Slashdot Mirror
Recommended Programmable Remote Controls?
Slashdot Junky asks: "I am fed up with having several different remote controls for my living room A/V gear and have decided to buy a high-end programmable remote to replace them. I have a TWC SciAtl Explorer 8000 DVR box, DVD player, Onkyo HT receiver, TV, and a home brew PC media server connected. I am looking for one that is comfortable to hold and more importantly, capable of DOING EVERYTHING that each of my existing remotes do. So, what remotes are you all using? Why did you select the one you have? What should I look for in my search? What don't you like about it? What do you like? What else should I be asking?"
"Once the new remote is programmed, I want to be able to leave the factory remotes in the cabinet for good. I want the new remote to be able to handle even the non-day-to-day tasks like using the TV OSD menu. It should also be easy enough for my non-techie wife to use, too. Although the Logictech Harmony line seems nice, I don't really know much about it. Of course, there are others as well."
Lots of information on programmable remotes is available at Remote Central http://www.remotecentral.com/
I have the Sony RM-VL900. It's simple (hard buttons only) but has full learning capabilities and macros. It's also only about $60, and it goes forever on 4 AAs.
If you don't mind a little soldering, make yourself a JP1 cable, and buy a cheap remote that you can program from your computer. If you're not familiar with the JP1 interface, it's a little connector that you hook up to the parallel port on your PC. You can then create and upload new code sets for devices that it doesn't already know. With my cheap Radio Shack remote, I now have almost complete control of every button, so it works exactly the way I want it to.
I'd settle for a universal that will run my ExpressVu (Dish Network) receiver and JVC receiver and DVD player. It seems to be an impossible combination, and programmable units are WAY too much fluff for me. Universal remotes look like ass most of the time, too.
I highly endorse the pronto line of remotes. They are expensive, but they are very well supported, a lot of people use them, and they really can do a ton of stuff. They don't have many hard buttons if that's what you want, but for maximum flexibility, it's really hard to beat a touchscreen.
I use a Pronto NEO and found that with a lot of work, it really works well. It's a lot cheaper than the other Pronto's but still very capable if you are willing to put a lot of work into setting it up. I think that I'd probably spring for a real pronto remote if I were going to buy another, though.
I really like the MX-500. Fully programmable, hard-key, you can hook it up and program it with your PC (w/ some extra hardware, I think, but not too expensive), and everyone I've heard of who has one just loves the thing. It's a slightly older remote, so you can get one for 70 bucks now:? model= MX-500
http://www.bluedo.com/bluedocgi/product.cgi
Also, tip for your HTPC... pick up one of these:
http://www.notestation.com/ack571_2.htm
It's a USB infrared keyboard w/ mouse built in, both of which work perfectly w/ just about any OS, since the computer sees it as a regular USB keyboard and mouse. But the really nice thing is, since the keyboard is IR, you can use it to train your remote to "press keys", and then not have to deal with lirc (assuming your HTPC is running Linux, although you'd have similar issues with Windows). Then you can stick the keyboard in the closet w/ your older remotes and still have a full keyboard available when you need one. It's a nifty solution.
Hi... I'm Larry... the shivering chipmunk... brrrrr!... I'm cold... I need a sweater...
It works just fine. The software comes with templates for the most common home entertainment devices, plus you can define your own devices and it has "learning remote" functionality so you can program in any other remote codes you want. Dont forget this handheld has a good quality illuminated colour screen and has Wi-Fi and bluetooth built in. It's also cheaper doing this than buying a dedicated programmable LCD remote, at least it was last time I looked.
I have a Marantz RC2000 that I use with a Sony WEGA TV, Tivo, DirecTV receiver, Kenwood surround sound receiver, Sony 5 disc changer, Panasonic DVD player, and a Sony laser disc player.
