WSJ Reviews High End Universal Remotes

An anonymous reader writes "Walt Mossberg is at it again - this time comparing the Philips Pronto and the Harmony SST-768. These remotes have both been featured on Slashdot before."

Comments

jp1 programming rocks

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't need a high end universal remote unless you are obsessed with touchscreen remotes.

Check out www.hifi-remote.com and the jp1 programming group on groups.yahoo.com for info on how to totally program radio shack and OneforAll remotes. Macros on devices buttons, new devices,... you name it.

Re:jp1 programming rocks

[crow]

Absolutely!

I bought a $29.95 remote at Radio shack, along with a DB25 connector, cut apart an old IDE cable and soldered it to the DB25, and now I can program every button to do exactly what I want it to. (I think that there are people who will sell pre-made cables for a reasonable fee if you ask nicely.) Like most universal remotes, it comes pre-programmed with device code for most common brands, but you can't program every key to do exactly what you want it to in each of the modes; that is, until you hook up the JP1 cable.

Now when I copy shows from my ReplayTV to VHS (usually for a friend), the Replay Quick Skip button is active in VCR mode, so I can pause the VCR, skip the commercials, and unpause, all without changing modes on the remote.

Oh, and I can download the settings from the remote and archive them in case it ever breaks.

HP-48SX/GX

[Webmoth]

As I recall, there used to be software available for the HP-48SX/GX calculators that allowed it to function as an IR remote control for your *whatever*.

My desire to get this post in early does not allow me time to do a Google search, but I'm sure someone will.

Re:HP-48SX/GX

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe this is the software you are referring to:

http://bjorn.rhoads.nu/hp48/

proud pronto owner

[coaxial]

I own the first generation pronto (the midnight sea foam green one, not the new silver one with the color display). It is without a doubt my favorite piece of home electronics. It solves my problem of 5 different remotes beautifully. I put it into DVD mode and press a button marked "on" and my television turns on and selects svideo input, the dvd player turns on, the receiver turns on, and selects dvd mode. One button does it all. It truly is a sight to behold.

It came with a real screen editor. I can draw buttons, assign single functions or macros to buttons, use timers. I was afraid that the editor wouldn't be up to par, but it was exactly what I wanted.

Now there's alot of people saying "use a palmpilot" but they don't know what they're talking about. The palmpilot and the like's IR transmitter simply isn't powerful enough to work as remote control. Think about it. If it says it can send files from up to a meter away, what makes you think that it's going to be able to control your television at 4 meters?

Only works from 3 feet away.

[bburdette]

Last time I tried this was with a palm III. It only worked when I was close enough to push the TV buttons myself. Kind of defeats the purpose! I think there are some palm models that have greater range, but most don't.

Re:Only works from 3 feet away.

[Dr. Manhattan]

Well, there's a way to hack the Palm hardware to at least triple the range, but of course it draws more battery power. Still, Palm III's and even Palm V's are dirt cheap these days; much cheaper than a high-end remote.

Re:Only works from 3 feet away.

[drinkypoo]

Pacific Neotek, maker(s) of the OmniRemote software, also sell two pieces of hardware designed to enhance the palm's IR. There is a serial dongle (for palms with the old connector) and there is a handspring module. The handspring module features 450kHz IR (for controlling new and expensive devices such as those from Bang & Olafsen) and X10 radio control. Both of these devices have much greater range than any built-in Palm IR.

$60 touchscreen remote

[McSpew]

You don't need a high end universal remote unless you are obsessed with touchscreen remotes.

As somebody else already mentioned, Radio Shack has a $60 touchscreen universal remote. You don't need a high-end remote just to get touchscreen, either.

JP1

[msheppard]

Radio shack (et.al.) have many universal remotes with the JP1 interface. You have to build your own cable (any day I solder is a good day) and then you can program any key to send any IR signal. It's pretty slick once you get it working. You gotta be able to edit Excel spreadsheets of the command arrays &c.&c, but in the end you can make the remote do anything.

M@

What about Marantz

[Pinteiro]

Marantz has been manufacturing universal remote control for a decade, they have far more experience in this market. They are also pretty easy to set up and sturdy.

