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In Search of the Best Programmable Universal Remote?
option8 asks: "Now that i have more components in my living room than I have room on the coffee table for their remotes, I'm looking into getting a programmable universal remote. I've looked at some of the spiffy touchscreen jobs, like the Philips Pronto and even some of the new color remotes, but it seems to me that spending more for my remote than I did on my DVD player is overdoing it somewhat. Also, all I've found are ones with windows support for building screens. Are there any out there that I can use with Linux?" There was a previous Ask Slashdot on this subject back in '99, anything new to report since then?
I would say my wife if she could figure out my entertainment centre. Ah, the issues of being an audiophile ;) (j/k)
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ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
Here's a review of my choice. It's not fully programmable in that you can't add or remove buttons, but there are tons of available functions built in. The back-lit LCD is nice. And for $90, I can live with having to use a few mislabelled buttons.
I decided that all the remotes in my living room were totally useless. I threw them all out, and simply replaced them with a 10 foot pole.
Not only does it allow me to control all button controlled equipment, but it allows me to change DVD, push the cat out of the way, and take the phone off the hook if someone wants to interupt my viewing. About all I can't do isget a cup of coffee. I use a long handled shovel for that.
For those with a Palm Pilot, OmniRemote is an excellent universal remote application. It makes Palm IIs with the 2MB upgrade card useful again.
I guess you could always use your Palm. It's about as programmable as it gets! Some Palm remote projects.
My Sony receiver came with a sophisticated remote control complete with LCD display.
I hate it.
I want a remote that has buttons. A lot of buttons. A whole lot of buttons. Something that doesn't make me go through 15 menus to get to the operating mode I want.
Are the answer, they love pushing buttons and while there are incidents of failure they seamlessly upgrade with the hardware. And they can open fridges and bring beer. They come with switchable covers, have a basic voice and language recognition system, and work off an inexhustable supply of energy. They are even turning things on before you get up, and after you've gone to bed.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Personally I'd stay away from the touch screen remotes. I find that I rely on tactile feedback too much to use them. In other words I like to feel my way to the correct button rather than look down to find where I need to press. If you do go touch screen make sure you get one that's backlit. Without tactile feedback it's hard to find the right button and it's doubly hard when you have the lights out.
I don't have any specific recommendations but if I were going to buy a new universal remote I'd get a good ole push button type with learning capability and plenty of extra buttons. My biggest complaint with the cheaper universal remotes is that they always seem to leave off one or two buttons that I use frequently on the native remote. Get a good learning remote with plenty of programmable buttons and that'd alleviate that problem.
You found a wife that besides being programmable is also remote??
Assuming you can override the remote part when need be, do you best to keep her, friend. You won't find another one easily (but also be aware of the universal part, it sounds a tad dangerous).
For those of you who are perhaps, more discriminating buyers, I offer the Lexicon 700t. I used to sell medium to high-end audio/video while in college and we couldn't keep enough of these (and their predecessors) in stock. Be prepared to pay though, they weren't cheap as I recall. Custom buttons with bitmaps...how cool.....
there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
1) You don't have to carry a remote around, you just tell it what to do.
2) You don't need to reprogram it when you buy new merchandise.
3) It works with non-electrical things, such as "Get me a beer, Abe"
4) Chicks dig helper monkeys.
I thought the Pronto was expensive too, until I bought one after installing a full home theatre system. With the complete customization and programming ability, you can make your system do anything YOU want. I have programs set so that you press one button to switch receiver inputs, switch TV inputs, change audio settings, etc. when changing to a different source. Press "Watch a DVD" for example and the TV switches to the DVD input, the receiver switches to the DVD input, the receiver switches to Dolby Digital mode, the DVD player comes on (if it is off) and starts the movie. You could also have it dim the lights and do other things if you'd like. Awesome, and you do it all with one (virtual) button. Much easier for my wife and family to operate. Ecost.Com is the cheapest I have found for buying them.
Jason
"FORMAT C:" - Kills bugs dead!
I recall running across remote programs for my palm in the past. I'm hitting the same problem now, as my Denon AVR 3300 remote is maxed out, and now I must use the RCA DirecTV remote as well.
;)
Advantages:
1) Large storage capacity.
2) Multi-function.
3) Customizable interfaces/macros.
4) Readily accessible and relatively low-cost. 5) Phone numbers of friends/pizza places on remote.
6) Ability to sync TV schedules.
Disadvantages:
1) Doesn't seem to work with all IR signals.
2) Not specifically designed for task
3) Relatively Small compared to high-end remotes.
4) Beam strength. (IIRC, has been fixed past PALM III)
5) Beam angle/IR port location.
6) Program Availability. (Can't really comment too much on this, as I haven't researched it in a long time)
7) Time required to input data. (Most programmables have codes that do the heavy lifting for you.)
Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
Remote Central has reviews, forums, and for those that can use them all sorts of custom files. Its the best source for any information relating to remotes.
