Have Remote Controls Become Obsolete?

[Trell]

A touch interface, like a mobile phone, is a bad substitute for a real remote with buttons.

Even Google sees that with having their own remotes for Chromecast and earlier than that adding HDMI-CEC to add some playback functionality for selected sites.

 

[davidscott]

Maybe I'm old school l but I still use multiple remotes for my TVs, NAD Cd player, and my HK 3490. Also, my 2 Sony Blue rays.

 

[Replicant 7]

Maybe I'm old school l but I still use multiple remotes for my TVs, NAD Cd player, and my HK 3490. Also, my 2 Sony Blue rays.

Same here, I use All my remotes. Tried those aftermarket programmable remotes to use one for all, don't like them.

 

[Trell]

I’ve been using a Logitech Harmony remote for over a decade as multiple remotes would not work for my family. Too bad that Logitech exited the remote business, but I snagged two Elite Harmony with one of them to replace an older one with one as a spare. All in the hope that they keep running their servers for years as they promised.

 

[davidscott]

Same here, I use All my remotes. Tried those aftermarket programmable remotes to use for one for all, don't like them.

Never liked the universal remotes either but man it's tough to have so many remotes. But they all still work.

 

[SithZedi]

Maybe its me, but I find phones are too clumsy to use properly. I was fairly old school as well until recently. Am currently testing a new Yamaha A6A. It's remote does a surprisingly good job navigating a Sony TV and DVD player.

 

[Blue Dude]

Does anyone have experience with the SofaBaton U1 for a universal remote solution? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FXK18BY
I have a URC MX-850 plus a spare but I'm in the process of moving and might not need it for the simplified home theater I foresee building. Something like the U1 might work out better.

 

[panteragstk]

Does anyone have experience with the SofaBaton U1 for a universal remote solution? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FXK18BY
I have a URC MX-850 plus a spare but I'm in the process of moving and might not need it for the simplified home theater I foresee building. Something like the U1 might work out better.

That'll be my next purchase if something happens with Logitech's promise to keep hosting the harmony device DB.

 

[highfigh]

Does anyone have experience with the SofaBaton U1 for a universal remote solution? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FXK18BY
I have a URC MX-850 plus a spare but I'm in the process of moving and might not need it for the simplified home theater I foresee building. Something like the U1 might work out better.

I tried it but they have/had a very limited database and I was required to wait for them to add models- that immediately made it a 'no go' for me. Also, trying to build macros was not tolerable. I was able to discuss some details with them but the support people aren't really as involved as they need to be. I hate to dump on something that could work, but they need to really inspect the other universal remote business/technical models of operation and learn what is needed. Users waiting for info isn't going to work.

 

[highfigh]

That'll be my next purchase if something happens with Logitech's promise to keep hosting the harmony device DB.

They still support their streaming devices after more than ten years and they sold a very small number of those compared to the remotes and they understand how bad it would be if they end support for remotes.

 

[Eppie]

Anyone else use the Realistic (Radio Shack) universal remote when they first came out? I was an early adopter and a good friend of mine used one too. No internet database back them. You had to place the remote in learning mode and transmit the signals from the other remotes to record the codes. Took a while to program but once set up they worked fairly well. Big and bulky though and heavy with 4 AA batteries. Oh yeah, I should add that to the what's in my closet thread!

 

[highfigh]

The beauty of universal remotes is in their ability to create macros, or have them created in programming. The ugly of UR is that people who program them don't always have a tiny bit of logic in their bodies, so they learn every command, assign them to buttons that make absolutely no sense and don't create a cohesive layout for all of the activities because they A) have absolutely no understanding of what the remote is capable of, B) didn't read the manual, C) don't have plan, D) don't write down what they did in the first activity, E) don't think about the need to program it in a way that others will understand. People who sell and program remotes call this last detail 'making it babysitter-proof'.

 

[Trell]

B) didn't read the manual

Pretty typical of many threads here as well, and on top of that posts the same question on different forums wasting posters time as they don’t know the question is answered elsewhere.

 

[highfigh]

Pretty typical of many threads here as well, and on top of that posts the same question on different forums wasting posters time as they don’t know the question is answered elsewhere.

The best way to get people to read the manuals is for them to hire someone to install something and be billed for the time needed for explaining how things work. Here, it's all free of charge.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Maybe I'm old school l but I still use multiple remotes for my TVs, NAD Cd player, and my HK 3490. Also, my 2 Sony Blue rays.

My question is this: Who other than you actually knows how to use your system and is it easy for them to use?

I always say that when I install a control system/remote, that it isn't for the techie in the family, who gets it, but it is for their wife, their kids, their parents.

As the techie, unless you want to be the 'man in charge', then you have a responsibility to ensure that your entire family is capable of using the system easily and can't bring it to harm. This means ensuring system settings are good for them and that the buttons which can lead to problems aren't right there for them to press.

With a couple of surround systems, projector with motorized screen, multiple TVs, and more going on in my home, I needed to keep it as sane as possible for my entire family. The same type of remote is in every room with a TV. The same buttons on the remote, in the same locations make it all work.