Synergy Remote Question

[Kenoman]

Have a question on the Synergy remote that comes with the TWC sa8300HDC box. Does anyone know if it's possible to "punch" the audio volume so it works while in the cable mode? (I have audio coming thru my Sony receiver). It is a real pain to hit MODE then AUD to lower or raise the volume and then have to hit MODE CABLE to fast forward.
The instructions only allow you to change volume to cable or tv.
Any help would be apprciated.

[klwillis45]

There's no way that I'm aware of. Do yourself a favor and get a harmony.

[duncantuna]

There's no way that I'm aware of. Do yourself a favor and get a harmony.

I asked Santa for a Harmony 550 last month.  It had awesome reviews, people just can't say enough good things about it.  $50 at Best Buy.

Honestly .. I hate it.  Very cumbersome.    While it certainly is capable as a universal remote .. where it used to take 1 click of the remote, it now may take 5, surfing through the LCD menu to get to the right soft-key.

Some of the potential benefits are just half-baked.  Example.  There's buttons for activities .. watch tv / watch DVD.   Pressing TV, for example, will turn on the TV, cable box, and change your TV to the correct input. -- But what if your TV is already on?  It will turn off.   Uh-oh.  Now you've got to either navigate the "help" screen, where it will go through and try to turn on what got turned off .. or perhaps just hit this: Device, TV, page down, page down, right soft-button.   Terrible!

The convenience of not needing 3 remotes is vastly outweighed by its negatives.

[klwillis45]

That's not right at all. Unless the batteries die or are removed Harmonys remember what is on or off and act accordingly. You may have a bad unit.

[duncantuna]

That's probably true .. but I have a 2 year old who turns the TV on and off using the button (not the remote), and there's no stopping him.

And .. on top of that .. often we're just not aiming the remote perfectly for the TV and cable box to get all the signals .. so it might turn the TV on, but not the box or vice versa.

And my wife likes the cable remote better, so she uses that (as do I, for the reasons I stated.) ..  So sometimes we're turning the system on/off with that, too.

No doubt, all of these examples are "user error" .. but they are pretty "real world" problems that make the Harmony more trouble than it's worth.

[RickNeff]

Keep in mind that not all sets have discrete On and Off codes -- In many instances, to the TV, a press of the On button is the same as the Off button. The remote can't possibly fix that -- It's a function of the set.

Personally, I like the Harmony remote I have, but my wife doesn't. That actually works out since I have mine and she has hers. (Especially since the DirecTV remote can handle most of the controls on the TV)