I purchased the Remote Two. I plan to also upgrade to the Remote 3, knowing this is not required, and that the Remote Two will still be improved upon.
Look, they had a massive demand for more remotes. They had three options:
Ignore the demand and keep developing Remote Two
Manufacture another batch of Remote Two devices to sell
Integrate user feedback to improve upon Remote Two and manufacture a new model
If they ignored demand, they’d be accused of not listening, not being a successful team because they couldn’t make more product. If they had announced more Remote Two devices, people would complain that it was still flawed and they wouldn’t buy it until it was a new version. And since they chose to update the hardware design with the new batch, people are mad because they just bought Remote Two less than a year ago.
They chose the right option. Always look forward, not back. The Remote Two is still a very capable device and will continue to improve alongside the Remote 3. Nobody is forced to upgrade their hardware. Nothing is becoming obsolete. There is simply another option for current owners.
I am opting to upgrade.
And the resale value? That would’ve dropped regardless of what new hardware they announced. It was the lack of availability propping up the resale value of the Remote Two.
I have seen a few suggestions to use a BroadLink as an in-cabinet blaster. While that is a great idea, it sure would be nice to see some kind of native solution rather than coding around it in HomeAssistant. Maybe this has been asked/stated already - Can the addition of a second Dock 3 be placed in a cabinet and used as an IR blaster? And to be clear, I am not looking to place the dock outside of a cabinet and run a line into it for a blaster. I would like something that is fully contained within the cabinet.
I will try it with your http integration ! i think it should work
But… ho will I get an external integration into my remote ? Is there a how to ?
Currently you need to run the integration on a separate device like a NAS, Raspberry Pi etc. How to run the integration, also as Docker container, is explained in the Readme file.
Uploading custom integrations to the remote is not yet possible but it was announced that this feature will come next after Bluetooth support. You can subscribe to this GitHub issue to track the status: Upload custom integrations to the remote · Issue #79 · unfoldedcircle/feature-and-bug-tracker · GitHub
Interesting to note the mention of an offer for Remote 2 “owners”. It would be good to know how this is defined. I am an owner but bought privately as I missed the Kickstarter campaign. Without the ability to register my Remote 2 I guess I am only technically classified as someone on the waiting list? I have received the waiting list offer of a free Dock 3 when buying a Remote 3.
No. At the moment the LightManager is triggered by IR from the Harmony. There is also the possibility with roku_dummy to send commands from Harmony to my home automation IP Symcon and from there with a HTTP-Get control the LightManager. With the HTTP-Get integration from @kennymc.c the LightManager could be controlled directly by the R2/R3. I did not test this yet but I am optimistic.
I am curious as to how the LightManager works. Is it an IR repeater or does it receive IR commands and translate them to IP commands? I see it has a RF transceiver as well. It could control my ceiling fans as my Broadlink RM4 Pro does now.
I am also wondering why you need the LightManager if you have a Harmony. I find the Harmony’s hub controls everything I have via IP and Bluetooth (but not RF).
IR repeater maybe if you have 2. It can react on IR and can do whatever you like also forward it as an IP command. I needed it at first so that I am able to control my Zigbee, not HUE, shade and lights. Then I got a motor screen and it was deleivered with the wrong remote. RF instead of IR and I could learn and send the RF sequence with it.
I figured I would throw my 2 cents into this topic. But first my thoughts on the R2. My trusty old Harmony Elite is now fully retired and has been for many months as the R2 can now do 100% of what the Harmony could do. In fact the R2 can also do several things the Harmony could not do (controlling ceiling fans, lights and room thermostats via Home Assistant!). So I am very pleased with the R2.
That being said the road to get here was fraught with frustration – sometime INTENSE frustration! Granted UC is a small company with limited personnel resources, but the lack of documentation on the launch of R2 was VERY disappointing. If it weren’t for this forum I would still be using my Harmony and the R2 would be gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. So many thanks to the folks posting on this forum!
So what do I think about the R3? Well I have some mixed feelings. Finances permitting I like to get top of the line, or at least close to top of the line, equipment. So when the R3 was announced I was thinking that although I just got the R2 working the way I wanted I might want to get the R3. But reading about it and some of its features I can safely say that I’ll be perfectly happy sticking with the R2. There are still a few bugs and or feature upgrades the R2 needs but since it was stated that the R2 and R3 will be using the same code base that is a good sign. If the code base was not the same then I would be concerned that R2 might not be supported as much as the R3 and if that were true I would have been VERY angry at UC. But they stated the code base WILL be the same and that the R2 will be FULLY supported as much as the R3. I do see why UC had to come up with the R3 as they needed to get funds to get the production of more remotes up and running. So all said and done, I have no problem with them offering R3 and I look forward to continuing support for both remotes. I only hope they have better documentation for the R3 if they are trying to get it to a larger (and possibly less technically inclined) user base.
No we’re not dropping R2 support. The upcoming software upgrades will be available for both R2 and R3 models. Both versions share still the same hardware plattform.
The software roadmap currently just lists an updated web configurator 2.0 but the R3 also seems to run the new remote ui that was announced earlier this year. Will the new remote ui be released along the new web configurator for the R2?
So the new remote ui will be released together with the web configurator 2.0 at the same time or will the new remote ui will be released later when R3 is out? I was just wondering since the web configurator is not the remote ui and only the web configurator 2.0 is on the roadmap so far. But I guess by web configurator 2.0 you are referring to the whole new platform change.
Similar to you I ordered a UCR2 a long while ago and still wait for that. Meanwhile I got an used one. This offered the possibility to improve the IR capabilities for a perfact usability as expected. It‘s all documented.
The UC team offered me the upgrade to the UCR3, so I believe to become an owner of both versions in the future. The registration on the Kickstarter website was necessary, of course.
Many Thanks to the UCR team for their great work. There are no doubts, that they are really good and efficient developers. Just my impression as an 30y+ experienced HW development engineer…
I see the general consensus seems to be that we need native IP integration added to the remote for the LG TVs and Onkyo/Pioneer AVRs. What I’m not seeing is an existing Onkyo/Pioneer integration or a plan for one. Have you found either of those? I looked up “Onkyo” on the Discord, and the last mention was 4 months ago and sounded like it wasn’t happening. Nothing here either.
I’m in the same boat as you, my Remote 2 is a useless (beautiful) paperweight sitting in its box while I wait for native integrations to control the components I have. I expected to receive a product not fully baked, but wasn’t expecting one not even put into the oven yet.
Unfolded Circle needs to streamline and improve their communication as well. Announcing new hardware without also communicating to existing R2 owners about the situation and deals/options was an unforced error. Your most loyal and earliest customers will definitely be passionate if they feel you’ve left them out to dry. Hoping the team keeps on working and upgrading this gorgeous product and hoping their future communication will be better.
I haven’t found any Onkyo or Sky Q integrations. Hence my plea for them.
I feel there may be a very long wait for IP integrations as there seems to be only a couple of people writing them, and they would need the devices to test. And of course we need the ability to load these to the remote.
Currently, I can’t release my R2 into the wilds of family life as the IR is too weak to work, there are not enough IP integrations and no Bluetooth control.
I know they are coming but not soon enough for my liking.