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The Fire TV Blaster is needed only to convert Echo/Firestick RF commands into IR signals to control other devices that use IR. So you’d mount the Fire TV blaster in the closet so it can send IR signals to your receiver (for volume control, source switching, etc.). If you also wanted it to control the TV/projector, you’d need a 2nd Fire TV blaster in the theater room . In a typical point to point setup that is done locally, the IR devices you want to control are in a closed cabinet or not within line of sight, but placed in close proximity to your television or receiving device. This type of setup only requires one unit to be used as it does not need to be used wirelessly.
The repeater should be installed in the approximate center between your X10 RF transmitters and receivers. With an RF setup, the controller works from any room in, or outside of, the house. It beams a signal — picture your controller as a cellphone — to an RF hub — the cellphone tower — which then takes the signal and translates it into IR. Let’s take a look at the Niles RCA2 Remote Control Anywhere kit while discussing how a remote-control signal is sent to a hidden central setup. My job is to translate geek-speak into clear and concise advice and give you easy-to-understand how-to's and instructions about your consumer technology products and services.
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It works the same way as learning individual commands from your original remotes, except there is only button to press. Why it works I don't know but none of my equipment has the Harmony 890 repeaters connected to them. Now, your individual theater components don’t operate on RF.
Zone control allows you to set different groups of devices for control. A switch is included in the back of the unit, allowing you to set up to 10 different zones. This allows you to specify unique groups of devices for control, useful for cases where you don't want to accidentally control two devices in the same space. A less labor intensive method for controlling a central component rack comes via radio frequency . Instead of installing IR hockey puck sensors all over the house, an RF device lets you control all of your devices with one remote.
RF REPEATER
That turns on my receiver and my music starts playing out the surround-sound speakers. I still use the iPhone app to start, pause, select songs, etc. That sends the video to my receiver, which then plays the audio on the connected speakers and video on the connected TV. I can still use the iPhone to start and stop the video, etc.
If your question is not as I guessed, please give me more complete details as to what you’re trying to accomplish. In both cases I control the volume with my iPhone’s hardware volume buttons.
Electronic House
The longest macro you should ever have to use in a reasonable setup will only last for about a second or so unless youve put in time delays which is sometimes necessary. As its been said already the MX remotes seem to have pretty good IR output on them and usually work even when your not pointing them directly at the component. Learn how infrared and radio frequency offer full control of tucked-away devices. The included Firestick remote uses RF, so you should be able to use it in the theater room without any problem. You might need to use the small HDMI cable extension so you can place the Firestick above the back of the receiver and ensure good wireless reception. The X10 Smart RF Repeater plugs into a standard power outlet, and features a built-in pass-through outlet at the bottom , so you don't lose a power outlet.
Running an optical cable from the TV back to the receiver simply adds another audio source (whatever’s playing on the TV). Since the Firestick is connected directly to the receiver that’s unnecessary. The optical cable would be needed if you had plugged the Firestick into the TV. I have a Yamaha RX-V375 AV receiver and a Panasonic TC-58LE64 tv. I’ve tried connecting a Firestick to the receiver but I don’t get sound from my surround sound speakers. I’ve used an hdmi connector from tv to receiver and also an optical cable but neither work.
This circuitry usually involves a ‘hand-shaking’ process where each piece of connected equipment validates itself with all the other pieces of connected equipment. Where the problem can occur is that the validation process usually only happens at the initial point in time where the equipment is connected. If you connect the Firestick to the receiver but don’t have the TV connected at that time and later connect it, the Firestick won’t see the TV and won’t run the hand-shaking process a 2nd time. The simplest way to avoid this problem is to first power on your receiver and TV, set the receiver to use the HDMI port you’ll use for the Firestick, and only then plug in the Firestick to the receiver. That way the Firestick ‘sees’ all your connected equipment and validates with them as it’s powered on. So any source device can be plugged into an available HDMI IN port on the Yamaha receiver which sends the video to the TV/projector and sound to the speakers – no special wiring needed.
After everything’s connected and the source settings are correctly set, you can plug the Firestick into the HDMI port of the receiver. Don’t forget to plug the Firestick’s included power supply into the wall and the other end into the microUSB port on the side of the Firestick – it won’t work without that. One potential issue you might run into is HD Copyright Protection . All your devices have HDCP circuitry built-in, and that circuitry is designed to prevent piracy of protected content.
The only difference is that I am only using the receiver. Or not, with the Firestick/Echo products, you can voice-control most of your equipment. The Echo and the Firestick remote can convert your voice commands to RF commands recognized by the Firestick. The MX890 remote and the Firestick Blaster can convert RF commands to IR commands recognized by your other equipment.
You would just need to plug the IR cables into the ports on both the emitter and receiver. An adhesive backing is including on the IR cables to mount onto the source and display. The RF setup works best for houses that have a variety of receiving devices in multiple rooms. For homeowners who have a simple central setup in their main living room or media room, the IR sensor-repeater-blaster system is the most economical and efficient way to go. RF is beneficial because it gets rid of the hassle of hardwiring individual sensors in each room on the house.
Your MX890 remote uses RF to communicate with its IR-control system, so it doesn’t need the IR blasters to work. The MX890 also has IR emitter on it so you can turn the TV/projector on and off (which is in the theater room with the remote and not visible to the MX890’s IR-control system in the closet). Unique to this wireless IR repeater is the ability for zone control.
Just plug the Firestick into one of the HDMI IN ports (#7 on page 10 of the manual) and connect the microUSB cable from the Firestick to the included wall wart power supply . If all goes well, the device follows through on the command. This is much easier than trying to remotely control a PC and a stereo system. Either way you’d still have to manually turn on the stereo system, select the correct input source and set the main stereo system volume control. Your smartphone’s volume control would then be able to reduce the music volume, or increase it up to the level the stereo system is set at. The components receive the signals and act accordingly.
This gives you better ways to use your consumer technology - helping you get more out of the gadgets and services you already own and use. Since the unit includes both the IR emitter and IR target ports, this allows control in both directions. All you would have to do is plug in the IR emitter cable and IR target cable into the ports for bi-directional use. The only time you really need an RF basestation is if the components are in a closed rack or another room. Other than that I dont see the need for one in your case.
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