Formuler Remote IR Codes

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1st Official Post

    I have my z7+ working with my Logitech Harmony universal remote. It's working almost flawlessly, however, I was wondering if there were alternate IR commands for PowerOn and PowerOff. Currently, the only command that I have available is the PowerToggle, but anyone that has experience with these remotes knows that dedicated on/off commands give more flexibility with the Harmony activities than a generic toggle. Is there any way that this command already exists, or could it simply be added via a software update?

    • Official Post

    Don`t you get the pop up ( pressing stb button longer.) for Standby/Restart/Shut down?

    I do... But I don't use the OEM remote, because I use a universal remote. With the universal remote I can press a single button to turn on the TV, turn on my sound system, switch the video input, and toggle the power on my STB. I also can remap buttons to different devices... For instance, I find it pointless that the box has its own volume control because I control my sound thru my sound system. So I map the volume and mute buttons to the sound receiver rather than the STB. With this setup I can control every device in my living room with a single remote.

    However, in order for this work properly, devices that manage their own power (e.g. turn off after a period of inactivity, such as the z7+) work best when dedicated PowerOn and PowerOff are available, because when you start the Harmony activity, it can always send On, and when you end a Harmony activity, it can always send Off. Currently, with only PowerToggle available, if I'm in a Harmony activity and the STB powers off due to inactivity, Harmony doesn't know that the box is off, and therefore when I goto end the activity, Harmony will send a PowerToggle command, and all of my devices will turn off, but my STB will turn back on.

    Long story short, if the box accepted dedicated PowerOn and PowerOff commands, in addition to the existing PowerToggle command that the STB button on the remote sends, then Harmony could always send the appropriate command, regardless of whether or not the Harmony activity is out of sync.

    Let me know if all of this makes sense! I'm not asking for new buttons to be added to the remote... I'm just asking if the STB can listen for these IR commands and handle them properly. Currently, out of all the devices connected to my TV, the STB is the only device that doesn't have dedicated on/off handling.

    I personally use a Harmony remote as well, and also had the same issues with the activity getting out of sync when the z7+ goes idle. The way that I solved this was just mapping an un-used button on my remote to turn the z7+ on/off. It's not the greatest solution in the world, but it works in a pinch.

    I think that your solution is pretty good, but even if Formuler added support for those 2 new codes, how would you teach the Harmony remote the new codes? You cannot actually input custom codes directly in the Harmony remote software. Yes, you can do IR learning, but you need to be able to actually simulate those IR commands in order to teach them to the remote.

    I do hope you can solve your issues tho. I would have to say that while the Formuler remote is REALLY GOOD, switching to a Harmony remote was the smartest thing that I have done. The fact that the original z7+ remote has it's own volume [lexicon]settings[/lexicon] for the box itself, instead of controlling your TV volume was initially a deal-breaker for me. But the Harmony fixed that for me. Worth every penny!

    There's another guy in this forum on a different thread also talking about his Harmony remote, and he had suggested basically the same thing you are saying. He mentioned mapping the STB power button across all of his activities, and using that to power the device on and off, instead of the activity handling this. This is easy enough for me to learn, however, I frequently have a lot of friends and family coming and going (I have 3 teenagers and all of their friends practically all live at my house!), and they would not intuitively know about this special setup. I'm looking for the most user-friendly solve for this problem... I mean isn't that why we bought Harmony remotes in the first place?!

    Agreed that the Harmony was worth the investment -- I also liked the original z7+ remote, but I prefer to have one remote that controls everything. My Harmony remote not only controls my TV and all of my multimedia devices, but I also have dedicated buttons on it that control the lights in my living room!

    Completely forgot to answer your other question... Regarding how we would have Harmony learn the new codes, Harmony support is more than happy to add new IR commands to device profiles if you can provide documentation from the manufacturer. I've actually done it before and the process is painless.

    Wow, that will be really helpful when getting Harmony to setup the z7+ device profile! (Currently, we have to setup our device as a z+ and tweak a few of the keys)

    Anyways, so is there a way we can just take 2 un-used numbers and reserve those for PowerOn and PowerOff? Maybe like 36 and 37? Don't have to change anything with the remote itself, just the box's software needs to listen for these 2 extra codes and handle them when received. Once that's done, all I need to do is send that picture to Harmony along with a note about the additional 2 codes.

    i have a dreamlink and have the same issues with my harmony remote setup, if you guys make this happen for the formuler, would it also happen for the dreamlink? i couldnt find a support forum for those guys, but i was hoping u could help a dude out... this would be stunning!!

