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You must still be using those last-gen TV remote apps, then.

*laugh* Actually, I have one of these.

It's a lot more programmable than even the manufacturer claimed -- you can have macros on any button if you know how to do it. It's served me well for about 8+ years. Once I discovered what all it could really do, it proved to be better than some more expensive remotes.

Of course, now I'm sure Logitech has a whole lot more features for a lot less than I paid.

Cheers

1. For speakers go to Ascend Acoustics. The 170's are great, if you have a small room, go ahead and get the even smaller ones. Buy them w/the mounting bracket and aim 'em all towards the center of the "sweet spot" you want in your room. $1200 w/shipping and brackets.
2. Buy a decent subwoofer. Get a Canton, for example. Get it as inexpensive as you can find online. Probably get one smaller than you think you'll need, since everyone overestimate's how big of a sub they need, especially if you have full size other speakers, like the Ascend 170s. $250-350
3. For wires, go to Monoprice for anything specialty (hdmi, etc...) and Home Depot for a big spool of large gauge speaker wire. Everything wire could possibly need for a HT shouldn't run more than $100-200 total. Use good shielded coax for your sub. Every other speaker is perfect with Home Depot copper.
4. Get a Denon 38XX receiver. A really good receiver is key. Do some research on which models do what to fit your specific needs, but get something decent in the $900-1200 range at least to get the most use out of your speakers. Denon won't steer you wrong. There are other brands that are comparable, but don't cost any less when they're truely comparable and usually have at least one receiver class that isn't worth the money.
5. Get the latest best deal HT projector by going to Projector Central and reading the latest set of reviews in your price range. Then shop online for the best deal. It changes too fast for a recommendation to be really useful, but you can get a Sanyo PLV-Z2000 1080p projector for $2200 right now. Get a ceiling mount kit for it if that fits your room.
6. Get a stewart filmscreen to fit your room. Remember, you want your head to be sitting about 1.3-1.8 time the screen width away from the screen. The variance is for if you prefer to sit in the front, middle, or back in big screen movie theaters. Your screen will last much longer than your electronics, so don't be afraid to get a nice one. If you have a totally light controlled room, get a white screen. If you don't, get a grey screen. Either way, get the model with the thick black velvet border, it's way worth it. $800-1800, depending on size and style.
7. Get an upscaling HD-DVD and/or Blu-Ray player. Shop online for the best deal of the moment, or buy a PS3 if you want Blu-Ray. $400-750
8. Unless you absolutely must have the NFL sunday ticket, order Dishnetwork and get their current VIP-series HD DVR. Right now that's a 722, although a 622 is almost identical. Get the DishDVR package w/HD. Watch HD in pleasure. $90/month.
9. If you don't live alone, get a HT-specific uhf universal remote and program it to control everything else. Check Remote Central for the latest recommendations and deals. $100-600.
10. Use pot lights for the ceiling and rope lights from Home Depot for steps/theater aisle floors. Hook all lights up through remote controllable dimmers. Crown molding a bit down the wall w/rope lights in it also works well. Price Varies depending on taste.
11. If you might have power issues, get a $100-200 UPS online and plug your expensive stuff in through it.
12. Don't use a square room. Do look at the acoustic issues and consider soundproofing and deadening the walls and ceiling. (Carpet usually takes care of the floor).
13. For the best experience, no windows and black walls and ceiling. Put the door where if it opens, it doesn't shine light directly on the screen.
14. Ideally arrange the projector and screen so that the light go

that's still always going to be the grey market from overseas

Download codes here: http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/search/search .cgi?Match=1&Terms=roomba

Power button overloading is solved by something called "discrete codes". These are basically separate on and off signals that work regardless of the current state of the device. Most devices have them, but they're hidden, in the sense that they're not included on the factory remote. You can usually find these discrete codes on the internet. Another line of remotes that do exactly what you're asking for is the Phillips Pronto line. Check out http://www.remotecentral.com/ for more info on all kinds of programmable remotes.

Very savvy consumers will hack together ["PC-TV hybrid"] setups themselves.

Yes, we are indeed building them ourselves. However, we are doing so primarily because we can't find what we want on sale anywhere for any price. The below is an adapted version of a recent Usenet post of mine describing what I have come to daily take for granted with my high-definition MythTV setup:
------------
. . . MythTV works, and works well, for those who are interested in a "HD TiVo" without any of TiVo's limitations. I must admit to chuckling whenever I see a question in alt.tv.tech.hdtv or elsewhere asking how to record from a HD video source with a computer in terms that make it clear the poster and the respondents view the task as something akin to cavemen discovering fire.

