SofaBaton U1 Universal Remote (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Hey gang!

I need to get one of my kids a new universal remote for their very basic, budget system.

But they have been using one of my old Harmony remotes (something close to a 665) and I have been contemplating on getting them one of those from Best Buy for $99.99.

But then there is this new SofaBaton U1 universal remote. Click HERE for the Amazon listing.

The big drawback from where I sit is that it doesn't do the activity set-ups like the Harmony's do. For ME, that would be a deal breaker. But I'm not sure about them.

Specifically, here, I'm asking if anyone has any experience with these new remotes and would be willing to give me some feedback.

Thanks!

 

[Mike Frezon]

One thing I didn't mention (but which is obviously a point of consideration) is that while the Harmony 665 is available from Best Buy for $99.99, the Sofabaton is just $38.99 on Amazon. Q

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I bought one of these remotes for the main setup at our South Carolina condo -- Vizio 4K display, Polk Audio soundbar, and Roku Ultra streaming box. While the remote was fairly simple to setup -- you need to install an app on your smartphone -- I did not care for the remote. The number buttons are too small, and I found the roller mechanism for selecting which device you are controlling a little awkward. It did not control the Polk soundbar well, either. I ended up bringing it back home to Michigan, and it's sitting in its box in my closet for now.

I went back to using this RCA Universal Remote. I have one for each of the three rooms in the SC condo that have TV's (the master bedroom has a Roku, too), and it works well with simpler setups like I described above. The buttons are large and easy to see, and setup is fairly straightforward -- you have to enter codes for your devices. For $8, it's a great value.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Thanks, Scott!

I just took receipt of a Harmony 665 from Best Buy for my daughter and her family. I discussed the options with her and she told me that the "activities" really were a difference-maker for her two daughters (ages 5 & 7) as well as the adults, too! So even with a major price difference and the fact that Harmony is no longer in business, I decided to splurge on the 665.

And the Sofabaton has some mixed reviews for sure (including yours!).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Thanks, Scott!

I just took receipt of a Harmony 665 from Best Buy for my daughter and her family. I discussed the options with her and she told me that the "activities" really were a difference-maker for her two daughters (ages 5 & 7) as well as the adults, too! So even with a major price difference and the fact that Harmony is no longer in business, I decided to splurge on the 665.

And the Sofabaton has some mixed reviews for sure (including yours!).

The Harmony is an entirely different class of remote, and is well worth the added cost -- especially for a more complex setup. After Logitech announced they were discontinuing their remotes, I bought an extra 665 as a backup to my old 650 model used to control our main home theater. I will be very sad if/when these remotes cease to function.

The Sofabaton is more comparable in functionality to the RCA remote I provided a link for. It's only added features are (1) the ability to program it via your phone with a bluetooth connection instead of entering device codes directly into the remote, and (2) being able to re-assign different functions to buttons. The question is whether it's worth those minor differences for a price difference of $39 vs. $8, especially when the much less expensive device has a much better button layout.

I thought about buying a Harmony for the setup in our South Carolina living room, but it's simple enough that the RCA remote, along with eARC and CEC, works fine.