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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?"
You can start your research into JP1 at the Yahoo JP1 Forum.
The Home Theater Master MX-500 is the best universal remote I have EVER used. I never thought I would spend $100 on a remote control, but believe me... it is the only universal about which I have been able to say that I no longer use ANY of my other remotes - TiVo included.
Amazing battery life, great IR output, excellent display, nice combination of hard-buttons and programmable soft-buttons.
I also have a number of friends who have all learned the same thing about the MX-500. Buy it and never worry about remotes again.
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...
quis fimum scribit?
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.
I used to own a Pronto TSU-2000. I sold it, and bought a Pronto TSU-3000. I've had it for about a year, and it's still not fully configured.
My wife hates touchscreens. So, as a holiday present to the both of us, I bought the Harmony 659. It's got tons of real buttons. In under 30 minutes, I had it controlling EVERYTHING, including some fairly obscure (for remote manufacturers) equipment: My plasma TV, my SliMP3, my Zektor component switcher, etc.
It's activity-based, and configured via a java applet loaded from their website. You tell it the make and model of all your equipment. Then, you tell it what you need set to what to do things like watch tv, listen to music, watch a DVD, and so on (these are all customizeable). When you're done, it downloads everything via this java applet to your remote, using a USB connection.
30 minutes, and I've done with a $150 remote what I've yet to be able to do with a $500 remote.
And my wife LOVES the hard buttons.
.@.
... 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.