Skippa IR Remote

russell2200 · September 23, 2015, 07:12:09 PM

Anyone else having issues with the remote control ?

very irritating. I found I kept pressing buttons and getting missed pushes not responding on there Skippa.

As with most remotes as long as your pointing in the general direction of the unit your pretty much good to go ... seems not so with Skippa, at least the unit I got.

On further testing if I'm just a few degrees off pointing at the unit it won't register any button presses. I have to actually have the remote level and aligned pointing with at the Skippa.

I am sitting 3.5M away from the unit and 2.5m across so I'm sitting diagonally opposite the unit. All my other media devices work fine as long as their remotes are pointing in the general direction not so with my Skippa unit.

Its really really annoying to have to do multiple button pushes all the time when it doesn't register.

hoadie · September 23, 2015, 07:32:13 PM

It's very sensitive in terms of being pointed directly at the IR receiver on the box. Plus it's not necessarily the best quality decide but it'll do until I replace it with my Harmony a bit later tonight.

Naffnick · September 24, 2015, 10:46:52 AM

Yeah, Russell2200,
I have to say that I'm not mad about the remote. While it looks quite nice and feels good in the hand, I found it a bit of a chore setting up Skippa yesterday and having to use the supplied remote. Buttons seemed to sometimes not register the press or double-press when frustration cased me to press a little harder or longer. My very next step is to get the Logitech Harmony setup so that it works without my partner complaining that the buttons "are too @$%ing different!" and throwing it across the room. Myself? I love a challenge, so I'm looking forward to diving in when I get a spare few hours!
On another note, I'd like to say big ups to IceTV for including an HDMI cable with the unit. So many others consider this to be an optional extra, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find this in the box when I opened it.

IanL-S · September 24, 2015, 10:53:48 AM

One thing I have noticed with recent PVRs is that they have iOS and Android RCU Apps. Skippa does not seem to have one. Even some older Topfield PVR Models were give RCU Apps.

Ian

Likkie · September 24, 2015, 01:35:04 PM

Hi Guys,

I received my Skippa at work today and set it up when I went home for lunch. So I've mucked around with it for about 40 mis in total.

I haven't experienced any problems with the remote at all.

My sitting position is about 3.5 meters from the unit at and angle of about 20-30 degrees for the front and in a shady room (blinds drawn).

I took note of its effectiveness because I had read your reports before I'd gone home.

I'm just reporting this because I thought, given my experience, you may be experiencing a fault rather than a design problem.

Cheers,

Erik

FMB · September 24, 2015, 02:54:20 PM

I will be setting up my Skippa as soon as I get home this afternoon. My Harmony remote is already set up and ready use, so I'll do some comparison testing to see if the problem is the remote or the remote receiver. I'll let you know.

FMB · September 24, 2015, 07:14:54 PM

The remote which ships with the Skippa is rubbish. It feels cheap and either doesn't acknowledge signals or doubles up. My Harmony One operates it perfectly. I just needs to configure some extra buttons.

hoadie · September 26, 2015, 05:18:39 PM

Having programmed my Harmony remote & adding an IR blaster it works really well now.

russell2200 · September 26, 2015, 05:22:12 PM

I was holding off spending that much money on a remote but I think I will bit the bullet and get one. Looking at the Harmony Ultimate which has the networked HUB , extra IR blasters if you want to plug them in and the remote is NOT IR so it works to the hub through walls etc and the hub then does the IR blasting.

Anyone used one of them ?

zoszos68 · September 26, 2015, 05:23:20 PM

My remote has the same "must aim correctly issue" as well.
One idea I had as to the cause is the ir sender on the remote is recessed a little into the remote and maybe the signal get blocked a little.

I will have to look a my other remotes to see how they are and will report back.

Kevin

IanL-S · September 26, 2015, 05:41:45 PM

This is a common problem with PVR RCUs. The best ones I have had are the (discontinued) TP501 and the TP013 that Topfield use. Topfield have made some excellent RCUs and some abominations ... I'm looking at you TP602.

After-market RCU such as those from Logitech are much better.

Ian

Dave at IceTV · September 26, 2015, 11:45:37 PM

(The following first 3 paragraphs are the same as I posted in another thread)

My Skippa remote control puts out a very strong signal. Strong enough to point away from the Skippa and bounce off the wall behind me and still operate the Skippa 2 metres in front of me. I can also put 3 towels over the front of the remote and still operate the Skippa (4 towels were too much, as was 1 thick doona). I didn't have access to the Menacing Thick Fluffy Blanket (MTBF) that www.remotecentral.com use as their standardized(sic) test for measuring the infrared performance of universal remote controls.

My Skippa's remote also works at wider angles than the TV screen is comfortably viewable from (unless you like the blacks on your TV to look grey). I can point the remote left or right 80 degrees (in a 160 degree arc), or down 45 degrees, or up so far that it's now bouncing off the ceiling or back wall behind me.

If anyone is experiencing difficulty getting the Skippa to pickup the signal from their remote control try moving the Skippa forward so it is close to the front edge of the shelf it is sitting on.

If you try scrolling between multiple sub-menus too quickly the Skippa will pause for a split second, and if you get impatient and press the button again it will then move 2 steps as it catches up to your button presses. I don't see any missed button presses or double button presses. I just see a menu that can pause for a split second if I'm trying to scroll down the menus quickly and the PVR doing exactly the number of steps my button pressing told it to.

To me it's behaviour seems identical to my old favourite PVRs - the DP series Beyonwiz PVRs - where you had to get to used to it to be able to navigate it's top menu quickly, and the secret was patience and planning. i.e. If you wanted to scroll across 3 menus you pressed the right arrow 3 times and waited for it to move to the 3rd menu. You didn't press once, have a look, press again, have another look and think it hasn't moved so press again... only to see it move 2 steps, which was 1 step more than you wanted.

IanL-S · September 27, 2015, 10:54:31 AM

With the SKIPPA RCU I think my main problem is that I am not always pushing the button all the way.

I quite like the look and fell of it (although I have trouble reading the writing on the buttons .... old age ;D). It is reminiscent of the RCUs on the old standard definition Toppys (not the one for the 5000 Masterpiece and Black/Silver Panther).

Ian

pnkoshea · September 28, 2015, 05:59:38 AM

Hi Guys,

Can I ask what manufacturer & model code you used to get the Harmony to work? I tried to set up my Harmony 200 and was nt able to find a manufacturer/model code that worked (Al Tech PVR9600 didn't) and then the Harmony would not register the Skippa's IR beam for manual configuration.

Any/All help appreciated!!

Cheers,
Rick

IanL-S · September 28, 2015, 07:20:31 AM

Quote from: pnkoshea on September 28, 2015, 05:59:38 AM
Hi Guys,

Can I ask what manufacturer & model code you used to get the Harmony to work? I tried to set up my Harmony 200 and was nt able to find a manufacturer/model code that worked (Al Tech PVR9600 didn't) and then the Harmony would not register the Skippa's IR beam for manual configuration.

Any/All help appreciated!!

Cheers,
Rick

I did a search on the Harmony site for supported models and the result was that the IceTV SKIPPA was supported by all Harmony RCUs. I not tried setting it up on any of my Harmony RCUs.

Ian