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Will New Apple TV learn IR?

J

jcuecker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 10, 2015
25
15
I'm very excited that the new Apple TV will control Volume and TV input as this has been one of my biggest gripes with the existing unit. My understanding is that the ATV will turn on a TV and set it to the correct input via the HDMI-CEC protocol.

I assume (and hope) that it will control the volume with the IR transmitter on the remote so that it can change volume on a TV or Receiver/Amp.

Now I'm also assuming that the reason the ATV unit itself has a IR receiver is so that it can learn the IR signal (for volume UP and DOWN) from my original Receiver/amp/TV remote. Once it has learned them it tells the Apple TV remote what IR signals to emit when the volume buttons are pressed.

Now, the remote doesn't have many other buttons to control other aspects of my receiver/amp. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, though I see no reason this couldn't be easily implemented, could the above be used in conjunction with Siri to control all the other functions of my original remotes? For example if I can teach all or some of the other buttons on my original remote to the new ATV it would be awesome if I could say "Siri switch receiver to blueray input" or "Siri open the TV menu" etc. and then have the appropriate IR signal blasted from the ATV remote.

Thoughts?
 
The reason the old ATV unit had a IR receiver was so you could use your existing IR remotes to control ATV. I don't believe the old remote has capability of learning or storing commands for other components, there's not enough keys or options on the old remote to make it useful anyway.

I'm guessing the new one doesn't either. But Siri does at least open a lot of possibilities for control that would make it a great idea. But the main obstacle is having the ATV 'talk' to the remote and teach it the codes/commands for your other components.
 
How exactly will this new remote control volume or switch inputs? I know of HDMI CEC but according to SONY it only works with their products and i am assuming other TV manufacturers are the same
 
JoeShades said:
How exactly will this new remote control volume or switch inputs? I know of HDMI CEC but according to SONY it only works with their products and i am assuming other TV manufacturers are the same
Click to expand...

My LG TV that I bought 3 years ago is HDMI-CEC compatible. So it's obviously not just Sony.
 
madmaxmedia said:
The reason the old ATV unit had a IR receiver was so you could use your existing IR remotes to control ATV. I don't believe the old remote has capability of learning or storing commands for other components, there's not enough keys or options on the old remote to make it useful anyway.

I'm guessing the new one doesn't either. But Siri does at least open a lot of possibilities for control that would make it a great idea. But the main obstacle is having the ATV 'talk' to the remote and teach it the codes/commands for your other components.
Click to expand...

On the old ATV3, you could teach it to accept any remote. In the menu system, there was page where it asked you to go through the up, down, left, right, play, menu, etc. buttons, and you pressed the corresponding buttons on any remote and it would learn them and map them accordingly. I think what they meant is that the new ATV will have the same functionality.
 
oneMadRssn said:
My LG TV that I bought 3 years ago is HDMI-CEC compatible. So it's obviously not just Sony.
Click to expand...

Yes and my 5 year old Sony is HDMI-CEC compatible, BUT according to Sony it will only work with other Sony products, last time I checked Apple was not a Sony product. I did not say HDMI-CEC was A Sony only thing.
 
JoeShades said:
How exactly will this new remote control volume or switch inputs? I know of HDMI CEC but according to SONY it only works with their products and i am assuming other TV manufacturers are the same
Click to expand...

These (in bold) are all just the various brands names for HDMI-CEC and it works across brands. I don't have any specific experience with Sony, But I watch a signal from DirecTV, through a Denon AVR to a Sharp TV and it can all be controlled with HDMI-CEC.

From Googling a bit it looks like people are using their Sony TVs to control non-Sony devices over HDMI-CEC, so maybe Sony just wants to sell more Sony products. Who knows.

Samsung - Anynet+
Sony - BRAVIA Link or BRAVIA Sync
Sharp - Aquos Link
Hitachi - HDMI-CEC
AOC - E-link
Pioneer - Kuro Link
Toshiba - Regza Link or CE-Link
Onkyo - RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI)
LG - SimpLink
Panasonic - VIERA Link or HDAVI Control or EZ-Sync
Philips - EasyLink
Mitsubishi - NetCommand for HDMI
Runco International - RuncoLink
Click to expand...
 
Yea, I won't to continue using my Receiver's remote like I do now with AppleTV.

Siri and swipe is great... but if I where I'm going. Like back into Netflix to continue a tv series... I can click to that just fine on my own.
 
Weaselboy said:
These (in bold) are all just the various brands names for HDMI-CEC and it works across brands. I don't have any specific experience with Sony, But I watch a signal from DirecTV, through a Denon AVR to a Sharp TV and it can all be controlled with HDMI-CEC.

From Googling a bit it looks like people are using their Sony TVs to control non-Sony devices over HDMI-CEC, so maybe Sony just wants to sell more Sony products. Who knows.
Click to expand...
I control my BD player and Apple TV via my sony tv remote. For the Apple TV I had to use the learning function in the Apple TV and the remote can't play/pause my Pioneer BD player.
 
I found this regarding IR support.
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/apple-tv-fast-fun-limited-1201589244/

"But the real killer feature may just be integrated volume control. The remote integrates with modern TVs with a technology called CEC, which makes it possible to control the volume for any app or game. The Apple TV remote is even capable of turning on the TV itself, and also works with older TVs thanks to IR, so Netflix fans really don’t have any reason to search for their TV or cable remote anymore."
 
JonHimself said:
I have no source for this but I believe HDMI-CEC is for input switching/power and the IR blaster is for volume.
Click to expand...

Correct. HDMI-CEC will power on the TV and set the right input. Volume is controlled via built-in IR.
 
Thats the impression i got . not sure how that will work, like i said my Comcast remote is IR and only way it woks with the TV is if i input a code. Maybe the same for the Apple remote
 
JoeShades said:
Thats the impression i got . not sure how that will work, like i said my Comcast remote is IR and only way it woks with the TV is if i input a code. Maybe the same for the Apple remote
Click to expand...

Your Comcast remote is not learning. Just like eveyrthing else made by Comcast - it's a nasty user experience that makes you enter IR codes.

I assume new Apple TV remote learns a couple of IR codes for Volume-UP and DOWN, and that's how it's going to work.
 
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