Best remote? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Nep]

I'm sick of having six remotes. Can anyone tell me the top remotes out on the market? I'm looking at the touch screens because they look cool but I've heard that they're hard to use. Suggestions?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Mike. This is really a "accessories" issue, but lets keep this post here for a few.
There is a web site Remote Central dedicated entirely to remotes. Very good place to browse and learn.
My current favorite "generic" remote is the One for all 7 - $24. This thing controls everything but my PVR's and it will learn commands from the original remote.
The one complaint I have heard about the touch-screen remotes is that people prefer hard-buttons for frequent button pushes like volume up/down, scroll, etc. There are some good hybred remotes with both touch screen for advanced/customized use, and hard buttons.
Good Luck.

 

[Rob Jo.]

Mike, I'm sure you will get plenty of responses to this. Many people like the touch screens and the ability to update/change with the computer.
I however, absolutely love my MX-500.
MX-500
It's not touch screen but it is pretty amazing and takes the place of every remote I have.
Rob

 

[John Sully]

Well as regulars around here know, I'm a Pronto fanatic. For the best of both worlds I would recommend the Marantz RC5200 which has a four way navigation pad in addition to the volume, channel, mute and two assignable hard keys of the original Pronto.
With this arrangement, I find that I rarely have to use the touchscreen as the most frequently used functions are assigned to hard keys. However, even the original Pronto I own is easy to use, although having the navigation pad located on the touchscreen means that I have to look at it more often than I do the Marantz. The one downside of the Pronto is that it can be time consuming to program. Some people, such as myself, really enjoy creating a snazzy interface; some people don't. If you like fiddling with things then you will probably like programming the Pronto. Once a complete configuration has been programmed, a Pronto is probably the easiest remote to use.
Lower down the cost scale would be the Home Theater Master MX-1000 and MX-500. For more than you can possibly want to know about these and other remotes check out Remote Central.

 

[Chuck Kent]

Well, as the others have kinda said, choosing a universal remote is pretty much a personal thing. My best vs. your best may not be the same remote at all...

That said, I have learned that I prefer a hard button based remote over touchscreens. The cool look and flexibility of a touchscreen is difficult to find fault with. But in my case, I found out that I quickly got tired of looking at the remote if I wanted to do more than change the channel or the volume. The tactile feel of the buttons just makes using a hard button remote more intuitive for me.

My remote of choice (for now) is the Home Theater Master MX-500. It works very very well in my setup, replacing 7 remotes. (The reason I say "for now" is that I have to admit that I am going to buy the forthcoming MX-700. It is a computer programable tweaked out version of the MX-500. It will take the button format to it's furthest extension yet.) (BTW, I also used (and use) a Cinema 7 to help program my MX-500 for remote codes not on my original remotes.)

The links listed above (Remote Central and the MX-500 info) are excellent resources to help you decide what would be a good fit for you.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Larry Hoffman]

Last week I purchased the Sony RM-VL900. It recieved excellent reviews on Remote Central and is relatively inexpensive.It controls up to 8 components, has 3 macro buttons and looks great too. If you're looking for a push button, learning remote, it's great value.

Larry.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Another vote for the OneForAll Cinema 7+. At $25 it has completely replaced all my other remotes, and that's quite a feat with all the components I have. Remotes tend to get fairly heavy use, and get dropped and beat up. I do not believe in the value of high dollar remote controls in my house. I've had a Marantz RC2000, a OneForAll Producer8, and a Home Theater Master (that came with my receiver) and the Cinema 7+ is better than anything else I've tried, by a large margin. Hard buttons that are easy to use in the dark, great programmability, a fewmacros, and small convenient size make it a great piece.

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Is that Marantz 5200 compatible with "vanilla Pronto" remote control codes?

 

[ChrisMatson]

Here's another vote for the MX-500.
This is easy to use and has been a great remote. I can't imagine using my home theater without it--life with 4+ remotes is too cumbersome. I have macros for switching from cable TV to DVD-ready (receiver on and selected to DVD; TV to DVD input; DVD player on and tray open), from everything off to DVD-ready, from everything off to CD music, and a macro to engage anamorphic mode on my TV when receiving a progressive signal (interlaced is auto-detect). My girlfriend is actually starting to get pretty good with the remote--after 5 months!

 

[Marc Rochkind]

Totally agree with Chuck about hard-button remotes. At first a touchscreen seems better, but after you learn a hard-button remote you can hit the buttons in the dark, and without looking. Also agree with Larry about the Sony. Way cheaper that most of the others mentions (except the Cinema 7).

 

[Ray Spencer]

i use the urc-9800 and 8800 myself. the 9800 is an ir/rf remote so it works from the bedroom. both have the jp1 interface that allows me to upload any codes not available in their extensive code library. they also both have 6 learning buttons and two specific macro keys(you can make any key a macro if you want). they also both have a cool blue back light if you need to see in the dark. i only use this to check the time on the lcd though...the buttons are all different shapes so it's easy to figure out where you thumb is without looking. best part is how cheap they are. i got the 9800 for $50 and the 8800 for $30 off ebay. i've also seen them around at different yahoo shops. anyway, that's my vote.

 

[DaveHo]

The remote I'm currently using came with my Active Home, Home Automation software and controls my X10 system as well as TV & VCR. However, I'm stuck using the original remotes for everything else. Will any of these universal remotes do my X10 stuff as well? The X10 is RF instead of infrared.

-Dave

 

[GregY]

I bought the Sony RM-VL900 and love it. It took the 6 remotes off the coffee table and made them 1!! Take a look at the review at the remote central website.

I found mine at Best Buy in a open box for $29.

 

[Marc Rochkind]

A great choice! By the way, the same day I got mine I spilled a drink on it. I let it dry out for a day or so and it's worked perfectly since.

 

[Joel Ostrow]

I tried several of the ones mentioned and settled on the Sony RM-VL900. If you search my name here you'll see I'm far from a Sony lover! That WEGA is a rip-off! But this remote rocks. Learns and un-learns (important) very easily. Great macro functions. And cheap. I love it.

 

[John Sully]

Is that Marantz 5200 compatible with "vanilla Pronto" remote control codes?

Yes the 5200 is compatible with vanilla Pronto CCF files. The only thing is that hard button assignments get messed up so that you have to fix those up after importing a vanilly Pronto CCF.