I like the Harmony

[larryj]

I bought the Harmony SST-768 a few weeks ago. It takes some time to get everything set up, but since I got past that I'm really liking it.

The wizards on their web page can be a bit of a pain. I started making more progress when I entered 'advanced' mode and started editing some of the XML directly.

The cool thing about the remote is that it remembers the state of your components. "Watch TiVo" is my default activity. When I hit the power button on the remote, it turns on my TV and sets everything up to watch TV (DirecTV/TiVo combo box). If I switch to my "Watch DVD" activity it knows that the TV is already on, so it doesn't send the IR code to power off the TV. Video input, receiver input, picture mode, etc are all switch as requierd. Some settings are common for different activities and the remote knows to leave those alone when switching.

Previous universal remotes that I had used required that I return to a default state to run macros. I can switch between any macro (Harmony calls 'em "activities") without worrying if the TV is on the correct video input. The remote keeps track of it and changes things accordingly.

You don't have to use discrete codes to accomplish this either (although you can). I use different picture mode settings for different activities. Video games are better on my "standard" setting while TV and DVDs use the "Pro" setting. I defined a new variable in my TV section (XML) and then added a bit of code to the various activities' sections so the remote will keep track of which picture mode it's in and send the correct IR codes as needed.

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but my next step is to define a state for the volume level on my receiver. As I switch activities, the remote will then add or subtract X volume ticks depending on how I define it. Watching a DVD will equal -12, TV -08, etc.

I'm not sure if other remotes have this abilty, but it really makes it easy to have a remote than anyone can use. Scroll the wheel, select your activity, click the wheel.

Home Theatre Master - No competition

[Wraithlyn]

I feel I am somewhat of an authority on this subject. Shortly after Christmas, I embarked on a crusade to find the perfect remote, that offered maximum flexibility and ease of use.

Over the next 2 months, I purchased and returned remote after remote, always dissapointed (until the final one.. keep reading). Here are some opinions on the various types.

Touchscreen models: Sexy, sleek, great cool factor. COMPLETELY AWKWARD TO USE once the "gee wow" factor wears off. You have to press the screen to activate it, then visually search for the button you want, then press the screen again. Zero tactile feedback. I want to be able to find the function I want without even looking at the thing.

All button models: Great for basic use, but too hard to remember what you've set special functions to, and tedious to program (when the red light blinks twice, hold down X until the red light blinks rapidly. If the light is steady and unblinking, you must then proceed to alternately pressing Y and Z while standing on your head and pointing the remote at the constellation Orion.. etc) Aside: With JP1 programming, the Radio Shack /All in One models ARE an unbelievable value and immensely flexible. Worth checking out if you're on a tight budget.

So... where does this leave us? I wanted a remote with the customizability, clarity, and easy programming of a screen model, with the tactile feedback of a buttoned model.

Enter the Home Theatre Master MX-500. (Big picture)

This is truly a dream remote. You have wonderful ergonomic design, thoughtfully placed controls, and the real show stopper: the LCD screen and side buttons. These side buttons are used to select options from the screen, in much the same way a bank machine works. You main menu consists of 10 devices (which you can rename of course), and each of these 10 devices has 2 LCD screens (20 functions) worth of programmable, custom named functions, in addition to all the regular buttons, all of which are fully programmable. And of course the LCD screen provides a full menu driven interface to the remote's features.

Here is an extremely in-depth professional review.

Here is a long list of user reviews. (Average score is 4.82 / 5, from 113 reviews)

The only remote that can top this is from the same company, the MX-700. This remote comes with a small, fully programmable buddy remote, can set full length macros on any key, and is computer programmable. It also costs $500 USD! (The MX-500 is ~MSRP $200, I got mine for $112 online)

All my friends are jealous of this remote, I can fully operate it it absolute darkness with just one hand (either left or right), a complete stranger can figure out how to operate my entire entertainment system in 5 minutes flat, it has insane IR power.. I can bounce it from other rooms no problem, and I haven't even SEEN my other remotes since the day I got this. No other remote even comes close. If you're sick of remote clutter, you need to get one these babies. I cannot heap enough praise on this thing.