I work long, long hours and, when I get home, often don't have any more energy left to do more than want to just relax in front of the tube. When I do so, I want to have as much choice in what to watch as possible. Let me tell one and all of what I with 100% reliability do with my MythTV setup every day:

• Push a button on the remote[1] to wake the 47" 1080p[2] LCD panel[3] from its DPMS slumber.
• Pick from a gigantic library[4] of high-definition programs that MythTV constantly adds to[5] based on my choices.[6]
• While playing the program, rewind, fast-forward, and jump to arbitrary points as desired. I can also adjust the playback speed anywhere from 0.5X to 2X without affecting audio pitch.[7]
• I can push a button to instantly and accurately skip over commercials.[8] If I've gone too far, another button will skip me back to the previous spot.
• If I exit a recording, the next time I watch it the playback will continue where I left off.[9]
• If I ever need to restart MythTV, pushing a button on my remote twice within three seconds will cause it to do so.[10]
• If I want, I can run MythTV on my MacBook and watch the exact same programs[11] with the exact same elegant and attractive user interface.[12]
• All this time, MythTV is silently recording yet more for me to watch.[13]

If any of this intrigues you, I recommend visiting:

• The MythTV Wiki and the mythtv-users mailing list archive, the two largest repositories of MythTV knowledge.
• The terrific Fedora Core-based installation guide I used.
• A well-regarded MythTV reference design for those who want to either buy it off the shelf from the vendor or build it themselves. I'm neither a customer nor an employee; all I did for my own setup was buy a Sony Pentium 4 system on sale at Fry's then add the video card, ATSC capture card, gigabit Ethernet card, remote, and NAS. However, in retrospect, there's something to be said for buying at once all the parts except the NAS in one convenient, already-integrated form.

[1] Home Theater Master MX-500 universal remote. I programmed it using a $30 infrared keyboard/mouse combo.

[2] MythTV does an *excellent* job of deinterlacing 1080i recordings into 1080p for those displays that can handle it. Any Nvidia video card from the FX5200 to the present will work.

[3] Westinghouse LVM-47W1. Under $2500 from Crutchfield for 1080p LCD goodness.

[4] MythTV tells me that I have "242 programs, using 1.7 TB (427 hrs 33 mins) out of 1.8 TB (54 GB fr

I have a Sony RM-AV2100 remote control which, when programming it, requires you to hold the reset LCD button down while touching a second button, to reset the second button's function.

From the second page of that review, here's this: You may remove pre-programmed buttons from view by holding it and the RESET button at the same time...

From what I've read of the patent, isn't this exactly what they are patenting?

I have a Sony RM-AV2100 remote control which, when programming it, requires you to hold the reset LCD button down while touching a second button, to reset the second button's function.

From the second page of that review, here's this: You may remove pre-programmed buttons from view by holding it and the RESET button at the same time...

From what I've read of the patent, isn't this exactly what they are patenting?

What do you use for a remote?

My biggest reluctance to moving away from TiVo is it's got the most usefully laid out remote I've ever used for watching video.

Off topic, and not quite what you asked for, but if you haven't settled on a remote control for your setup yet, I just picked up Logitech's Harmony 880 and it is fantastic. I know I sound like a commercial (and no, I'm not affiliated with Logitech), but the Harmony is really the best thing I've found on the market for controlling a high-end system. There are LCD-only remotes that allow you to customize the button layout more than the Harmony, but I found that having to hunt for a button everytime I needed to press it is not as easy as finding most of the buttons by feel. The price is high (US $250), but other model Harmony remotes are cheaper if your budget is tight. The list of devices that it can control is impressive (create a test login at Logitech's Harmony site to see if the components you have/are getting are already supported) and their customer service has been excellent so far. Be sure to check out the forums at Remote Central for discussion on the Harmony and other high-end remotes. And trust me, you won't be truly happy with your system until you can easily control it the way that you want.

On the one extreme, we have wooden knobs controlling a potentiometer (for a preamplifier colors the sound), and on the other extreme we might have input devices even more complex than the Pronto Pro NG.

