IR Eye – “Join” button & Beolink Converter NL/ML

[XavierItzmann]

Hello,

I am buying an IR Eye for my BLC.   After all these years, I had failed to realize that there are multiple “buttons” available.  From when we first got a B&O decades ago, I had thought the only button was “LIGHT”!

Well, it seems to me that a “Join” button would be spectacular, if were able to make our BL 6000 speakers to join in whatever is playing elsewhere.  Or are there better-suited IR Eye options for our setup?   Thanks in advance.

[Madskp]

XavierItzmann wrote:

I am buying an IR Eye for my BLC.   After all these years, I had failed to realize that there are multiple “buttons” available.  From when we first got a B&O decades ago, I had thought the only button was “LIGHT”! Well, it seems to me that a “Join” button would be spectacular, if were able to make our BL 6000 speakers to join in whatever is playing elsewhere.  Or are there better-suited IR Eye options for our setup?   Thanks in advance.

I don’t know if there are better suited IR options, but if you only need the IR functionality you should be able to use most of the external IR eyes B&O has made including the rectangular ones from the MCL products, as long as only GND, 5V and IR data is used and wired correctly.

But If you need the button functionality of the IR eyes you are limited to the one with the JOIN button as the other IR eyes use different BUS communication between the IR eye and the unit it is controlling.

[Millemissen]

This is it:

MM

[XavierItzmann]

Many thanks to the Danish contingent here, Madskp & Millemisen!

IR eye with “Join” button purchased today.

Now, to be frank, I’d rather install the eye discreetly, perhaps even out of reach, so maybe we’ll never use the “Join” button… but I would like to have a remote which can issue the “Join” command to the BLC NL/ML.

So far, I have two Beo4s and one BeoTime; I assume no “Join” can be activated on these.

So, which remotes offer this capability?  Should I get a Beo6?

[Guy]

I have no experience with the NL/ML converter, but according to the lexicon the JOIN function can be added to the LIST Button of a Beo4 Navi (the one with the little joystick)

EDIT:  And according to this the Beoremote One (IR version) can send the command also: https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041742571-How-do-I-activate-sources-using-BeoRemote-One-or-Beo4-

[Millemissen]

[XavierItzmann]

Thank you Guy and Millemisen!

My oldest Beo4 is ancient enough that it doesn’t even have N.MUSIC nor N.RADIO (A.TAPE2 does N.MUSIC and PHONO does N.RADIO).  No JOIN on that one!

My newest Beo4, modern enough for N.MUSIC, etc., doesn’t have JOIN either.

So it looks like I am in the market for a new remote control.  From Millemisen’s photo I see I might consider a Beo4 Mk III, with the joystick, but I observe that Beo4 can only control the devices on the right-hand side of the picture below, and not on the left.

Is there a remote able to control both the left and the right on the picture?  Perhaps a Beoremote 1 with BT?

[Millemissen]

XavierItzmann wrote:

……, but I observe that Beo4 can only control the devices on the right-hand side of the picture below, and not on the left. Is there a remote able to control both the left and the right on the picture? Perhaps a Beoremote 1 with BT?

You are right – no IR for the A6.
You could get the BROne/BT (which also has ir).
However, I find/found it inconvenient to have to switch from ir to bt mode for this.
Despite the costs, I would rather recomment having two remotes (a BROne/BT and a Beo4/navi) – especially if you have two seperate rooms.
If you happen to have an older mobile phone laying around, that you do not use anymore, you could use that – with the Bang & Olufsen app installed – as a remote for the A6.

MM

[XavierItzmann]

Hello Millemisen,

I have just read the BeoRemote One – BT manual on the B&O website.  I wasn’t quite able to identify or understand the switching of modes… from what I could see, if I set up the A6 on the BR1-BT, all commands issued to it will automatically be sent via BT, whereas any commands sent to the BLC will be on IR.

I see how that target switching can be cumbersome, compared to the old IR-only systems, where if you depressed the volume button, any and all devices within IR range would accept the volume command.

