How to prevent Panasonic Blu-ray remote from controlling Panasonic DVD recorder?

[pwaug]

I have a Panasonic DVD Recorder and just added a BD85. When I use either remote it operates both devices simultaneously which is a PITA. Does anyone know if there is a way to change the codes in one or the other so that this is avoided?

[MrBoylan]

I have a Panasonic DVD Recorder and just added a BD85. When I use either remote it operates both devices simultaneously which is a PITA. Does anyone know if there is a way to change the codes in one or the other so that this is avoided?

Yeah, I have a Panny DVD recorder too, and every time we would get Panasonic Blu-ray players in for review, my poor DVD recorder would go haywire - Panasonic DVD players, DVD recorders and Blu-ray players all share the same IR code set which means pressing play on any of the remotes will send a play control to all compatible devices.

But there's an easy fix. Check your DVD recorder or BD85 manual for specific details on changing the remote control code. Basically you can set both the player and the remote to a different code set so that they "speak the same language" but this language is different from the standard Panasonic IR code set. On the BD85, I think the setting is in the set-up menu under "Others... Remote Control Code." Change it to "2" and then to get the remote itself to match, press and hold the OK and the "2" button on the remote for 5 seconds. If you choose control code "3" then press and hold the OK and the "3" button for 5 seconds. This way you can independently operate and contrll 3 different Panasonic devices independently using the factory remotes.

This can make things a little tricky when programming a universal remote like a Harmony, but I think the Logitech db does have the "code 2" and "code 3" variations in its remote control database. If not, then you might need to reprogram your universal remote one button at a time. Not fun, but a one-time process.

BTW, I moved this into its own thread as it's not really specific to the BS85 Blu-ray player. It affects and and all Panasonic Blu-ray, DVD players and DVD recorders.

-CB

[rohsman]

I have panny BD85 controlled by logitech harmony 300. I pushed set code 2 in the menu by mistake. Now, I can't control the BD player. Anyway I can reconfigure the remote to set code 2? I already lost my original panny remote.

[MrBoylan]

I have panny BD85 controlled by logitech harmony 300. I pushed set code 2 in the menu by mistake. Now, I can't control the BD player. Anyway I can reconfigure the remote to set code 2? I already lost my original panny remote.

Not sure if Harmony has an option for the Panasonic Control 2 codes, but you should be able to reset the player itself to code 1. Warning: this will reset *ALL* of your player settings to factory defaults, so if you've done any other tweaking (e.g., multi-channel analog outputs, etc.), which you don't want to lose, then you might want to try to borrow a factory Panasonic DVD player or Blu-ray player remote, temporarily set it to Control Code 2 to change your player back to Code 1 (and don't forget to restore the remote you borrow back to normal before returning it).

If you don't have these buttons (OK, Blue, Red) on your Harmony device options, or if the player does not respond to them (because it is set to mode 2), then trying to borrow a remote might be a better option.

To do a hard reset of the BD85, do the following (from the user manual):

To return all settings to the factory preset.
?? Reset the unit as follows:
1 While the unit is off, press and hold [OK], [B] and [Y] on
the remote control at the same time for more than
5 seconds.
– “00 RET” is displayed on the unit’s display.
2 Repeatedly press [1] (right) on the remote control or
[POWER Í/I] on the unit until “08 FIN” is displayed on the
unit's display.
3 Press and hold [OK] on the remote control or [< OPEN/
CLOSE] on the unit for at least 3 seconds.

Good luck!

-CB

[rohsman]

Hi CB, have tried but BD85 can't recognise the remote. Guess I'll have to look for the panny remote. thanks for the advise.

[MrBoylan]

Hi CB, have tried but BD85 can't recognise the remote. Guess I'll have to look for the panny remote. thanks for the advise.

I did look up how to set up a Harmony for alternate Panasonic code sets, but it looks like to do so you need to confirm the codes during set up by hitting several buttons on the factory remote set to its alternate code base. So that doesn't really help you either. I would imagine there is a way on the unit itself to do a complete factory set, without a remote, but I haven't seen any evidence of how to do that on the BD85.

Do you have any friends who own a Panasonic Blu-ray player? Any one of their remotes should work, just hit the OK and 2 button for five seconds to put it into Code 2 mode (and OK 1 to get it back).

Good luck!

-Chris

[rohsman]

I've contacted a local dealer selling this. Will visit his store to check if we can fix. Thanks for the advise.

[rohsman]

Do you think BD45 remote will work for this. One dealer has this model.

[rohsman]

Good news! Got to borrow BD45 remote, followed your advise and it worked. My logitech is working again and I can watch my BDs. Thanks a lot!

[MrBoylan]

You're welcome. I love happy endings.

-CB