Best Harmony Universal Remote For X1 Box?

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@WNeuetc wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations for a Harmony Universal Remote that will work well with my new X1 box. The box is the XG1v4-A which, along with the X15 remote furnished with the box operates on RF, rather than IR, so the Harmony needs to be able to control the box via RF.  I've searched the Community Forum and it seems that some of the Harmony universal remotes have, at least at times, problems when communicating with the XG1v4-A boxes.

 

Any suggestions, most welcome!

 

-Wes

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any recent model will have the Comcast X1 code.

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@Rustyben wrote:

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@WNeuetc wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations for a Harmony Universal Remote that will work well with my new X1 box. The box is the XG1v4-A which, along with the X15 remote furnished with the box operates on RF, rather than IR, so the Harmony needs to be able to control the box via RF.  I've searched the Community Forum and it seems that some of the Harmony universal remotes have, at least at times, problems when communicating with the XG1v4-A boxes.

 

Any suggestions, most welcome!

 

-Wes

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any recent model will have the Comcast X1 code.

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Yes, I understand that my Harmony 650 has the proper codes for my X1 box (in my case the XG1v4-A box).  My question was whether there were any universal remotes that could communicate with the Comcast box via RF rather than IR. 

I realize now that that would indeed be impossible (or highly unlikely) as the box RF signal radio frequency as well as the RF protocols are proprietary, unlike Bluetooth or other short distance RF protocols.

Even the Harmony remotes that use "RF" only use RF to communicate with the provided Harmony "IR blasters" that do the actual communication with the box or other controlled devices.  The only real exception is when the controlled device also allows control via the local wifi network (for instance when you can have a phone app that controls).

-Wes

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@WNeuetc wrote:

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@Rustyben wrote:

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@WNeuetc wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations for a Harmony Universal Remote that will work well with my new X1 box. The box is the XG1v4-A which, along with the X15 remote furnished with the box operates on RF, rather than IR, so the Harmony needs to be able to control the box via RF.  I've searched the Community Forum and it seems that some of the Harmony universal remotes have, at least at times, problems when communicating with the XG1v4-A boxes.

 

Any suggestions, most welcome!

 

-Wes

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any recent model will have the Comcast X1 code.

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Yes, I understand that my Harmony 650 has the proper codes for my X1 box (in my case the XG1v4-A box).  My question was whether there were any universal remotes that could communicate with the Comcast box via RF rather than IR. 

 

I realize now that that would indeed be impossible (or highly unlikely) as the box RF signal radio frequency as well as the RF protocols are proprietary, unlike Bluetooth or other short distance RF protocols.

 

Even the Harmony remotes that use "RF" only use RF to communicate with the provided Harmony "IR blasters" that do the actual communication with the box or other controlled devices.  The only real exception is when the controlled device also allows control via the local wifi network (for instance when you can have a phone app that controls).

 

-Wes 

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a post ages ago said that the X1 remotes in RF mode use the zigbee rf protocol. I know that doesn't help but it isn't wifi.

Ziegbee would be great actually.  If so, could open the door to all kinds of 3rd party control options.  Here's hoping!

-Wes

@Rustyben wrote:

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@WNeuetc wrote:

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@Rustyben wrote:

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@WNeuetc wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations for a Harmony Universal Remote that will work well with my new X1 box. The box is the XG1v4-A which, along with the X15 remote furnished with the box operates on RF, rather than IR, so the Harmony needs to be able to control the box via RF.  I've searched the Community Forum and it seems that some of the Harmony universal remotes have, at least at times, problems when communicating with the XG1v4-A boxes.

 

Any suggestions, most welcome!

 

-Wes

---

any recent model will have the Comcast X1 code.

---

Yes, I understand that my Harmony 650 has the proper codes for my X1 box (in my case the XG1v4-A box).  My question was whether there were any universal remotes that could communicate with the Comcast box via RF rather than IR. 

 

I realize now that that would indeed be impossible (or highly unlikely) as the box RF signal radio frequency as well as the RF protocols are proprietary, unlike Bluetooth or other short distance RF protocols.

 

Even the Harmony remotes that use "RF" only use RF to communicate with the provided Harmony "IR blasters" that do the actual communication with the box or other controlled devices.  The only real exception is when the controlled device also allows control via the local wifi network (for instance when you can have a phone app that controls).