At the time, it was one of the better remotes available, and more importantly, I could afford it without refinancing my house. It's usable, but it's not ideal. It's pretty easy to select the device to control, but each device can have 4 pages of 10 buttons. This can lead to confusion with the less technically inclined in the house.
Battery life is not too abhorrent, but it's very important to change the batteries with the warning indicator comes on, or you're doomed to an evening of reprogramming the thing.
I can't remember if the RC2000 has any internal remote profiles. As I recall, it does not, and you have to teach it every function by putting in learn mode, selecting the button, pressing the button on the other remote, etc. The obvious downside to this is that if you lose the original remote, you're SOL. I think the newer remotes with built in databases, or a learned database that can be backed would be far superior. I've just been very careful not to let the batteries die.
One of the most annoying "features" of the remote relates to the backlight. When the backlight button is pressed, the remote buttons don't work. The backlight only stays on a short time, so you end up oscillating between pressing the backlight button, then a function button, then the backlight button, etc.
I'm not ready to throw the RC2000 away yet, as it still works. But as much I'd like one of these fancy $1K LCD based remotes, I don't see that happening unless Bill Gates suddenly adopts me as his long lost child.
Overall impression: Better than a Radio Shack universal remote. Time consuming to program with a couple annoying UI features. Upside is that it's a learning remote, so it will work with just about anything, and it can handle a number of devices with a number of functions.
I use X10 to turn my 17,000 christmas lights on and off and it would be neat if the various remote vendors added some X10 capability to their devices - my kids think so too! ;-)
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
http://www.pacificneotek.com/linkProducts.htm
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
Get off your butt and change the settings by twirling that clicky, rotating knob on the front of the moving picture device.
Sheesh. You kids today don't even remember when TVs didn't have remote controls - no wonder you're all so fat.
Engadget had a piece on the Nevo SL, an upcoming device with a color touchscreen, a good compliment of hardbuttons, and a builtin pocketpc with wifi and the whole bit -- http://www.mynevo.com/Mynevo/Home.aspx
These are some ideas I've built-up from reading related Slashdot articles:
1) Duct tape all the factory remotes together into one franken-remote.
2) Same as #1, but add a gratuitous LCD screen.
3) Same as #2, but running Windows CE.
4) Same as #2, but running Linux
5) Create a robot that pushes the buttons on the TV. Completely universal! Even works on TVs with no IR receiver!
6) Hack an iPod
7) Hack a Nintendo DS
8) Create a Brainwave remote
... is right here.
I really like this one - the programmability from PC is huge advantage, not just an incremental feature.
The Prontos are nice, and well supported, but a lot of people like me like to have physical buttons.
I haven't owned a Harmony unit, but they have a large following so take a look at these.
Sony makes a $60 RM-VL900 unit that is very functional - I used one of these for a couple of years and found it works great for the money. However it's programmability is limited compared to the above, and it probably won't completely replace your existing controls.
I like my Harmony Remote. It's easy to configure but also versatile. And it has real buttons, not like the fingerprint-smudged touch-screen that lacks tactile feedback (such as the Philips Pronto.)
Im really surprised that Home Theater Master has not been mentioned... I bought the MX-500 for my father for christmas last year and its just awesome, and can be found for under $100 also. It mixes both programmable "soft" keys with hard keys and if the codes dont provide all the functions of your device, as long as you have the original remote you can teach it new functions. It can control every function of every device I have (including my complex yamaha reciever and digital cable remotes). It also has "punch through" keys that allow you to control the volume on your reciever while still flipping channels on your tv or cable box (sounds intuititive, but most cheaper remotes require you to change mode from tv to reciever for this). The light up function also makes it easy to see at night, though the softkeys are not backlit. Unlike what I hear about alot of other high end remotes, the battery life is long and on par with a typical remote.
- 700 (updated 500?)t ml
I sound like a fanboy, but I really cant say enough about it. Its easy enough for my family to use, and very versatile. http://www.remotecentral.com is an excellent site for remote reviews, and you can see that it is rated very highly.
links:
MX-500: http://www.remotecentral.com/mx500/index.html
Mx
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.h
I've see quite a few programmable remotes on the market. But they always seem to cost tons of money.