    Couldn't agree more with Timmy. Having the extra PowerOn and PowerOff keycodes programmed on these boxes would be very useful. In the meantime, while we are crossing our fingers and hoping Formuler will make this change in the next update, I have went ahead and got Harmony to add new device profiles for both the Formuler z7+ and Dreamlink T2 boxes (thanks to a similar thread on iptvtalk.nl). So, starting as of 2 days ago, when you go to add either of these devices thru your Harmony app, you will no longer have to choose the previous models (Formuler z+ and Dreamlink T1). Also, while the profiles that Harmony just rolled out work perfectly fine, I asked for a slight revision in order to normalize some of the button names to match the Harmony setup better, as well as consolidating the buttons between both devices, as the keycodes are interchangeable across both devices. Anyways, here's the final request that will be implemented by the Harmony team in the next day or so...

    ==========

    33 - PowerToggle

    00 - 0
    01 - 1
    02 - 2
    03 - 3
    04 - 4
    05 - 5
    06 - 6
    07 - 7
    08 - 8
    09 - 9

    17 - Backspace
    60 - Tab

    0D - OK
    0B - DirectionUp
    0E - DirectionDown
    10 - DirectionLeft
    11 - DirectionRight

    0A - Mute
    6C - VolumeUp
    6D - VolumeDown

    57 - Recall
    6A - ChannelUp
    6B - ChannelDown

    22 - Play
    23 - Pause
    23 - Play/Pause
    26 - Stop
    27 - Record

    21 - Rewind
    24 - FastForward
    72 - SkipBack
    73 - SkipForward

    1A - Menu
    1E - Exit
    51 - Info
    54 - Home
    57 - Back

    52 - Red
    61 - Blue
    62 - Yellow
    63 - Green

    1B - Guide
    32 - Favorites
    75 - Groups

    28 - DVR
    34 - TV
    35 - OnDemand
    CE - TV/OnDemand

    74 - Cursor
    76 - Sleep

    70 - VideoFormat
    71 - Resolution

    ==========

    SAM/Formuler team, what do you think the feasibility is of accommodating Timmy's request? Is this something that we can get in a future update? Once we have it implemented and know the codes for PowerOn and PowerOff, we can ask for one additional update to these profiles from the Harmony team.

    Thanks all!

    • Official Post

    I will send it today to Formuler for considering, if it comes and when it comes is something else and depends from Engineer. They have at moment big issues to solve first and things like EPG, Timeshift and other stuff have prio. How ever i`m also owner of Harmony remotes and would like to see big support for them, so all informations will be forwarded. Let us give them time for consider this request and i think the reward will come with some of the future updates. :winking_face:

    Thanks @JakedUp for getting the profiles added to the Harmony database... I was going to get around to it, but I'm glad you beat me to it! I tested the Formuler z7+ profile only, as I do not have a Dreamlink, and the profile is working perfectly! The only thing that I noticed is that the key names don't match up exactly to the mappings provided in your post, but that's not a big deal.

    And... thanks @SAM for getting the request over to the development team. Understood that they have other priorities to look into, so I'm anxiously hoping that they can fit this in! Seems like a rather easy request to accommodate, so maybe they won't even bat an eye when they see it!

    Timmy, you are correct... some of the keys aren't matching up. I've requested a revision from the Harmony team, so I can only assume that the updated mappings will come soon. That being said, you are correct that the key names in the Harmony profiles are minor -- it's the functionality that's important.

    In terms of ease -- you are also correct here. As a developer, I know that this is a relatively easy request. We're talking a few lines of code at most. Obviously, the coding language can change things a tiny bit, but if you were to write this in pseudo code, you can get an idea of how simple it really is...

    In the IR handler code,

    Code
    ...
if (keyCode === 36 && !isPowerOn) {
  turnPowerOn();
} else if (keyCode === 37 && isPowerOn) {
  turnPowerOff();
}
...

    Anyways, thanks SAM for getting this over to the Formuler team. Really appreciative of the quick support on this box all-around!

    Ok... finally got an update from the Harmony team. The final changes to the Dreamlink T2 and Formuler z7+ device profiles have been made, and should match the specs in my first post in this thread. Unfortunately, to receive the changes, you must delete your existing device and re-add it.

