When we first launched the Skip 1s, we thought it was clear that the state of the universal remote control industry was lacking. We listed many problems, but the most prominent one was that the existing marketplace didn’t understand the power of the community.

If you’ve recently visited the forum, you may have noticed a growing community of people who have found most of their devices showing up and working just fine with the existing Skip App Library. However, there might be a small problem with an existing entry, like a device that’s missing a button.

Before the latest release, the Skip App could only import new devices. This could result in duplicate entries in your local database, which didn’t really address the problem mentioned above. But with the most recent 0.9.93 Beta, we’ve taken steps to address that. Now, you can make changes to your existing devices locally and share them with the community, and it’s really easy.

How to Add and Remove Buttons from a Device

Before proceeding, make sure you’re familiar with our JSON file formats for adding custom devices. When added, these devices seamlessly appear in our software.

Adding, removing, or modifying existing devices is extremely easy. You can do this on two levels: the device level and the button level.

A prerequisite is to first match the Manufacturer and Device fields exactly for this feature to work.

“collision”: “DELETE” || “REPLACE” || “MERGE”, // Default is “MERGE”

Device Level

• Delete – will remove the entry from the database entirely. If you have buttons defined below this field, they wont matter. They are removed.
• Replace – This essentially removes the entry in our software and replaces it with yours. Any buttons defined in our original entry, will no longer show up. Only yours shows up.
• Merge – This puts all the buttons it finds in both entries into one list. Any buttons in the imported file that are identically named will get the entry from the imported file, essentially overwriting our entry.

Below is an example of a Device Level JSON file that would remove the Apple TV Gen 4 from the library.

Button Level

• Delete – will remove the button entry from the database entirely. If the button is not found in our entry, nothing happens.
• Replace – This essentially removes the button entry in our software and replaces it with yours.

Below is an example of a Button Level JSON file that would replace the POWER button on a Topping PRE90 device.

Don’t worry. Even without this field at either the device level or button level, imports will still work. We will apply the specified defaults, which is the least destructive approach.

Smarter Updates

Prior to v0.9.93, adding and updating existing devices was extremely cumbersome. The process involved importing a JSON file and then walking through the wizard to update codes on your remote, even if these codes were already assigned to buttons.

However, this is no longer the case. Now, if the existing manufacturer/device is currently assigned to any remote in your ‘cubby’, you will be prompted to update these codes directly.

Next Steps

We plan to provide better and easier tools within the Skip app for recording new devices, modifying existing devices, creating your own devices, and directly sharing and receiving feedback from the community. However, the next major update in development aims to unlock learning without the need to create and import files. Like everything else, we are working hard to simplify what has always been a challenge. As always, thank you for the support, feedback, and stay tuned.

I sound like a broken record, but this has been a lot of work. I’ve spent countless hours on sleep detection alone. I’ve made some great progress tonight but I have quite a ways to go along with one important feature. I’m going to try so hard to finish by the end of next weekend. Wanted to post an update before I pass out.

The downloads section has been updated to include the new Windows GUI. The software is packaged in a beautiful installer that installs the driver, CLI, and GUI with minimal effort. A special thanks to Eric, one of the brightest engineers I know and I’m happy to be working with him.

The Linux GUI will be available shortly.

I know that any visitor who find this site at this point in time, doesn’t know what flirc is yet. So although a mystery, the only reason I’m keeping anything a secret is for one simple reason. I don’t want to disappoint anyone.

I’m an Apple fan. From the way they plan their products, their attention to detail, and finally, how they inform the public of their new products. I highly admire that approach because there are (well, shouldn’t be) any expectations at the time of the product’s release. However recently, rumors leak before the announcement and fake features overwhelm the public with excitement. All these rumors and possible features build up hope and expectations in the public.

Take for example the popular CES show in Vegas at the beginning of every year. Companies from all over the world come to show their latest creation. Quite frankly, I never hear of half the show’s popular products again. They failed to make it to the market for any number of reasons. Or, worse, they make it to the market, and the features promised or demonstrated on the prototype, are missing from the final product. I hate that, and I know everyone else does.

Designing a product is extremely hard, and Steve Jobs learned early on that dreaming of a product is completely different from creating a product. Many times, a number of engineering challenges are faced in which you realize that the dream will change or modify dynamically over the course of the design. So why tell everyone about a dream. Dream’s are meaningless ideas. The final finished product holds the value.

I’m nearing the final stages of design, and products will be available to purchase at the very second the site goes live. I don’t believe that my product is going to change the way we live. However, it’s solving my number one frustration with an existing problem, and I’m sincerely hoping to have the same impact on others. So rather than having a page demonstrating the products capabilities, I’m designing the product in hopes to meet my own expectations, before having to reach everyone else’s expectations.

flirc aims to solve a fundamental problem.  The details of the product will not be discussed until it’s release, however, as an avid user of open source software and hardware, I will constantly discuss and share my own engineering projects in this blog.