I don't have a Pronto, but I do own a somewhat expensive Harmony remote. It makes quite a bit of difference. But I'm not so sure that this keyboard would be so useful for audio applications.

I want to second this recommendation. I have the cheaper and now slightly outdated Pronto Neo. I enjoy it a lot and it pretty elegantly solves the problem with most universal remotes: you can create a buttons to match any functionality of your original remotes. You're not limited to some fixed set of buttons.

The screen is a little small and it is B&W (a problem solved by purchasing newer, more expensive models), and the included software is a little quirky, but it definitely fills the need I had, especially since I picked it up used much cheaper than retail from someone that just had to have the latest and greatest.

There's a great user community for it (and other remotes) at http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/files/rcfiles .cgi?area=neo, too, where you can download button bitmaps and codes and whole system layouts and such.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb

There is even a sub-forum specifically for remotes...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s= &forumid=93

I have the MX-500. Worth every penny.
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx500/

Peace

Touch-screen
If you (and your wife) like touch-screens (and don't mind the lack of tactile feedback), the Pronto is the only way to go. These have been the most flexibly programmable for a very long time (so the tools are very mature, including Tonto, a free, third-party java-based editor). The older models (TS-1000) are available on eBay for fairly cheap (under $100). The newer ones have a few more buttons and color screens.

Button-only
If you don't mind an incredibly cryptic remote, get one of the Radio Shack models. Quite programmable, learning, etc. The but the big catch is remembering where you assigned those obscure buttons from your original remote. You know, like subtitle on/off. The 15-1994 has been discontinued, but there are successors.

Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Very hard for anyone other than the programmer to use -- you can't relabel buttons. Requires building your own cable to be computer-programmable, but that might be a plus for /. readers.

Hybrid (LCD display, hard buttons)
If you can't stand touch screens and need tactile feedback, look at the MX-700. You can label 10 of the hard buttons next to the LCD (non-touch) display. And then it has the majority of buttons you usually want (arrows/enter, play, stop, etc.). The 700 is more expensive than the 500 mentioned above, but it's computer-programmable. The 500 isn't.

Pros: You can use it by feel & you can label nonstandard buttons using the LCD.
Cons: You only get text labels, no pretty graphics, and this particular model has a few odd programming limitations.

Touch-screen
If you (and your wife) like touch-screens (and don't mind the lack of tactile feedback), the Pronto is the only way to go. These have been the most flexibly programmable for a very long time (so the tools are very mature, including Tonto, a free, third-party java-based editor). The older models (TS-1000) are available on eBay for fairly cheap (under $100). The newer ones have a few more buttons and color screens.

Button-only
If you don't mind an incredibly cryptic remote, get one of the Radio Shack models. Quite programmable, learning, etc. The but the big catch is remembering where you assigned those obscure buttons from your original remote. You know, like subtitle on/off. The 15-1994 has been discontinued, but there are successors.

Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Very hard for anyone other than the programmer to use -- you can't relabel buttons. Requires building your own cable to be computer-programmable, but that might be a plus for /. readers.

Hybrid (LCD display, hard buttons)
If you can't stand touch screens and need tactile feedback, look at the MX-700. You can label 10 of the hard buttons next to the LCD (non-touch) display. And then it has the majority of buttons you usually want (arrows/enter, play, stop, etc.). The 700 is more expensive than the 500 mentioned above, but it's computer-programmable. The 500 isn't.

Pros: You can use it by feel & you can label nonstandard buttons using the LCD.
Cons: You only get text labels, no pretty graphics, and this particular model has a few odd programming limitations.

Touch-screen
If you (and your wife) like touch-screens (and don't mind the lack of tactile feedback), the Pronto is the only way to go. These have been the most flexibly programmable for a very long time (so the tools are very mature, including Tonto, a free, third-party java-based editor). The older models (TS-1000) are available on eBay for fairly cheap (under $100). The newer ones have a few more buttons and color screens.

Button-only
If you don't mind an incredibly cryptic remote, get one of the Radio Shack models. Quite programmable, learning, etc. The but the big catch is remembering where you assigned those obscure buttons from your original remote. You know, like subtitle on/off. The 15-1994 has been discontinued, but there are successors.

Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Very hard for anyone other than the programmer to use -- you can't relabel buttons. Requires building your own cable to be computer-programmable, but that might be a plus for /. readers.

