

[KingOfJericho]

Logitech Harmony Ultimate.

I feel obligated to say that above the fireplace is much too high for a TV. It should be at eye level when viewing.

[MMMCOOKIES55]

i agree completely with you but it wont be used that much and I don't want an entertainment center on the side as that would throw the whole room off. We have a theater room in the upstairs for watching the good stuff.

I saw the Harmony thing. How exactly does that work? on their website it doesn't explain it very well.

[KingOfJericho]

I'm honestly not exactly sure how it does what it does but it controls all of my equipment and it's all in a closed cabinet.

[kscarrol]

Have the Harmony remote for my system, great remote. Programming is easy, done on the Logitech website. You plug in the remote and then enter all your TV/stereo/AV equipment by model # and it loads all the proper codes for you. You can also tell it to do things like "Watch TV" and what needs to come on to watch TV. After that it is one button to turn everything on or off...

[Devious21]

Originally Posted by MMMCOOKIES335...

i agree completely with you but it wont be used that much and I don't want an entertainment center on the side as that would throw the whole room off. We have a theater room in the upstairs for watching the good stuff.

I saw the Harmony thing. How exactly does that work? on their website it doesn't explain it very well.

The remote talks to the included hub over RF(which can penetrate closed doors). The hub sits in your cabinet and broadcasts the IR signals to your devices. That's what allows you to send the signal to devices while the door is closed.

Does that answer your question?

[MadDog]

Who still has a fireplace? They're banned here in the Bay Area.

[bbbbmw]

I have AT&T Uverse. The box in in a built-in cabinet, with the TV over the fireplace. I didn't want to leave the Cabinet doors open, so I looked for IR (I think) offerings. The guy who mounted the TV offered me an IR receiver that sits on top of the TV (fairly inconspicuous). Turns out AT&T has a USB that plugs into the front of the Uverse box, that doesn't need line-of-sight. That was the easiest fix for me - not sure if it applies to your setup, though.

BTW - nice crib!!!

[khaye1]

+1 on the Harmony ultimate...the harmony series in general are very user friendly as long as you know your model numbers of your components. But if your system is in a closet, you might have to buy a remote extender.

[MMMCOOKIES55]

Originally Posted by Devious21

The remote talks to the included hub over RF(which can penetrate closed doors). The hub sits in your cabinet and broadcasts the IR signals to your devices. That's what allows you to send the signal to devices while the door is closed.

Does that answer your question?

It does, thank you much! Thanks everyone, I think I'll purchase the harmony and see what happens.

[Sam335ix]

I have 3 mx880s for all 3 levels of my home and I have been very happy.

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Logitech Harmony Ultimate.

I feel obligated to say that above the fireplace is much too high for a TV. It should be at eye level when viewing.

+1! on the Harmony Ultimate. Easy to set up, easy for everybody in your family to use. Those little IR blasters are great so you can keep everything behind doors and it all still works.

My only problem is that I have 2 Samsung TV's in an open floor plan. Sometimes it turns both TVs on instead of just the one I want. Not a big deal and I'll just swap one with another brand from upstairs when I am not so lazy.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Logitech Harmony Ultimate.

I feel obligated to say that above the fireplace is much too high for a TV. It should be at eye level when viewing.

thiiiiiiiiis

[will.c]

Originally Posted by MadDog

Who still has a fireplace? They're banned here in the Bay Area.

you guys do it big for sure.

[MMMCOOKIES55]

Originally Posted by wrickem

+1! on the Harmony Ultimate. Easy to set up, easy for everybody in your family to use. Those little IR blasters are great so you can keep everything behind doors and it all still works.

My only problem is that I have 2 Samsung TV's in an open floor plan. Sometimes it turns both TVs on instead of just the one I want. Not a big deal and I'll just swap one with another brand from upstairs when I am not so lazy.

What does the HUB plug into? (forgive me, totally illiterate when it comes to this stuff). I understand how it works but don't understand how it all gets connected.

[kscarrol]

Ultimately you will need to transmit your remote's IR signal to the various components of your AV system. In most cases that mean a hard wire to carry your signal. I have a receiver built into my wall by the TV (looks like a light switch plate with three small holes in it) and it is connected to my AV equipment in the next room by wire. Each component has a small repeater attached to where the device receives signals and that's how it gets transmitted.

I am sure you can get this done wireless as well but my is hard wired...

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by MMMCOOKIES335...

What does the HUB plug into? (forgive me, totally illiterate when it comes to this stuff). I understand how it works but don't understand how it all gets connected.

It comes with 3 small IR " blasters". One sits discreetly out anywhere( it's small and sleek) and it feeds wires that you can place in your cabinet/closet with your other components. The one sitting out picks up the signal and feeds it to the hidden ones.

What I like about the Harmony is that you set up "activities" on your computer which sets all the inputs to the right settings for that activity and turns on all the needed components. Anybody in my house can watch a DVD with surround with one touch without my help.

[TunedM2C]

Originally Posted by Sam335ix

I have 3 mx880s for all 3 levels of my home and I have been very happy.

MX900 here and I've been pretty happy with it.