NevoSL Newsletter

Fall 2005

Software Update for Nevo SL

Universal Electronics, the manufacturer of the fabulous Nevo SL announced a software and firmware upgrade on November 8th, at the EHX Home Theater Conference in Southern California.

We believe this demonstrates UEI's commitment to providing a solid remote and an outstanding (and growing) feature set!

The update addresses the following areas:

While this upgrade is labeled as 1.1, don't be mislead by what appears to be a small incremental improvement.  The software for the Wi-Fi activities and network management tasks went from 1.0 to 2.0, which indicates a substantial improvement!

As you probably know, we are very bullish on the Nevo SL.  We think it is one of the finest remotes available at this time.  Give us a call if you would like more information. or just to chat about features/benefits.

Tips 'n Tricks

We suspect this tip is better stated as a "best practice" programming approach, which is not really documented anywhere.

Assuming you have your Home Page with your "activities" on it, such as Watch TV, Watch DVD, etc., and each of the icons contains your "one-touch automation" Actions. (I don't really like the word "macro" as it can be a bit confusing and scary, but I guess we could call it that as well ;>)

Since the Home page fires your One-touch automation Actions, how do you go to various pages within your configuration, to adjust something, without firing all of the macros?  For example, if you are watching a DVD and wish to jump over to your Receiver and change a DSP mode or something similar.

We created a simple approach for this, from the Home Page.  Notice in the Home Page below, you will see a small icon of the remote, in the middle of the screen.

This icon simply jumps to a device called Devices (or Components if you prefer.)

To implement this concept, we simply created a blank device in NevoStudio by adding ANY device and taking the default page collection for that device.  Once it has been added, we made changes to the Device in the Project View.  We deleted all of the pages except one and also renamed the Device in the Properties View to be named "Components".

 We then populated the one remaining page in that Device to have a "look-alike" home page, as you will see below, except this page is labeled in the center as the "adjustment" page, so you can quickly tell them apart.  (This page was created using any of the popular art programs like Photoshop, Paint-Shop Pro, etc.) You may even wish to use a different background color, etc.

Each of theses icons only contains a "Jump" to a page you choose.  For example,  the TV icon might jump to a page which contains various aspect ratio buttons like Wide Screen, etc.  The Receiver icon might jump to a page which has your DSP modes on it.

You can integrate this concept in any way you choose.  The Jump to your "Components" page might be a "Function" button (the four underneath the screen) if you prefer, instead of adding an icon to the Home page. Or possibly an unused hard button on your Home Page.

You will also want to consider implementing an easy way to get back to the main control page of the Activity you were on, before you chose to go change settings on your equipment.  While there is not a built-in function to "return" to your last-used page, it is pretty easy to go back to the Home page, using the hardbutton on the left-side of the remote and then choose your "Components" icon and then navigate to the Device and the page you were last on, which corresponds to the "Activity" you are currently in.

Did You Know?

0 and 1 State buttons no Longer Required

The 1.1 version of NevoStudio did away with the requirement that any button or icon you add to the Gallery must have two states, in order to be be shown in the Gallery?  A single custom button or icon can be added to the Gallery without having two states.  If you still have two-state buttons, they will continue to work as they did previously.

Please Wait Backgrounds

You can add a custom-labeled background which says; "Please wait while your equipment is being setup".  It is very easy to incorporate a single page like this into your "one-touch automation" Actions.   Simply jump to this custom page as the first action.  The remainder of your Actions will finish and then Jump to the page you want to be displayed, for that Activity. This custom page can be located anywhere within any Page Collection.

More Compatibility with UPnP Devices

The latest software release of NevoStudio, NevoMedia Server and Nevo Media Player expands the possibility the Nevo SL will work with more Media Devices and Media Renderering Devices such as the DLink DSM-320, The Roku Soundbridge and I heard recently, one of the Escient Media Servers.  This again demonstrates UEI's interest in compatibility with several UPnP devices.

Online Model-Based Lookup

If you are registered at mynevo.com, you can use the online, Model-Based Setup, which allows you to search the UEI online database to find a very specific model of equipment you are interested in adding to your configuration.  If you are not registered, within NevoStudio, go to the Help Menu> Register Online.  Consumers, Installers and Distributors can each register differently to use various services on mynevo.com, which will include model-based setup, online help, FAQ, etc.

Free downloads of Channel Icons

While the latest version of Nevo Studio 1.1 now allows a single-state icon or button be to added to the Gallery. RemoteQuest is offering a free download of 250+ TV icons (0 & 1 state) for most Cable, DirecTV and Dish systems.  In addition, we are also offering a free download of most XM Radio icons, also in the "two-state" offering.  If you wish to simply add the 0 or 1 state to your Gallery, they will work fine. Or if you wish to modify the "1" state icons so they have a darker/colored background, the user will see the icon change state on the screen , which is also a great way to indicate the button has been successfully pressed.

Add two Beeps to your One-Touch Automation Icons

By adding a beep at the beginning and end of your One-Touch Automation icons on your Home Page, you can tell your family members they should continue to point the Nevo SL in the direction of your Home Theater equipment until they hear the 2nd beep.  This helps ensure the "one-touch automation Icon has completed its job and will reduce the possibility some of your equipment isn't set up correctly.

We love to help current & prospective Clients!

Don't hesitate to contact us if you would like more information about the fabulous UEI Nevo SL.  We are available most days, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. California Time.  Give us a call at 650-591-2110.

Until next time - RemoteQuest has the finest home theater remote controls and a passion for outstanding customer service.

Happy Holidays - Dave