    @SAM, I have the Harmony team on standby about the dedicate power buttons -- is this still something that is on the development team's list?

    Thanks!!

    I am curious if there is differece between RC ir codes for Formuler Z7+ between EU model and NA .if anybody has hex or efc codes EU model would be appreciated.The remote for the Formuler Z7+ and my hdmi switcher is interferring with each other.Here are My learned NA model ir codes if any body needs them.

    KEYS EFC OBC HEX
    0 181 0 FF
    1 185 1 7F
    2 183 2 BF
    3 187 3 3F
    4 180 4 DF
    5 184 5 5F
    6 182 6 9F
    7 186 7 1F
    8 53 8 EF
    9 57 9 6F
    vol up 68 108 C9
    vol down 72 109 49
    mute 55 10 AF
    channel up 71 106 A9
    channel down 75 107 29
    power 155 51 33
    ok 56 13 4F
    menu 247 26 A7
    epg 251 27 27
    up arrow 59 11 2F
    down arrow 54 14 8F
    left arrow 117 16 F7
    right arrow 121 17 77
    sleep 134 118 91
    info 105 81 75
    play 215 34 BB
    pause 219 35 3B
    rewind 217 33 7B
    fast fwd 212 36 DB
    stop 214 38 9B
    record 218 39 1B
    exit 246 30 87
    home 100 84 D5
    resolution 137 113 71
    v.format 133 112 F1
    tab 197 96 F9
    back space 122 23 17
    back 106 87 15
    favourites 151 50 B3
    group 136 117 51
    red 103 82 B5
    green 203 99 39
    yellow 199 98 B9
    blue 201 97 79
    f1/live 148 52 D3
    f2/vod 152 53 53
    f3 150 54 93
    f4 70 110 89
    playlist 85 40 EB
    sleep 134 118 91
    cursor 132 116 D1
    skip forward 139 115 31
    skip backward 135 114 B1

    Edited 3 times, last by lehmbar (February 16, 2018 at 4:12 AM).

    I saw the codes above and i have a control system named Crestron. With this system I can control equipment by IP. Does anyone know if that is possible with Formuler Z+? Is there an IP port were we can send the codes above or is there an IP Protocol?

    Thanks...

    • Official Post
    Quote from Jrizzill

    Will you guys be implementing official power on and power off dedicated keys? As mentioned numerous times in this thread, power toggle simply is not enough.

    "Simply" not enough for who?

    Nothing is simple when looking at the larger picture.
    Currently, I can confidently say that over 90% of our users are doing just fine with the included RCU and the current power toggling scheme.

    You make it sound like everyone is complaining about this obscure feature because a few "me too" replies and threads have popped up on the forums or social media.
    Most basic users don't come to the forums to report that they are using their devices with no issues and are happy with the product.
    Forum participants/dwellers are mostly people that are seeking support, want to share knowledge, or have a passion about the product and want to see it improved.

    I understand that a small number of users with more unique use-cases want dedicated power toggling codes.
    Formuler really is open minded about these new requests and we have a proven track record of implementing new features that were requested by the community.
    Sometimes it is difficult to predict or understand how users might end up using their devices, and with which accessories they chose to use the device with.
    We can consider implementing this feature if you describe the use-case in more detail and the need for the feature.
    (I want to use my Formuler device with x Remote control/home automation system, to accomplish y task. I cannot do this with the current remote because of z.)

    It would be appreciated if you didn't misconstrue (intentionally or not) the proportionality or number of requests for the feature, nor trivialize the difficulty of implementing such features.

    Thanks.

    The issue has been documented in detail by myself and others in this thread. We want to use a Harmony remote, but when using Power toggle, Harmony remotes get out of sync when the device turns off after inactivity. Having dedicated power on and off fixes this.

    Please let me know if you need additional details!

    Quote from Jrizzill

    The issue has been documented in detail by myself and others in this thread. We want to use a Harmony remote, but when using Power toggle, Harmony remotes get out of sync when the device turns off after inactivity. Having dedicated power on and off fixes this.

    As a user of two Formuler F1 and multiple Harmony remotes I would love to see this issue resolved allowing us to fully use our tech in the way we want with dedicated power on and power off please.

    Quote from lehmbar

    I am curious if there is differece between RC ir codes for Formuler Z7+ between EU model and NA .if anybody has hex or efc codes EU model would be appreciated.The remote for the Formuler Z7+ and my hdmi switcher is interferring with each other.Here are My learned NA model ir codes if any body needs them.

