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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 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...
Learn ye the miracle of the JP1 remote:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/index.shtml
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.
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 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
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.