 

-Wes 

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a post ages ago said that the X1 remotes in RF mode use the zigbee rf protocol. I know that doesn't help but it isn't wifi.

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I have a Harmony Hub + Companion Remote. The Hub is IR only, not RF. Unfortunately the IR receiver on the X1 is in a very small spot under the Power LED light and it's difficult to control with a traditional IR remote. 

What I did was take one of the IR Blasters (Extenders) that came with the hub and positioned the transmitter module just in front of the LED, and ever since then my Harmony Hub has worked perfectly. 

Best thing about the Hub is that it connects to your WiFi and thus enables use of a smartphone app, as well as Amazon Alexa support. I can ask my Echo to pause the TV and it will pause playback of the DVR while I go get a snack. 

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@darkangelic wrote:

I have a Harmony Hub + Companion Remote. The Hub is IR only, not RF. Unfortunately the IR receiver on the X1 is in a very small spot under the Power LED light and it's difficult to control with a traditional IR remote. 

What I did was take one of the IR Blasters (Extenders) that came with the hub and positioned the transmitter module just in front of the LED, and ever since then my Harmony Hub has worked perfectly. 

 

Best thing about the Hub is that it connects to your WiFi and thus enables use of a smartphone app, as well as Amazon Alexa support. I can ask my Echo to pause the TV and it will pause playback of the DVR while I go get a snack. 

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Thanks!! Really appreciate your insightful and detailed response.  Perfect.  The small (indeed, miniscule) IF receiver on the Comcast 'box' I have (the XG1-4 4K box) makes native IR nearly useless, so I've ordered an aftermarket IR repeater which, hopefully, will compensate for this Comcast screw up.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the day Comcast, as well as the rest of the content providers, go with one of the open architecture RF protocols, such as Zigbee, Z-Wave or even Bluetooth.  Heck, with the proliferation of home wifi even wifi.  Certainly, with smart home systems gaining amazing ground, sticking with proprietary systems is a very bad strategy.

-Wes

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@darkangelic wrote:
Well, if you're thinking of WiFi, there is an X1 TV Remote App.

The iOS version is here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xfinity-tv-remote/id401629893?mt=8

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Yeah, I'm aware of that.  My hope is for a universal remote that doesn't have to rely on IR.  I have several smart phone apps - each for a different device.  A universal remote would integrate all the devices and functions,

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@maisonave1 wrote:

I have a Xfinity X1 system with a Pace Xi5 Set Top Box.  The remote control uses RF by default.  However, you can reset the remote control to use IR by using following steps:

Press and hold the "Setup" button, which is located at the bottom left side of the Xfinity remote control.  Hold the button until the red light turns to a green light.

Then enter 987 on the Xfinity remote.  It should blink green twice, and from there-on, it will use IR instead of RF.

You can verify that it's using IR by covering the front of the XFinity remote control, and verify that the channels don't change.  Uncover it, and the remote buttons should work again.

 

Once the Xfinity remote is in IR mode, you can teach your Harmony remote contrrol.

 

I'm not sure why, but on my setup the Xfinity remote control automatically reverts back to RF after a while.

But even after it reverts to RF, the Harmony remote control still works using the learned IR codes.

 

I tested this out on a Harmony 880 remote.

 

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Yes, I also was able to reconfigure my X1 Set Top Box to recognize IR commands rather than the native mode RF, using the procedure you described above.

Unfortunately, my X1 remote did not spontaneously revert back to RF, allowing dual mode (IR + RF) control.  I'm OK with my Harmony 650 for most purposes but do miss the option for doing voice commands via the native X1 remote.

-Wes

I have a Xfinity X1 system with a Pace Xi5 Set Top Box.  The remote control uses RF by default.  However, you can reset the remote control to use IR by using following steps:

Press and hold the "Setup" button, which is located at the bottom left side of the Xfinity remote control.  Hold the button until the red light turns to a green light.

Then enter 987 on the Xfinity remote.  It should blink green twice, and from there-on, it will use IR instead of RF.

You can verify that it's using IR by covering the front of the XFinity remote control, and verify that the channels don't change.  Uncover it, and the remote buttons should work again.

Once the Xfinity remote is in IR mode, you can teach your Harmony remote contrrol.

I'm not sure why, but on my setup the Xfinity remote control automatically reverts back to RF after a while.

But even after it reverts to RF, the Harmony remote control still works using the learned IR codes.

I tested this out on a Harmony 880 remote.

Nearly 5 month old thread, closed.