/., you are probably a geek. You have to realise that a $2000 laptop or a $400 Palm can do everything a custom bling remote can do and probably more.
Got a laptop with irda or, even better, a Palm?
Then you already have the most powerful remote in the world.
For the Palm, look at OmniRemote. Does lots of neat stuff including allowing you to program your own UI.
The best part is macroing. One button turns on and opens my DVD drive, turns on my TV, turns on my receiver and turns it to DVD input, sets the volume to low, and turns off my VCR. You can't beat it.
Honestly, if you are on
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
Touch-screen
Pros: You can see what you're doing, incredibly flexible.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.
Cons: You can't use it by feel (e.g. without looking at it).
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. /. readers.
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
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.
I bought an MX800 for myself and was so impressed, I bought an MX700 for my mom for her birthday. She's happy as a clam with it!
.ccf files. If there are no codes for your device, you'll have to learn them into the remote. But you only have to do this once... unlike most remotes, the HTM will never forget what you load into it, even if you take the batteries out. Plus, you have a backup on your computer to boot, which will let you program as many remotes as you like with the same configuration. (if you're in a big house, say, and you want several remotes, any of which can control anything in your house.)
These are fantastic remotes. Every button is learnable, programmable, and macroable. There are 10 special buttons up on top, with LCD labels next to them which you can change.
The default model is to have each of the 10 main buttons correspond to a 'device'; when you press that device's button, the remote changes context. The 10 buttons up on top now become entirely programmable to do whatever you want, and the rest of the hard buttons can take on any function you wish. The remote offers either 16 or 20 'devices', which gives you, in essence, 16 or 20 separate controllers.
The easy/normal method is to specify all the devices you own; there's a large database of devices built into the programming software. You can also import learned codes from files that other users have created (www.remotecentral.com has many many files available), or even import Pronto
Once you have specified your devices and learned the codes you need, you can then shortcut buttons to any of the other codes, even on other devices. The software lets you "punch-through" some buttons, like volume, channel controls, and play/stop buttons, so that pressing them will always send codes to a specific device. This built-in punch through is a nice timesaver, but I found that it didn't cover everything... I myself ended up manually linking a number of codes around. It's very easy to do. Punch-through is a convenience feature, but if it doesn't do things exactly how you like, you can just ignore it and set every button up in every context to do anything you want.
The main difference between the 700 and the 800 is that the 800 offers an RF link to a slave RF/IR transcoder. You plug in the slave near your AV gear. It has connections for up to six little IR blasters on fairly long wires, which you attach to the IR sensors of your gear. The MX800 will then send RF commands to the slave unit, which will then echo them to the correct target device. You can have multiple slave units and set up routing of commands so that you can control multiple rooms/zones from one controller, anywhere in your house. The MX700 is IR-only, but is otherwise identical.
Both units offer very, VERY powerful IR transmitters... they're so powerful that precise aim seems to be totally unnecessary. As long as you're in the same room, it doesn't even seem to be necessary to actually point the remote at your equipment.
I do have a few quibbles with them, but nothing huge. The biggest thing is that I wish the LCD labels had one more letter; the LCD labels for your upper 10 buttons are only 7 characters. 8 would be easier, and 10 would be about ideal. it's hard to abbreviate properly in only 7 characters.
You MUST program these units with a computer. If you have a laptop, that's easiest, as you can sit in the front room with your other remotes and program it, but you can walk back and forth from a PC in the other room if you need to. (you have to have the remotes on hand while connected to the computer to do memorization, as far as I can see.) They come with the serial cable you need... you will need a standard 9-pin serial port. If you're on a Mac, I think you're SOL... the cable is PC-standard, and the software is Windows-only. You might be able to get it running with a USB->serial interface and emulation software, but it'd be a PITA.
