Complex Operation? Macros Or Help - Marantz RC5400 User Manual

Customizing Your RC5400
3. Complex Operation? Macro or Help...
If your entire system is new to you, practice using the RC5400 manu-
ally for a few days before programming any macros. You'll find that
your home theater requires many operations that require multiple
steps to do. You have to decide whether to use a:
Macro - The entire operation happens in an automated sequence
when you touch one button.
Help List - The operation happens manually but is prompted by large
sequentially numbered buttons with friendly labels on one sequence of
pages linked together.
Some multiple step operations require you to make decisions before
you proceed. An example is turning on a non-Marantz home theater
system. Many components turn on and off with a single "Power" but-
ton. Before you press a "Power" button, the manufacturer expects you
to look at the component to see whether it is on or off. If you want it
on and it's off, you press the "Power" button. If you forget to look, and
it is already on, you will turn it off when you press the "Power" button.
The Remote cannot "look" at your components to see if they are on or
off. So, if you recorded a macro intended to power up a non-Marantz
home theater, it wouldn't be very reliable.
Here's an example: Your spouse goes out to the local video store and
rents a video tape. When he/she gets home, they pop the tape in the VCR
(most VCR's automatically turn on when a tape is inserted). Your spouse
touches the macro button you programmed to power up the system. The
recorded sequence of "power" buttons is played back. Unfortunately, since
the VCR was already on, it is now off and everything else is on. Your
spouse sees no picture, assumes the macro didn't work, so he/she tou-
ches the button again. This time, the macro turns the VCR on and everyt-
hing else off. Frustrating!
Marantz builds components that are "macro-friendly". Instead of a
single "power" button, the remote controls have a discrete "On" and a
discrete "Off" button. With a Marantz system, you can record a Macro
that is very reliable from a series of "On" commands. Take a look at
the example ALL ON and ALL OFF macros preprogrammed in the
default configuration.
User Guide
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