Ignite "Big Button" (Royal) Remote

[-G-]

This is new: 

Ignite TV Big Button Remote: Royal

Found this on: https://www.rogers.com/support/tv/remote

https://www.rogers.com/customer/support/article/program-big-button-remote-ignite-tv

https://www.rogers.com/cms/support/pdfs/TV/ignite-tv-big-button-remote-royal.pdf

Looks like it is IR-only, so it will require a very direct line of sight to the Ignite set-top box.

@CommunityHelps  How do you get one of these remotes?

The "Royal" remote is not listed on https://www.urcsupport.com/rogers/ yet but you can find more info here:

https://www.urcsupport.com/urc_product/royal-urc2060b0/

***Added Labels***

[ReneHache]

Love it, it look like the one from the Digital TV boxes, and I like the separated power button for the TV and the box. Wish we'll be able to swap our current one for this new one if it become available, for our current Ignite remote, some buttons are hard to press and it look like a basic tv remote instead of a cable box.

[RogersJo]

Hey @-G-! 

I hope you're staying safe and sound! 😁 The Ignite TV Big Button Remote is available through special order by customers who identify themselves as having special needs. You don’t need to return your current remote though, you can interchange the remotes if required. 👍 

Bear in mind, this remote does not have voice command functionality. We would courier the remote to you and you should receive the remote within 3-5 days. You’ll receive the Big Button remote, 2 AA batteries, and instructions in the package. If you do require one, feel free to send us a PM via @CommunityHelps and we'd be glad to get one out to you! I hope this helps! 

Cheers, 

RogersJo

[57]

In addition to one of the major advantages of IgniteTV (Voice Control) it appears the Big Button remote doesn't have Pg+, Pg- buttons. This means no skip functionality, which is important to many people. It is possible that this may be handled in another way (similar to Day+, Day- which the 1055/6 remotes for digital TV had), but you'd need to check.

If I were to get a different remote for IgniteTV, I would probably purchase a fully programmable remote like the Harmony 665 or similar. These can be purchased for about $50 on sale (Boxing week, Black Friday, etc).  This would have all IR functionality and also be able to control all of your other (IR) equipment properly with one button press.  This is especially useful if you have equipment besides a TV like an AVR, BD player, etc.

[gumshoe99]

I just received 3 of these larger remotes and as was already said you don't return the original since you still need it for voice commands. I also like having the separate TV power button since I use the TV on a separate input as a desktop monitor so shutting the tv service (sleep now) doesn't mean I want the tv off yet I can still control the TV volume with the larger remote. 

The small sharp edge navigation arrows and tiny "ok" button of the original were unworkable for me to the point of frustration. I was about to ask permission to glue soft caps taken from an old broken remote on 5 specific buttons on 1 remote as a test when the concierge service agent told me about the larger remotes. There was plenty of room for more normal keys on the original remote since almost the same space is used so it's puzzling why no one told the designers that it was an idiotic brain child idea. There is no need to be cute with the design when it's useless for anyone except those with small bony tipped fingers. The rest of the placement and functionality could have used some work also but those 5 centre navigation keys  were my main complaint.

For aging eyes the large remote would have been better with a white backlight instead of a dull red. The black lettering on white keys is acceptable but the dull-ish white/grey lettering on the black keys is hard to read in low light. Overall I was mainly interested in larger navigation keys to make browsing and channel hoping much easier and it provides that. I don't mind using 2 remotes but had they not messed this up I wouldn't have needed a 2nd large remote. Not saying some wouldn't have but I'll bet complaints and requests for these larger ones would have been far lower.

[maryhambone]

Hi
I just set my 96 year old mother up with rogers ignite. It was a mistake!!! She cannot operate the remote. I did request a "big button" remote (she does not need the voice activation) but the technician said it will only turn the tv on and off and control the volume....it will not change channels. Is this true?

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@maryhambone wrote:
 I did request a "big button" remote (she does not need the voice activation) but the technician said it will only turn the tv on and off and control the volume....it will not change channels. Is this true?

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REALLY?!?!?  I don't have one of these remotes... but why would Rogers even offer it if it could not change channels???

See the first line of: https://www.rogers.com/customer/support/article/program-big-button-remote-ignite-tv

Easily control your TV and Ignite TV box with the helpful Big Button remote.

If you send a Private Message to @CommunityHelps  , they should be able get a Big Button remote sent out to you.

[57]

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@maryhambone wrote:
Hi
....the technician said it will only turn the tv on and off and control the volume....it will not change channels. Is this true?

