How to program TV Input for a DirecTV remote control

To program the TV Input feature on your DirecTV remote control, follow these steps:

- Push the slider to DIRECTV
- Press Select and Mute, and hold them down until the remote's LED blinks two times
- Press 9, then 6, then 0

The LED should blink two times, indicating that TV Input has been programmed.

How to connect a DVD player to a DirecTV satellite receiver

There are several different ways to connect your DVD player to your DirecTV satellite receiver, and which ways will work for you depend on the type of DVD player you have and which input/ouput ports it has.  Several options will be described below; one or more of these options may apply to your specific model.  If you can find the program code for your DVD player, you can even program your DirecTV remote to control the DVD player as well.

- Composite cables

If your DVD player has output ports for composite cables (red, white, and yellow or sometimes green) you can use standard composite cables -- also sometimes called RCA cables -- to connect the two devices.  The three cables carry the audio signals (right and left) and video signal, respectively.  Just plug the colored connectors into the same colored ports on the DVD player with one end of the cable, and then do the same on the other end for the composite input ports on the DirecTV receiver.

- Coax cable

If your DVD player has input and output ports for coaxial cable (the type of cable that is probably running from your wall to the DirecTV box -- a heavy cable with one wire sticking out the end of the connector) you can connect the two devices using that cable.  However, your DirecTV receiver will only have one coax input port, so in order to connect the devices in this way you would have to run the cable from the wall to the input port on the DVD player, then another coax cable from the DVD player's output port to the "Satellite In" port on the DirecTV receiver.  Depending on how you have your receiver connected to the TV, you may also have to run an additional coax cable from the receiver's output port to the TV.  If you configure your devices in this way, you'll have to leave your DVD player on in order to watch television; otherwise the signal won't transmit through the DVD player to the receiver.

- S-video cable

Your DirecTV box should have an S-video in port.  If your DVD player has an S-video out port, you can use an S-video cable for better video quality than the RCA yellow cable would provide.  However, since the S-video cable only carries a video signal, you'll still need to use the red and white composite cables for the audio signals.


(Originally published on Helium.com, January 2012)

Disclaimer: I earn a commission on Amazon sales made from links in this post.

How to program your DirecTV remote control

If you need to program a new DirecTV remote control to work with your TV, DVD player, or other device, or if you need to reprogram an old DirecTV remote control, the DirecTV website makes it easy to do so.  To start, go to this web page:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/remote_codes

A list of different DirecTV remote control models will be displayed on the left side of the screen.  Click on your model, or the model closest to yours.  The Remote Control Code Lookup page will load.  Several different options for devices will be listed -- choose the type of device for which you are trying to program your remote.  The choices are Television, Video - DVD, Audio, Satellite Set Top Box, and Video - VCR, with Television being selected by default.

Underneath those options is a text box labeled "Brand:" where you can type in the brand of the device you want to program the DirecTV remote control for.  Once you start typing, various options will appear underneath so you can select the correct one.  For example, if you type "san" then "Sansui" and "Sanyo" will both be displayed.  You can select the model of your device as well, but that's not required to continue.  Once you've selected the device brand, click on the blue Search button.

There are various codes that work for each brand.  The DirecTV website will show you the code that's most popular for that brand, as well as the instructions for programming it into your remote.  The instructions vary by remote model, though they're all fairly similar.  (Some of the buttons on different models have different names.)  Follow the steps listed, with the code provided, to program your DirecTV remote control.

Once you've completed the steps, check the remote's operation to see if the code worked.  For a television, try turning it on and off with the remote, as well as using the volume, mute, and channel up and down buttons.  If everything works, you're done.  If the remote doesn't work, or if some of the functions on the remote were enabled but not others, you can get a different code by selecting "Find more codes" on the DirecTV page.  A list of alternate codes for that brand will appear, and you can try one of them, with the same instructions, until you find the one that works perfectly for your device.

For more model-specific information, here are links to some DirecTV remote control user manuals:

- RC32
- RC64
- RC65
- RC71

(Originally published on Bubblews.com, November 2013)