Has anyone tried this?  B&O has the best looking IR eye.  Was wondering if plugging it in to non B&O equipment (such as a non B&O receiver, etc) would work with the remote for that equipment if it wasn't a Beolink or Beo 4.

probably not!

macjonny1:

Has anyone tried this?  B&O has the best looking IR eye.  Was wondering if plugging it in to non B&O equipment (such as a non B&O receiver, etc) would work with the remote for that equipment if it wasn't a Beolink or Beo 4.

I think it will work. I've used a B&O IR eye with the Lintronic code converter in the past and it works very well.

beojeff:

I think it will work. I've used a B&O IR eye with the Lintronic code converter in the past and it works very well.

But I'm sure you didn't use it with a non-B&O remote, which is what the OP was after.

The B&O IR receivers only respond to 455 kHz IR carrier, which the B&O remotes use. Pretty much every other manufacturer uses carrier frequencies in the 30-60 kHz range, and the B&O receivers will simply not react to them in any way.

Hang on...

My Logitech Harmony can control my BV4's via the B&o eye, so I guess the question is how to pass the signal to non-B&o gear via the eye. I have an IR repeater in a non-B&o room that I could have a try playing with. My assumption would be to pop the B&o eye in place of the IR receiver and see what happens?

I am not going to rip my existing BS/BV eye(s) out of the wall, but I do have a spare(s) from a BeoPort and a Beolink Active. I know that they are different from the BS/BV supplied ones, but I don't *think* this should be an issue.

Jaff I think your Harmony is transmitting the B&O carrier frequencies though...

macjonny1:

Harmony is transmitting the B&O carrier frequencies though...

They do indeed transmit 0-455, w/ a hot spot between 35 and 58. Have you considered one? Not B&o, but you can use just one remote in a mixed media (B&o inclusive) environment.

Q for the techies: Is the weakest link the actual eye? (i.e.) Is the 455 "threshold" driven by the receiver, or by the processing of the signal in the ultimate device?

Jaff,

Thanks for the reply.  I did have a harmony 1100 for a short time and returned it as the remote was freezing and I realized after I got it I wasn't happy at all with it.  I'm actually considering ditching my antiquated Beosystem 1 with a newer Onkyo receiver soon.  I'm using the BS1 for audio switching now only, and it really only adds to the complexity and remote clutter.  The Onkyo is a 9.2 receiver and I'll just hook up my Beolabs to the pre-outs on the Onkyo.  I can even add some passive rear surrounds and front height speakers if I want.  I understand the audio correction and calibration with Audessey is amazing.  The Onkyo has a semi-universal remote that I'm hoping will play fine with my Samsung 3D plasma/blu-ray.  With the advent of HDMI it is amazing how they all turn off/on with each other and I'm thinking I will be able to get by with one remote. 

I'll post my experience with a non B&O receiver when I get it.

burantek:

Is the weakest link the actual eye? (i.e.) Is the 455 "threshold" driven by the receiver, or by the processing of the signal in the ultimate device?

Think of the IR receiver as a radio tuner - it receives the program modulated on a certain carrier frequency, and out comes baseband audio (or the decoded data of the IR command). A receiver tuned to 455 kHz won't care about transmissions on other frequencies, and out comes nothing. The microcontroller in the receiving device doesn't know about the frequency anymore, it just gets the decoded data. For B&O, this is actually very near to the data format that runs over Datalink.

I suppose B&O chose the higher frequency for better noise immunity and reliability. Most other IR remote methods send just 8 to 16 bits per command, while B&O's two-way communications may use very long commands, easily 50 bits per frame or more.

As a sidenote, the 455 kHz IR receivers used in most B&O kit are built from discrete components, and circuitwise they are actually very close to an old school direct AM radio tuner! There are integrated 3-pin receiver ICs available for 455 kHz as well (like Vishay TSOP7000), but their performance isn't nearly as good as the B&O implementations.

Most other manufacturers use the 30-60 kHz systems with integrated receivers, and we all know what you need to do with them - aim...

@macj: I am in a similar position and it is difficult. I dare say I have more satisfaction from my non-B&o room!

When the BeoVision kit finally packs up -well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! I may just end up wrapping Panny plasmas in the left over BV4 dress!

And on that note, and to the point of your OP: What about gutting a B&o eye and mounting a universal IR receiver behind the red?

@Mika: Thank you for the well written explanation. Very interesting. I suppose I always thought as the eye as a pass-through device. Thanks for the education!

Thanks for all the help here!  I suspected the IR eye would only receive the frequencies of the B&O remotes.  Much more complicated than I imagined!