Please explain how LG Magic Remote AN-MR650A works

sirjp1 · Post by **sirjp1** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 12:32 pm

Just got a 2017 LG TV 60UJ7700 which came with the LG Magic Remote AN-MR650A. I'm confused about the way the remote works.
http://www.lg.com/uk/tv-accessories/lg-AN-MR650A

It uses some RF to talk to the TV (not sure whether it's Bluetooth, WiFi or some proprietary LG RF protocol).

I do not know whether the remote itself can send IR.

It looks like you can program the remote, with the help of the TV, to control STBs, AVRs, players, etc. but I'm not sure I understand how it actually works with IR devices: is the remote actually capable of sending IR, or the remote sends the command to the TV via RF and the TV has a built-in IR blaster that then send the command to the IR device (which would be weird if the other devices are on a shelf under the TV)?

Can't find any info out there. Thanks for your help.

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:18 pm

Have you tried using your phone to see if it sends IR signals?
http://www.instructables.com/id/See-Inf ... -iPhone-4/

sirjp1 · Post by **sirjp1** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:41 pm

Interesting, thank you! I will have to try it. There's some talk about having to enable it first, I suppose I have to go through the set up process to control a device and then try the IR camera experiment.

This makes it sound like it can output IR:
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/ ... gic-remote

Hard to tell if the remote actually controls another device directly via IR or there's HDMI-CEC involved.

sirjp1 · Post by **sirjp1** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:52 pm

And this confirms that it's both an IR and RF remote.
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=304812

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:59 pm

Can you confirm whether the wheel that controls the onscreen pointer sends any IR or not?

In any case, our existing LG upgrades should do everything but that, and possibly obviate the need for it since we have additional discrete commands available.

sirjp1 · Post by **sirjp1** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:13 pm

mdavej wrote:Can you confirm whether the wheel that controls the onscreen pointer sends any IR or not?

In any case, our existing LG upgrades should do everything but that, and possibly obviate the need for it since we have additional discrete commands available.

I will play with it some more next weekend trying to actually make it control another device, my setup has been taken apart due to this TV upgrade.

So going with a JP1 remote will lose the mouse pointer and potentially wheel capabilities. I read somewhere else that not all buttons on the remote send IR codes, I think that maybe Home does not.

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:18 pm

Even if some buttons on your remote aren't IR, we may already have equivalent commands in our existing upgrades that work with your TV anyway, like Home.

yaworski · Post by **yaworski** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:56 am

LG Magic remotes use Bluetooth to connect to TV. It's either a built-in BT adapter or an addon (my LG TV from 2013 has a dedicated BT adapter plugged into one of USB ports which works with Magic remote and allows pairing BT speakers to TV).

I've been trying to pair the remote to either a PC or Android phone, but I've failed so far. I'm able to discover the remote but it doesn't support any standard pairing method. I think LG uses some proprietary pairing solution which also involves confirmation using IR signal (that's why manual for the remote says that the remote needs to be pointed at the TV during pairing process).

When the remote is paired, it only sends IR signal for power button. Other buttons, movement control and voice are sent over BT.

The remote is able to control other equipment using IR, but it doesn't have any IR database built in. It's the TV which has it. To use that functionality, a user needs to associate specific signal input (e.g. HDMI1) with specific equipment brand and model. When that input is selected and user presses a button on the remote, the remote sends command over BT to TV, and the TV sends a command back to the remote with IR data to send using the blaster built into the remote.

As far as I know, there's no way to use the remote with a different equipment without pairing it to the TV and there's no way to pair a non-LG remote to BT in the TV.