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The technician may have been thinking about the kind of big button remote you can purchase online that only has 4 buttons to control channels and volume. The big button remote discussed in this thread can control everything the Ignite remote does, except for voice and pg+/- as discussed in post 4.

[stoneball]

I found this thread and got the new big button Ignite remote by requesting from Community. A vast improvement over the tiny ignite  keys/arrows/etc. A few points to mention:

1. It's IR only and quite a narrow beam so you need to really aim at the box. I may put the little box up higher so I don't have to point down all the time;

2. Setting up the remote with TV codes didn't work for my model but method B works (press setup/TVpowerkey/hold  ok button til TV turns off )

3 the TV input button allows you to go a variety of places but the HOME location which is your tv smart screen, ie w netflix etc, comes up but none of the arrow or other keys work on that screen. I have to use the original TV (TCL) remote to navigate around the home screen. Maybe someone found a fix for this. My previous non ingnite  rogers TV package allowed me to go to the TV smart screen and move around/select etc.

[stoneball]

The plot thickens. Seems by default, "the remote control’s channel control capabilities are locked to the Cable Box. This will guarantee that you do not inadvertently change a channel on the Cable Box while in the TV mode. However, you can deactivate Channel Control Lock to allow full access to keys for use with Roku TV. " 

"In many cases, you can program your cable, satellite or universal remote to control certain functions of your TCL Roku TV.  Look for your provider from the table below and contact them for instructions on how to program your remote. "

 
https://support.tcl.com/ca-remote-codes/tv-remote-codes-for-tcl-roku-tvs-canada

Not successful yet but...

[57]

@stoneball : Under the Rogers link, that's the Champion Remote, not the Royal Remote. I don't believe the Champion remote works with Ignite, only Rogers Legacy Digital Cable.  Based on the buttons on the Royal remote, it doesn't appear to have any "programability" other than to tell which TV you have so it'll turn it on/off and control TV volume.  It's also limited having no Pg+, Pg-, or AVR/Sound Bar volume/on/off functionality, unless there is some "back door" technique that I haven't seen discussed here.

[stoneball]

as I mentioned if you press the tv input button on either the royal remote or the ignite remote, you can go to various places including home which is the tv smart screen. Regrettably that where the arrow buttons no longer work neither on Royal remote or the ignite remote . I was hoping there was a way to "unlock" the royal or ignite remotes.

[DCG1]

I'm looking for the Pros & Cons of the Rogers Senior Remote:

Larger Buttons than normal remote, however, the Senior Remote  has NO Voice control. Why not?

How are others responding to the Seniors Remote ? Your comments are appreciated from this Senior.

[-G-]

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@DCG1 wrote:

I'm looking for the Pros & Cons of the Rogers Senior Remote:

Larger Buttons than normal remote, however, the Senior Remote  has NO Voice control. Why not?

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I just set one of these up for my parents, who recently switched from Digital TV to Ignite.

The Big Button remote does not have voice control because (unlike the XR11 and XR15 remotes) it was not designed by Comcast, nor was it specifically designed for use with the Ignite set-top boxes.  It's an Infrared-only remote, and because it does not communicate with the Ignite set-top boxes using radio frequencies, it cannot send voice commands.

Rogers used to offer the XR11 remote.  It had nice, easy-to-press buttons and was well-received by Rogers customers.  When they switched over to the newer XR15 remote, lots of folks complained that the buttons were too hard to press.  (Even I find it uncomfortable to use the directional arrow buttons.)  I don't know the backstory behind how the Big Button remote came to be but I suspect that Rogers approached Universal Electronics directly for this more senior-friendly option and they, in turn, took an existing URC2060 remote and preprogrammed it to control the Ignite set-top box.  (Comcast offers a different Large-Button Remote, and it is not a voice remote either.)

How are others responding to the Seniors Remote ? Your comments are appreciated from this Senior.

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My parents LOVE this remote.  It is very comfortable to hold and the buttons are very easy to press.  The only downside is that the remote is IR-only and the Ignite set-top boxes were not meant to be controlled with an IR remote.  You need to point the remote DIRECTLY at the Ignite set-top box.  You can't press buttons while holding the remote, facing you, pointing up.

The Big Button remote also does not have "Page Up" and "Page Down" buttons and without those buttons, you cannot page through the Guide or skip forward/skip backwards when watching a recording.

The Big Button remote is not a 100% replacement for the Ignite remote but if you have problems using the XR15, the Rogers Big Button remote is a great alternative.