rsmgreg's profile

Tutor

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3 Messages

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 2:06 AM

IR Location on Motorola VIP 2250?

There was a short thread on this topic about a year ago.  I purchased a new ir emitter kit and have it working on all components except my VIP 2250 cable box.  Have others experienced this problem?  Where is the ir receiver located?  Is there something unique to this box?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Greg

Accepted Solution

Expert

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10.1K Messages

11 years ago

rsmgreg - If it is in the same place 0n the 2250 as the other boxes it is in the vertical center to the right of the recording light.

Two more likely problems are -
Your device does not support the U-verse IR coding. Check with the mfgr. to verify that it does.

The IR signal is too strong. Tape over the sensor on the 2250.

I expect you have the 2250 hidden. If not make sure it is hidden. I wonder if the the IR emitter kit can pass ambient light that corrupts the U_verse IR signal. If so, you need a point anywhere remote to use RF instead of IR to overcome IR corruption from ambient light.

IR Issues

Going back 5-6 years there are many posts about IR interference. Remedies included taping over the IR sensor, hiding the STB, turning off auto brightness on the TV.

A common fault was the info button press corrupting to an STB mute action. The number of reports of this have totally fallen away. My personal initial primary problem was getting the zero to register. But, one day long ago that just went away.

Niles Audio Corp. makes IR repeaters & has a video on their web site showing the fragility of the IR coding that is used for U-verse & other boxes. They said their new line of repeaters could handle it. Oddly, a U-verse customer posted in this community that they had a NIles install that was not working & after they contacted Niles they did not get any satisfactory resolution.

I came to believe that the IR sensor is too sensitive, That the DVR is worse than other STBs. That command type buttons are worse than the number buttons. That, somehow software updates can make it better or worse, So, it is a moving target. Hard to pin down.

I noticed that the U-verse remote does work better than my Logitech Harmony model 700. I looked at the IR signal through a digital camera. It appeared to me that the Harmony IR signal is stronger than the U-verse remote. This reinforces my theory that the IR sensor is too sensitive.

Recently, my most common problem was FF and Play Buttons often corrupted to chan up and chan down more than six times a night.

I happened to notice that I had a specific kind of "duct tape" covering the blue light on the STB. Actually, it just looks like duct tape, but is electrical tape available at the Home Depot in the electrical dept. - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-2-in-x-150-ft-Vinyl-Electrical-Bundling-Tape-Silver-30002664/202741845#specifications

This tape has a degree of transparency. I thought I would use it to cover the IR sensor. The remote has never worked better. I have not had one chan up - chan down corruption in 20 plus says of watching with FF through the ads since I applied the tape. Previously, there would have been at least 6x20=120 occurrences.

Almost all button presses are accepted & none are changed to a different action.


RF Issues

It should not be a surprise, but it is, that half the problems with the RF remote are IR. I run an STB well hidden for a second TV. I had the IR sensor covered with black tape. I replaced the black tape with the "duct tape" & saw an immediate improvement in response to menu buttons. The number buttons were already good - see below for that solution.

The STB using RF must be hidden due to the dongle conversion of RF to IR. If it is not hidden it is subject to the following problems:

IR corruption - Ironically, the RF remote was often offered as a resolution for IR problems. But, if the STB is not hidden nothing has changed to eliminate theI IR corruption problem.

If the STB IR sensor can see another remote, it will respond to it.

If another STB can see the IR generated by the dongle, it will respond to it.

Previously, I found the RF lacking in RF power - in the same room, twelve feet away, hidden only by a thin sheet of cardboard. One method to increase RF power is to hold the remote under your chin while pressing a button - using your head as an antenna.

A better way is this antenna placed in the battery compartment - http://www.amazon.com/Cellular-Innovations-A-BOOSTER-Universal-Antenna/dp/B00009WCAP/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1366128630&sr=8-8&keywords=cell+phone+booster

With this antenna, the channel numbers are almost always accepted. With the "duct tape" in place, the other buttons work almost every time. The remote now works better than ever.

STB Issues

Once IR and RF issues are resolved, there are timing issues with the STB to contend with. Numbers process fast and Menu items process slow. You need quick, light touch on some numbers to avoid duplicates and a slow, strong press on menu activities. Effort is required to suppress the urge to press again while waiting for a response. It takes concentration to get effective results. Frequently a second press immediately cancels a slow responding first press. Current IR and RF issues amplify the effect of the timing issue.

