State of the Union

[slocko]

Hi,

The last time I came here was:

You last visited on Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:42 pm

As you can see, it was almost two years ago.

I'm still using my trusty old RS-2117. Recently I bought a Toshiba HD-A2 and needed to reprogram the remote.

Amazingly, after dusting off the cowebs in my brain, I remembered what I needed to do with keymapmaster and good old IR.exe.

So has anything changed in these two years? I'm using version 6.15 of ir.exe. Is there a better version? Is there another program that is better than ir.exe? What about remotes? Any new jp1 remotes that are better than my trusty old RS-2117?

[Capn Trips]

So has anything changed in these two years?

Lots!

I'm using version 6.15 of ir.exe. Is there a better version?

The newest version is 7.05. Don't know if it's necessarily "better" for your 2117, but it's more fully compatible with all of the newest other products. I suspect the only "change" that may effect you is that IR can now automatically store upgrades that exceed your upgrade memory limit in other unused memory areas (learning or keymove/macro)

Is there another program that is better than ir.exe?

Nope. There is a Java-based IR replacement called RMIR ("RemoteMaster IR") that works, but is not fully tested and implemented. Maybe in another 2 years.

What about remotes? Any new jp1 remotes that are better than my trusty old RS-2117?

Better than the 2117? That is in the eye of the beholder. I suspect that although there are number of "new" JP1 and JP1 follow-on remotes, the SUBjective question of "better" is one that cannot be definitively answered. My current favorite is the Atlas 5-Device OCAP remote (URC-1056) but it is a JP1.3 remote that requires a different interface cable than the 2117. There is a whole new family of remotes that use a Flash ROM instead of separate Processor and EEPROM arrangement (as the JP1 remotes do) and a whole new interface and software hacking effort has occured in your absence, but ultimately, they all still use KM and IR (although there is a very popular KM replacement called RemoteMaster (RM) that (to some) has a more intutive graphical user interface, but KM still does the job quite nicely.)

I suspect that if you're happy with your 2117, none of the new crop of remotes would necessarily cause you to go "WOW! At LAST the remote I've been looking for to replace this P.O.S. 2117!"

[slocko]

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

i love my 2117. i only wish my kids didn't drop them and break the backlight. I think I went through all 5 I had bought during a clearance sale. other than that, it works flawlessly and my whole family knows how to use it.

Looks like I might as well continue for another 2 years

i was here in the early years while everyone was figuring everything out. those were exciting times. good to see the site still going strong.

by the way, i see you have an HD-A1. I used the text file I found in the files section for my A2 and most of the functions worked, except discrete on and display firmware version. I didn't test every function yet, but the basic ones worked. I sent the author a PM at AVS to see if he has found any A2 specific codes.

[mdavej]

I have an A2 also. And no, there is no discrete on for it. But PLAY is a good substitute, as it will also turn on the player. Discrete off should work fine.

As for what's new, I'd like to add that extenders are a lot easier these days with the latest IR.

[Evan_s]

Eject also works well as a discrete on for the a2 and is what I have been using.

[Capn Trips]

I have an A1, but it turns out it won't play any HD-DVDs (It plays regular DVDs just fine, but won't load HD-DVD's - it tries for a while but after a minute or so gives up and says "NO DISC". )

Got ripped off by the eBay seller and since I wasn't around to test it, it's now too late to seek relief from either eBay or Paypal so I have $240 doorstop.

Anyways, now I have a factory new A3 on the way, which will get a THOROUGH testing immediately upon receipt. (and subsequent complete upgrade file produced from the OEM remote learns and code search)

Anybody know how to fix an HD1? Cosmetic condition is good, plays standard DVD's fine, remote control seemingly works. It just won't load an HD-DVD. (It IS a big old ugly beast of a component, I must say - but if it worked, I could live with that)

I've upgraded the firmware via an ethernet connection (which also worked, obviously), but have not been able to find any info on the web relating to my specific symptom - and if it can't load an HD-DVD, it's virtually useless to me.

[slocko]

2.7 firmware was released yesterday. you might want to give that another try.

any chance tohsiba might honor the warranty?

Thanks to the other for posting work arounds.

[Evan_s]

2.7 is for the second gen models not the first gen. I don't believe the first gen models have had an update recently.

[classicsat]

I'd see if you can replace the optical drive.

[MikeG]

I've recently upgraded my 15-2116 with a TiVo HD remote codes and a Sony DVD player that didn't have a standard code that worked correctly.

I used the latest IR.exe and switched to RemoteMaster which was quite painless even years after the steep learing curve of the original learning of the JP1 interface/programming.

I agree, none of the new remotes make me 'want' to quit using my 2116, I wish they still sold them.