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Universal TV remote for non-smart TV?

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  • #1

    Universal TV remote for non-smart TV?

    So, anyone remember some years ago when the powers that be decided we all needed to get a digital stream box thingie to hook up to our TVs in order to still be able to pick up all channels?

    At my house we have our mom's old portable TV, which is Old (as in, has-a-built-in-video-tape-player-old) with the digital stream box attached. Both work reasonably well. But the remote recently died (yes, we tried new batteries. Nada). So, I need a universal remote.

    However:

    Will a new uni remote work with a non-smart TV? Will it allow us to control the digital stream box?

    I can't download an app to do this from my phone, which is also old and in need of replacement, but that's not in the budget right now. There are many remotes on the market, but I'm not sure if one would actually work with an old TV and the (old) digital stream box.

    Can anyone advise? And if so, do you know what I should look for in a new remote, what brand, what functions?

    Yes, I know I'd be better in the long run buying a new TV but right now because of other financial concerns, I cannot do that. So any advice re: a remote & the digital stream box would be very much appreciated!
    When you start at zero, everything's progress.
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  • #2
    Yes, I remember. That law meant that television went from something I could listen to all day to a distant memory.
    Customers should always be served . . . to the nearest great white.

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    • #3
      I suspect it's going to take some googling: universal remote + the brand and model of the tv + the brand and model of the streaming box. If there's one that will work for both, I expect Google will be able to find it. Finding where to buy/order it might be another adventure.

      Good luck!
      "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
      -Mira Furlan

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      • #4
        If you have the model number of the TV and of the remote, you can look it up. Uni remotes are generally capable of being reprogrammed by punching in a specific code pattern that should come with the device. TVs will generally have ranges that accept a given code (e.g. Samsung TV models that start with R, S, or X could all use the same code (letters pulled out of my ass)).
        "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
        "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
        "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
        "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
        "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
        "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
        Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
        "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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        • #5
          Quoth EricKei View Post
          If you have the model number of the TV and of the remote, you can look it up. Uni remotes are generally capable of being reprogrammed by punching in a specific code pattern that should come with the device. TVs will generally have ranges that accept a given code (e.g. Samsung TV models that start with R, S, or X could all use the same code (letters pulled out of my ass)).
          Hmm, even if it's not a Smart TV? Can't hurt to look, I guess! Thanks for the suggestion!
          When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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          • #6
            Yes, even if it's not a smart TV. The remotes work by blasting out infrared signals in a code that the receiver on the device (TV or converter box) picks up and interprets. The universal remotes get loaded with a list of different code sets, and you wind up telling it which set(s) to use. The rub is if the code set for your TV and your translator box are actually loaded into a given model of remote, which is why you need to do a bunch of searching.

            Honestly, if you don't need the VCR functionality, there's a good chance you can get a digital TV for less than a universal remote... The Burst Buy near my house has 24" TVs for $60, for instance. They have bigger ones for not much more. They should come with a remote, and you won't need the converter box at all.
            “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
            One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
            The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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            • #7
              Quoth MoonCat View Post

              Hmm, even if it's not a Smart TV? Can't hurt to look, I guess! Thanks for the suggestion!
              Yup (and NP)! I used TVs back in the 90s that had this functionality. Note that the remote itself holds the code and you probably won't see any indication about this process on the TV itself.
              "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
              "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
              "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
              "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
              "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
              "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
              Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
              "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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