Contributor

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2 Messages

10 years ago

ACE:

 

I'm confused by your post below.  I just got the 2250 (replacing an older DVR). It is in a cabinet and use a RF URC MX900 with 350 receiver and IR repeater.  I am finding that moving through the guides or recorded shows is sometime requiring three pushes of the arrow button and that sometimes it then overshoots.  Inputting, say, 1808 might send me to channel 80.  Inputting 1802 might send me to 1802 for a second and then channel 2.

 

When you say "tape over the sensor on the 2250" are you suggesting tape over the repeater that is stuck to the front of the box to prevent some kind of reflection?  Or are you saying to put a piece of tape in between the repeater and the plastic on the front of the box to "dull" the signal?

 

Thanks!

Expert

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10.1K Messages

10 years ago

Bookguy - Yes, I am saying - "put a piece of tape in between the repeater and the plastic on the front of the box to "dull" the signal?"
In most signal cases we are trying maximize the signal to provide good results. In the case of U-verse IR we need to minimize the signal to provide good results. I believe it works best just before it does not work at all.

I have the point anywhere remote with the tape over the sensor that improves results. There was a thread about a point anywhere dongle affecting an STB down the hall. I believe the URC equipment is more powerful than the point anywhere.

Try placing the IR generator away from the DVR. Even behind it - bouncing the signal off the wall and or ceiling. Anything to minimize the IR til it does not work, then move it to be just a little stronger.

Do you have other STBs? Can you swap the DVR and an STB. DVTR is best on least used TV connected cat5 to the RG.

Please let me know how it goes.

Contributor

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2 Messages

10 years ago

ACE:

 

Thanks for the fast reply.  That's interesting to know about the DVR best placed on the least used TV.  Never occured to me.  I will have to look into moving it.  Unfortunately, it is connected by coax as the home was not built with ethernet to the cable jacks, just to the phone jacks (and hence is on the other side of the rooms).

 

The IR generator is a little repeater glued to the front of the box right in front of the IR receiver.  I believe I can adjust the IR output, but will have to experiment.

 

Thank you.

Contributor

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1 Message

8 years ago

My experience is to place the emitter below the lights in the center.  But it gets wierder.

While trying to find the best position I realized my hand was reflecting the signal.

So after sticking the emitter on the box, I just held a paper over the box and emitter and without paper no good.  But with a simple white paper, it worked 80%.

I endedup putting an old dvd case that kind forms a triangle around the box and emitter in the front.  

It works 100%.  I remove the hard or reflective surface and I get 0%.

 

So I do not know what the surface is doing.  I wish I could say it is blocking ambient light.  But even in the dark without that surface in close proximity 4 inches or less.  I get no response from the STB.

 

Just sharing my unusual experience.

Contributor

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1 Message

8 years ago

Ok so I've been searching and searching for how to resolve the issue of getting an ir repeater to work with the vip2250. I purchased a repeater from BAFX. they sell on Amazon or from their website. It controlled everything fine except my Uverse vip2250. I contacted the company and they walked me through how to get everything to work flawlessly. I sent pictures of my setup and they identified the problem. It was interference from other ir devices. They said to completely block out the ir area over the repeater on the box with electrical tape. It worked perfectly. No problems now. Hope this helps.

Tutor

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4 Messages

7 years ago

Fix I just tried was to put the IR repeater a few inches away from the IR sensor, no tape at all over the IR sensor, but then cover/surround the whole light path with an open DVD cover, like a shroud or tent protecting it from the neighboring IR repeaters on other devices. So far, so good.

Contributor

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1 Message

5 years ago

Can someone post a picture of what they mean about this DVD box fix?  It's not working for me but I'm just not sure I understand what the suggestion is -- what's the emitter vs. sensor vs. repeater...So confused, and desperate after a week of trying to work this out to have the remote work in my bedroom following surgery...


The details:
1. Remote: Harmony 350
2. DVR/satellite: AT&T U-verse Arris VIP2250 satellite box
3. IR Extender: NY-GS10 (Nyrius 5.8GHz 4 Channel Wireless Video & Audio Transmitter & Receiver with IR Remote Extender)
4. Set-up: Satellite box and receiver TV are nearly directly in line with each other on either side of a thin wall
5. Desperation and frustration level: Maximum capacity

Tutor

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4 Messages

5 years ago

The DVD box fix didn't work for me for very long. I finally gave up and bought a Logitech Harmony Hub. It perfectly speaks the rare Philips RCMM IR protocol used by these U-verse boxes. In both my living room and basement media closets, I have a Logitech Harmony Hub facing all of my devices, including my U-verse STBs, and the IR control is flawless. No tape, no DVD boxes, no other tricks.

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