Murphy Mac

This week’s Product of the Week is not exactly Mac-oriented. But if you like to tinker you might enjoy the world of JP1.

It’s been a while since I programmed my $20 JP1 remote control. It was something of a chore, but I sure am glad I did it. Sometimes I can’t believe it actually worked. (the linked remote is an updated version of mine)

A JP1 remote can be connected to your PC for programming. I bought a cable that connected to a parallel port on my pc for ten bucks. The other end has holes that match pins inside the battery compartment of the remote.

When I bought the twenty dollar JP1 remote at Best Buy it didn’t have the pins. I called the manufacturer (link is to my remote) and told them the remote didn’t have the codes for my Directv receiver. They asked me to send it in. The remote came back free of charge, programmed with the code I needed, and the pins installed. From there I could connect the remote to my computer and program it. I only paid one way postage.

The JP1 community distributes applications that make programming your JP1 remote an attainable goal. When I looked at articles on the web I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. The complexity depends on how lofty your goals are and what equipment you want to control with the remote.

Murphy’s Goals

I have a Samsung DLP (I have an older 46″ model) with three sources: A Tivo, an HD receiver, and a DVD recorder / player. The audio on the television is muted and all the sources output through a stereo receiver. One remote handles everything.

Here’s the worst case scenario, without a good universal remote: If I’m watching television on the Tivo and decide to start watching a DVD I would have to do the following:

• Press TV
• Press Input Select as many times as necessary to toggle to DVD
• Press Audio
• Press Input Select as many times as necessary to toggle to DVD
• Press DVD - to begin operating the DVD player.

That’s at least 5 key presses, if not more to toggle. With my JP1 remote it’s a little different. I press one button, and the five steps mentioned above take place, and there’s no toggling steps. How? The JP1 lets you create macros, which let you tie a series of key presses into a single button press. But there’s more: You can also use discrete codes to avoid the toggling through multiple choices - and go directly to your choice.

Here’s an example. The remote that comes with my television gives me one way to switch between the source devices that feed it (the Tivo, HD, and DVD). I can tap the Input Select button and rotate between the inputs. Or I can go to the menu system and select one. But either method requires multiple taps.

What’s worse, when someone like your babysitter is trying to use the remote they have to decipher things, like which input source they’ve rotated to. With a macro and a discrete code there is no guessing. They press the button and all the settings change in a predictable manner, no rotating or toggling through choices. That’s the huge benefit of using a discrete code on a JP1. A discrete code is a very specific command.

If you’re looking at a certain TV you might want to investigate what discrete codes it supports - if you’re interested in a highly functional remote. Just google for the model along with “discrete code”.

My remote has a row of four buttons at the bottom for picture in a picture functions, which I don’t use. I’ve assigned a macro to each button. For example, the swap button puts the television in TiVo mode, makes the stereo monitor the TiVo, and leaves the remote in TiVo mode. Two of the other buttons handle the DVD and HD tuner. Bonus: My remote comes with dedicated TiVo buttons like thumbs up and down, Tivo Menu, and 8 second rewind.

Bottom line: A baby sitter can press one button and switch from TiVo to DVD. One button! If they press something accidently and get the stereo source out of sync with the television source they can press that one button and all is well again. No troubleshooting over the phone, just one button.

I’ve been so happy with this solution over the last few years I haven’t even looked to see what else is out there in the world of remote controls. If you’ve got something you really like please post it in the comments.

I won’t be able to help you with programming your remote, but I’ll reply if you have any questions on the big picture. The software for programming your remote is a little messy, so you might need to spend a little time on your research. I haven’t tried to use a Mac either.` For one thing - the cables I found were all parallel. Start at Wikipedia, they have some relvant links.

This is the remote I have. Here’s some information on other remotes. You’ll probably end up doing some serious Googling before you’re done. That said, when I sat down to set up my remote I was done in less than an hour, including my three macros.

There are plenty of other remotes out there, and they can be programmed. But this is a highly functional remote at a bargain basement price. The surcharge is your time.

And remember, if an optimized remote is your goal you might want to look into discrete codes before you buy a television.

This might be the BEST documentation I’ve seen on JP1 remotes.

More links: Downloading the software - JP1 Beginners Forum

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