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Good universal remote?

post #1 of 38
9/10/03 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
I am looking for a good universal remote for my 61in Hitachi, Panasonic dvd, Kenwood receiver, and DirecTV analog sat box. The universal for the sat box and receiver will not fully control the tv. Also, I don't want to spend $100. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Quinn
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post #2 of 38
9/10/03 at 10:39am
Hometheater Master MX-500
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post #3 of 38
9/10/03 at 10:47am
Second that, although it IS $100 -- $105 to my door, IIRC. But worth every penny.
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post #4 of 38
9/10/03 at 11:01am
With remotes you basically have two options, hard button or LCD. Given your price range, a hard button style remote is almost your only option. The HomeTheaterMaster MX-500 is an excellent remote (along with its big brother MX-700). One-for-All also makes some decent remotes. If you like a psudeo LCD remote, the URC-9960 which is the Kameleon type LCD ($67). For online companies that sell remotes, two popular ones are bluedo and surfremotecontrol.

For additional information and reviews on remotes, you might take a look at Remote Central
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post #5 of 38
9/10/03 at 11:03am
Check the "Tweaking, Connections and Accessories" forum, as well as Remote Central for more information about the MX-500, as well as many other remotes.
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post #6 of 38
9/10/03 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
As for my not wanting to spend $100, I could, however I wanted to keep the cost down. If there really is a large difference between a $50 remote and a $100, I may go $100. I really don't want to end up in a spot where enerything works, except being able to select input sources on the tv. Thats the position I am in with the sat and receiver remotes.

What difference will I see with a $50 remote vs. $100?
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post #7 of 38
9/10/03 at 11:54am
Just throwing in my 2ยข...

I had a Radio Shack 2115 (the 2116 is out now) up until recently.. It did most everything I wanted and it had a small LCD screen that came in handy and could learn from other remotes and such.. For the price, it was a good remote..

Unfortunately, the learning space runs out quite fast and if you plan on picking up anything new in the next few years, you may end up out of luck.. That's what happened to me. I got a new DVD player that wasn't supported and had no room to add the new player in..

So, I went online and found a Pronto Neo for under $100.. This is a touchscreen/hard button remote that is quite nifty.. You can learn from other remotes, download codes and map out (and name) your buttons from the computer.. Back-up learned codes on the computer and more..

So far, I like the remote and it's user functionality.. I know you can get similar functions, but better in more expensive remotes, but so far, for the price, I am really enjoying my new remote..

Anyway, those are a couple choices for ya.. Hopefully that helped..

-Jason
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post #8 of 38
9/10/03 at 12:03pm
If, like me, you had any Onkyo products you would've had their excellent programable universal remote for free! But even without any Onkyo components I would still recommend their remote which can be ordered from them for around $40 (the backlit one) last time I checked Just look for te remote which is used for their receivers (like the SR-700).
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post #9 of 38
9/10/03 at 12:21pm
Try sites out for information on One for All Remotes. I got a URC-8811 with one of these JP1 cables and it is wonderfull. I haven't even started into the fancy programming yet. It is just great to have your remote backed up to a PC. I create macros Etc. and if I screw up I just restore the remote to a previous state. The kit cost me $38 and my Sony RMAV2100 is sitting on the table unused for the last month.
Also check out remote central and Hifiremote
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post #10 of 38
9/10/03 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
BlueDo offers a package for the MX 500 w/the URC-8811 and JP1 cable. WHy is this necessary? Also, how extensive can a macro be? Would I be able to program a macro to turn on the tv, dvd, set the tv to dvd input, and receiver to dvd input? Then, another macro for tv to sat-1 input, receiver to sat input, and power everything up?

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions. I am willing to spend a little extra if I can get more extensive macros.

Quinn
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post #11 of 38
9/10/03 at 1:10pm
My afforementioned Onkyo universal learning remote can handle a macro like that (up to ten commands per macro,two macros available)and it's relatively cheap compared to the others mentioned. I am sure that the more expensive remotes should be able to handle whatever macro you would want for your system
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post #12 of 38
9/10/03 at 1:49pm
A big advantage with the URC-8811 (or similar) package with JP1 programmability is the ability for you to add 'discrete codes' in particular power-on and power-off (not just power toggle), which many devices, such as DVD players and TV sets, can understand, but are not programmed into the dedicated remote control. This is very handy for programming macros, so that you turn on a device that is off, and vice versa, or for programming in a video setting on a monitor appropriate to the source (e.g. the Video 5 setting on a Sony TV for DVD or HDTV input) etc.
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post #13 of 38
9/10/03 at 2:23pm
The One for All remotes have access to a large database of advanced codes (see www.hifi-remote.com) that often can give you the discrete commands Jim mentioned. JP1 adds the ability to to obtain discrete commands from other sources, such as Philips Pronto files, for the One for All remote. These commands can then be learned to the MX-500.