Also note that you really want to go
My pop has one of these. If you have family members who are not technologically sophisticated, forget about it. I'm gonna get them a Logitech Harmony for Christmas.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb
= &forumid=93
There is even a sub-forum specifically for remotes...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s
I have the MX-500. Worth every penny.
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx500/
Peace
I love my RS 15-2116
There's a good One For All remote available at Wally World for $18 that's almost equivalent to the 2116 minus the LCD display. (The 2116 is $30.)
The 2116's feel is great in your hand, plus it's an amazingly flexible remote when combined with JP1.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Pros:
Cons:
So, I like it, I'm not in love with it, and I'd look at getting the next version if it addresses most of my issues. If you need a backlighted learning remote with UHF capabilities and have a limited budget it's a pretty fair trade-off.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
So, what remotes are you all using? Why did you select the one you have? What should I look for in my search? What don't you like about it? What do you like? What else should I be asking?"
I, too, have about 6 different things plugged into my home theatre. The most difficult one I have is my newly configured HTPC.
I'm presently using a POS Radio Shack Universal Programmable Learning Remote with an RF->IR repeater. I pretty much bought it because it directly supported the TiVo and had the RF->IR capability (I watch the tivo in my bedroom, but the tivo is located in my home theatre room).
The only redeeming features of this remote were its price ($50, can't beat it!) and the fact that it has a really good range for RF (my home theatre is clear on the other side of the house). It also has button reassignment so that I can make the remote operate in a more task oriented mode.
The problem always comes down to the fact that my volume is adjusted only on my stereo. My DVD is paused by my DVD player, my video source is selected by my television and needs to also be selected on my stereo and gee it'd be nice to be able to do that in one step without having to click "TV", "Video Source", "DVD", "Play", *oh crap* quick, "RCVR", "Vol Down" (10 times), "DVD", "Audio". The button reassignment helps make the remote more usable by making the volume controls *always* go to the receiver.
The reality is, my universal remote has far fewer buttons than the factory remote that came with my television. I wouldn't have all of this crap if I wasn't a bit of a geek. So I generally have to go back to the factory remote to tweak things when I'm watching a DVD or the HTPC (yes, I even have a wireless keyboard that sits under my couch because the remote for my computer doesn't even come close to meeting my needs).
Here's what my dream remote would have:
A nice touch screen with the ability to change the graphics to represent the "task" not the device. No buttons, just a screen that is fully configurable.
Limitless learning capability so that I can program in every stupid miserable button on all 30 of my remotes.
RF->IR so that I can put all of my crap in a nice case and hide it from view so that I don't have to watch the blinken-lights when I'm watching a Movie.
A charging dock so that there would be a natural home for the remote to sit while I'm not watching TV (rather than that spot between cushions in my couch where all 30 of my existing remotes burrow).
A long battery life for the hundreds of times I'd forget to put it in the charging dock.
Flexible, even if it means *difficult to configure." It needs to be able to be customized and hacked enough to make toast.
But yet EASY TO OPERATE, so that my wife wouldn't have to call me at work using the ever popular phrase "The DVD player is broke" (of course, she forgot to set the audio source on the "RCVR" so there's no sound, but that takes 20 minutes to figure out when the TV and its end-user is 30 miles away).
Ability to perform "macros" on any function (again, "RCVR" and "TV" both needing to be set to the same source, that's 4 clicks on my existing remote).
X10 compatibility and the ability to tie the X10 functions into any key or macro combination (would be nice to dim the lights automatically when I hit play).
Durable and waterproof so that if an unfortunate beer spillage were to occur, I wouldn't be out 500 dollars. Plus, if it's this complicated of a device I'd imagine it runs the risk of being intentionally thrown across the room while I'm trying to figure out how to configure it.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions as to a remote that meets that criteria. And ones that I have seen that get "close" cost upwards of $500 dollars. I wouldn't drop that kind of cash unless it did *everything* I wanted, *and* got my beer for me.
