# Can ONE remote control Tivo, TV and A/V soundbar?



## R3coolkids (Aug 9, 2013)

Super Frustrated! I can't believe this is so difficult. My kingdom to anyone who can unlock this mystery.

I have a Tivo Premier XL4 and a Vizio TV. Everything is working perfectly with just the Tivo remote... I have no need for the TV remote. 

Now I want to add external speakers. My #1, non-negotiable requirement is that I refuse to allow more than the Tivo remote on my table. I've done a ton of research and to my utter amazement there doesn't seem to be a way to accomplish this. Every single AV system I've looked into would require that I use another remote to either turn the speakers on/off or control volume.

With my Tivo remote, when I turn the TV on, I want the speakers to turn on. When I turn the TV off, I want the speakers to turn off. And I want to control the volume and mute also with the Tivo remote. Surely in this modern world of wonders there has to be a way to make this work. By the way, I want to use the Tivo remote, not introduce another variable like a Harmony Universal remote.

Somebody?


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

R3coolkids said:


> Super Frustrated! I can't believe this is so difficult. My kingdom to anyone who can unlock this mystery.
> 
> I have a Tivo Premier XL4 and a Vizio TV. Everything is working perfectly with just the Tivo remote... I have no need for the TV remote.
> 
> ...


I don't think you'll be able to control both the tv speakers and the soundbar speakers, but you should be able to control the power on and power off as long as you have a tivo remote capable of learning the commands.

The key is to get the tivo remote to send out the power on/off signal to two distinct pieces of equipment at the same time. The instructions are at tivo.com. http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/278

The basics are:

Learning remotes can control power for up to three different devices.

To learn power for a second device, follow all of the instructions above but for Step 2, press the number 1 before pressing TV Power.
To learn power for a third device, follow all of the instructions above but for Step 2, press the number 2 before pressing TV Power.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

you described my setup - the tivo power button controls the tv and avr, one button for both:

_http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/294​_


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## Doh (May 18, 2001)

zvox will do this-- they are a little on the pricey side, because I think you pay a premium for the nice form factor, but we are happy with ours.


My only problem is that the samsung tv has an annoying problem where if you turn off the internal speakers and then send a remote signal to them, the tv flashes an icon to tell you the internal speakers are turned off.  I end up using a combination of the tivo remote and the zvox remote.


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## buscuitboy (Aug 8, 2005)

While I am not 100% sure on this, you may want to look for a sound bar that has an optical or digital audio input. That is if your Vizio TV has these outputs. This way, when you raise the TV's volume, it raises the soundbar volume. You can then go into the Vizio settings and disable its speakers (if it allows this). I have a Panasonic and Sony HDTVs and they have them, but not sure about the budget brand of Vizio.

If it does, sometimes turning on/off the TV with a soundbard connected via an optical/digital connection, may also turn the soundbar on/off automatically too. Again, not 100% sure about this, but it could be worth looking into and investigating more.

I have also seen some soundbars that have HDMI passthrough connections so maybe they work in the same fashion. Again, not sure though.


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## R3coolkids (Aug 9, 2013)

Poppagene, you broke the code! I wasn't aware that the Tivo remote could learn multiple devices to power on/off with one button. That works perfectly now... just the way I want. Thank you.


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## ffitzgerald39 (Apr 17, 2011)

You can do this if your TV and AV are from the same manufacturer. I control my Sony TV and Sony AV Sound Bar with the Tivo remote. The Sony has a feature of integrated HDMI which allows cross control between Sony components. The Tivo controls the sound bar on and off and volume through the TV. The only drawback is when you turn on the TV and the sound bar with the Tivo remote you have to wait while the TV checks for the sound bar and notifies on screen that it is present. The Tivo remote then controls the sound bar volume. With Sony you have to choose either the TV sound or the Sound bar. The same thing happens even if you use the TV remote.


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## lyee (Oct 29, 2011)

I was able to resolve a similar situation with my setup of 3 different devices (Sony TV, TivoHD, and Vizio Soundbar) by using a Tivo LEARNING (not programmable) remote, ie, TiVoGlo C00212. My TV and soundbar support HDMI ARC. Since the Vizio Soundbar can be turned on with the on/off or volume up/down buttons on the remote, I mapped the TivoGlo's volume up/down buttons to the soundbar remote's volume up/down. I plugged the TV into a energy saving surge protector as the master and the soundbar as the slave so that the soundbar powers off when the TV is off. Hope that helps.