The advantage of a remote like the MX-500 is that you can have every button properly labeled. With the One for All remotes, you would have to remember what you programmed on certain buttons (unless you used a stick-on label).

The macros on the MX-500 can contain up to 20 separate commands. Give me a call if you need more info.
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post #14 of 38
9/10/03 at 6:00pm
Quinn: I'm a button remote kind of guy. And IMO, the Home Theater Master remotes are THE button remotes to own. In your price range, the MX-500 can do a wonderful job. I'm running 2 (in 2 different setups) and they have more than enough, properly labeled buttons, to get the job done.

As for whether or not you would want a One For All to supplement it, that all depends on your needs for the discrete codes that the guys mentioned above. There are workarounds for the need for discretes (macros being one way.) But discretes can make things simpler. The specific Sony TV Video input example is one I used and it made running my bedroom setup much easier. Recently, thanks to great help from some other really smart people (note...NOT me ), I was able to use my OFA remote to create some really cool, newly available codes for my Denon 3803 receiver (that weren't on the factory remote.) While this seldom happens, having the OFA did come in handy.

THE best resource for HTM remotes is the HTM forum over at www.remotecentral.com Lots of users with great advice.

Please do checkout Mike's site (www.surfremotecontrol.com) along with (www.bluedo.com) that you already mentioned. Both he and bluedo are authorized by HTM for web e-tail...

(I'm not connected to HTM, bluedo or surfremotecontrol in any way (other than a satisfied user.))

Good Luck in your search!
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post #15 of 38
9/10/03 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
All right, now my newbie status is REALLY coming through, but are you talking about the commands reside on the LCD screen and those are the ones that are customized/labeled? So that if you are using the dvd commands, all of the commands can be found on the LCD instead of the permanent hard buttons below? If so, when do you use the hard buttons? When are the 10 buttons beside the LCD used (I assume they coorespond to a custom label on the LCD)? I hope Im making sense, but I am not sure how the LCD comes into play on the MX 500.

Thanks all!

Quinn
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post #16 of 38
9/10/03 at 6:21pm
definitely go for the mx-500. mine replaced eight of my other remotes without a hitch. i literally *never* use my other remotes anymore.

the two-fold benefit to the lcd buttons is that you can program them to do whatever you want, plus you can label them accordingly.

for example, my music server has a button called "library". now, i doubt there are too many remotes with a button called "library" already labeled. so what do you do? you're sort of stuck. your only real choice is to program some random button, then remember that the random button is actually the "library" function.

but...

with the mx-500 that is not an issue. you simply label one of the lcd buttons "library" (well, you have a 5-character limit, but it's better than nothing) then program the "library" function into it ... and voila!

don't forget too, with the mx-500, you actually have two pages of programmable lcd buttons - so you really have 20 labelable (is that a word) buttons per device. that should be able to learn all but the most complex of remotes.
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post #17 of 38
9/10/03 at 6:42pm
quinn: You use both kinds of buttons at the same time. If there is an existing button for a function (such as DIS for display), it's there and ready to be used. But if you need one for Dolby Prologic II Music mode, nothing like that is on the remote. So you just use the LCD screen and label it "PL2 M". For Denon's 5 Channel Stereo, I was able to work that one even better "5CHST". The ability to label these buttons (and use the ones already properly labeled) makes things sooo much easier...
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post #18 of 38
9/11/03 at 10:10am
I have always like the Sony AV2000(2100/3000) series remotes. They are a little big, but I like that. I have had my AV2000 (just got an AV3000) for 4+ years, and never had a problem with it..

Kimo B.
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post #19 of 38
9/12/03 at 4:42am
I am a very happy owner of a RS 15-1994. It has been discontinued but maybe you can still find it, dirt cheap ($15-20) It is a wonderful unit, a little too big for some but that's also a plus IMO. I control my TV, receiver, VCR, CD changer and DVD player with it. It is learning, with 4 macro buttons for each component. Great, great remote.
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post #20 of 38
9/12/03 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all of your help. I am now awaiting arrival of my MX-500. It may be a little spendy for a remote (a few months ago I said I woould never spend that on a remote), but what can I say??!! Gadgets make me happy. Cool gadgets make me happier.....
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post #21 of 38
4/2/04 at 6:38am
HELP! I am so confused. I read through this thread and a few others on universal remotes and not sure what to get. While I could probably just pick something and it would do most or all of my needs, I really want to make the right choice for me.

