Harmony Remotes

[OhCrapItsJeremy]

My entertainment setup is all housed similarly to this:

http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons/171/1713075/40_2008/goodbye_ikea.preview.JPG

My DVR, Xbox, PS3 and Apple TV are all in different compartments but there's no cabinet doors. Unfortunately, if there's anything sitting on my coffee table then my Harmony One doesn't get a clear line of sight ot my peripherals and fails to work.

So I bought the IR extenders thinking I could put a mini blast in front of my Xbox, a mini blaster in front of my Apple TV, the Main IR hub in front of my DVR and the IR receiver on top of my TV where it gets a clear line of sight to my remote at all times.

But it doesn't work. When I have my mini blaster for the Xbox set up nexto to the IR Hub thats in front of my DVR neither will receive an IR signal.

When I turn off the extenders and point directly at my xbox or my dvr then it works. 

Anyone have any advice on placement of these IR extenders in entertainment setups that have an open front and are not enclosed within cabinetry?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

You might want to look at the Precision IR Cables as they can provided better more accurate control.   

What is probably happening here is you are getting an IR loop where the blastersignal is entering the receiver gettin stuck in a loop that you devices cant understand

[OhCrapItsJeremy]

Hmm...I was hoping the solution wasn't going to be "buy more Logitech products".

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

And I was hoping you'd like my answer

[fbielser]

I have the Logitech IR extender system installed on my system.  I have components on two shelves in two separate compartments.  The components sit behind solid doors.  Everything works perfectly unless the doors are open.   

The problem with your set up is your components are out in the open.  The IR extender is sending signals to your components as well as the remote you are using so the components are seeing interference and cannot decipher the signals.  To test this, cover your openings with cardboard and see if the system works with the IR extender installed. 

If I open my cabinet doors and try to use a remote, none of my components will work.  Once I close the doors, everything works perfectly.

The precision cables will solve your problem because the ends of the cables have "heads" that stick over your IR receiver eyes on each component and block outside IR signals.  Each cable has four "heads" so you can control four components with each cable.  The only signals your components will see are the signals passing through your Logitech IR extender. 

[remotewaanab]

I just bought the IR extender to use with the Harmony One to solve the problem with signal that can't reach all of my components at the same time.  The standard direction from the manual with pics doesn't work for me because I don't have doors on my cabinet.  So, after 2 hr of messing around, I found the solution.

Don't use the mini-blasters, use the Main blaster & the IR receiver only, but don't let your remote see the Main blaster (it will cancel out your signal), put the Main blaster behind one of your components, that way your remote only sees the IR receiver.  Put your IR receiver some where in the center of your entertainment center.  The Main blaster is strong enough to blast the signal in the entire room, hiding on the back of the STB, you don't even have to aim the remote at the entertainment center anymore.

Enjoy!

[Jimmyk]

This is the best advice i have been given. The extra advice on the cords and others did not work this did thank you.