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## jtkeech (Sep 7, 2013)

R3coolkids said:


> Super Frustrated! I can't believe this is so difficult. My kingdom to anyone who can unlock this mystery.
> 
> I have a Tivo Premier XL4 and a Vizio TV. Everything is working perfectly with just the Tivo remote... I have no need for the TV remote.
> 
> ...


I have the solution for you. Your requirements are exactly mine. Just installed Sony HT-CT660 soundbar in <1 hour. Flawless. All I need is my Tivo Glo remote to control everything. Has 3 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. Easy. Tivo goes into HDMI input #1. Blu-ray player goes into HDMI input #2. XBox goes into HDMI input #3. Got another HDMI cable that goes from the sound bar HDMI out to the TV input. Don't need to change input on the TV at all.

Now trained the Tivo Glo remote:

1. Program A/V volume and mute.

Use code 1176, and volume and mute on sound bar are controlled by the TIVO remote volume and mute buttons.

2. Train the remote, so TIVO Input controls sound bar input channels, not TV input channels. Use learning mode.

Now TIVO input button changes the sound bar input. Because all inputs are HDMI, this changes the audio and the video pumped to your TV. Leave your TV input to whichever HDMI channel you plugged the sound bar output cable into.

3. Train the remote, so green TV Pwr button also turns sound bar power on and off. Use learning mode. There is an option to program remote to turn on a 2nd and 3rd device in the learning mode instructions.

Now when you press the TV Pwr button, the TV and the sound bar turn on and off together. Occasionally if the remote is not held steady for a couple of seconds, you may turn on the TV only or the sound bar only. Then you need to grab the remote for one of the devices or press the hardware on/off button and resync them (both on or both off). Then the Tivo remote will turn them both on and off.

This system has bluetooth, so you can link your phone or iPod to it, and stream music, NPR, etc. Very nice!

BTW, this sound bar sounds awesome. Very good surround sound, solid woofer, different sound modes (standard, movie, sports, game, etc.). I think the Bose Cinemate 1 SR sound bar has the best surround sound quality for a sound bar. But it is a 2 year old system, and the inputs are not HDMI. Makes hooking up cables and controlling with the Tivo remote a challenge. For an extra $700, the Bose Lifestyle 135 system has HDMI inputs/output, but still no bluetooth. For <20% of the Lifestyle 135 price I got for the Sony HT-CT660 soundbar. I think this system was a balance of sound quality, price, ease of hook up, remote compatibility and bluetooth. And it does have very good surround quality, so I'm extremely pleased.

Good luck.


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## jtkeech (Sep 7, 2013)

Check out my reply to your question....


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## bcjenkins (Sep 17, 2013)

I bought the TVee 26 from Best Buy with a price match to Crutchfield (Saved $100!) and programmed it this morning. The BA TVee 26 is able to learn your remote signals on a button by button basis. 

I mapped the power button to the power button of my TV and I mapped the volume controls + mute to a separate audio code. (I picked the first code for Carver)

This allows me to have separate volume controls from TV to soundbar. 

This was done with the new Roamio Pro remote. 

HIH

B


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## DoctorBoudreau (Nov 12, 2007)

jtkeech said:


> I have the solution for you. Your requirements are exactly mine. Just installed Sony HT-CT660 soundbar in <1 hour. Flawless. All I need is my Tivo Glo remote to control everything. Has 3 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. Easy. Tivo goes into HDMI input #1. Blu-ray player goes into HDMI input #2. XBox goes into HDMI input #3. Got another HDMI cable that goes from the sound bar HDMI out to the TV input. Don't need to change input on the TV at all.
> 
> Now trained the Tivo Glo remote:
> 
> ...


Appreciate the comprehensive response - this is exactly what I want to do. I know discrete speakers and an AV receiver can sound better but this looks like a great solution for the price and passes the ever important WAF.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

jtkeech said:


> I think the Bose Cinemate 1 SR sound bar has the best surround sound quality for a sound bar.


Naaaw. Just too easy.


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## plantsower (Dec 24, 2003)

I see this is a semi-old thread, but I need some clarification. I just programmed my Tivo Premier Remote (how do you know if it's a glo remote) to my Vizio Smart TV. Now, if I want to program my Sound Bar to it, here's my question: Which button do I push to turn on the sound bar?

The reason I am asking is because the sound bar has a little too much base for me when I just want to watch the news and not a movie. I like to use the TV sound for the voices and add a little base to it from the sound bar so it's not so grating on my ears. I can do this with two separate remotes but would like to control the TV volume and the Sound Bar volume separately with just the Tivo remote. Not one or the other. Is that possible? I really can't tell by the answers given above if my question is answered.

Thanks.


