Best universal remote (1 Viewer)

[Marty Carry]

One thing I have heard is that the Yamaha remotes are not the best. If I find that to be the case with my purchase...what would be the best universal remote to buy? I will have a yamaha projector too so it would be great to cover that as well. Thanks, Marty

 

[Dave Dahl]

Marty welcome to the forum.

There are many remote controls on the market. The question isn't really what's the best remote on the market; it's really what the best one for you.

The two nicest remotes out there (assuming you don't get into high end touch panel systems.) would be the Philips Pronto series and the MX-700.

Both have their strenghs and weaknesses. If you do a search you will find a whole lot of information.

Another good site to check out is www.remotecentral.com
The have the goods on just about every remote out there.

-Dave

 

[Phil*K]

Hey Marty,

If you buy the Z1 that you've been posting about it comes with what is essentially a repackaged Pronto TSU2000. But will have a slightly different case and loaded for the Z1. I bought a V1 and it had the standard remote that comes with the 3300 and the 2300. I hated the remote and bought a TSU2000 which was being closed out by Tweeter for $230. I was able to go to the Yamaha web site and download the configuration file for the V1 Pronto remote that they had been giving as a promo for a while. After some adjustment it works beautifully and could be used for any Yamaha.

Phil

 

[MatthewJ S]

I have had the tsu2000 for some time now and am very impressed...I have been selling them for some time ,but until Philips gave me an unbelievable deal on one , I never realized how good a product it was. I now have the mx700 that came with my AVR507 AND IT TOO HAS BEEN GREAT SO FAR (I have only begun to dive in)...I liked the old B&K unit that came with my 307, but needed to get familiar with the Atkis so before I had the two I have now, I got one of their touch-screens!...bottom-line , buttons or screen?

 

[Tommy_N]

I just got an MX-500. I've only had it three days but I'm loving it more than I thought I would.

It was cheaper than the MX-700. Check out remote central and/or do a search in the tweaking forum.

You'll find a ton of info....that's how I made my decision


tom

 

[MatthewJ S]

I HAVE HEARD some people hear mention that the mx700 can't learn on it's own but my sources tell me that there is a hidden ascess to the "stand alone" learning feature...will investigate further....

 

[Rick Guynn]

Depending on how complicated a setup you have and how much you want to spend, you can just go grab one of the new RS 15-2116 remotes. That remote is only $30. Go make yourself a JP1 cable, or buy one from Bluedu (sp?) fro $18, download the JP1 tools from the group on Yahoo, and customize to your heart's delight!

RG

 

[steven pm]

Another vote for the MX-500. Great layout of hard buttons (which I prefer) plus a nice integration of the upper 10 customizable buttons (which you can label individually on the lcd). Plus a greally strong signal. ANd it's only about $110. Full learning capability plus it can handle tons of macros.

 

[JasonMA]

I'm gonna have to chime in with my vote for the MX-500 from Home Theater Master. I got mine 4 days ago and it controls my whole system flawlessly. It can learn up to 530 commands which is plenty for most setups. It also has great range from the IR emitter. I am partial to remotes with buttons as I don't like to have to look down at my remote every time I want to input a function. Even with the LCD labels you can get used to which buttons you labeled and still not have to look at the remote. It has a pleasant backlighting feature as well that is very easy to see in the dark. It also has macros which make navigating your system alot easier, but I'm sure you know that. You can program macros to each device button which is very helpful when switching devices. For example, when ever I hold the button for the DVD device, the remote send out all the proper signals to get my system ready to show a DVD and the remote is in the proper configuration for controlling the DVD player.

Anyway, I'm rambling on. Go to remotecentral.com and check out the reviews for this remote.

here's a breakdown of my system:

Receiver: Yamaha RX-V630
TV: Toshiba 36"
DVD: Sony
CD: Sony
Tape Deck: Sony
MD: Sony
VCR: RCA
Digital Cable: Motorola

This remote handles every component with ease and I still have room for 2 more components if I'd like since this remote handles 10 components.

 

[Todd_RIC]

Another strong vote here for the MX-500. In my humble opinion, this is the finest remote control ever put together... it's the only remote I'll ever use again. If you must have a touchscreen, then look elsewhere, but if your main goal is having one remote that controls everything, you simply can't beat the MX-500.

 

[Marty Carry]

Thanks for all of your feedback everyone. I will definately have some great ideas if I am not happy with the rx-z1 remote! Marty.

 

[DarrenH]

Hi Marty,
I have a Sony RM-AV3000 touchscreen remote and really love it (Remote Central Review) Programming is pretty easy and using the remote is nice with a mix of hard and touchscreen buttons. It is a larger unit, so that might take some getting used to.
As mentioned before, check out Remote Central as it is a great and very detailed resource. Good luck...

Darrenh

 

[Brett DiMichele]

My turn...

I have the Phillips Pronto Pro TSU6000 and I use it to
control:

RCA HomeTheater Series RPTV
Panasonic CV-51 5Disk DVD-P
Phillips VCR
Onkyo 787 Receiver
X-10 Lighting Control

It controls every single feature that each OEM remote did
and it does so flawlessly. I have had the remote for 2 years
now and it was the single best purchase I ever made.

Watching a movie is as simple as hitting the "Watch a DVD"
icon and the macro's go to work performing complex steps
with multiple timers inserted to make the macro fluid.

Sure there is a steep learning curve and not everyone is an
artist so making your own CCF may not be an option but that
is what www.remotecentral.com is for.

The Pronto's or other touch screen's are not for everyone
but they are for me. If I was a "Hard Button" guy I would
have the HTM MX-500 no doubt in my mind.. Either remote
would serve even the most extensive equipment list, flawlessly.