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Recommendations for a Universal Remote?
cpritchett asks: "I'm starting to work on my home theater system, but am wondering what to do in the way of a universal remote. Yes, touchscreen remotes and ones that give you TV listings may be nice, but they are also pricey and the touchscreen doesn't offer the nice, familiar, tactile feel of a remote we've all grown to love. So, what's your recommendation for a good universal learning remote for under $50?"
I ended up buying a cheapo Philips learning remote. It was one of the cheapest learning remotes I could find...right around the $20-$30 pricepoint I was looking for. My advice for anyone thinking about spending at that level is to pony up the cash for something better.
Most learning remotes include a "database" of IR codes for popular a/v systems. I had mixed luck here. For instance, my VCR was recognized perfectly. My TV was recognized partially, meaning that I can change channels, but not use the setup menus. Fine, I programmed a few additional buttons using the learning feature, and was good to go.
My stereo reciever was not recognized at all. ARG! That got me a little peeved, but I spent a few minutes and started programming individual buttons again. However, I ran into a problem where certain buttons could not be programmed in! After troubleshooting this problem, I realized what the real problem was: The remote can indeed learn individual keys, but it's got to store that info somewhere, and the "640k-should-be-enough-for-anyone" stick of flash they put in there apparently wasn't enough to program in an entire remote! So while my remote was sold as a 5-function remote (replaces 5 remotes) it couldn't handle even two remotes worth of individually programmed keys.
My final frustration was that my DVD remote could not be programmed at all. Even if I removed some of my pre-existing codes to free up needed storage space, It was a no go. The learning feature flat-out wouldn't work!
I don't believe my dissapointments are tied to my particular remote. Its a common trap I (and other electronics consumers) fall into. Moral of the story; unless 100% of your components are between 1 and 3 years old and all from the exact same company making the universal remote, treat a universal remote as a vital component of the system and spend accordingly.