Hybrid (LCD display, hard buttons)
If you can't stand touch screens and need tactile feedback, look at the MX-700. You can label 10 of the hard buttons next to the LCD (non-touch) display. And then it has the majority of buttons you usually want (arrows/enter, play, stop, etc.). The 700 is more expensive than the 500 mentioned above, but it's computer-programmable. The 500 isn't.

Pros: You can use it by feel & you can label nonstandard buttons using the LCD.
Cons: You only get text labels, no pretty graphics, and this particular model has a few odd programming limitations.

Lots of information on programmable remotes is available at Remote Central http://www.remotecentral.com/

Sure. This site's prolly the best place to start. Good reviews of all kinds of remotes as well as detailed technical docs.

http://www.remotecentral.com/

Steve

For more information, see:

• review by a usability guru
• review of similar model
• Company site (recently taken over by Logitech)

MY handspring Visor had some software (Shareware?) that couldbe used as a learning remote... and it worked great across the room. The only problem? No real buttons (that PDA touch screen), I had to hold it sideways (IR port on the side) and I had to use my freaking PDA to change the channel! Convergence isn't always good...

Enter, the Sony RM-VL900- the coolest learning remote. ITs got real buttons. And it learns EVERYTHING. SO for $60 bucks, I have a macro capable super-tacular learning remote that is so easy, even my wife had no problems adapting to it.

This $700 remote is for people with large cash endowments and no physical endowment. For everyone else, there's a $60 remote.

For all things related to remote controls:
http://www.remotecentral.com/

They have some comments about this new SONY:
http://www.remotecentral.com/av2500/index.html

Personally, I don't like the touch screens for remotes - tactal feel is as important as functionality.

I much prefer the Home Theater Master line of remotes. I have an MX-700
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.h tml that controls everything with all the extra buttons and macros. It controls everything, learns, and you can download new info as more and more devices hit the market. I do have 1 problem - it won't learn my Mecotek DIVX player controls. Not even off/on, but is still a great purchase. I picked it up on eBay for $120.

Let's face it, a universal remote isn't unless you can throw the old remotes away. It has to replace every button and function completely and the MX-700 does for me, including my THX receiver!

For all things related to remote controls:
http://www.remotecentral.com/

They have some comments about this new SONY:
http://www.remotecentral.com/av2500/index.html

Personally, I don't like the touch screens for remotes - tactal feel is as important as functionality.

I much prefer the Home Theater Master line of remotes. I have an MX-700
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.h tml that controls everything with all the extra buttons and macros. It controls everything, learns, and you can download new info as more and more devices hit the market. I do have 1 problem - it won't learn my Mecotek DIVX player controls. Not even off/on, but is still a great purchase. I picked it up on eBay for $120.

Let's face it, a universal remote isn't unless you can throw the old remotes away. It has to replace every button and function completely and the MX-700 does for me, including my THX receiver!

Fellow Slashdotters, please learn this: the fact that something doesn't suit you doesn't mean it's crap. Remember, you are not the customer. There's a market for advanced do-it-all remotes. Just to name an example, Philips made the Pronto which is a touch-screen remote. It cost a few hundred dollars, a friend of mine's dad has one. He also recently spent $5000 or more upgrading his hifi set. Philips decided there's a market for even more up-scale remotes, so they've introduced a Pronto with a color display, for someting like $1200 if my memory serves me right.

This device from Sony does a whole lot of things better than previous offerings on the market (more powerful, more legible screen, tactile feedback LCD display, and hard buttons, to name a few). People spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on home cinema sets. They can afford to spend $700 on one of these.

Aside from being really nice for the intended customers, it has a high geek coolnes factor. Stop complaining, start drooling!

I'm sure it can be hacked if you're good. Turn it into a nice little PDA and check TV listings from it!!

The Philips iPronto TSi6400 actually does this - has 802.11b built-in and automatically updates a program guide on the remote. Also has a web browser. Linux-based OS too, I believe.

It is big, but it keeps my 5-6 other remotes in the drawer.

Macros are great, when watching DVD you usually have to first turn on the DVD player, switch input on the TV, switch the TV to anamorphic 16:9, switch the surround receiver over to the DVD input and set the correct surround mode. With macros this is one button.

You can create some custom labeled buttons for each device. It is possible to mix and match from the different devices, e.g. I have the TV aspect ratio button also on the DVD panel.