So in the meantime, I recommend buying a basket that you can set next to your couch for your factory remotes. That's served me pretty well. It keeps everything
"God is dead!" - Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead!" - God
All of these new fancy schmantcy with LCDs and the like are swanky looking and all, but they all suffer from a serious flaw. No tactile feedback. I ad a very early LCD based remote years ago and I quickly grew tired of having to look down at the remote in order to do ANYthing at all with it. Nope, you truly need a remote with physical buttons on a remote control. And I have found the perfect remote control.
Behold the Marantz RC2000. It is a learning remote (it comes prepped for Marantz and Philips equipment already) and has replaced every single remote that I've had since I got it. TiVo, Satellite, receiver, PS2, TV. And it handles EVERY function of these components. There's even an optional RF module you can get to handle home security or whatever. The buttons are laid out well and are different sizes and shapes so you can use it by touch alone. And you can program 4 macros that can perform multiple functions step by step automatically. Good for the technologically challenged. Just set up a macro to turn on all of your components, change the source on your receiver and start your DVD player and all your geek-challenged friend has to do is press one button to do all of that.
Now the bad news. They don't make it anymore. There are usually several for sale on E-bay, though. Just make sure you get a MKII if you get one. The MKI doesn't have channel up/down buttons, so you have to map them to buttons near the LCD (the LCD is for labelling only, no touch sensitivity here). They rectified that on the MKII. Oh, and they're incredibly durable. I've had mine for about 10 years now and it still works like new. I paid $250 for it back then and have never regretted it once.
There IS a spiritual successor to the RC2000 out there. A company called Home Theater Master that makes a line of remotes that operate on the same basic principals as the RC2000. The closest one to it is the URC-300. I bought my dad one for his birthday, but really haven't messed with it much. Yet.
A JP1 remote (usually labeled as an RCA one-4-all or Radioshack brand remote) will let you do anything you want to it, and they're relatively cheap. The JP1 interface lets you reprogram ('upgrade') the remote from your computer to do anything (with a $10 cable). You can set all of your buttons however you see fit. Think being in one mode all the time, where your fast-forward/play control the dvd, channel buttons control your cable and volume your receiver without ever having to switch modes.
I just picked up a URC-9910 for less than $40 off of ebay and it even came with an RF extender so I can pipe my home theater to a different room and simply take the remote with me to watch from there. Some good JP1 links are here, here, here and definitely this yahoo group.
Definitely worth researching before you plunk down $200 on a remote. Plus with all the available JP1 remotes you can find one that has a button configuration you like, and still reprogram it to have any features you're looking for.
Mine is currently controlling a Sanyo Z1 projector, Onkyo Receiver (with all buttons available), Philips DirectTivo, XboxMediaCenter, Sony DVD, another Sony Receiver and a Philips TV (other room). All this from one remote.
To see the most advanced remote control software on the market, check out the amazing new program from Novii. This update to the award-winning original is amazing: www.novii.tv/nrdeluxe
As an extra bonus, you can backup your remote control when you hotsync. Have you ever lost the programming in your programmable remote control (dropped on the floor, batteries pop out)?
Can You Say Linux? I Knew That You Could.
I recently acquired a Harmony 676 remote. So far so good. I've been searching for a decent universal remote for a while. I started years ago with a *huge* Memorex CP8 learning remote which had a timer and was macro programmable. It was too large and didn't have enough memory, but I still miss it.
Ten years later, I ended up playing with JP1-based remotes. If you've got patience, it's not a terrible option if you're on a budget. Ultimately, the complicated setup procedure involving a complex Excel spreadsheet made me reluctant to play with it. I've got nothing but respect for the folks who've created and sustain this project -- it's a GREAT hack.
