Remote control to turn on cable box, select a channel, then vcr by timer?

Recently moved & have a new cable company (comcast). My previous cable company (wideopenwest) had a cable box with an in-box program menu where you would select a future program to record. When the program's running time came, the cable box would turn on, go to that channel, then a "vcr commander" infrared transmitter you placed in front of your vcr would turn on the vcr, tape for the alloted program time, then the box & vcr would be shut off. Comcast prefers to sell you its $10/mo "digital vcr", which works like "On Demand". I'm wondering if anyone makes a remote control which would replicate the behavior of the WOW cable box, one with a timer, such that you could tell it to 1) turn on the cable box at a specific time 2) set the cable box to a specific channel 3) turn on the vcr & tape for a designated period, then 4) shut the 2 units down. I've seen ads for a remote for those who can't program their vcr's, basically you tell the remote to turn the vcr on, point it at the vcr, and it turns the machine on/selects a channel at the preset time. Did some searching, can't find one that does the added step of turning on the cable box (probably obvious to most but this is required since in my case more than 1/2 my available channels only come in via the cable box). Anyone know of such a thing?

TIA

Dan

Reply to
Dan
Loading thread data ...

Virtually all the high-end remotes have a programmable macro capability that can do what you want.

Reply to
Travis Jordan

Thanks for the reply. All the ones I looked at online (logitech, etc) even those in the $200 - $400 dollar range (that such things even existed surprised me ;-) ) WILL run macros of the type "press a button, turn on these 3 boxes, set them this way", but none I saw had a clock that would do this at a variable time/channel you select, like you set a vcr/tivo to record. Unless I missed that. Wouldn't be the 1st time...

Dan

Reply to
Dan

Another option would be a VCR+ (VCRplus) handheld device. I don't know if they still sell them, and you'd need to get the VCR+ code for anything you want to record, but it will run an internal clock, turn on the VCR and cable box, tune the channels and tell the VCR to start recording, then turn it all off at the end of the program. You can figure the VCR+ codes yourself if you can't find them for the program you want, but the method of creating them is encrypted, and it's been years since I figured out how to do it.

Reply to
T o d d P a t t i s t

Thanks Todd, that might be another approach, though as you say dealing with the codes is a bit of a pain.

Dan

Reply to
Dan

I don't know either if you can get the standalone VCR Plus controllers anymore. I had one about 20 years ago, but then they were readily available in stores; I'm not sure about now. The only way I know of these days to get VCR+ is to buy an RCA VCR that has the feature built in.

I don't know if other brands of VCRs, including the cheap ones now available at Big Lots, et al. even have the feature anymore. The TV Guide (both the national magazine and many if not most local versions in Sunday newspapers) does not have VCR Plus+ codes anymore, so perhaps this feature is on its way out. In this age of video on demand, TiVo and DVD recorders, VCRs are becoming technological dinosaurs and are not really worth messing with anymore, unless you have a bunch of old VHS tapes and/or want to time-shift a program once in a while.

I have a One for All universal remote with one programmable button, the red power on/off switch. This can be set via a macro to turn on/off up to three devices in any combination, but it is the only macro-programmable button on the thing. There are more expensive versions of the One for All that have two or more macro-programmable buttons which can be set for other functions. Also, another manufacturer (the name of which escapes me at the moment) has a learning remote that can memorize the codes from all of your present remotes and will operate most functions of just about any make or model of TV, VCR, cable box, etc. made in the last ten years or so.

There was a device about ten years ago called a "VCR Co-Pilot" that allowed remote timer settings of VCRs. It looked like a hand-held VCR Plus+ unit, only the CoPilot had two large dials for time settings and a large LCD display at the top of the front panel, above the time set controls. I don't know whether or not the unit allowed automatic channel changing of VCRs, but when it was popular, the CoPilot, like Gemstar's VCR Plus+ hand unit, had a good following among people who were intimidated by the time-setting procedures for their machines. My own Panasonic Omnivision VCR, bought new three years or so ago, has on-screen timer controls (which can be set only via the remote, one of the very few things I don't like about it) and an auto clock set function, but some older ones were much more difficult to set up--this is what spawned the jokes several years ago about the "flashing 12:00" on VCRs. Some machines had timers which were so difficult to set that many people just left the clock flashing and used the unit simply to play back tapes.

_________________________

Jeff, WB8NHV Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA

Reply to
Jeff, WB8NHV

I did a quick check of ebay, sure enough. there were lots of them and they looked cheap.

Reply to
T o d d P a t t i s t

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.