It has hard buttons for the most common operations, like channel hopping, volume and arrow keys.

The IR is strong! It works from under the blanket when cuddled up in the sofa.

The girlfriend likes it :-)

About $90

Anyway my point is, I don't think that will drive the price up, as a kameleon is only $60. It's pretty cool, worth a look at a local radioshack, not sure who else has them besides online.

/Mauritz

I would think that beer, remote controls and la-z-boy could claim prior art pretty easily.

Ahh, but they do already have separate on and off buttons. You just don't know it yet.

Many of the brands have discrete "power on" vs "power off" codes. Note the annoying difference between "codes" and "buttons". The remote doesn't support separate switches because adding a second button adds to the cost, while not adding to usability as far as the humans are concerned.

This guy's page for example, shows Sony TV set codes. Note how code 21 is "power", but code 46 is "power on" and code 47 is "power off". The trick is to getting these codes into your learning remote without having the source to teach them from. Try Remote Central for the most complete set of device codes on the net. You'll need a way to get these codes into your remote, though. Try searching for JP1 to learn how to make a cable to talk to an All In One remote.

I believe the Harmony remotes make heavy use of this function to make sure all devices are sync'd with the remote control at every power-on opportunity.

I absolutely love my MX-500. It has every button of every one of my 6 devices programmed in, and they all have reasonable labels thanks to the renameable buttons up top. Runs about $100.

Steve Wozniak championed the universal remote 20 years ago and the American public went, "Huh?". GE had their own flavor.

Have you ever seen a can grabber? A stick with a clamp on one end for grabbing cans off the top shelf? Been around since general stores. Back in the '50s you could buy one that would grab the TV's barrel switch channel selector. Give it a twist.

I'm tired of all these expensive gizmos that inevitably need to be replaced when you buy new equipment. Just let me network my A/V equipment and dl open source control software off the net. A wireless keyboard wouldn't take up any more space than half a dozen remotes.

Don't program your remote controls based on devices, program them based on the actions you're taking.

In my case, I have the Home Theater Master MX-500. To get around the problem you run into, I have it programmed so that my TV mode is only used for rare functions (sleep, changing to RF-in, etc.). I have a "TV watching" mode that changes channel through my TiVo, turns the TV power on and off, and controls volume through my receiver.

And before everyone suggests CURRENT PRODUCTS, don't - because I've tried them all.

Have you really tried the computer-programmable ones? The philips pronto series (all of 'em) support downloaded IR codes. There are libraries of discrete codes (ie. non toggle, ON means ON) for just about every manufacturer you can think of.

Personally, I use the Pronto Neo. I like it for many reasons. A fully programmable touchscreen--I created custom graphics for it. I like that it has a decent amount of hard buttons too. Every button (both hard and virtual) can send IR codes, navigate/change "screens", start timers, and remote-specific things (turn on/off the backlight), or have a macro that does many or all of the above. I downloaded discrete codes for all my stuff. The System Off button turns everything off, period.

My wife loves it. She is greeted by simple icons. If she wants to watch TV, she touches the TV picture and then the TV, cable box, and receiver turn on, and she sees the network logos for her favorite channels. There are tabs for other channel logos (including a Kids tab that my kids use), and a tab that leads to a number pad for direct channel input.

If she wants to watch a DVD, it's similar. Push the DVD logo, push the "play" button. Which, by the way, slowly dims the lights down to 10% thanks to this and IR codes that I downloaded for it. The pause button ramps the lights up to 50% (for bathroom breaks).

Another little trick, I use the above IR-to-X10 gateway to turn on my PS/2 when someone touches the Game icon, thanks to an appliance module. Otherwise, it would be a pain becuase the PS/2 has a hard power switch on the back, and I have it mounted in a built-in cabinet with no room to reach behind it.

I also have a Music tab, which has buttons labeled "Jazz", "Ambient", etc. so you can turn on music without having to know what digital cable channel they're on. And, I don't even have to open the cabinets to turn all this stuff on or off, thanks to an IR repeater I have tucked in the surrounding bookshelves.

The complexity is MIND boggling. I will give ALL OF MY MONEY to someone who can fix the problem.

My 6-year old can fully operate my setup. If there's something specific you'd want to do with your setup, let me know and I'll tell you how to do it with the Pronto Neo (or the more expensive Prontos). No need to give me all your money.