I received a Sony remote for the holidays last year. Though I was excited to get a "real" universal remote, the form factor (square? what are they thinking?) and my system's lack of discrete codes made the decision to return it necessary.
I gave up for a while and ended up using the uni remote which came with my Yamaha receiver. It wasn't horrible, but it was completely confusing to use for anyone but myself. It meant that watching a DVD was all but impossible unless I was there to set it up.
I came across the Harmony 676 at TECHXNY, where Logitech was selling them at a decent discount. I was skeptical, but so far it's the only remote which my wife has been able to use sucessfully. The bigger test: the father-in-law. Whenever he'd come over, he could barely figure out how to change the channel. Once when he was staying over, he left the whole thing on all night because he couldn't figure out how to turn it off! The Harmony remote solved that problem beautifully.
The biggest feature of this remote is it's "intelligence". I press the DVD button, it turns on the dvd player, sets my TV for component in, and the receiver for digial input #2. Why is this unique? Because my TV doesn't have discrete codes, yet the Harmony remembers the system's last state. If the TV was on composite in, it knows to send the 'change input' code two times to get to the component in. And when I press the "TV" button, it knows to turn the dvd player off, send the TV input code three times to get to S-Video, and the receiver to VCR-in. But what happens if the remote gets out of sync with the state of the TV? There's a HELP button on the remote, which will resend the codes and ask you "is everything ok now?". If you press "no", it'll go step-by-step: Is the TV on? Is the DVD player on? Is the TV on the component input? and will send codes depending on your answers. This is *HUGE* - and something a macro just can't do.
Other things I like about it: Programmable via your PC through USB. If your batteries die and it loses its program, just hook it back up and it'll redownload its config. It knows about every device I own, from the Tivo (including different tivo remote addresses) to the Audiotron to the LG air conditioner, and everything inbetween (and if it doesn't list your specific device, you can feed it a few IR commands from your exiting remote, and it'll auto-recognize the device). It feels good in the hand. Similar to my tivo 'peanut' remote.
What I don't like: No true "macros" as far as I can tell. The web interface to program the remote is a little clunky. I'm having a problem with one of the remote's buttons.
Ultimately, it was a good purchase. I'd buy it again.
My roommate bought it... I've never programmed it, but it works superb w/ our Samsung HDTV, Motorola DCT digital box w/ 2-tuner DVR, Denon receiver and Denon DVD player...
Had 6 programmable buttons that display their current function on a small LCD...
Has lots of "generic" keys that match up w/ current buttons on other remotes, so you're not always pressing random keys to get the functions you want
I like my Harmony (now Logitech) remote. They make several different models, I have the top one. The remote connects to the PC via USB, all the programming is done via their web site. It only took me 5 minutes to program all my gear. The remote has 40 or so normal buttons and an LCD. All non-button commands are via a scroll wheel. While you can program any button to do anything, I't be nice to see a few blank buttons, so programming any custom command doesn't use up a valid button. ie in DVD mode, the I've programmed my record button to switch disks in the DVD changer. It even has a program guide you can view on the LCD.
I have an RCA "Universal Custom 8" - goes for about $35. I use it to control my Tivo, Stereo, DVD, TV - etc. You can reprogram any key, and it supports three different macro keys (ie - turn on TV, turn on the stereo, and bring up the main Tivo menu). Works good. Alternate solution would be to purchase a human child off ebay to change the channel at your command. This might be more expensive - but would support voice recognition (although you might have to learn Thai).
I'm amazed that, these days, people still use remotes. Really, there just doesn't seem to be much need.
The only things that need to be far away in the modern livingroom are speakers and televisions. In a typical home theater, televisions don't do very much but get turned on and off, and maybe have an input switched. Speakers don't have any adjustments to make, regularly.
The rest of the gear, invariably, has a dizzying array of functional buttons and knobs and lights, and would have been markedly cheaper without it. But people foolishly, almost as a rule, place it as far away from themselves as possible and try as hard as they can to forget that those buttons even exist.
