I've had a Mac Mini of one flavor or another connected to Panasonic plasma TVs since about 2006. The Macs serve as HTPCs, playing back content from my homebrew server. I control the Macs, running Front Row (yes, that old) with either an actual Apple Remote (the old white ones) or, most of the time, a programmable IR remote cloning the Apple Remote's signals.

Again, I've been doing this for a long time. It's always worked fine.

But starting a few weeks ago, anytime I pressed the "menu" button on the Apple remote (or programmed remote), the Panasonic TV switches its video source, naturally to the input that the Mac Mini is not connected to.

I am at a complete loss as to why this is suddenly happening when it has never happened before. I checked the current Panasonic's firmware, and it is a version (the most recent; it's a 2013 model TV) from several years ago, and current. It didn't have a recent update that could explain this. (I also have a much older 2005 Panasonic in the basement, but I have not tried to duplicate this behavior on that dinosaur.)

The behavior is consistent, whether I'm using the old Apple Remote, the programmed remote (a Harmony) or a new AppleTV remote's Menu button. There's no way the original Apple remote could have been reprogrammed. The TV has not been reprogrammed.

So, I ask you, kind members of the forum: Whiskey Tango Fox? I can work around it by setting up the Harmony to reset the TV input every time I push its Menu button, but c'mon. How the heck could this just be happening after so many years when it didn't happen? Gremlins? Aliens? Hackers? Am I in the Matrix?

(Serious answers would also be welcome.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2020 05:39PM by Will Collier.

so you mention an AppleTV, let me guess. The Panasonic TV switches input to the HDMI port where the AppleTV is connected, not the MacMini? right?

If this AppleTV is a new addition, check a setting in there, you can disable this thing. I can go take a look at mine.

Hmm. Interesting, yes, that is a recent addition. I'll check! Thanks!

I have Panasonic Plasma TV (2009) and a Apple TV 4 (2019?). Apple TV can turn the Panasonic TV on and switch HDMI.

....well....son of a......switch......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

if you cannot find that setting, you can pt some black tape over the IR sensor of the AppleTV, so it will not respond to IR signals from the old white remote or from the Harmony remote. it should then respond only to the Bluetooth AppleTV remote.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2020 07:17AM by space-time.

Yeah, that was it. Turning off "Control Devices" in the AppleTV Settings fixed it. Thanks, S-T.

Good thing I didn't take that red pill...

take the Blue pill instead.

I would still cover the IR sensor on Apple TV. You do not want that streaming something in the background when you use the IR remote to control the mini. I would use unnecessary data/bandwidth.