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numike
Reel Rookie

sharp 32" roku remote

I have a sharp LC32LB601U roku tv (the settings says its a 9.4.0 build 4200) and I am wanting to switch to another (universal ?) remote

I watch tv via the antenna and I cannot switch from say channel 2.1 to channel 4.2 with the roku remote.  I tire of having to scroll all the way from say channel 2 up to 30.2 is there a compatible remote of which I can do that?

Thank You in advance

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Visitor45763
Roku Guru

Re: sharp 32" roku remote

Roku TVs won't recognize number keys, if that's what you're seeking. Customers have asked for this for years. Someone recently noticed their TV was responding to a numeric remote. I tried it with mine, and also saw some response (numbers displayed on the screen). But, I think this was just some remnant of the TV's basic functionality responding to keys. Not really Roku recognizing them. Maybe it's a work in progress. But, it didn't look like it was Roku's software displaying the numbers on the screen.

Maybe you could use a Roku enhanced voice remote to say "go to channel 4.2." I don't have one. I think they do that. You'd have to look into it.

There are external DTV tuners you can watch through HDMI. I liked the iView 3500. It wasn't too bad (for less than $30 USD). Nice remote that can control the tv to some extent. Numeric keys, fast continuous channel changing. But, it's overall rough. You get DVR and timeshifting. I think that's what people buy it for mostly. I looked at it because Roku's 9.4 update made antenna tv less usable. I'd say the 3500 was an improvement. You get favorites, direct number access to channels, continuous channel changing. It's definitely inexpensive. But, overall a rough feel. It's kind of a toy.

For me: I factory reset my two tvs, and told the initial setup I'd connect to the internet later (but didn't). That results in a minimal or older software version where the antenna tv is much better. More like it used to be. Continuous channel changing works again. Favorites are back. Captions on mute work again. Audio leveling is back.

I left mine that way. I'm streaming through HDMI with a Firestick Lite. Using a Sofabaton F2 universal for both tv and stick. It just barely has enough buttons to get the job done (I can post my key mappings). But, it works. I don't have a left-arrow guide. (I use the free zap2it or titantv with my phone or laptop. I've always done that.). Also, the live pause doesn't exist in this mode. (I never used it, so not a problem. But, could be for others.). 

The choices aren't great.

You can left arrow to the guide. It scrolls faster/continuously. Plus, the << & >> scroll by page (continuously). That might not be bad if you can get used to that. (I found it confusing because, when I want to change just 2-3 channels, I'll press the up arrow that many times to get there. But, if I want to change across more channels, and I go to left-arrow guide to do it, then the direction is opposite. Up is down, so to speak. It's a nice feature. But as a primary way to change channels, I found it confusing because I would always change 1-2 channels without going there. Which kept that direction (up is up) habituated.

Part of the reason I went with factory reset & no internet wasn't just the more usable antenna-tv interface, but (more importantly): Roku's untested updates are causing a lot of people serious problems (broken tvs). I like the idea of protecting my tvs from that (by keeping them disconnected from the internet). When I saw the antenna tv interface was easier to use (and I never used the guide nor live pause, so, I wasn't losing anything), it seemed like a no-brainer to take this exit ramp. Maybe I won't have to buy a new tv sooner, etc.

"People are often amazed at how much we’ve done with the number of engineers we’ve got." (Roku CEO Anthony Wood, Austin Statesman, Oct 4, 2019). "Amazed" is one way of putting it.