I can provide screen shots of my setup if you want.

I bought a Logitech bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and while they work great 15 feet away on my couch, they are simply too big and bulky to be practical. They are basically gathering dust. I now control everything on my HTPC via the wonderful MX-500 remote. I originally intended to play some games on my HTPC+HDTV but it's just too hard to play decently on a couch with a keyboard on your lap. Nowadays I mainly use the box for mp3's, video (TV episodes and the like), and emulators using Xbox controllers. When I bust out the emulators I tend to just control the box using VNC from a laptop rather than get out the keyboard and mouse.

So bottom line, think long and hard about whether or not you'll really use it. A good bluetooth setup isn't cheap so be sure it's worth it.

You might even want to consider a regular name brand CD player, and get a good universal remote with a big LCD screen that can been seen easily. My father has the poor eyesight and a good remote goes a long way. Even if it doesn't light up, good tactile design makes all the difference. He can't see most LCD's so I made sure that he has a remote with different shaped buttons that can be felt easily. Check out http://www.remotecentral.com for reviews.

The TiVo remote is pretty good (would be better if the buttons were backlit at least a little), but unfortunately I've also got a TV, receiver, DVD, comcast box, etc, so anyone have any rants/raves on universal remotes? I need one that can do macros or is "task oriented," so that girlfriends/guests/etc don't have to hit much more than one button to power everything up, switch to the right mode, and watch TV or a DVD.

I've been reading up on remote central and the Harmony SST-659 looks pretty good. I've tried the Sony RM-AV3000 but find I prefer 'real' buttons in the dark, and its huge touchscreen always gets covered in smudges.

The TiVo remote is pretty good (would be better if the buttons were backlit at least a little), but unfortunately I've also got a TV, receiver, DVD, comcast box, etc, so anyone have any rants/raves on universal remotes? I need one that can do macros or is "task oriented," so that girlfriends/guests/etc don't have to hit much more than one button to power everything up, switch to the right mode, and watch TV or a DVD.

I've been reading up on remote central and the Harmony SST-659 looks pretty good. I've tried the Sony RM-AV3000 but find I prefer 'real' buttons in the dark, and its huge touchscreen always gets covered in smudges.

The TiVo remote is pretty good (would be better if the buttons were backlit at least a little), but unfortunately I've also got a TV, receiver, DVD, comcast box, etc, so anyone have any rants/raves on universal remotes? I need one that can do macros or is "task oriented," so that girlfriends/guests/etc don't have to hit much more than one button to power everything up, switch to the right mode, and watch TV or a DVD.

I've been reading up on remote central and the Harmony SST-659 looks pretty good. I've tried the Sony RM-AV3000 but find I prefer 'real' buttons in the dark, and its huge touchscreen always gets covered in smudges.

I dig the TiVO remote, but the first thing I did when I got mine was to program its functions into the my Marantz RC-2000. ALL of its functions. I emphasize that because the RC-2000 is the first universal remote I've ever seen that could fulfill the promise of all universal remotes - replace all of my remotes. Sure, there are other remotes out that claim to be universal, and I've tried a LOT of universals, but they so seldom replace all of the functionality of the originals. The RC-2000 will replace at least 12 remotes (at least, because you can mix and match functions under each device). It has a LCD screen to facilitate changing functions on each device and all of the buttons are PHYSICAL buttons. I can't stress enough how important that is. I had one of the early touch screen remotes and while it worked as promised, using it blew chunks. You have to look at a touch screen to use it because there's no tactile feedback. With this remote, I always know exactly which button I'm pushing without looking down. It has programmable macros so you can push one button and turn on your home theater system and start a dvd movie, etc... There was even a radio frequency attachment that you could add so that you could control home automation systems if you needed to. It is the the king daddy of all remote controls and the most decadent thing I've ever purchased ($250.00 - and worth every penny). Unfortunately, it is no longer in production. You can find them on eBay every now and then. Apparently, the spiritual successor to the RC-2000 is the Home Theater Master mx500. Which I'll check into if the RC-2000 ever dies.

That being said, I never use it. It won't control the volume on my receiver, so it's useless to me. I generally find only "learning" remotes are useful. Code programming for other components never seems to work--either there isn't the right code, or else some critical button is missing.

So what I actually use is an MX-500 learning remote. It's a bit big, and not quite as elegant as the TiVo remote, but well designed, with plenty of buttons and a thumbstick, and able to learn on every button.