I am looking for a good Universal Remote to control:

Pioneer 58" RPTV SD-582-HD5
Pioneer 656A DVD Player
JVC VCR HR-S3800U
Americast Digital Cable box

A couple of things of interest:

1. Most of my viewing on the RPTV is done through INPUT 1, although we also use a karaoke machine connected in INPUT 4, and very occasionally use TV (to view analog cable while recording a different show on digital cable).

2. I like to change modes from FULL, Natural Wide, Cinema Wide and ZOOM, (aspect ratios), depending on what is on the screen.

3. I would like being able to program the top 20 ?? channels with a name, while on my Americast, as someone mentioned in one post.

Any help would be appreciated.
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post #22 of 38
4/2/04 at 8:34am
Two weeks ago I purchased the Harmony ST-659 universal remote.
So far I am completely satisfied with it.
When someone presses "Watch TV" it turns on my Sony 57" HDRPTV (to the correct video mode), my Yamaha RX-V640 receiver, and my Comcast/Motorola HD Cable box. When we press "Watch a Movie" it performs the same needed tasks, "Listen to Music" is also organized and excecuted flawlessly.
The RS-232 cable and set-up disk were easy to set up on my home computer and use.
I can plug the remote into my computer and download my Comcast cable line-up and then view it on the LCD screen while watching TV.
In my honest opinion, a remote does not come any better than this.
I have children and also adult HT neophytes using this with no problem what so ever. The WAF is very high.
The suggested retail price is $ 199.99 (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc...) but you can buy it online for around $ 114.00.
If you want more info, go to remotecentral.com and compare it's reviews to others. That's what I did.

Good Luck!
Al. Wise
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post #23 of 38
4/2/04 at 10:28am
I am a big fan of the Pronto Neo. You can get them for under $100 and they are worth twice that. They are almost completely touch screen with only a few hard buttons, but the screen is 100% customizeable. There are tons of custom interfaces on remotecentral.com including my own. The best part about the pronto family of remotes is ease of use. The MX-500, while an excellent remote, lacks the ability to be totally customized. With my Neo, ANYONE can walk into my HT and control the equipment thanks to all of the macros I constructed. If you don't mind having a touchscreen remote, I don't think there is a better remote out there for under $100.

As for discrete codes, I picked up a oneforall remote for under $20 and use that to teach the Neo discrete codes. Also, most discrete codes can be found in people's configurations on remotecentral.
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post #24 of 38
4/2/04 at 10:57am
The onkyo remote (at least the one I have isn't bad) it does have a couple big flaws though. For one, it doesn't keep volume on receiver while you switch controls for everything else.
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post #25 of 38
4/2/04 at 11:26am
For my system, I would need the remote to keep VOLUME on the TV, no matter which other device I am controlling. Would the MX-500 do this? Is that hard to setup?
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post #26 of 38
4/2/04 at 11:40am
john co - what you're referring to is called a "punch through" feature. it allows your volume to control your tv, regardless of what component you're operating. usually the punch-through is to the receiver's volume control ... but i think it will do the same for a tv volume.
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post #27 of 38
4/2/04 at 1:51pm
Quote:
but i think it will do the same for a tv volume


Yes, it will. You can punch through from any component to another.
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post #28 of 38
4/2/04 at 3:41pm
hey mike .. i just placed an order with you. make sure you screw up and send me a mx-800 instead...
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post #29 of 38
4/3/04 at 6:23am
Ted, in my HT, I don't use a receiver, just the speakers in the TV, (and I don't use my system for music either), that is why I'd need the volume punch-through to the TV.

Mike, you own/run surfremotecontrol.com, cool!

Somewhere I thought I read that you can set the delay for the backlight on the MX-500 from some low number all the way up to like 90 seconds. Is this true or did I just imagine it, (or mix up info about some other remote)?

I'm really leaning towards the MX-500 with the IRCLONE-MX. Do you ever offer any special deals to fellow HTFers?
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post #30 of 38
4/3/04 at 8:39am
Quote:
hey mike .. i just placed an order with you. make sure you screw up and send me a mx-800 instead...


Too late, it's already on its way. Actually, what we normally do is send you an MX-500 when you order an MX-800.

Quote:
Somewhere I thought I read that you can set the delay for the backlight on the MX-500 from some low number all the way up to like 90 seconds. Is this true or did I just imagine it, (or mix up info about some other remote)?


Yes, you can set it to stay on for up to 99 seconds (if you own a lot of stock in a battery company).
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