I'm very happy with my X10 ultimate remote, annoying popup ads notwithstanding. I like real buttons rather than an LCD screen -- much better in the dark. It doesn't have a huge amount of RAM, so you have to plan out what you're going to do a little bit (and make sure to reset everything when you first start, because there's likely to be junk cluttering up the memory out-of-the-box). But being able to control your lights (and talk to your computer) is pretty nifty, and it's hard to beat $25. (Again, annoying ads notwithstanding.)
Get yourself a Radio Shack 15-1994 6-in-1 Smart A/V Remote, hack it with a JP1 Interface, and for under $50, you've bought yourself an infinitely customizable IR remote (with X10 capability!), and with all nice tactile hard buttons to boot!
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Old Skool Marantz makes some impressive programmable remotes, I use one myself and control everything from the Receiver to the Digital Cable Terminal. In particular the RC5000i. Here are some of the Features...
- Illuminated LCD touch-screen display with ''virtual'' buttons that re-name themselves according to the component selected
- Large memory capacity to accommodate hundreds of control screens and programming of A/V systems of any size
- Preprogrammed IR code library and exclusive MDL (Marantz Digital Learning) quickly clones your existing remote controls
- Windows® PC programming software enables easy programming customization including adding photos and artwork to display screens
- Rechargeable battery and companion docking station keeps RC5000i charged at all times
Convenient Macro keys store commands that can be sent automatically in sequence
- One-touch access to all controls of any component, via unique Marantz tab-style navigation
- Built-in screen layouts for dozens of component types
- Animated help files demonstrate how to program from your existing remote controls
Programmable Instant Surf buttons jump from one channel to any other channel at the touch of a single button
- Home panel can be personalized with a custom greeting
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/spencergifts/612275.ht ml
RFC2119
Here's a review at Remote Central:
It's got LOADs of buttons, the feel is good, and has a built-in screen so you can play games if you get bored with TV!
Seriously, it's been functioning this way for a time now, and has performed well.
Pros:
Cons:
"Trust me - I know what I'm doing."
- Sledge Hammer
Hey, you're the first person who's ever acknowledged my sig! Hail!
I should have been more clear in my original post. The 15-1994 does have X10 capability, but only of the IR type, not RF. However, you can use it with an IR543 Infrared Mini-Controller (~$23) to get full RF X10 capability.
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One thing that has always driven my nuts with macro functions on any universal remote is the fact that the remote has no way of knowing what the current state of the components are.
:-) so I could actually control what the devices are doing, instead of just blasting out pre-determined IR codes and hoping for the best.
For example, I have a macro for "DVD". Turn on the amp. Set amp to DVD input. Set surround to "theatre". Turn on the TV. Switch TV to DVD input. Turn on the DVD player.
Seems like a great idea. But some of the components (TV and DVD player) have a single button/signal for power on/off. So if my TV was already on, then this macro does everything right, but turns the TV off. Damn.
Or sometimes not all of the IR signals make it to all of the compnents. TV is on, DVD player is on, but the amp never switched to the DVD input. Damn.
I wish I could have all of my components share a simple communications channel (hmmm, or complex, like Bluetooth
"Tomorrow's forecast: a few sprinkles of genius with a chance of doom!" - Stewie Griffin
Don't get a Jensen. I bought one about a year ago and returned it the same day, it was a complete peice of junk.
It looks cheap, feels cheap and only has marginal support for each device (runs some functions but not all). Of course it was cheap, $40 CDN I think.
I wish I could have all of my components share a simple communications channel (hmmm, or complex, like Bluetooth :-) so I could actually control what the devices are doing, instead of just blasting out pre-determined IR codes and hoping for the best.
Well, you can buy a JDS Infrared Xpander. It will work in standalone mode (without the home automation controller) and has a common bus that allows you to hook up various sensors to your devices. Then you can program it with simple if/then/else logic, so if it detects that the TV is already on, it won't issue another power command to it. Integrate it with a Timecommander Plus or Stargate for full home automation pleasure.
I have the Timecommander Plus & IR Xpander and absolutely love it. I can initiate macros from any device - IR, RF remotes, wall mounted touchscreens or keypads - and the JDS equipment takes care of everything, including lighting & appliance control throughout the house.
For considerably less money, the Houselinc will accomplish many of the same tasks. However, these devices are not hand-held controllers, although you can use your computer as one. You'll still need an IR remote to control the bulk of what you want to do. Most people couple them with a Pronto, or Crestron or Phast touchscreen ($$$$$). These systems will simply take care of your macros, sensing the current status of your devices and responding appropriately. If you block out the IR ports on your equipment and channel all IR input through a complete JDS setup, you can use flags & variables to keep track of the status of each device in great detail - for instance, whether your receiver is set to CD, DVD, VCR, etc, or what channel your TV is on.
-Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
The solutions are their Palm hotsync module for Palm brand devices and their Springboard module for Handspring Visors.
I have the latter and its pretty cool... You can totally customize multiple remote control layouts. I personally like 4 quadrants of the screen: volume up, volume down, channel up, channel down. BIG buttons you can hit with your finger or stylus without really looking :)
Josh
-Sam