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## Edmund (Nov 8, 2002)

plantsower said:


> I see this is a semi-old thread, but I need some clarification. I just programmed my Tivo Premier Remote (how do you know if it's a glo remote) to my Vizio Smart TV. Now, if I want to program my Sound Bar to it, here's my question: Which button do I push to turn on the sound bar?
> 
> The reason I am asking is because the sound bar has a little too much base for me when I just want to watch the news and not a movie. I like to use the TV sound for the voices and add a little base to it from the sound bar so it's not so grating on my ears. I can do this with two separate remotes but would like to control the TV volume and the Sound Bar volume separately with just the Tivo remote. Not one or the other. Is that possible? I really can't tell by the answers given above if my question is answered.
> 
> Thanks.


Sorry, but no.


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## plantsower (Dec 24, 2003)

Thanks for clearing that up Edmund!


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## RusRus (Apr 8, 2013)

R3coolkids said:


> Super Frustrated! I can't believe this is so difficult. My kingdom to anyone who can unlock this mystery.
> 
> I have a Tivo Premier XL4 and a Vizio TV. Everything is working perfectly with just the Tivo remote... I have no need for the TV remote.
> 
> ...


I have a Tivo learning remote. I had a Vizio sound bar and was able to marry it to my Tivo remote so I could turn on my TV and sound bar with one push of the TV power button on my remote.

This should explain:

To use the learning function

Press and hold the TiVo and Select buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds. When the red or amber activity light remains lit, the remote is in "learning mode."
On the TiVo remote, press and release the button you want it to learn (TV Power, for example). The activity light will flash once to acknowledge the button press, and then remain lit.
Point the remotes directly at each other, no more than 1 inch apart.
Press and hold the corresponding button on the TV or A/V receiver remote (Power, for example) until the TiVo remote flashes in response.

If learning is successful, the activity light will flash 4 times. Move on to Step 6.

If learning is not successful, the light will blink 10 times very quickly. You will need to repeat steps 1-4 before moving forward.

Repeat steps 2-5 until you have trained the TV Power, Mute, Input, Volume Up, and Volume Down functions.

NOTE: In learning mode, Volume Up and Volume Down are separate buttons, so you must train them individually.
When you are finished, press the TiVo button to exit learning mode and return the remote to normal operation.
In some instances, the learning remote may be unable to learn from another remote. If this happens, click here for additional assistance.

Call Tivo CS and they'll explain how to marry the learning remote and the sound bar.


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## darrennye (Feb 6, 2003)

Just for anyone who is finding this thread recently like I did in March 2016, here's a Tivo page that explains how to use Tivo Learning Remotes:

https://support.tivo.com/articles/F...the-Learning-Feature-of-TiVo-Learning-Remotes

On that page, it lists which Tivo Remotes are "Learning". They include:

The TiVo Slide Pro, Glo Premium, and Slide Remotes


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

I have Samsung TV and sound bar and can do this.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

darrennye said:


> Just for anyone who is finding this thread recently like I did in March 2016, here's a Tivo page that explains how to use Tivo Learning Remotes:
> 
> https://support.tivo.com/articles/F...the-Learning-Feature-of-TiVo-Learning-Remotes
> 
> ...


As far as I know, all TiVo remotes can do that. At least the ones that came with mybPremiere, Roamio and minis.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Not all TiVo remotes are learning remotes.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

ej42137 said:


> Not all TiVo remotes are learning remotes.


Which ones aren't? The remote that came with my Series 2, back in 2002, was able to learn to control the power, volume, and input selection on my specific television.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

justen_m said:


> Which ones aren't? The remote that came with my Series 2, back in 2002, was able to learn to control the power, volume, and input selection on my specific television.


By learning remote they mean one that can learn any command from another remote which are usually the premium TiVo remotes. The standard TiVo remotes are programmable remotes that use remote codes that they already know about.

Scott


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

justen_m said:


> Which ones aren't? The remote that came with my Series 2, back in 2002, was able to learn to control the power, volume, and input selection on my specific television.


I see your confusion; you programmed that remote by entering a code, a code whose meaning was programmed into your remote's firmware at the factory. With a learning remote there is an alternative way to program it. A learning remote such as the Slide Pro has an IR receiver as well as a transmitter and can "learn" IR commands from another remote. Of the TiVo remotes, only the Slide Pro, Glo Pro, and Slide are learning remotes.

Here is a link to further information.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

I managed to get my Premiere XL4's remote to control my AVR's and TV's power, but it only worked some of the time, and I still needed other remotes for other functions. The Slide Pro remote was never able to control the power on my AVR, but the volume worked fine. Go figure.


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