New One For All Remotes

mogulman · Post by **mogulman** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:30 pm

I was in Walmart today and noticed they have a URC-6131NW. Different shape and layout then the 6131. Anyone tried this or know if it has a JP1?

Is it identical to the 6131 internally?

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:42 pm

Nope. All the new OFA remotes use the new Motorola flash HCS08 processor, which hasn't been reverse engineered yet. So, for the foreseeable future, none of the new OFA or RS remotes are JP1-able.

bob_m · Post by **bob_m** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:46 am

Well that's rather mean of them!!!!
Good thing I got 7 HTPro's

Scott R · Post by **Scott R** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:52 pm

Sigh. I wish I saw this thread sooner. I recently bought a pre-made JP1 cable for my RS remote but never got around to trying it out. Then I came across this cheap and very nicely designed URC "DVR" remote and picked up two. I installed the JP1 software and tried connecting it to my IBM Thinkpad but kept getting an error about connecting and started doing some searching here, thinking that my problem was perhaps with my Thinkpad's parallel port or something stupid I was doing (or wasn't doing and needed to do). Finally I come across this thread.

gfb107 · Post by **gfb107** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:58 pm

Before you give up, cause there are lots of issues with using laptops and JP1 cables, tell us the exact model number of the remote and we can tell you if it will work or not.

Scott R · Post by **Scott R** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:14 pm

It's the one referenced at the top of this thread. Specifically, it's listed as the URC-6131nwB00. Here's a thread at Remote Central with a link with pictures of it.

It's a very attractive remote, IMO, with many buttons where I'd want them to be (e.g., the numbers are close to the bottom - unlike my RS remote). It looks a lot like a rip-off of the remote that came with my HP Media Center PC. Interestingly enough, MCE functionality is the main function that I can't seem to program out of the box.

The manual states that it can be upgraded over the phone, but I didn't get home early enough to call them before they closed for the day.

mr_d_p_gumby · Post by **mr_d_p_gumby** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:59 pm

I recently had a look at the internals of a URC-6131nw, and it seems to be a re-do of the older URC-6131. It appears to use an S3C8 CPU, but like the older model, it does not come with a JP1 header or EEPROM. That means you would need to add them before you can use JP1 programming. It does not have a phone modem, so phone upgrades are not possible. Like the older model, you would have to send it to the factory to get an upgrade, where they will exchange it for one that has the missing parts.

So the good news is that the URC-6131nw will probably work with current JP1 tools, but you'll have to wait until one of the experts here has a chance to add the missing parts and see if it works.

Scott R · Post by **Scott R** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:52 am

Thanks for the added info. Unfortunately, I'm not skilled at these sorts of things and I bought a pre-made cable. So I guess I'll have to wait and see how hard a mod would be. At just a little over $12 for the remote, it could be worth it to pay a premium for a modded version of this remote once the experts here figure it out. In the mean time, I finally had a minute to call up OFA during their business hours and spoke to a rep there. He said that I could send the remote in and they would add the MCE code to it, but that I should wait a couple of weeks and call back as it sounded like they were still updating their ROMs or database or something with these codes. I'm honestly a bit surprised that a remote this new aimed at DVR usage didn't have MCE functionality built in from the get-go. Oh well.

The remote itself is very nicely designed, though I'd change a couple of things about it. The edges have a somewhat sharp, uncomfortable feel. Another user (I think the guy I referenced in the link in my prior post) cut some foam to fit the sides and that sounds like a good idea. A couple of the transport controls aren't exactly where I'd like them (I'd prefer "Pause" to be directly above or below "Play") which will make things a bit trickier, especially since the buttons aren't backlit (my other complaint). Other than those things, the only thing that would make it perfect might be for it to be a slightly smaller peanut (e.g., TiVo or Harmony) shape. But as-is (or, I should say, once I get the MCE code added), it's an amazingly well designed remote, especially considering the price.

mr_d_p_gumby · Post by **mr_d_p_gumby** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 11:43 am

If you are interested in the URC-6131nw, you'll be pleased to note that it can be made fully JP1 compatible. I've modified one by adding a 2K-byte EEPROM and the 6-pin JP1 header, and it is electrically identical to the URC-6131 (signature is PVR0PVR0). There may be one or two buttons with a slight difference in labelling, but the existing RDF file is more than adequate to support it, and the existing extenders will work just fine. The biggest difference (aside from the button layout) is that it uses AAA batteries instead of AA.

Scott R · Post by **Scott R** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:30 pm

And would you be willing to do this mod for me if I shipped you my two remotes? If so, what would you charge for that service? Thanks.

classicsat · Post by **classicsat** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:40 pm

Huh?

Is the 6131NW the new HCS08 remote (in which case I believe it is not EEPROM/JP1 upgradeable), or a Wal-Mart built old style 6131? Or is it an old style 6131 electronics in a new syle case?

Mark Pierson · Post by **Mark Pierson** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:14 pm

classicsat wrote:Or is it an old style 6131 electronics in a new syle case?

Sounds like this is the case based on what Mike said.

mr_d_p_gumby · Post by **mr_d_p_gumby** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:32 pm

classicsat wrote:Huh?
Is the 6131NW the new HCS08 remote...

Definitely not an HCS08 remote.

It has an epoxy-blob S3C8 CPU.

ecarlson · Post by **ecarlson** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:03 pm

Scott R wrote:It's the one referenced at the top of this thread. Specifically, it's listed as the URC-6131nwB00. Here's a thread at Remote Central with a link with pictures of it.

I posted the photos. Here are direct links to my photos: Front, Back.

I am also the one who added a strip of self-stick craft foam to each side to make it more comfortable to hold. See the other thread for more details.

If anyone has photos of the interior, please post them, or send them to me, and I'll post them for you.

Scott R · Post by **Scott R** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:23 pm

Hi Eric. It's funny...when I first opened up the packaging and held it, the first thing I thought of was that the edges felt sharp and I immediately started thinking that it might make sense to apply something inside the recesses on the side.

This remote has a very good layout (as I said, I suspect they shamelessly ripped off the Media Center remote layout). I do wish it had a backlight, though. I've also found that I can't switch between the two tuners on my dumb Comcast Motorola HDTV DVR cable box, which is occasionally an issue, though the Moto box gets most of the blame there due to its horrible user interface. Of course, with no learning capabilities, I'm unable to fix minor issues like that. I suspect that if/when JP1 programming becomes possible, I should be able to remedy that.

So no one commented on my question as to whether anyone here would be willing to do the necessary mods as a mail-in service. Any takers?