JP1 Remotes

Hello. I am a long time user of Harmony One, which works fine but I'm getting more and more fed up with having a remote that can only be set up via the "cloud" and on top of that the Logitech software is horrible. I started searching for alternatives and recently found out about JP1, which seems exactly what I'm looking for: a remote that can be set up locally by myself, using any IR codes that I want, and being able to backup and restore the settings.

I have done some reading in the wiki and in this forum, however I don't feel confident enough for a purchasing decision and I'm seeking for some advice. The candidates that I could find in stock are:
- URC-7557 Digital 5 (not listed in the wiki)
- URC-7960 Smart Control (S3F80, 6 devices)
- URC-7962 Smart Control Motion (MAXQ612, 6 devices)
- URC-7990 Infinity (MAXQ612, 6 devices, USB)
- URC-8305 Kameleon 5 (HCS08, 5 devices)
- URC-8602 Xsight Colour (S3F80, 15 devices, USB)
- URC-8610 Xsight Lite (MAXQ622, 6 devices, USB)

I would prefer a remote that has USB (so I don't need to find/buy a cable) and soft keys if possible. What I want to do is to be able to configure the codes for the devices I have (I already read about the 'upgrades' and practiced with ControlRemote so I'm confident that I can do this part) and (this is the part that I'm uncertain about) set up activities like the ones in Harmony where:
- a sequence is sent at the start of each activity
- different buttons are mapped to different devices
- power and input state tracking (in case I cannot find all the discrete codes that I need)
- a way to 'resync' the state by restarting the activity
- temporarily switching to a device and then back to the activity

Is the above achievable in any way? I'm not sure if all remotes support activities, and from my research it seems that JP1 remotes do not really support state tracking (TOAD). Could somebody enlighten me and explain how JP1 activities actually work? It seems to me that I may need an extender, but I think most remotes listed above were not fully reverse engineered and do not have one available. I also never understood what "key moves" actually are.

Any advice from the experts? Thanks for your time.

Edit: I forgot to mention that this is my equipment:
- Denon AVR 1911
- Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT20
- HTPC with XBMC/Kodi controlled via MCE receiver

I may be able to live without state tracking because I know that discretes for the power exist (Logitech has them and I use them in the Harmony) but the TV input may be a problem since I couldn't find a discrete for selecting TV without switching between DVB-C and analog -- this is a problem I have with the Logitech as well, annoying but not the end of the world.

If you pick a remote that has an extender, the extenders come with a utility called ToadTog which you can use to keep track of the state of TOAD devices.

See this wiki entry about ToadTog:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/wiki/index.php?title=ToadTog

JP1 remotes don't have activities as such, they are designed to support devices, but again, if you use an extender, you can re-design them to support activities.

Don't limit yourself to remotes that are sold with USB cables, because you can get a cable separately for under $10:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261101529602

If you get a learning remote, and you only have discrete codes in your Harmony, you can learn them to the JP1 remote and get the codes for them, assuming we don't have them already in our device files.

Note: even though learning is disabled when you run an extender, you can always de-activate the extender to use learning and then re-activate it.

Key moves are a way to re-program an individual button using codes, they use the main protocol and device codes that are built into the setup code that you have programmed, but they change the individual button code. Most discrete codes were discovered by people experimenting with key moves. They are also useful for when you want to program a button in a different device mode. For example, you might program a button in DVD mode that selects the DVD input on your TV or audio system.

Everything Rob said is correct, with one exception - The Xsight and Nevo remotes do support Activites natively. They also support 6 soft buttons that can show the correct name for the function. The only downside to these remotes is the lack of power state tracking.

Another large positive for the Xsight/Nevo remotes is that they use a standard miniUSB cable for programming.

As to the lack of discrete input codes - the macros that can be defined and used from within other macros (extended remote only) allow you to automate your workaround for MOST TVs. I have one TV that is resistant to the point that I think the manufacturer had to work very hard to prevent any workaround. Here is a post from me that describes a hardware solution to this problem and inside that post is a reference to a software solution in extended remotes.

Lol, I remember that 2012 post about your LG tv.

If you can get it for ~$40 I would get an XSight Touch.

Thanks for all the answers. Really appreciated.

I ordered a URC-8602 (Xsight Colour) but unfortunately the store cancelled my order since they realized that they didn't really have it in stock and it was the only store I could find in Sweden that listed it. I guess I'm out of luck since it is discontinued...

Now I'm aiming for the URC-8610 (Xsight Lite), since it seems to be the next best choice. I really liked the looks of the 7960/7962 (more than the 8610) but they seem to be more limited in features (for example activities), is that correct? Is the 8610 the most capable remote which is still being produced by OFA or can the 796x be programmed in ways that the 8610 can't?

Additional question: my Panasonic TV need the power button to be pressed for around 2 seconds to turn on. Will this be a problem?

Have you considered the Nevo C2? There are several on ebay for around $16 with free shipping from China. I assume they would ship to Sweden too.

Here's one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221668801447

The Robman wrote:Have you considered the Nevo C2? There are several on ebay for around $16 with free shipping from China. I assume they would ship to Sweden too.

Here's one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221668801447

Not until now. This is 20% of the price in the stores here. I ordered one immediatelly.

I owe you a beer.

I too was a long time Harmony user. I was surprised how quickly and easily I got used to a non-soft touch remote, pretty much in favor for having some quite long macros that execute quickly with an extender. For around $25 total I have a 1056B01 with a cable that I am very happy with. The learning curve to program was steep, but I got great help here so it was a fun puzzle to figure out!