Remote Control Software

[triad]

Let's start over. Add Satellite - DirecTV - HR20-700 (that's the best one, but any model will work mostly). When it asks if you have the original remote, answer 'no'.

Just make sure your HR is set to IR mode and Address 1. This is in the advanced  remote setup on the DVR itself. Your lack of success so far points to your DVR still being in RF mode.

[volumnus]

I will take a picture and show you that it's in IR mode. I don't understand why you have to lie about having a remote. I didn't have to lie about not having any of my other remotes.

[rhachey]

The reason that you are asked if you have the original remote is that you are able to select a different command set to control it. I believe that there are 8 or 9 different commands sets available. This is so if you have more than one Directv receiver in the same room, you can control each one individually with your remote. In my case I have 2 Directv DVRs in the same room. The first one is set to command set 0001, and the second is set to 0002.

[triad]

If you like needlessly jumping through hoops, then continue down the same path by all means. You have so far been unable (unwilling?) to change your DirecTV remote and DVR to IR mode, address 1. So lie or not, what you are doing is guaranteed not to ever work. All I'm trying is to give you a shortcut to a successful outcome with the least effort. Once you gain some experience with harmony software, you'll be begging for every shortcut you can get.

As to why the software asks the question, rhachey answered that very well. But we users are smarter than the software and know what steps to ignore.

[volumnus]

My DVR has been set to IR from the beginning. I made that abundantly clear. I suspect you are a logitech propagandist, otherwise known as a beta tester, given free hardware in exchange for coming into the forums and perpetuating the user error myth. Bug off. If you don't have a constructive answer, then don't hijack my thread.

What's more, it clearly states on the side of the screen that it cannot find the exact model no matter what model you enter other than the example given. I'm tired of arguing about it. Anyone would be confused by the process. It needs to be addressed.

[triad]

Here's the deal. If you've seen any of my other posts, it will be abundantly clear that I despise logitech and don't even use harmony remotes myself. In fact, the main reason I still participate in these forums is to point out deficiencies and offer alternatives. In fact, the Xsight Touch is a great alternative in this case since it's cheaper, more powerful, more reliable and can operate your DVR in RF mode, avoiding all these issues you've encountered.

I had no intention of hijacking your thread. I was only trying to offer a simple solution that's worked for me and many others. I happen to have a lot of experience with DirecTV and Harmony and know the technical details inside and out, down to the individual bits in the IR waveforms. The roughly 300 DirecTV commands in the logitech database for all 8 addresses came from me after literally years of effort. I can confirm that just about any DirecTV model you pick will work, but the HR20-700 is best.

If harmony can't identify your remote in the confirm IR steps, then the evidence suggests your original remote is still sending RF. Sorry. If you are absolutely certain your DVR is in IR mode, the next step is to make sure it's set to address 1. If it's set to address 1, then you can safely skip the confirm steps by answering no to the remote question. At that point it should work.

For the sake of accuracy, using the 7.7 software, I just added Cable/Satellite - Satellite - DirecTV - HR20-700, answered no about the remote and finished the wizard, updated my remote, and selected the new DirecTV device. All the commands were present, and my spot check of the waveforms using some signal analysis equipment confirmed they were correct (Russound Protocol, Fixed Data 0xC3). So the procedure I posted before will work, provided your DVR is also set up properly (IR address 1). If this procedure fails for you, please humor me and place your hand over the front of the remote covering the IR window entirely and confirm that your DVR wil not respond to the original remote when the output is blocked. I am very interested in solving this problem because I have never seen a case that could not be solved using the above procedure.