When you say it is inconvenient to switch between IR and BT, do you mean this act of having to tell the remote which device you wish to control?  Or do you mean some other action that must be taken so the command can be issued?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Millemissen]

“When you say it is inconvenient to switch between IR and BT, do you mean this act of having to tell the remote which device you wish to control?”

Yes, that is what I meant!

MM

[petermc]

CD2 works as Join when turning on my Beosound 35’s

[Guy]

petermc wrote:

CD2 works as Join when turning on my Beosound 35’s

Is that with a Beo4, and if so which version?

As far as I am aware, CD2 was only available on older Beo4s, for example the ‘AV’ version. I am not sure about the later ‘DVD’ version, and I think it was removed prior to the ‘DTV’ version.

It is quite possible that the CD2 IR command was re-purposed as JOIN for the Beo4 Navi.

EDIT: Thought it rang a bell; ’twas discussed here:  https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/23348/193313.aspx#193313

[petermc]

Yes they are older Beo4’s. None have a DTV button. They do have a DVD button though.

[XavierItzmann]

Wow!

Thank you petermc and Guy.  I’m happy to report that both my Beo4’s have CD2 and that both activate the JOIN command on a JOIN-button IR Eye connected to BLC NL/ML:

(1) “Go” 1997 Beo4 (AV Key, no N.MUSIC, no N.RADIO) has CD2
(2) “Go” 2000 or later Beo4 (DVD Key, N.MUSIC and N.RADIO) has CD2

What an amazing forum.

Alright, new question: why is it that I go into the U.S. B&O website and only see the Beoremote One IR for sale and not the one with BT?  Newer products have no IR… right?

[Stan]

About the Beo Remote, I think it’s just terminology.

The site says: “Beoremote One works with both Bluetooth and IR commands to control all your Bang & Olufsen products – both new and classic. Bluetooth is only available with compatible products.”

I have one to control a BV8 (ir) and some Bt devices.  I find when I switch into IR mode. If I accidentally hit the wrong button – say Music – the remote seems to go back to bt mode (I assume) because it no longer controls my bv.  To get it back, I have to select a bt source, the re-select IR mode and a source – like music.  Kind of a pain and not anything I can train my wife about.

 

[Guy]

XavierItzmann wrote:

Wow! Thank you petermc and Guy.  I’m happy to report that both my Beo4’s have CD2 and that both activate the JOIN command on a JOIN-button IR Eye connected to BLC NL/ML: (1) “Go” 1997 Beo4 (AV Key, no N.MUSIC, no N.RADIO) has CD2 (2) “Go” 2000 or later Beo4 (DVD Key, N.MUSIC and N.RADIO) has CD2

Great that it works! I will now add JOIN to my list of Beo4 NAVI soft commands and their equivalent IR transmissions on older remotes. So far I have:

• APPLETV is the same as V.AUX2 (APPLETV not on all Beo4 NAVIs)
• USB is the same as A.TAPE2/N.MUSIC
• DOCK is the same as PHONO/N.RADIO
• JOIN is the same as CD2 (CD2 only available on early Beo4s such as AV and DVD version)

[Guy]

A further thought: When CD2 was dropped from the LIST function of Beo4, perhaps B&O moved it back to the SHIFT CD sequence.  (I think SHIFT CD is CD2 on BL1000 – the later Mk3 and 4 variants.  On early BL1000, SHIFT CD gave DVD)

Can someone with a DTV (non-navi) Beo4 try adding SHIFT to the LIST button and see whether SHIFT CD works as JOIN?

[petermc]

Found a Beo 4 with DTV and tried the Shift CD command. It didn’t join what was playing instead started up Spotify

[Guy]

petermc wrote:

Found a Beo 4 with DTV and tried the Shift CD command. It didn’t join what was playing instead started up Spotify

Thanks for checking that. So if you just press CD do you usually get SPOTIFY, or is SHIFT CD a different command to CD?

[petermc]

Just checked. If I press CD it activates Spotify. Same as using Shift CD

[Author]

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