Marantz RC5000i - Manual (Page 22)

User Guide
20
If your entire system is new to you, practice using the RC5000i
manually 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
panels 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”
button. 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 RC5000i 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 videotape.
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
touches the button again. This time, the macro turns the VCR on and
everything 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.
Customizing Your RC5000i
3 Deciding Between Macros or Help Lists