# The innards of my television remote **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150 "2010-11-28T04:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150/21 "2010-11-30T04:06:10Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Most universal remotes these days, even the $10 cheapies, account for specialized buttons and map them to something else. It may not be all that obvious how it maps, though. For example, on my DVD player I have to press the menu button and then the other buttons change function to access the functions that the original DVD has. While it is in “menu” mode (aka alternate keys mode) the LED on top of the remote blinks. I had to do a bit of trial and error to figure out what the button mapping was, but I can access every function on the DVD player from the universal remote. In the past, that kind of functionality was reserved for higher end models. I would dispute the claim that a $10 remote has this ability but since I haven’t used one in a couple of years, I’m willing to be proved wrong. I actually tried several models with the dvd-vcr example above and while I could get either the dvd or vcr to work, I couldn’t get both to work at the same time on the same device setting. There was also a problem with changing the input to the device. None of the pre-programmed codes seemed to handle this. I also had this problem with my old ReplayTV dvr’s. I could never find a universal remote that handled all of the functions. Maybe things have changed but I suspect you will still run into such problems with older units or devices from less well know manufacturers. Finally, there is the issue of convenience. Even if you can use a shift, function, or other key to access additional functions, it’s still going to be a pain in the butt, especially if its for something like the 7 jump back function on the replay dvrs. A 2 button operation for something like that is just unacceptable. I used to get the latest and greatest universal remotes, program them, map keys, etc, etc. But in the end, I always ended up using the factory remote. It may be possible to access every function, but it’s never going to be as simple and convenient as having a dedicated key on a dedicated remote. edit - by the way, I even tried using one of the harmony remotes in the dvd-vcr example - it also failed. (harmony 550) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150/22 "2010-11-30T04:22:05Z")
i use $25 learning remotes, use the original remotes only for programming the learning remote. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150/23 "2010-11-30T04:35:55Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > In the past, that kind of functionality was reserved for higher end models. I would dispute the claim that a $10 remote has this ability but since I haven’t used one in a couple of years, I’m willing to be proved wrong. My remote is a $10 cheapie that I got a couple of years ago from walmart. I bought it specifically because my kids tended to destroy remotes. I keep all of the original remotes in a drawer so that the kids can’t break them. I didn’t expect it to do all of the DVD functions, but it does. Figuring out what button does what was a bit of a pain, but now that I know what they are it doesn’t bother me. I can see why some people might not like it though. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150/24 "2010-11-30T04:58:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Not trying to kill this thread, but just want to thank you all for the help before it dies. I just wanted to find out how a TV and it’s remote stay together for 17 years. I have this brand-new one that was just screwed into the wall over there a few weeks ago, and no clue where the remote is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-innards-of-my-television-remote/562150.md?page=1)