It is a basic principle of ergonomics that if something is too far away to be easily reached, you simply reposition it so that it can be reached more easily.
I mean: Isn't this just fucking obvious? Apparently not.
So, here's a brief rundown of how my livingroom is arranged:
All of the commonly-tweaked gear (source equipment, preamp, related paraphenalia) that I use goes in a cabinet in the corner between two comfortable couches, near to where I like to sit to watch movies, listen to music, and generally consume. It is very nice-looking gear, and I've spent a lot of time and effort getting it all together. There are thus no doors (glass, or otherwise) to segregate it from the world.
Infrequently-tweaked gear (crossover, amplifiers, compressors - that sort of thing) is all bolted into a small rack that is mostly hidden in another corner of the room, where it fits in nicely next to the bass guitar rig.
Thus, the only thing I use a remote for is to switch the TV on and off, but I usually just do that on my way into and out of the room.
To play a DVD, I just lean over a bit, put a movie in, and push play. To adjust the volume, I just twist the volume knob appropriately. To skip the previews, I just nudge the FF button a couple of times.
To listen to the radio, I just dial up the appropriate input and select a station on the tuner.
Channel-surfing the TV in my house just involves nudging the channel buttons on the VCR, which is also right at-hand.
So on, so forth. At no time does my ass ever leave what it considers to be the most comfortable spot in the house.
Time saved by not having to hunt for the fucking remotes has been absolutely tremendous. And the whole system is so easy that my 4-year-old can (and does) use it.
Who needs a remote?
Kid-proof tablet..
I like the Kameleon remotes and there is a UK / Europe version marketed by Oneforall company http://www.oneforall.com . They have a second generation of kameleons out this season which is a sleeker line than the first gen counterparts which came out 2 years back. A 10 in 1 is slated to come out shortly which I plan to buy. Last year I bought URC-8060 from http://www.avukltd.com/ .. they seem to be selling first and second generation Kameleons both this season.
The link you posted is just, apparently, a redirector. Logitech Products > Harmony® Remote Controls
Anyway, this remote resembles the Tivo remote quite a bit. That's nice; I like the shape of the Tivo remote. In fact, the Harmony 688 is listed as being able to control a Tivo. I may have to look into getting one of these; I'd seen pictures but didn't know who made the remote. Now I do. I have set up my Tivo's remote to control my television set, and it works great for that, but I'd also like it to be able to control my DVD player and my separate powered speakers (not surround; deaf in left ear and can't hear surround, so I bought these used from a friend who upgraded.)
For the DVD player, I need to be able to navigate menus, stop, and play discs. For the speakers, I need to be able to change between Input 1 (TiVo/DVD) and Input 2 (Airport Express).
This looks promising -- I'm looking into it now!
i am a soviet space shuttle
And I don't like it. It's big - really big, and it's a bit awkward to use. And it doesn't have the flexibility I'd expect. http://www.mosaichelp.com/
I have a Tevion 8 device Universal Remote that is programmable. I got it for $20 AUD which is cheaper than most non-programmable models. I got it from Aldi (a bugdet supermarket chain). It's awesome considering the price. Slightly slower button response than my original remotes but it controls 3 devices at the moment (TV/VCR/PVR). The only thing it can't handle is the VCR timer recording (there's 10 buttons dedicated to this on the VCR remote). I could "waste" a "device" and learn those codes onto buttons on the universal remote anyway (but I don't really care).
If you're not in Australia, you might be out of luck since Aldi doesn't sell products from their web site. The manufacturer is also known as Medion so perhaps this remote is out there somewhere.
Try using a Tivo without a remote.
There are no buttons on it.
The DVD player in my XBox? Hmmm... you have to use a remote there too.
Just because a solution works in your particular situation, doesn't mean that it applies to everyone.
There are MANY valid reasons to use remote controls. You just don't seem to need one.
Congratulations.
---- It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told.