# Universal TV remotes and off-brand TVs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916 "2008-12-19T15:47:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rapier42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/90db22/32.png) [@Rapier42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rapier42)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/1 "2008-12-19T15:47:49Z")
So, we’ve moved into the 20th century - we knew we wanted an HDTV for our Christmas gift to ourselves, and when I found an Element 42" plasma on clearance at Circuit City, I jumped on it. I’m quite happy with it in nearly all respects, except our DirectTV universal remote won’t talk to it. The brand isn’t in the list, and the drones at Dish Network are no help whatsoever. I couldn’t get through to talk to anybody at Element, and I can’t find anything in their online literature, so… Does anybody know if this Element HDTV uses the same IR frequency as another, more common brand? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/2 "2008-12-19T15:53:07Z")
Damn, I’d love to know this, too. I’ve got a crappy little Element TV that doubles as a computer monitor and I can’t get my universal remote to work with it. I’d just love to be able to use one remote for channel changing _and_ volume! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/3 "2008-12-19T15:54:20Z")
Most programmable universal remotes have some sort of capability to scroll through all the available codes to find one that works with unlisted brands. Check your manual if you have it, or visit DirecTV’s website. If you still can’t find suitable instructions, I’ll see what I can find later. ---
**Author:** ![Rapier42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/90db22/32.png) [@Rapier42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rapier42)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/4 "2008-12-19T16:33:25Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Most programmable universal remotes have some sort of capability to scroll through all the available codes to find one that works with unlisted brands. Check your manual if you have it, or visit DirecTV’s website. If you still can’t find suitable instructions, I’ll see what I can find later. The DirectTV remote is a little weird - you scroll through a menu of TV/VCR/whatever brand names, and when you find yours, it gives you a couple of digit strings to punch into the remote to configure it to talk to that piece of equipment. Element isn’t anywhere on that list, and the remote doesn’t give the option of moving sequentially through the available frequencies until you find one that works. If it _does_ have that option, it doesn’t appear to be listed in the manual or on-line, and the drones at the DirectTV call center don’t know about it. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/5 "2008-12-19T16:38:19Z")
Try the code “0178”, based on this: > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/6 "2008-12-19T16:47:00Z")
If I may piggy-back a question into this thread: do all universal remotes use the same code for the same product? In other words, does the manufacturer determine the codes for their own products? Or does the manufacturer of the remote decide which codes to use for which products? ---
**Author:** ![Rapier42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/90db22/32.png) [@Rapier42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rapier42)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/7 "2008-12-19T17:13:03Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Try the code “0178”, based on this: > [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071112191330AA5yzc0](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071112191330AA5yzc0) I bow to your google-fu, sir. I’ll give that a shot when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/8 "2008-12-19T17:29:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > If I may piggy-back a question into this thread: do all universal remotes use the same code for the same product? In other words, does the manufacturer determine the codes for their own products? Or does the manufacturer of the remote decide which codes to use for which products? The major brands seem to use codes which are completely different from one another, but offbrand products normally use chipsets from one of the big brands. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/9 "2008-12-19T18:51:04Z")
Can I recommend a [Logitech Harmony](http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/&cl=us,en) remote? Not only is it easily the best universal remote I’ve come across, it has a [_massive_ database](http://myremotesetup.com/EasyZapper/New/Main.asp?WebProcessAction=Start&ReturnUrl=%2FEasyZapper%2F.%2FNew%2FProcSpice%2Flanding.asp&ClassId=PrSpice.ProcSpice&RelativePath=ProcSpice%2F) of codes that’s rather likely to work with your TV. Even if it’s not in the database, the Harmony remote lets you do a learning function where you aim your off-brand TV’s remote at it and it lets it learn the remote’s TV signals so it can use those as well. I’m not sure how much time you’d be willing to put into going through a potentially large set of various IR codes to try and match up your TV perfectly. The remotes also have a display screen that’s customized to whatever you’re doing, so if you’re watching TV through your cable service it will be customized to be more like your old Dish Network remote. I also love my Harmony remote because it’s based on _activities_, and not _devices_. I hit one button to “Watch TV” and it automatically turns on my TV, cable box, and audio receiver, then it automatically sets my TV input and my audio receiver input. The remote is a huge lifesaver if you have any kind of modern setup with various components and you don’t want to setup the various inputs after every activity. ---
**Author:** ![Rapier42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/90db22/32.png) [@Rapier42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rapier42)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-tv-remotes-and-off-brand-tvs/477916/10 "2008-12-19T21:54:57Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Try the code “0178”, based on this: > [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071112191330AA5yzc0](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071112191330AA5yzc0) “10178” was one of the codes for Emerson, and it worked. Thanks much!