There is an excellent, if a bit expensive, universal remote that has this very feature. A button on the side turns the back light on for the buttons on the face.

Radio Shack has the RadioShack 6-in-1 Kameleon? Touch-Screen Remote. It looks very nice. It's flat but the buttons do have a tactile response. There is a good review on it here

... is found at AVS Forums. Although, to be fair, you may want to try Remote Central for this as well. AVS Forum posters would refer you to there pretty quickly anyway.

All of that said, probably the best remote control is out of your price range -- the MX-500 (or the MX-700, which I have and prefer) is about $100 (the 700 is about $170). It's a button remote w/ a small LCD screen that can be programmed with text entries of what the related LCD buttons do. Most of the remote control buttons are marked though. I've had several universal remotes (Marantz RC-1000, Pronto TSU-1000, and MX-700) and the MX series is by far the best. The MX-700's center joystick is a bit wonky (which my wife dislikes), but it's not bad. I've heard that the MX-500 and MX-800 joystick is better.

For your price range, your best bet is a JP1 compatible remote. I'm not familiar with the range of remotes available, so look at either of the above sites, or the JP1 Home Page.

Fscking awesome remote. Get it around 100 bucks US at BlueDo and then even double the warranty. My kid broke a button on mine (smashed remote on tile floor repeatedly) and HTM fixed it w/o question. Hard button remotes smoke the touch screens simply b/c you don't need to look at the thing to use it. A huge plus.

I _love_ this remote. You won't be disappointed.

Might I also suggest you check out Remote Central? Very good reviews and user forums...

Following the reviews of Remote Central, I picked up a Sony RM-VL900 a few months ago. Admittedly it may be more than $50 (I got mine for $59.99 at Best Buy) but you should be able to hunt around a get it for close to that price point.

It is truly universal - the codes in the manual covered all of my equipment except for a few buttons on the DVD changer and the Receiver. They were absolute cake to learn with the original remotes, though.

The range is solid for a remote in this price bracket, and it's taken more abuse over the last 4 months than many of my previous original and universal remotes. Dropping, sitting on, stepping on, etc.

I've had a few touch screens in the past and even allowing for their superior flexibility in programming and button labeling, etc etc, this is my favorite of all the universal remotes I've tried. Just can't beat the tactility of the hard buttons, anyway. ;)

Check it out!

Following the reviews of Remote Central, I picked up a Sony RM-VL900 a few months ago. Admittedly it may be more than $50 (I got mine for $59.99 at Best Buy) but you should be able to hunt around a get it for close to that price point.

It is truly universal - the codes in the manual covered all of my equipment except for a few buttons on the DVD changer and the Receiver. They were absolute cake to learn with the original remotes, though.

The range is solid for a remote in this price bracket, and it's taken more abuse over the last 4 months than many of my previous original and universal remotes. Dropping, sitting on, stepping on, etc.

I've had a few touch screens in the past and even allowing for their superior flexibility in programming and button labeling, etc etc, this is my favorite of all the universal remotes I've tried. Just can't beat the tactility of the hard buttons, anyway. ;)

Check it out!

If you want to get a universal remote that actually works you'll have to spend some money, and some time, getting the right one.

I'd highly recommend the HTM MX-500/600/700/800 line ($100-400) - I replaced my Pronto with a MX-700 and it's wonderful. If you want a touch screen remote, then the answer is the Phillips Pronto line ($100-1600), but there's some pretty severe drawbacks to touchscreen remotes IMO.

I'd go into it more, but instead go read Remote Central, which has reviews on all of the major remotes, decent forums, and a good files section.

In my case, I have the Home Theater Master MX-500. To get around the problem you run into, I have it programmed so that my TV mode is only used for rare functions (sleep, changing to RF-in, etc.). I have a "TV watching" mode that changes channel through my TiVo, turns the TV power on and off, and controls volume through my receiver.

I think the key is thinking of the "modes" as actions (watching TV, listening to music, etc.) instead of objects (TV, receiver, ...).

Agreed. I keep a nice store of AA NiMHs around, and when buying rechargable gadgets, I look for ones that take AAs. Digital camera, cordless mouse & keyboard, PDA, toothbrush, and one set of AAA's I keep around for the truly wonderful MX-500 remote. I also have a nice 1 hour charger from Radio Shack.