I've noticed some weird but interestingly helpful behavior. Like others, I lament the Ultra’s lack of compatibility with 3rd party remotes. My setup, leaving out stuff that doesn't matter, is AppleTV > Samsung TV > Wiim Ultra using ARC. Also, iPad > Wiim using USB-optical adapter.
I know that none of these devices are ever truly "OFF" because they all still respond to IR and bluetooth commands. Here's the strange behavior:
- With AppleTV OFF, Samsung TV OFF, Ultra OFF the AppleTV remote volume buttons "wake up" the Wiim and power it on. The AppleTV does NOT power on and therefore the Wiim does NOT switch over to HDMI as it does when I power on the AppleTV. The Ultra just wakes up and continues to respond to volume up/down, staying on whatever input it was on when last returned to standby. This is pretty cool, of course, because now I don’t need to reach for the Wiim remote or front panel to change volume or even to turn it on. I can use the AppleTV remote and I’m still at a “one remote” solution. Naturally, I cannot remotely change inputs on the Wiim but volume control is great to have.
But how is the Wiim responding to the AppleTV remote? They are not bluetooth-paired and Wiim has no IR.
So, the AppleTV's bluetooth volume command is somehow getting to the Wiim. Note that the Samsung TV's remote volume buttons do not produce this effect — only the AppleTV remote does. The AppleTV remote is bluetoothing a command over to the AppleTV, which is outputting that command through HDMI and getting ARC'd/CEC’d down through a powered OFF TV to the Wiim. All while both the AppleTV and the TV are powered "off" and stay off! I thought perhaps the iPad was playing a role here being tied into the Apple ecosystem but the iPad doesn’t have a data connection to the Wiim as it’s going through a USB-optical adapter so it’s just an audio bitstream.
I would love to think that maybe the AppleTV remote somehow made a back door Bluetooth connection to the Ultra, leaving open the possibility that I could get a Harmony or Sofabaton to do the same. Is that wishful thinking? Is this just the Apple TV and the Samsung TV being awake enough to receive and propagate the volume commands through Bluetooth and ARC/CEC, respectively, even while they are both powered off?
Other possibility (perhaps the more likely one) is that I’m just missing something very simple.
I know that none of these devices are ever truly "OFF" because they all still respond to IR and bluetooth commands. Here's the strange behavior:
- With AppleTV OFF, Samsung TV OFF, Ultra OFF the AppleTV remote volume buttons "wake up" the Wiim and power it on. The AppleTV does NOT power on and therefore the Wiim does NOT switch over to HDMI as it does when I power on the AppleTV. The Ultra just wakes up and continues to respond to volume up/down, staying on whatever input it was on when last returned to standby. This is pretty cool, of course, because now I don’t need to reach for the Wiim remote or front panel to change volume or even to turn it on. I can use the AppleTV remote and I’m still at a “one remote” solution. Naturally, I cannot remotely change inputs on the Wiim but volume control is great to have.
But how is the Wiim responding to the AppleTV remote? They are not bluetooth-paired and Wiim has no IR.
So, the AppleTV's bluetooth volume command is somehow getting to the Wiim. Note that the Samsung TV's remote volume buttons do not produce this effect — only the AppleTV remote does. The AppleTV remote is bluetoothing a command over to the AppleTV, which is outputting that command through HDMI and getting ARC'd/CEC’d down through a powered OFF TV to the Wiim. All while both the AppleTV and the TV are powered "off" and stay off! I thought perhaps the iPad was playing a role here being tied into the Apple ecosystem but the iPad doesn’t have a data connection to the Wiim as it’s going through a USB-optical adapter so it’s just an audio bitstream.
I would love to think that maybe the AppleTV remote somehow made a back door Bluetooth connection to the Ultra, leaving open the possibility that I could get a Harmony or Sofabaton to do the same. Is that wishful thinking? Is this just the Apple TV and the Samsung TV being awake enough to receive and propagate the volume commands through Bluetooth and ARC/CEC, respectively, even while they are both powered off?
Other possibility (perhaps the more likely one) is that I’m just missing something very simple.