    Just wondering if you ever solved this issue of the Z7+ remote interfering / controlling your HDMI switcher? I'm having the same issue but it's controlling my ZVOX soundbar. I bought a harmony remote but same issue.

    • Official Post
    Quote from ynotrhyme

    I just bought a new universal remote. What code do I use for it to control my formuler z7+? I have a Talon Media remote.

    Check the IR database that is programmed into your Talon remote.

    If the Formuler codes are not listed, there is a slim chance you will get it to work.

    If the Formuler codes are not listed in the database, and your Talon remote can be updated via USB or some other means, try to contact Talon to see if the Formuler codes can be added to their database.

    • Official Post
    Quote from scotty

    FYI the beta that was released today has support for discrete power on and power off codes. Do harmony remote codes need to be updated?

    yes. if someone has a line of communication with the Logitech Harmony team, please PM me.
    The new codes must be added to their database.

    • Official Post
    Quote from Jrizzill

    Let me know the new codes and I'll have the Harmony team update the profile. Note that anyone who already has the current profile installed will need to delete their device and re-add the profile once Harmony has updated on their end.

    New codes added to the firmware:

    Code
    sleep - 0x8c73f902
wake up - 0x8b74f902

    Format is LSB, but I'm not 100% sure how this should be expressed in human readable format.

    Please try:

    Code
    Protocol: NEC
Custom code: 02F9

Sleep:
Keycode: 73

Wake Up
Keycode: 74

    If that doesn't work, let me know and I will provide some alternate codes.

    Are you sure these are right? We only have one chance to submit to the Harmony team. They won't do multiple rounds of revisions.

    In the current profile we have 74 for Mouse/Cursor -- if 74 is now Sleep, will that break Cursor?

    Also, I currently have Sleep at 76 on the current profile...

    • Official Post
    Quote from Jrizzill

    Are you sure these are right? We only have one chance to submit to the Harmony team. They won't do multiple rounds of revisions.

    In the current profile we have 74 for Mouse/Cursor -- if 74 is now Sleep, will that break Cursor?

    Also, I currently have Sleep at 76 on the current profile...

    Hi,

    The new codes have a different Custom Code (device ID) than the current codes.

    Therefore there is no concern for code collision with existing keycodes.

    To make things easier for the Harmony team to understand, here are a few examples of the current codes already in the Harmony DB:

    (Custom Code: 00FF)

    Code
    <key value="0xf40bff00" name="KEY_UP"       
<key value="0xf10eff00" name="KEY_DOWN" 
<key value="0xee11ff00" name="KEY_RIGHT" 
<key value="0xef10ff00" name="KEY_LEFT"   
<key value="0xf20dff00" name="KEY_OK"

    And here are the new codes we added to the firmware.

    Code
    <key value="0x8c73f902" name="KEY_SLEEP"
<key value="0x8b74f902" name="KEY_WAKEUP"

    Since we only have 1 shot, please send them this data first, to see if they grasp the code format.

    If they have questions about this data, please post here.

    Once again, thanks for your efforts.

    Hmm... This does not look like the format that they are currently working with -- the current profile was constructed using the custom code (00ff) and 2-digit codes (e.g. 0b for UP or 11 for LEFT) -- I have not seen this longer format being used.

    On top of that, I have no idea if they can support multiple device types in the same profile... but who knows, maybe they can. I'll reach out and see what they can do! I'll send both the short and long formats and let them choose which one works for them.

    I'll let everyone know how it goes!

    • Official Post

    Can't say I completely grasp the format either, but it looks like the custom code is read LSB (right to left) but the keycode is MSB?

    Very confusing... but I think if they see the existing codes they can add the new codes in the same format.

    Thanks for your help.

    Just just got confirmation back from the Harmony team that they have updated the profile. I'm actually out of town for the next couple of days, so can someone else check to see if these two new commands were integrated, and that previous commands have not been negatively affected?

    Quote from Jrizzill

    can someone else check to see if these two new commands were integrated, and that previous commands have not been negatively affected?

    I just deleted the Z7+ from myharmony and readded it. Unfortunately there is no discrete on/off or sleep/wake commands.

    I tried adding a Z7 (not +) and it has a sleep command but that just sets the box's countdown-to-off function. I did this on a Harmony Ultimate (touch) and an old Harmony 700.